Midwinters Conference
This past weekend, Senior Captain Kate Thickens, Sophomore Practice Captains George Lockwood and Marissa Tegeder, and Sophomore Recruitment Chair Mary Castellini attended the MCSA Midwinters Conference in Bloomington, Indiana! At this conference teams drafted Spring and Fall 2023 MCSA regattas, received trophies and all-conference honors, and more!
The team picked up the trophies for winning the MCSA Open Fleet and Team Racing Championship last Spring and he MCSA Match Race Championship this Fall. Wisconsin team member Claire Considine also received the Katherine A. Fellows Trophy for winning the Women's Singlehanded Championship this Fall. All-Conference sailors included open skipper Ryan Tatelbaum, women's skippers Marissa Tegeder and Mary Castellini, and crews Ally Hansen, Kate Thickens, and Tina Dombrowski. All-Conference Honorable Mentions included open skippers Reed Weston and Gavin Dempsey, women's skipper Claire Considine, and crew Ellie Murphy.
They had a great time representing Wisconsin and socializing with members of the MCSA and other sailors from around the Conference.
Spring Season Preview
With the Spring semester underway, our team members are itching to get back on the water. Until Mendota sheds its ice, the team has lots of plans to prepare to compete and be successful this season, including chalk talks, workouts, out of conference regattas, and spring break.
Workouts and Chalk Talks
The Wisconsin Offshore team had lots of success this past Fall, and look to continue this in the Spring. Dylan Gorman '25 has arranged for many useful chalk talks from alumni like Doug Wake '22, past Keelboat Captain Tye Rubin '22, coach Ian Beckley, and Safety Officer at IOR and Storm Trysail member, Buttons. They will be giving talks on topics such as basic keelboating, communication and roles, sail trim, rig tune, controls, tactics, starts, and much more!
Our practice captains are continuing to lead team workout Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. These workouts have been a great way to connect as a team, as well as specifically do lots of core and cardio workouts and some yoga! They also plan to lead chalk talks every Thursday during team meeting, lots of which will focus on team racing.
Practice
Although we love Wisconsin, the cold environment we live and sail in presents a challenge as the lake will likely be frozen for at least another month. Unfortunately, this means the team will likely not get back to practicing until after Spring Break. The only opportunities to get back on the water before then will be out of conference regattas, and we are itching to compete again!
Regattas
The team has a busy spring schedule ahead, with the first regatta only 2 weeks away! February features one of the only keelboat regattas of the season, SCOR in Charleston, South Carolina. Jack Schweda '24 on the helm and the rest of the Wisconsin crew look to continue the win streak from the Fall season. They will be racing and X-Yacht SP44 the weekend of February 10th-12th.
The women's dinghy team has a few events this coming season, the first which is the University of South Florida Women's Team Race Regatta the weekend of February 25th and 26th. The open team will begin their season the first weekend of March at the Garner-Tullis Team Race Regatta at Tulane University.
Winter Break Highlights
Wisconsin team members are now back on campus for Spring semester, but clearly had a great break relaxing, doing fun activities, spending time with friends and family, and more!
Our sailors flocked to the hills and mountains to ski andenjoy the snow over break. Lauren Bemis '26 spent time skiing in Utah with friends and family. Britt Lochhead '25 enjoyed backcountry skiing in Steamboat, Colorado with her dog Hank. Matt Keberlein '25 worked as a ski patrol volunteer and got to hang out with some young shredders. Reed '23 and Abe Weston '25 spent time skiing and enjoying the views in the French Alps!!
Wisco sailors also found time to connect with each other over break. Ellie Murphy and Sophie Lusty '24 soaked up the sun in Bonita Springs, Florida for Ellie's birthday. Freshmen girls and Minnesota natives Lauren Salmi, Carmen Lineer, and Emma Komis got together to go skating and enjoy a cold but sunny day. Jack Schweda, Sam Spencer '24, and alumni Adam Mcavoy '22 enjoyed swimming and cliff jumping in the rainforests of Puerto Rico while visiting the home of fellow team member Ivan Castaner '24.
Many team members took the time away from school to go abroad! Ethan Jones '24 did lots of fishing and kiteboarding in Baja Mexico, while Mary Castellini '25 traveled to visit her past home in Australia. Both Quinn Kaiser '26 and Will Davis '23 visited Switzerland Quinn did some sightseeing and skiing in Grindelwald, Switzerland, while Will enjoyed going to hockey games and seeing an anti matter decelerator at CERN. Cal Lutton got back on the water by sailing with his family in the Caribbean! Also, Juniors Nicole Guiliani and Mary Daniels are spending the rest of their Spring abroad! Nicole is doing environmental research and field work in Ecuador and The Galapagos and Mary will be studying in Sydney, Australia, pictured below with a kangaroo from a local zoo!
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Will Huerth and Doug Wake
We are highlighting two notable and successful alumni from our team, Will Huerth and Doug Wake!
Will Huerth '19 is from Chicago and sails out of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He was a member of the team 2018-2019 and was an avid and energetic keelboat and dinghy sailor.
Doug Wake '22 from Sheboygan, Wisconsin grew up sailing Lightnings on Lake Michigan, where he fell in love with the sport and the photography/marketing of it. He was the marketing director for the team and continues to dedicate his time to the team by coming out to practice to coach and take pictures!
Will Huerth and Doug Wake ended up working together in sailing instrumentation at Vakaros. They represent the sales and marketing directors, respectively, at this exciting new company. This winter, they’ve been in Miami testing an exciting new OCS detection software called RaceSense.
On the Sales side, Will is responsible for global business development within the sailing community, and has been attending boat shows and regattas across the globe. Doug takes on events and partnerships, and has translated his time shooting photos for Wisco to doing so on the big stage for tons of Vakaros-sponsored regattas.
It’s incredible to see Wisconsin sailors sticking to our sport after graduation, and outside of work, these two are also active on the water! Will is active in the Melges 24, Melges 15, and all scow classes, and has won the past two Bacardi Cup Melges 24 Corinthian Divisions. Doug is racing Lightnings, VX, and Etchells, and won the Lightning Atlantic Coast Champs this summer.
From the time on the team, their favorite memories included sunset sailing in front of the Union, match racing and keelboats, as well as traveling around the country and spending time with teammates! They look forward to coming back to campus soon and continuing to coach and support the next generation of Wisconsin sailors!
Go Go Doug and Will!
CONNECT WITH UW SAILORS: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP
We're always looking for ways to build a stronger network between current and former Wisco Sailors. So, we've created a new LinkedIn Group to bring alumni and sailors together! Every Wisco Sailor has benefited from the incredible group of sailors that has come before then. Please consider joining this group (and inviting any sailing team connections) to strengthen these ties further!
Stay tuned for next month's Wisco Sailor to learn more about how things are going here in Madison. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest team news!
Credits:
Photos by Douglas Wake/Medora Media