About

The Brown University Sailing Team is one of the oldest and most successful organizations on campus. The Brown University Yacht Club was founded in 1896 and was one of the first college sailing programs in the country. The current Sailing Team is consistently ranked within the top ten in the country, racing in the highly competitive New England District of College Sailing. We are an active athletic team: we have a full time coach, we practice four days a week, and we enter several regattas every weekend from September through November and March through May.

The Sailing Team is one part of the larger Brown University Yacht Club. The Yacht Club works to provide everyone in the Brown community with the opportunity to sail, whether they are a novice sailor or an experienced racer. Thus the Yacht Club is divided into two parts:

Recreational Sailing: Recreational members are welcome to come down whenever the team practices, depending only on the weather.

Sailing Team: Team members practice at least three days a week and compete in regattas on the weekends. The Sailing Team is a “Club Varsity Sport” that is supported by both the athletic Department and the Student Union.

No matter what aspect of sailing appeals, all are encouraged to come down to practice. We meet four days a week at Wayland Arch on Brown Street:

Tuesday and Thursday: 2:30pm

Wednesday and Friday: 3:00pm

For the racing team, practice is made up of a large variety of drills and practice races that emphasize boat handling, boat speed, short course tactics and strategy, and team racing.

Location: We sail out of Edgewood Yacht Club in Cranston RI. A short drive from campus, Edgewood boasts some of the finest winds on Narragansett Bay. In addition, the varied shoreline allows the team to practice in a multitude of different conditions that mimic the varied venues in college sailing. The club is approximately 4 miles from campus and visible from the Science Library.

Boats: The fleet is comprised of 18 420s, 6 FJs, 3 Lasers, 1 Vanguard 15 and is supported by three motorboats. The 420s and FJs were purchased in September of 2005. The whole fleet has new sails purchased in Spring 2008.

Meetings: Every Wednesday night the team holds a meeting at which we review previous weeks results, assign teams for upcoming regattas, discuss tactics and rules, plan social activities, etc.

Coach: John Mollicone, Boston University '98, has been the Head Coach of Coed and Women's Sailing at Brown since 1999. Since coming to Brown, John has coached 44 All-Americans, eleven Academic All-Americans, 66 All-New England Sailors and has led the Bears to 35 National Championship appearances. During this time the team has finished top five at 14 National Championships and has won 10 New England Championships and five Atlantic Coast Championships. In 2010, John was awarded the U.S. Sailing National Sportsmanship Award for the Van Alan Clark Trophy and won the J-24 World Championship in Malmo, Sweden.

Applicants to Brown who are interested in racing are encouraged to contact John Mollicone (401) 413-1439.