Marc O. Laitin '96-97 will not be here for graduation. The sailing team member departed yesterday for the U.S. National fleet racing competition in Wisconsin.

He succeeded in qualifying for the event--in which Harvard has not qualified since 1987--and is competing in the races today.

It might seem odd that Laitin would choose to compete rather than walk with his social class, but the sailing team member often finds he must choose between competing with Harvard's sailing team and being on its campus.

Laitin and his teammates spend almost every weekend in the fall and spring away from Harvard, sailing in a variety of regattas.

This year's sailing season has gone "amazingly well," Laitin says, "better than anyone's expectations."

Laitin is currently in a prime racing position, paired with teammate Daniel W. Parkes '98. Laitin says he and Parkes work well together because they are the two most experienced members of the team.

But Laitin says the sailing lifestyle, while exhilarating, has put pressure on him to perform. For the past three years, he has basically been on the bench, he says.

Laitin, who grew up in San Diego, says he began sailing when he was about five years-old and began racing in summer regattas when he was fifteen. He had a very successful junior sailing career and raced in the junior national regattas.

According to Laitin, he came to Harvard "prepared to sail."

Upon entering college, he decided to dedicate himself completely to one pursuit instead of participating in an array of extracurriculars, he says.

"I always felt that I was short-changing myself in high school," he says.

However, Laitin says that during his first years of sailing at Harvard, he lowered his academic expectations by putting pressure on himself to succeed in sailing.

Laitin says that perhaps the decision that "coming in, this would be my one thing" may have caused him to place more emphasis on sailing than on studying.

Unfortunately, Laitin says that his grades dropped when he spent too much time on the water. "I didn't fail freshman year, but it didn't go as well as I hoped."

He says he has "taken a more relaxed attitude" toward sailing than he did when he first arrived. Laitin's record speaks for itself. After ranking 15 out of 18 in the fall Shell Trophy Regatta sophomore year, Laitin's boat placed second this year--just one point away from first place.