Georgetown headed north this weekend and found success at the rs. Hurst Bowl in Hanover, N.H., and the Nevins Trophy in Kings Point, N.Y.

At the Nevins race, senior Zach Kavanaugh and sophomore Alexandra Taylor led the team by finishing second in the B division. The A division boat finished fourth while the single-handed boat skippered by freshman Charlie Buckingham finished fifth. As a team, Georgetown finished second among 20 teams at the intersectional event with teams from four divisions.

“Second-place finish is a fantastic finish,” Head Coach Mike Callahan (SFS ’97) said. “Especially this early in the season.”

Senior Chris Behm said that finishing second was important because teams like Boston College, Brown and Navy entered the season ranked ahead of Georgetown.

“The best part is we came in second place,” Behm said. “We beat a lot of teams ahead of us in the polls.”

Georgetown entered the season ranked eighth and remains in that slot. St. Mary’s took first place to no one’s surprise: They are the reigning national champions and the 2007 team has shown itself to be just as good as the 2006 version.

“We’re not worried about St. Mary’s,” Behm said. “We’ll get to where they are. We’re slowly progressing.”

The regatta started with Behm and junior Carly Chamberlain sailing FJs for the first nine races while the B team started off in the bigger, faster 420s. The two squads switched boats for the second half of the regatta.

Behm said that after one day of sailing in primarily heavy winds – a condition in which the sailors have practiced infrequently in – the team sat in fourth place. Day two, however, brought light winds. Traditionally, Georgetown has succeeded in regattas with small winds because so many of their practices are in similar conditions.

Kavanaugh was the primary B sailor but once winds picked up, freshman Evan Aras relieved him. Growing up sailing 420s gave Aras an advantage, as did his weight. Heavier sailors are favored in stronger winds because they offer more control to the boat and can produce more speed.

Dartmouth played host to the Mrs. Hurst regatta where the women’s teams competed. Georgetown was the only representative of the MAISA conference with the majority of the teams coming from the New England region.

The Hoyas finished fifth despite leading after one day of racing.

“Fifth of 18 was good but we could have done much better,” Callahan said. “Halfway through we were winning. They faded down the stretch.”

The team raced strong to start but after building a lead, fell away from its original strategy and finished lower than tenth place several races in a row, forfeiting its lead and dropping to fifth.

“We’re still a long way from June and the national championships, though,” Callahan said. “They’ve got some time to improve.”

Georgetown competed in a third, smaller regatta involving only AISA teams in Throggs Neck, N.Y. With no impact on national qualifying or national polls, Callahan sent three freshmen and one senior to the event. Underclassmen Michael Campbell and Ginger Cutler finished fifth in the B division and the team took fifth overall.

Throggs Neck is a tricky place to sail, according to Callahan. The Throggs Neck Bridge spans the water and the choppy areas where the Long Island Sound and East River meet make for unique sailing. None of the freshmen had sailed in the obstacle course before.

Next weekend, Georgetown splits up to race in five regattas, including the national qualifiers for laser sailing in Annapolis, d., where freshman Charlie Buckingham is expected to do well after winning the most recent local laser sailing event.