College Sailing Briefs - Clinton Hayes, University of Vermont

Posted by ben on February 17, 2008 - 10:06pm in

The University of Vermont Sailing Team, under the guidance of coach Justin Assad, has recently risen to be considered among the best collegiate sailing teams in the country. During this past year Vermont has found themselves hovering in or around the top 20 in the Sailingworld ICSA rankings. We expect this ranking to head upwards as the team recovers from the cold Vermont winter and hits the water again. Limited to sailing "when the ice is gone", the Vermont sailing team migrates south for Spring Break and has a mandatory training session in Florida each year. It is sacrifices (if you can call heading to Florida a sacrifice!) like this, combined with at least 4 days per week of on the water training, that allows the Vermont team to be competitive in the talent rich New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association, or NEISA.

Sailingsmarter was fortunate enough to catch up with Clinton Hayes, a sophomore on the team, who answered a few questions for us about his team and himself. Clinton was an integral part of Vermont's success last season, often called upon to deliver points (actually, deliver as few points as possible) as a skipper in many major events. Clinton is vying for the starting A division skipper role this season, and is poised to have a successful second season. Some portions of our conversation follow:

SailingSmarter: Where did you grow up?
Clinton: East Haddam, Connecticut

SailingSmarter: What was your first sailing experience?
Clinton: I was 3 years old, sailing sunfish’s with my dad. When I was 8 my dad put me in local races.

SailingSmarter: Who taught you to sail?
Clinton: My (Jr. Sailing) program coaches.

SailingSmarter: What has led to your success as a college sailor?
Clinton: Sailing on the high school team along with putting in the time to sail all over the country.

SailingSmarter: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Clinton: Still sailing and possibly graduate school.

SailingSmarter: What are the best and worst things about college sailing?
Clinton: The best is getting to sail everyday and meet kids from all over the country and from the other colleges. The worst is traveling every weekend and missing out on weekends at school... But it’s worth it.

SailingSmarter: What is your favorite sailing experience?
Clinton: Sailing in the Sears Cup. (note: Clinton crewed on the 5th place boat in the 2004 edition of the Sears Cup, the US Sailing Junior Triplehanded Championship. The team won the 4th race of the competition, and finished only 7 points out of 3rd.)

SailingSmarter: What are your predictions for your team this year?
Clinton: The goal is to improve the national ranking and push to qualify for nationals.

SailingSmarter: What two tips would you give to the sailing community to help them finish closer to the front?
Clinton: Sail and race as much as possible.

SailingSmarter: What do you like to do when you not sailing?
Clinton: Ski. (we bet he's not the only member of the Vermont team with this hobby)

University of Vermont Sailing Team
Members: 36
Waters: Lake Champlain
Coach: Justin Assad

For more information on clinton and the Vermont sailing team, visit http://www.uvm.edu/sailing