What a beautiful weekend to coach sailing for the Big Red at Cornell’s new sailing center. In A-division was Allie Gardiner crewing for Vince Andrews and sailing B division was Colleen Cozzans with her skipper Philip Alley. Boat handling was the biggest concern so a lot of focus was put on jib trim in maneuvers. For example on the starting line making sure the Colleen and Allie timed their jib trim with their respective skippers was key to acceleration and a good start. After watching the first couple of starts I knew this was an issue. As the crews got in synch with their skippers the starts improved over time. As the breeze built I learned that the team was missing something: heavy air crews. The wind started picking up to the high teens/low twenties and there was no way to sail heavier. Colleen and Allie did a fantastic job sticking it through and we went over different ways to depower a collegiate 420. By the end of the day both Vince and Phil were winning races by almost ½ of a leg!

At a qualifier the goal is to qualify by at least 1 DSQ. By the end of the first day Cornell was easily qualifying by almost 4 DSQs! Not too bad. After sailing 20 races on Saturday the Cornell sailors went home happy and tired, eager to get back on the water on Sunday. Sunday morning came and a light Northerly had just filled in with the right side of the course favored. We spent the morning talking fleet management. A well sailed regatta by all. We were done racing by 11 so the team got dressed and we took 6 boats out for a quick practice session where I learned that Phil has never been coached on how to sail a 420 properly. A couple of quick tips and Phil’s acceleration out of his maneuvers improved dramatically. It was a pleasure to coach the team who has a lot of potential and a great attitude. I will see the team again in 2 weeks for the Americas Trophy at Cornell.

-Jeff Sullivan

Background on Jeff Sullivan:

Coaching:
IFDS Worlds US Sailing Coach
US Paralympic Trials
Roger Williams Interim Coach
PRO College MAISA Fall Conference Championships (HWS)
PRO College MAISA Spring Conference Championship (HWS)
PRO College Semi-Finals (HWS)