Welcome to the Yale Graduate Sailing Society (GraSS)!

The GraSS is a student association for Graduate & Professional Students at Yale interested in recreational sailing. We operate independent of the YCYC (Yale Corinthian Yacht Club) and Yale Sailing team, which due to varsity competition rules, does not allow graduate students to compete in their regattas.

Our goal is to make available recreational sailing activities, and sailing instruction to graduate students of Yale University. We maintain contact with coordinating members of MYC in nearby Milford CT, and may be able to place interested students as crew on sailboats, for pleasure sailing or racing.

The Graduate Sailing Society was founded in March 2002, and we offer subsidized recreational sailing days to graduate students annually. Generally, we rent the YCYC facility for a series of "sailing days", subsidized or funded by GraSS; during such days, any grad/professional student may sign up to go sailing on Yale's fleet of "420-class" sailboats.

To join our mailing list, e-mail michael.seringhaus(at)yale.edu with subject "GraSS subscribe".

The YGS High Performance Sailing Team (HPST) also has a web presence. Click here to visit the HPST site: High Performance Sailing Team

Grass News

• BINGO moving to winter storage (November 2003)
  The Yale Star boat, Bingo III 6567, has enjoyed a summer of storage on the launch pad at Milford Boat Works and must now be moved to winter storage. Because PS garage is being renovated, the boat needs a new home for this winter -- we're in contact with the Yale groundskeeping staff and hope to store her at little or no cost for the winter. Sadly Bingo did not get out to race this season, due to a lengthy hoist repair at MBW, followed by the HPST's main star sailor being committed to sail with prominent conservative thinkers every week -- but not to worry, we have a full plan in place to see Bingo competing locally in 2004. Look out, Milford!
   
• GraSS fall organizational meeting (October 23 2003)
  The Grass fall meeting took place in HGS 119A. We had an overdose of pizza, which made the members in attendance happy. Items for discussion included winter storage options for our Star and Tornado, and plans for the sailing day in 2004 spring.
   
• YCYC fails to ante up for Catfight 2003! (October 2003)
  The Yale Corinthian Yacht Club didn't even see it coming! Because we didn't tell them. But this fall, a couple of months behind schedule, the YGS-HPST Tornado roared through the placid cove at Short Beach, with HPST cop-killa Martin Schmeing at the helm and raucous crew Michael Seringhaus hurling challenges and invective -- the promised DON-TOM CATFIGHT was upon them! The stunned undergrads could do nothing but blithely follow coach Leonard's sheepish commands in their monohulls, as the crisp prows of the Tornado cut swathes of dissent in their ranks. With no catamaran fielded by YCYC during the requisite three-minute cove challenge lap, the victory fell by well-earned default judgment to the HPST. Congratulations Graduate Students, you have taken the inaugural DON-TOM CATFIGHT 2003 TROPHY!
   
• GraSS was written up in the December 2002 "Stardust" Star Class Newsletter, available online here. (December 2002)

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Tentative Sponsored Activities (2003-2004)

• Time on the water - recreational sailing, basic instruction at GraSS Sailing Day 2004 (tentative: May 2004)
• Weekly GraSS gatherings at GPSCY -- Wednesdays (2 for 1 drinks until 11 pm!)
• Workshops, onshore theory lessons and discussions during off season
• Introduction to race tactics for interested sailors -- Last year, we negotiated half price on North Sails' reknowned North U seminar series, and GraSS / HPST members attended both sessions.
• Seminars with invited sailors (we are fortunate to have many great and accomplished racers nearby, and hope some will join us for seminars or informal chats)
• Interested students can be put in contact with skippers in search of crew at nearby Milford Yacht Club, allowing our members to crew and sail on a wide variety of boats as circumstances allow
  

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Graduate Students Sailing Society Officers

• Michael Seringhaus (Yale GSAS)
• Martin Schmeing (Yale GSAS)
• Jim Robblee (Yale GSAS)
• Diane Hannemann (Yale GSAS)
• Stephanie Waugh (Yale SOM)
• Crispin Barker (Yale GSAS) -- on leave 2003/4

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