Long now shines in Navy sailing

Hopkinton's Catherine Long, who started sailing competitively at age 8 at the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club on Cape Cod, has made the US Naval Academy varsity sailing team, which began the winter/spring portion of its schedule last weekend by hosting the Intercollegiate Mid-Winters in Annapolis, Md.

Long, a multisport athlete at St. Mark's School in Southborough, sailed in several regattas last fall, including Lasers, 420, Vanguard, and Lark boats. With the Naval Academy team, she placed 16th at the Mid-Atlantic Sailing Association Districts as an individual dinghy racer, and she also helped Navy finish third at the Navy Women's Intersectional, where she took ninth place in single-handed competition.

As an up-and-coming racer, Long has won many sailing awards, usually with her younger brother, Patrick, as crew. Her second love is lacrosse, a sport in which she led the St.Mark's girls' team in scoring and was an Independent School League All-Star. Long also played soccer and basketball in prep school.

Her interest in the Naval Academy was enhanced by a one-week seminar at the college just after her junior year at St. Mark's. She reported to the academy last July for a six-week "boot camp" and as well as an introduction to college varsity sailing before starting classes at the end of August.

"Catherine is doing very well. She's a crew member on our women's team that is ranked eighth in the nation and I'm projecting that she'll have a strong focus in women's double-handed sailing," said Navy coach Gavin O'Hare. "She's got a strong sense of teamwork and determination and the good part is that she's got four years in which to develop on one of the best teams in the country. Catherine is doing exactly what we've asked of her and she's worked hard at it. She's going to compete at the Mid Winter East Championships in Clearwater [Fla.] at the end of this month."

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