'Cliffies Win in Sailing, Losses Plaque Harvard

Sailing on the Charles River at MIT, Radcliffe sailors breezed through the competition to take the Man-Labs Trophy by 30 points. The Harvard team fared less well. The frustrated Crimson lost the Hoyt Trophy by two points in strong winds on the Thames River in New London, Conn.

Radcliffe skippers Barbie Grant and Janice Stroud led the armada by taking their respective divisions. Stroud topped the competition with five firsts, three seconds, and a sixth. Beth Goddard handled the sheets, for Grant, while Maggie Hivnor and Abigail Jones shared the honors in Stroud's division.

Easterly Breezes

Ten colleges turned out crews in moderately easterly breezes on Saturday and were gusted by nor'westers on Sunday. Team coach Mike Horn praised the outstanding ability and over-all depth of the Radcliffe women. With the Man-Labs Trophy secured on the Yacht club trophy shelf, Radcliffe is favored to capture the Victorian Coffee Urn in two weeks, climaxing the Fall season here at Radcliffe. This week-end the team will have two tough warm-up meets: the Invitational at MIT on Saturday and at Jackson on Sunday.

Harvard sailors were plagued with bad luck, foiling their chance for an unprecedented third straight victory in the Hoyt Trophy. All-New England Charlie Koch, sailing in A-division with crew Edgar Pulitzer, was low-point skipper for the regatta. Chris Middendorf, with Doug Libby, in B-division, sailed well but was twice the victim of disaster. In the first race, Middendorf lost a rudder and his second place finish shortly before crossing the line. In the next race, finding himself in first place ten yards before the finish, he capsized. With the gust of wind, first place and the Hoyt trophy slipped through Crimson slippery hands. Harvard finished third behind Tufts and MIT.

The Coast Guard Academy hosted the New England Sloop Championship in New London on Saturday and Sunday. Harvards entry was skippered by co-captain John Bowers and crewed by Rud Istvan. George Putnam, and Dave Brownlee.

High winds precluded the use of spinnakers and caused many break-downs, including a snapped mast on the Crimson boat in the seventh race. Poor starts were largely responsible for the team's lackluster performance, as they finished fourth behind winner Yale.

This week-end the Crimson defends the New England four-crew team racing championship, the Fowle Trophy, Saturday and Sunday at MIT.