Teens Triumph On the Bay
Sailors Conquer Sickness, Soaking

By Matt Zapotosky
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 5, 2007

When the nine-person crew on the Age of Reason completed its exhausting, 70-mile sailboat race from Annapolis to St. Mary's College yesterday, only the captain threw back a cold one to celebrate.

Instead of beer, other crew members, current and recently graduated sailors from Patuxent and Leonardtown high schools, downed energy drinks, salami sandwiches and soda after arriving in St. Mary's City, according to a journal they kept.

"Tom had three SoBe energy drinks and can't sleep. Lasted till light. The rest survived on salami sandwiches and soda," an entry read.

But members of what is possibly the youngest team ever in the annual Governor's Cup Yacht Race didn't care that they weren't old enough to get wristbands for celebratory beers. After 18 hours of sailing, they were just excited to have completed their first Governor's Cup. As an added bonus, they finished first in their class.

"Definitely ready to get off this boat," said Tom Stattel, 18, who graduated recently from Patuxent High School in Calvert County.

And the crew's first priority after finishing?

"Get a shower," said Jackie Horn, 16, a Patuxent senior.

The annual overnight race across the Chesapeake Bay, sponsored by the college, drew more than 150 entries in varying classes, based largely on boat size. Although high school students have competed previously, this was the first time in the race's 34-year history that a crew was composed almost entirely of students.

With winds initially whipping the boats, even the fastest sailors, a crew from the U.S. Naval Academy on a massive 66-foot boat, took 9 1/2 hours to finish the course.

Three people on Jim Young's boat, including Young, 46, a Governor's Cup veteran, got sick during their 15-hour journey. Young's crew enjoyed the strong winds but all night battled fierce waves that soaked crew members and even sent jellyfish over the sailboat's bow.

"Tack! Tack!" Young bellowed as crew members struggled to move from the low side of the boat to the high side as it changed direction abruptly.

"We're doing white-water rafting on the high side," Young's wife, Kris Dennie-Young, 45, said after waves drenched the crew.

Sailors on the 35-foot Age of Reason experienced a tumultuous journey as well. Kristin Horn, 15, said she nearly fell off the boat as she tried to change sides, and the unusual onslaught of waves kept her from sleeping. "It was really crazy because there was so many whitecaps," she said. "They were like splashing all over the sides."

But the sailors handled conditions well, said Coach George "Stovy" Brown, 66, as he hoisted a post-race beer to toast crew members holding water bottles and energy drinks. They had settled on a game plan early on, planning to tack right almost immediately and then travel along the western shore to avoid bad currents and take advantage of strong winds.

During a practice race Wednesday, crew members laughed and joked with one another. "I'll actually be 21 by the time we finish this race," said David Hoerning, 20, of Calvert County, as the boat slowed to a standstill.

Their veteran coach repeatedly chastised them for "too much talk," but he did little to dampen the young sailors' good humor.

After the race, Brown discussed with two of his top sailors how their strategy had paid off. He might consider a repeat performance next year with a new group of young sailors, although yesterday's effort, he said, would be "hard to top."