College Sailing Match Race National Championship

The top ten match racing teams from around the country, as determined by regional Conference Championships and a selection committee, arrived Saturday morning to compete for the Cornelius Shields Sr. Trophy.

With a massive high pressure system sitting over the Florida peninsula, the weekend wind forecast was problematic. Immediately following the competitor meeting, the J70's headed out into Tampa Bay in the hopes of getting 1 or 2 flights in before the light 5-7 knot northeasterly died altogether. The RC set the course adjacent to the St. Petersburg Pier, excellent for spectating, but the breeze did not cooperate and boats were sent back to the dock under postponement.

PRO Todd Fedyszyn made the difficult but wise decision at 2pm to tow the boats one hour south to Pinellas Point as the seabreeze would fill in there earlier and stronger. The course was set, a 6-9 knot west wind appeared on schedule, and two full flights were completed before the boats were towed back in due to a 5:45pm sunset.

Sunday's wind forecast was a slight improvement over Saturday's, with a 4-5 knot southeasterly expected to slowly veer through south, then to southwest, and finally to west, building throughout the day.

Once again the fleet would need to tow one hour south for the best sailing conditions. After a short postponement on land, the fleet was towed, the course was set, and then the wait began as the breeze completely and unexpectedly shut down. Visiting teams were at least treated to sunny, warm, 80+ degree conditions.

Finally a modified seabreeze developed, bringing WNW winds at 6-9 knots. Flights 3, 4, and 5 were sailed without incident, but then the wind began a persistent, fairly rapid shift to the north, keeping the RC busy adjusting the course for each match. Flights 6 and 7 were completed under these challenging conditions, with winds in the 8-10 knot range. The final flight 7 intention signal was sounded at 2:56pm, just 4 minutes prior to the stated cutoff time.

Congratulations to Harvard who emerged as the clear match racing national champion, boasting an unblemished, perfect 7-0 record, and winning the Cornelius Shields Sr. Trophy. In second was College of Charleston with a 5-2 record. The awards presentation was delayed for some time as Tulane, Georgetown, Brown, and Boston College all had records of 4-3. Umpires determined 3rd place belonged to Tulane University.

Well deserved thanks to PRO Todd Fedyszyn and his RC team, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and to the many umpires who made this event possible.