Sep 7, 2023 @ 12:17:29 EDT
Today dawned light and foggy on the Chesapeake Bay for the nine teams assembled for the Shields Trophy Regatta at Navy.
PRO Fred Dertsch and his Race Committee team ran four races in a building southeasterly that peaked in the mids teens by the end.
SUNY and Cal Maritime came out blazing with Cal passing on the final run to take race 1. After a 4th in the first race, Queens University came on strong to win race 2 with Cal in second. For race 3, all but three boats were called OCS which sprung Cal, Queens and Army out to a huge lead with Cal going on for the win. In race 4, the Midshipmen from Navy finally found their mojo and came off the line fast and went wire to wire for the win with Maine sailing strong to grab second. Racing continues tomorrow with forecast for windy conditions.
An early fall cold front passed through Annapolis early this morning bringing a solid northerly breeze, providing ideal conditions for the final three races of the Shields Trophy Regatta at Navy. For the first race, PRO Fred Dertsch opted to restrict use of genoas and spinnakers which put a premium on winning the upwind legs as well as mastering wing and wing with the spin pole. Navy and Cal battled around the course with Navy finishing ahead by a half length.
For today’s second race, the wind abated slightly and spinnaker restrictions were removed. Cal, Queens and Kings Point had well-timed starts near the pin and headed towards the favored left side while Navy misjudged and found themselves forced to tack away. Kings Point led at the first two marks but suffered sail handling problems at the leeward mark and dropped back. Queens pounced on the opportunity and went on to win with Cal just behind in second.
For the final race, a 5 leg course was selected again with no spinnaker restriction. Cal and Navy got off the line clean and were 1, 2 at the first two marks. Cal had a poor leeward rounding opening the door for Navy who came around clean. They battled upwind swapping the lead in the puffy and shifty conditions. Navy hit the last shift to lead around the second windward mark with a comfortable gap on Cal and Queens who rounded overlapped. Cal and Queens got into a skirmish at some point which resulted in protest flags flying and ultimately Queens dropped back, suffering a 7th while Navy held on for their third win of the series and Cal taking 2nd.
Congratulations to Cal Maritime on their fantastic performance. Next up at Navy is the McMillan Cup 24 & 25 October.
Huge thanks to PRO Fred Dertsch, NASS RC Chairman Tom Stalder, RC volunteers Jan Richardson, Paul Grimm, Ed Kee, Ken Liddick, Dan Corenzwit, Maureen Mills, Charlie Arms, Dick Morin and a bunch of Navy Midshipmen. Thanks also to Chief Judge Dan Trammell and his jury, Dick Lunsford, Nelson Pemberton and Mike Brownlee who heard one protest (Queens v Cal Maritime) which was disallowed.
| School | Team | A | P | TOT | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | California Maritime Academy | Keelhaulers | 17 | 17 | ||
| 2 |  | Queen's University | Gaels | 22 | 22 | ||
| 3 |  | U. S. Naval Academy | Midshipmen | 26 | 26 | ||
| 4 |  | U. S. Coast Guard Academy | Bears | 35 | 35 | ||
| 5 |  | Maine Maritime Academy | Mariners | 37 | 37 | ||
| 6 |  | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | Buccaneers | 40 | 40 | ||
| 7 |  | SUNY Maritime College | Privateers | 41 | 41 | ||
| 8 |  | U. S. Merchant Marine Academy | Mariners | 45 | 45 | ||
| 9 |  | U. S. Military Academy | Black Knights | 53 | 53 |
The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.
The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.
