Tigers drop Hamilton-Burr Regatta

This past weekend, the sailing team hosted its annual Princeton Women’s Regatta against four teams from all over the coast, from as far away as Queen’s University in Ontario to the College of William & Mary in Virginia.Day one was filled with close races, but in the end Princeton finished third, coming in behind William & Mary and Fordham University. The places reversed on the second day, as Princeton placed first in front of Fordham and William & Mary. Freshman Sydney Mandelbaum finished first in her race, giving her a win in only her second collegiate race.

Bringing back an old tradition, the sailing team also participated in the Hamilton-Burr Regatta on Sept. 7. Founded on the site of the historic duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr on the edge of the Hudson River in 1804, history is now being repeated—this time, however, between sailors from Hamilton and Burr’s alma maters, Columbia (King’s College at the time) and Princeton (the College of New Jersey), respectively. However, instead of guns, this year’s duel is being fought with boats.

The Hamilton-Burr Regatta was brought back this year by a joint effort between Columbia and Princeton’s sailing teams, as well as alumnus Anthony Pappenfus ’13. Last year, the Columbia team was interested in creating a regatta solely between the two schools and contacted Pappenfus. Ultimately, the regatta was a great success on a beautiful day with three races between different skill levels: undergraduate, alumni and all-star. The three races between the Columbia “Hamiltons” and the Princeton “Burrs” would decide the overall winner of the regatta. The regatta also holds a Citizen Sailor Trophy, which is given to the school that raises the largest amount of money for Sail Academy, part of Hudson River Community Sailing, which is an extracurricular support program that teaches students not only math and science but also sailing and boat building.

Significant energy has been expended in uniting community and charity with college athletics.

“The goal is to make this an event that everybody looks forward to every year,” Pappenfus said. “It’s a great opportunity to get kids interested in sailing so that one day they could hopefully continue in college.”

In the end, the Columbia Hamiltons triumphed over the Princeton Burrs. The Princeton boat was helmed by Edward Conbeer ’08. Junior Andrew Grasso trimmed the main, while Pappenfus and Phil Oasis ’13 were the grinders for the jib. Eric Domb ’10 was on the foredeck, and Tom Darling ’75 coached from the companionway.

“This was a very cool opportunity for us to sail with our alums and see the history of Princeton sailing,” Grasso said. “They are very talented.”

The combined alumni and undergraduate team, armed with little experience with the Farr 30 vessels, fought back from a 3-0 deficit to win two more and allow the team to bring a winning streak into next year's race. Overall, the race was a huge success for both Columbia and Princeton. A date for next year has already been set,which will mark the 210thanniversary of the Hamilton-Burr duel.