Crimson High Hopes Drown; Sailors Lose Three Regattas

Predictions of a bright weekend for the Crimson sailors turned to dust as the team failed to capture any of the three regattas it competed in during the weekend.

The sailors participated in the Hoyt Trophy contest, the New England Sloop Championships, and an MIT invitational coed regatta.

Skippers Chris Middendorf and Jim Black led the Harvard sailors to a second place finish for the Hoyt Trophy held last Saturday at 9:30 a.m. They were edged out by a strong MIT team.

Middendorf's boat collided with another to lose the Crimson vital points. "Because of tricky wind conditions, he could not avoid the other boat," Mike Horn, coach of the sailing team said yesterday.

MIT sailed consistently throughout the regatta and never lost first place.

Just edging out Yale was the only consolation for the sailors who placed fifth in a field of six at the New England Sloop Championships also held last Saturday morning.

All six teams finished within three points of the winner, the University of Rhode Island.

Skipper George Putnam, along with a crew of David Brownlee, Francis Ganong, and Rick White, won the last race of the day by a wide margin. "If only there had been more races, we would have had a chance." Horn said yesterday. He had predicted a clean sweep for the Crimson today.

Harvard has not won a New England Sloop Championship in ten years.

Following Rhode Island were Tufts, MIT. Harvard and Yale. The top two teams have qualified to participate in the North Americans.

A collision with Northeastern at the MIT invitational held last Sunday morning cost the Crimson the victory.

A total of 11 teams participated in the event which involved only three races for each boat, the minimum number allowed to make a regatta official.