"At times, college sailing is more like zen than like a sport."--Harvard sophomore skipper Peter Wagner.

If sailing is like zen, the Harvard-Radcliffe sailing team learned to become masters of that religion this season.

The men's varsity team ended the fall season ranked sixth nationally--after starting the year at number 13--while the women's varsity squad finished fifth.

"Harvard has come to be in the forefront of sailing this year," Christopher Hufstader, editorial assistant at Yacht, Racing, and Cruising Magazine, said. "They will definitely be a factor in the regattas to come."

The three biggest regattas for the men's varsity gave the skippers both a chance to sail and to fail. And the Crimson did both.

Harvard--behind Peter Wagner's first place finish in the B division that lifted the skippers into second place behind Boston University--turned in a strong performance at the Penobscot Bay Open in Castine, Maine, and qualified for the Schell Trophy regatta held at MIT in late October.

The Crimson's success at the Schell Trophy qualified it for the prestigious Atlantic Coast Championships held at Navy in early November, where Harvard placed a disappointing eighth.

But the Crimson improved upon its Atlantic Coast Championships showing by finishing third in the Timme Angsten Regatta at the Chicago Yacht Club, only one point behind second place Navy.

Harvard sophomore skipper Gordon Burnes and shipmate Petra Shumann placed first in the A division to lead the Crimson.

"I told the team members at the beginning of the year that we could be one the best teams in New England," Harvard Coach Mike Horn said. "And usually the best teams in New England are the best teams in the country."

"This season went very well," Captain W.B. Peale said. "It was the best we've had in several years."

The best event for the women was the mid-October N.E. Intersectionals at Yale, where Harvard placed second behind Old Dominion.

"This was a great event for us because we beat our biggest rival, Tufts," said freshman skipper Julia Trotman.

Radcliffe's solid showing in the Victorian Urn Women's Intersectional at Radcliffe in late October qualifed the squad for the Women's Atlantic Championships in Norfolk, Va.

"Looking at next season, we're going to do better," said skipper Jane Fogg. "We have a young team and a lot of potential."

Team members agree that this year's squad is closer and more spirited. Also, the cooperation among skippers and their crews has been better than in past years.

"Although it may be in the self-interest of a skipper to hope another skipper doesn't do well so that he can substitute," Schumann said, "there seems to be more of a concern for the team than for the skipper and his crew."

"There has to be a tight relationship between the skipper and crew because of the psychological nature of he sport," said Kurland.

Many Crimson sailors emphasize the importance of sailing psychology.

"Last year, we just had a pessimistic attitude, and this hurt us," Wagner said. "We were also under-confident."

"To sail fast you have to have the right attitude," Burnes said. "You need to prepare yourself mentally. It's really a personal thing.

"Sailing is different from other sports because it's so intensely psychological. So much goes on in saling that it is almost impossible to control, like wind changes."

But with its pessimistic attitude left blowing in the wind, the Crimson is gearing up for better weather--and better sailing--in the spring.

"We're even more psyched for the spring season," said Burnes.