Racing conditions on Boston Harbor don’t get much better than they were on Saturday, just in time for the 11th Annual Richard B. Ross College Bowl regatta. Tyler Paige and Rene Ping of Tufts, Grace Olson and Rachel Hanford, of Tufts, and Reed Lorimer and Andrew Stoycos of BU, took the top 3 spots. 15 teams from 10 schools competed in 8 races.
The 2015 edition of the Richard B. Ross Memorial College Bowl was held in Rhodes 19s on Boston Harbor at the Courageous Sailing Center in sunny conditions with 10-15 knot easterly wind. Eight W4 races were sailed in a single division with no rotation. Tufts University was the dominant team, placing their two squads first and second on the day. Boston University followed closely in third. The Brown Bears got edged out to fourth place after failing to round the windward mark in the 7th race. Several teams showed improvement throughout the day as they adjusted to sailing the Rhodes 19s, notably, Boston University 1, Wentworth Institute, and Williams. One boat retired after the skipper was hit in the head with the boom. No protests were filed and one team retired after finishing (RAF) in race 7. After sailing was completed, the family of Richard Ross joined the sailors in a barbeque and award ceremony.
About the Richard B. Ross Regatta
The regatta was established in 2004 by Judi Ross Zuker to commemorate the life of Richard Ross. A passionate sailor and a believer in the transformative power of education, Richard took great pleasure in cultivating a love for sailing in others. Although his life was tragically lost in the attacks of September 11th, 2001, his family continues to honor his zeal for sailing and education by providing generous support to the Courageous Sailing Youth Program in his name. Since 2009, the Richard B. Ross Memorial College Bowl has been a fixture of the New England college-sailing circuit, and draws some of the area’s top teams.
The event is open to collegiate sailors of schools under the NEISA umbrella. Fifteen college teams from Tufts, Brown, Northeastern, Wentworth, Bentley, Emerson, BU, Maine Maritime, UMass Dartmouth, and University of New Hampshire raced this year.