By Nick Judson
Contributing Writer
The sailing team hosted Martha’s Vineyard in its season opener Sunday and defeated their archrivals 4-1 in a best of five series. It was the first Nantucket victory over the Vineyard since 2000.
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Photo by Jim Powers
Matt Fabiszak, left, and Annie Sager sail against Martha's Vineyard Sunday. |
After Nantucket’s first two scheduled regattas were canceled due to high winds and thunderstorms, the weather finally cooperated and the two teams battled it out in breezy conditions with the wind out of the northwest ranging from 18-25 knots on Nantucket Harbor.
The rivals met at the Nantucket Boat Basin where the two teams of three boats ventured out on the water to compete on a course just to leeward of the docks.
The course was a digital “N” with an upwind leg, a short reach, a downwind leg, another short reach, and then one last beat to the finish. In team racing each team puts three two-person boats on the water and they maneuver against each other to try to get the best possible finishes. A first-place finish counts for one point, a second for two, and so on. At the end of the race the team with the best combined finishes and thus the lowest point total wins.
In race one Nantucket was still brushing the cobwebs off at the start, but even a bit rusty Adam Ceely and Jesse Lang were able to pin their competitor, also known as their pair, off to a corner after winning the start.
The other two Vineyard boats, however, were able to round one-two, with Nantucket’s Sarah Erichsen with Meaghan Lynch and Anne Sager with Matt Fabiszak close on their heels.
Martha’s Vineyard held their position until the last leg when bad communication on their part allowed Sager and Erichsen to both pass the second Vineyard boat right at the finish. This gave Nantucket a second, third and fifth and allowed them to win the first race with 10 points to MV’s 11.
In race two Ceely and Lang won the start, controlling the pin end of the line and were able to hold that lead all the way to the weather mark. Meanwhile, Erichsen and Lynch, who were blocked at the start, were able to escape their opponent and reverse the situation, pinning the Vineyard boat out to the right side of the course to the point that it was forced to jibe away. This allowed Nantucket to create a winning combination early in the race. After Sager and Fabiszak passed two boats on the last leg, Nantucket won the third race with a second, third, and fourth.
Since the two teams were sailing a best of five series, the Whalers had an opportunity to wrap it up early and they did not disappoint even though it looked as if the Vineyarders were going to rally in race three. All three Nantucket boats were late at the start, but at least got to clean air quickly. The Vineyard rounded first and Ceely, who was in second, set up to trap the next Vineyard boat, but with the gusty conditions the Vineyard boat was able to roll past Ceely and Lang and suddenly Nantucket was losing with a three, four, six.
On the downwind leg Sager and Ceely were able to blanket the Vineyard’s wind and then pin one of the MV boats out at the leeward mark, allowing Nantucket to move up to second and third. On the last leg to the finish the two lead Nantucket boats were able to slow their competition and Erichsen and Lynch, who found their boat speed again, passed the fourth- and fifth-place Vineyard boats to give the Whalers a two, three, four combination and nine points to the Vineyard’s 12. The win in race three decided the series and Nantucket sailed away with a 3-0 victory, defeating their arch rivals for the first time since the 2000 season.
Even though the series was decided, the two teams sailed the last two races for practice. In race four Sarah Poor crewed with Ceely and Mariah Jones crewed with Sager and Nantucket lost that race with 13 points to the Vineyard’s eight. In the final race of the day, Nantucket switched it up even more, putting Fabiszak back in as a skipper with Lynch as crew, and Lang in with Erichsen. The Whalers bounced back with Erichsen and Lang leading the charge, followed by Ceely and Poor, while Fabiszak placed fifth so Nantucket won the final race by the same margin as the previous race.
Nick Judson is the head coach of the Nantucket Sailing Team and executive director of Nantucket Community Sailing.
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