Oct 29, 2026 @ 08:06:12 EDT
Saturday morning brought light conditions out on the Bay, with breeze starting around 8-10 knots and steadily fading as the day progressed. The racing area was set in open water between Greenbury Point and Tolly Point. Current remained light and manageable, but the shifting breeze kept tacticians on their toes. Pressure consistently filled in on course left before slowly clocking right as the velocity softened. With no sail restrictions in place, crews made full use of the symmetrical kites across all four races before the breeze completely shut off around 1400, sending the fleet ashore around 1430. Saturday wrapped up with the Maryland Terps holding the overnight lead (9 pts) following a consistent 1-3-2-3 scoreline, closely shadowed by the Tennessee Volunteers (10 pts) and Navy Midshipmen 2 (14 pts).
Sunday greeted the fleet with glass on the Severn, prompting an AP ashore while race committee waited for breeze to build. Around 1100, a localized thermal filled in with a workable 5-8 knots right off the Naval Academy, allowing RC to drop AP at 1130 and set up a track just off Trident Point. A noticeable flood current gave sailors an upwind battle against the tide while treating them to fast, compressed downwind legs. The tighter venue and shifting tide shook up the leaderboard dramatically over the final two races. Overnight leaders Maryland suffered a tough pair of 7th-place finishes, dropping them to 4th overall after losing a tiebreak to Navy Midshipmen 1 (both tied at 23 pts). Capitalizing on the change in venue, the landlocked Tennessee Volunteers sailed a rock-solid 2-2 day to capture the 2026 Small Keelboat Invitational title with 14 points. Navy Midshipmen 2 took second overall with 22 points, and Navy Midshipmen 1 closed out race 6 with a bullet to round out the podium in third.
| School | Team | A | TOT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | University of Tennessee | Volunteers | 14 | 14 | ||
| 2 |  | U. S. Naval Academy | Midshipmen 2 | 22 | 22 | ||
| * | 3 | | U. S. Naval Academy | Midshipmen 1 | 23 | 23 | |
| * | 4 |  | University of Maryland | Terps | 23 | 23 | |
| 5 |  | U. S. Coast Guard Academy | Bears 2 | 29 | 29 | ||
| 6 | | U. S. Coast Guard Academy | Bears 1 | 33 | 33 | ||
| 7 |  | Rochester Institute of Technology | Tigers | 34 | 34 | ||
| 8 |  | SUNY Stony Brook | Seawolves | 46 | 46 | ||
| 9 |  | William and Mary | Tribe | 47 | 47 | ||
| 10 |  | St. Mary's College of Maryland | Seahawks | 61 | 61 |
| Sym. | Explanation |
|---|---|
| * | Number of high-place (1) finishes |
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.
