Not even tropical storm-strength gusts could keep Georgetown senior Andrew Campbell from winning the division singlehanded championship for the third time in three attempts.

Campbell took home the Carl Van Duyne Trophy for his 39-point, first-place finish. Campbell had a 25-point margin over the next-closest competitor, sophomore Chris Branning of host school Kings Point. Branning’s 64-point finish edged junior Alex Steele of St. Mary’s by just one point, but another five points separated Steele from fourth place. The three top finishers will go on to the national competition at the University of Waikiki in Kaneohe, Hawaii, on Nov. 18-20, where Campbell will look to win a third title.

Saturday’s racing started with winds of 15-20 knots, or 17-23 miles per hour, but by the fourth race the winds had built up to 20-25 knots (23-29 miles per hour) with gusts up to 51 knots, or about 58 miles per hour – about the strength of a tropical storm.

“Sails were just exploding as you were sailing upwind,” Georgetown Head Coach Mike Callahan said. “It was not only dangerous, but also very difficult conditions to sail in.”

Luckily for the competitors, Sunday’s winds slowed down throughout the day.

Campbell picked up four first-places finishes out of 13 completed races.

Although Campbell’s teammates were competing at the Storm Trysail Open, located 250 miles southeast from Kings Point, N.Y., in Annapolis, Md., those Hoyas were not spared from Mother Nature’s wrath on Saturday, either.

Despite the weather and the unusual style of offshore sailing, Georgetown won both divisions for the overall victory. In three races, the Hoya crew on the “Kincsem” claimed two wins and a runner-up finish while those on the “Lora Ann” took two first places and a fifth. Junior Dan Esdorn skippered the “Kincsem,” and senior Ed DuMoulin was in charge of the “Lora Ann.”

Because Georgetown’s sailing team does not have the boats used in offshore sailing, Callahan was impressed by the Hoyas’ ability to quickly learn how to sail them.

“It’s a big learning curve out there,” he said, noting the troubles that sailors have at first with the 40-foot-long boats that carry crews of 15. “By your third race, you look like a really good crew out there, boats sailing fast,” he said. “It was impressive that they were about to go out there and win both divisions.”

The women’s team also competed last weekend in Annapolis, d. – this time at the Navy Fall Women’s Regatta. Georgetown took third out of 13 schools with 202 points, 30 behind first-place Yale and seven behind Dartmouth.

“We were very happy with the results,” Callahan said.

The regatta included two divisions of regular, two-person racing but also has a division of lasers, the boats used in singlehanded racing. Sailing lasers is unusual for collegiate sailors, but junior Jessica Stewart was able to earn a sixth-place performance.

The division-B team of sophomore skipper Blaire Herron and junior crew Emily Siguler came in three points short of first in their division with a 43.

Senior Derby Anderson skippered the sixth-place A-division boat for the Hoyas, and senior Megan Melican and freshman Carly Chamberlain each sailed half of the races.

This weekend, Georgetown will compete in two events, including the Navy Fall Regatta in Annapolis. With the top schools from both the East and West Coast schools in attendance, “It kind of gives you a sense of really where you are,” Callahan said.

Campbell will be conspicuously absent from the regatta as he will take a weekend off from competition. Without him sailing the singlehanded lasers in Division C, Callahan said he hopes for a top-10 finish.

The women, meanwhile, will go to the Yale Women’s Regatta this weekend in New Haven, Conn.