Webbies Look to Sail to the Next Level

After teaching, coaching and running sailing programs since the age of 17, Gene D'Alessandro was looking for an opportunity to challenge himself and showcase his nautical leadership skills on the collegiate level.    

Fortunately for D'Alessandro, he came across the Webb Institute — a top-notch small (90 students) private naval architectural and marine engineering college in Glen Cove — which was looking for a qualified head coach for its competitive sailing team.

"I coached a lot of junior sailing, coached a lot of high school, and I was looking for an opportunity to coach college sailing. It worked out for Webb, because Webb never really had a coach, never specifically had someone hired as a coach,"  D'Alessandro explained after his team's practice at the Long Island Sound on Thursday."It was kind of a nice match. I was looking to step up and coach college, and they were looking for a steady coach."

While D'Alessandro has been facing more established programs with bigger sailing budgets since taking the helm in the spring of 2008, he's been able to offset that with his experience and leadership skills, plus his team's willingness to put in the necessary hard work in order learn and grow.

And it's beginning to pay dividends. Last year, Webb won both its fall and spring home regattas.

"Considering we're competing against teams that practice five days a week and have a lot funding, I think we're doing pretty well," the Port Washington native said.

This spring, Webb is continuing to make waves, finishing fourth in its first regatta of the 2010 spring season at the Icefree Invitational at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. The competition was held on  March 13 and 14. The team followed it up with a third place finish at the CNU 2-on-2 Invitational, and placed fifth out of 12 teams at the North Qualifier at Cornell University in Ithaca, just two spots shy of moving up from club to varisty level.

Along with their sailing commitment, which includes 2-3 hour practices and weekend trips to the competitions, Webb student-sailors balance a demanding course load, with many often trading rest for the opportunity to enjoy their aquatic pursuit.  

"These students work their butts off," the third year coach exclaimed. "The amount of school work they have is probably triple — if not quadruple — of a normal college. To go out sailing two hours, almost three hours two days a week is difficult when they have that much work.  And a lot of times these students go on six hours of sleep, not for one night but for the week in order to get out sailing."

But the mental and physical challenge of the sport, students said,  is more than enough to keep Webb sailors stoked.

"I really do enjoy it," said senior Seth Cooley, who is the captain and skipper of the squad. "There's a massive, massive strategy component to it. It's basically chess on the water. You not only have to be concerned how fast you're going around the race course, but you have to be concerned about all the other boats as well at the same time. So there's a constant mind game, in addition to what's going on in your boat and the physical aspect to it."  

Webb Institute is scheduled to host the Engineer's Cup on May 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. to about 6 p.m. on both days.

For more information on the team and other Webb Institute athletic programs, visit webb-institute.edu. To read more Patch sports stories, click here.