Club Sailing closes in on top-20 ranking

Up until the mid-1980s, students wishing to brave the Delaware River current were able to do so as a varsity team. Since then, however, sailing has existed only in the form of a club sport at Penn. Around the same time the team's status was demoted, College junior and co-captain of the Penn sailing team Ben Kinney was just beginning to emulate his father. To Kinney, sailing is second nature. The son of a three-time Olympic contender, he was introduced to the sport at the age of three. Growing up while watching his father compete in the Olympic Trials -- in 1976, 1980 and 1984 -- Kinney's interest in sailing was inevitable. "I used to not see my dad for months, knowing that he was off sailing," Kinney said. "From then on I knew that I wanted to be a sailor." As Kinney himself sailed into adolescence at the age of 12, his true passion for the sport surfaced. His commitment to the sport increased as he began to race in a number of national and local regattas. Kinney explained that there is more to sailing than the boat shoes and shoulder-knotted sweaters people often associate with it. His love of the sport rests in the unique challenge it imposes on his mind and body. "It's the ultimate sport that pits man against nature, man against man and man against self," he said. In addition to being knowledgeable of the boat's mechanics in general, Kinney said keen perception of the wind and current are similarly essential for success in sailing. "The wind doesn't always blow in the same direction, [so being] able to pick up the puffs wins a race," Kinney said. A player on his high school's state championship and nationally ranked soccer team, the fitness demanded of Kinney as a sailor as compared to a soccer player, but that sailing could be more intense. Kinney stressed that the physical conditioning demanded of sailors is also often overlooked. Despite his expertise, Kinney said his decision to come to Penn even though it did not having a sailing team was not a major concern. The reason for this is that unlike most clubs, which do not compete against intercollegiate varsity teams, the Quakers are not similarly restricted. In the inter-collegiate sailing world, "all college teams and clubs are viewed in the same light," Kinney said. Consequently, the nation's top clubs typically compete against, and often times rank higher than, other sailing teams. In fact, the Georgetown Sailing Club is one of the nation's best, ranking in the top-10 among sailing teams and clubs. And the Quakers are not far off the Hoyas' mark. Having recently competed in the St. Mary's College Regatta, the Quakers were the only club not ranked in the nation's top 20 able to qualify -- by beating Princeton 3-0 -- for the race. Although their showing two weekends ago wasn't what they hoped for, their expectations for success remain high. And despite not showing well against the nation's maritime elite -- Naval Academy, Old Dominion, SUNY Maritime and Georgetown -- Kinney explained that "it's just a matter of breaking through in a really big regatta." Led by Kinney and sophomore co-captain Thea Sprecher, the Quakers have a good chance of achieving their goal. Sprecher's sailing experience extends back to her days as a 7-year-old toddler, traversing the waves in her Santa Barbara hometown. And while Kinney and Sprecher don't subject their teammates to intense training sessions which they experienced while learning how to sail -- club members train on their own -- the team practices three times a week in preparation of achieving their sought after ranking. As to whether or not the club will achieve their goal, member opinions are far from consensual. "Top 20 is not realistic this year," Thea noted. But freshman Jeffrey Cahoon -- the club's top sailor according to Kinney -- disagreed. "For this year, [ranking among] the top 20 is still possible, we just have to work really hard," he said. Top 20 or not, the Quakers will give it their best in the upcoming America's Regatta -- to be held during finals weekend. The race will be the Quakers' last chance to showcase their talent as a team in an effort to influence the rankings. After the Regatta, many of the Quakers will pursue their maritime hobby sailing out of private yacht clubs. As for Kinney, his plans for the summer are a bit more involved. While continuing to coach high school level sailors out of the Pequit Yacht Club in Southport, Ct., as a summer job, on the weekends he will be participating in the Summer Circuit -- consisting of different regattas held each weekend around the country. While competing, Kinney will be sailing with his father and Alex Abull, a 1996 College graduate and former All-American sailor. And if all goes as planned, the All-American hopeful will perform well and secure a sponsor to support his bid at the 2000 Olympics after Penn.