This weekend, while most people were enjoying a leisurely Saturday afternoon off, the Harvard sailing team was off winning regattas.

The Crimson competed in five New England regattas over the weekend, highlighted by an impressive, first time ever win by the Crimson at the M.I.T. regatta on the Charles River Saturday.

Battling inclement weather and unpredictable wind conditions, the two Harvard boats were able to finish their seven races and combine for the winning cumulative score.

Senior skipper Erik Egelston and his partner, freshman Cory Ermler, defeated 25 other boats in the A division while in the B division the second Harvard boat duo of senior skipper Dave Wilson and sophomore Leila Kawar placed an impressive third.

When the total scores of each team's seven races were combined at the end of the day, the Crimson was able to claim its first ever Smith Trophy.

"It was a great win," Kawar said, "because we had never won it before."

Weather factors played a definite role in the final outcome. The wind at one point forced one of the second place BC boats to capsize, thus allowing the Crimson team to secure a victory.

"At the start of the day the wind was relatively still," Kawar said. "But by the last few races, the wind had picked up a lot and it also started raining hard."

The Crimson started its season unusually late this year and was forced to miss the first four weeks of competition.

This weekend marked the first major trophy regatta competition for Harvard this year.

"The M.I.T. regatta has the largest field of any New England sailing event," Harvard sailing coach Ford said. "So considering our team's late start, this win was definitely an added bonus."

In other regatta action in New England, the two Harvard women's boats of skippers Laura Sterns and Gaelen Phyfe placed third in the Captain's Cup at Tufts Saturday.

Sunday at BU, however, this same Harvard team bounced back and qualified for the Atlantic Coast Championship Regatta by winning the President's trophy.

The Atlantic Coast Championship Regatta, which includes only the top sailing teams in New England, will be held at Hobart Williams Smith College, November 11-12.

Also, Sunday the Harvard men's sailing team led by skipper Dan Parks placed a modest third in the New England Sloop Championship at the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. A first or second place finish would have qualified the team for the nationals.

In a sport which has been coined as extremely strategic and mentally challenging, the Harvard sailing team has proven that it is ready for almost any challenge.

Considering the late start of this year's season, the trophics accumulated this weekend by the Crimson are definite signs that the best is yet to come.