Stanford sailing was unable to conquer the waves last weekend at the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Championships. When the weather changed, the coed dinghy boats slid from fifth to finish 12th.

After turning in several big races on day one to stay within striking distance, things began to unravel for the Cardinal over the rest of the weekend. The wind died down and the water at the U.S. Naval Academy became choppier than anything Stanford sees on the West Coast. Many of the East Coast schools seemed right at home in the larger swells, though, and were able to dominate the starting line as both Cardinal boats struggled to find position.

“The conditions were extremely difficult for us,” said coach Jay Kehoe, who described Stanford’s challenge like “sailing in a washing machine.” “We sail in a lot of wind and pretty flat water [on the West Coast]. We made a few mental mistakes and that’s what hurt us.”

The difference the weather made was clearly displayed in the numbers — Stanford recorded 94 points over the seven races on day one and 247 over the final 11 races after the weather turned. The “A” division boat averaged better than eighth place in day-one races and worse than 12th each time after. The “B” boat’s average finish dropped from 5.57 to 10.09 over the same interval.

By the end of the weekend, the “A” boat had slipped to 12th in its division with 191 points, while the “B” boat finished ninth with 150.

The Cardinal combined to score 341 points, 116 behind the College of Charleston, the winner and defending champion. Charleston became the first school since Navy (1993-1995) to win consecutive coed dinghy titles.

Stanford’s “A” boat was skippered by freshman Brian Haines and crewed by sophomore Kelly McKenna. Junior Edward Conrad took over for Haines in the final four races of day two. The “B” boat was skippered by senior Emery Wager and crewed by freshman Leigh Hammel.

But the coed dinghies weren’t the only Cardinal boats in the water at the ICSAs. One week earlier, the Stanford women’s sailing team took third in the Women’s National Championships. The Cardinal relied on consistent performances from both boats, which finished within two points of each other and no worse than fourth in their respective divisions.

Kehoe commended the women for being able to overcome the “absolutely miserable conditions” created by extreme heat.

“I was really excited at how well they did,” he said. “Any time you can finish in the top five of a national championship, you know you are doing pretty well.”

The two Cardinal boats combined to finish worse than ninth (in a field of 18) in just seven of the 32 races and averaged essentially the same finish over the regatta: 6.31 for the “A” boat and 6.43 for the “B” boat. The final score for the Cardinal was 204 points, 72 behind the champion St. Mary’s. The College of Charleston finished second with 176 points.

The women’s team was comprised of junior skipper Evan Brown and senior crew Joanna Madsen in the “A” boat, while sophomore skipper Taylor Grimes and senior crew Katherine Schlosser were in the “B” boat.

Despite its 12th-place finish in the coed dinghies, the Stanford sailing concluded its most successful season yet at the ICSAs. The Cardinal finished fourth in the running (a program best) for the Fowle Trophy, awarded to the school with the best overall sailing performance on the year. In addition to the women’s and coed finishes, Stanford finished first in men’s singlehandeds and fifth in women’s singlehandeds to finish fourth.

“It was always a goal to win [the Fowle Trophy],” Kehoe said. “We worked really hard for this and came up just short, but it’s always something to be proud of [when you finish this high].”