To win the college national dinghy sailing championship last week, St. Mary's College had to win two races against Yale a school more than five times its size.
"We told the kids they didn't need to do anything miraculous," said coach Adam Werblow, referring to B Division skipper Michael Menninger and senior Jennifer Chamberlain. "The kids looked at us and said, 'We're going to do this.' "
With breezes and currents running strong on San Francisco Bay, the sailors made good on their word. Trailing by three points at the beginning of the last set, they won by 20 points and 40 boat lengths, crossing the finish line with Chamberlain at the tiller to mark the end of her college sailing career.
It was the third time this decade that the Seahawks have taken the co-ed title. St. Mary's collected 179 points, Yale had 199 and Georgetown finished third, with 231 points.
Since 1991, St. Mary's has won 11 national sailing titles.
The championship course in front of the St. Francis Yacht Club was postcard perfect, with the Golden Gate Bridge on the left and Alcatraz, the former federal prison, on the right. The conditions were exactly what St. Mary's expected.
The team spent three weeks practicing at Point Lookout State Park, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Potomac River to create "big current, big waves and big breeze," Werblow said.
From there, they went to the waters off Santa Cruz, Calif., for more of the same.
The championship, covering three days and 36 races beginning June 1, pitted sailing programs from 18 colleges and universities. St. Mary's was ranked No. 4, behind Georgetown (No. 1) and Yale (No. 3). Each school fields a separate A and B Division team, with each division sailing 20- to 30-minute fleet races in rotation. A team's final score is determined by the combined results of its sailors in A and B divisions.
Yale's A Division team took its series with 68 points, topping St. Mary's A Division team by 34 points.
"We knew if we were close in our 'A' team, our 'B' team was going to beat them," Werblow said.
As for school size, "It doesn't matter to us," the coach said. "It's controlling the things we can control and have members of the team strengthening each other."
St. Mary's used all seven sailors it brought to the competition, and all but Chamberlain will return next season.
"We'll savor the win until August, and then we'll forget it ever happened and start again," Werblow said. "You've got to earn it every year."
Noted sailing racer and commentator Gary Jobson of Annapolis is producing a program on the championship for ESPNU, set to air at 3 p.m. June 20.
