John Jackson Memorial Team Race

The John Jackson Regatta, held in honor of Georgetown sailor John T. Jackson ’03, kicked off under overcast skies with a cool ESE breeze. Racing began in the Washington Sailing Marina lagoon, where the first few sets were completed before the wind dipped below 4 knots. The fleet moved out to the Potomac River, where the breeze hovered just above the minimum and a few more races were squeezed in. Adding to the spectacle, aircraft departing Reagan National sent occasional vortices spiraling across the water - jet exhaust hitting the surface at hundreds of miles per hour, creating small spinning plumes that look like mini waterspouts. When the breeze shut off entirely, racing was postponed ashore. Before long a southerly filled the lagoon and built steadily, gusting over 15mph by the end of the day. Racing ended at 5pm after one full round robin and one set of round robin 2 was completed. A big thank you to our umpire team - Mariner Fagan, Jeffrey Petersen, Audrey Fung, Addi Harrris, Morgan Rice, Wills Cook, Jack Corbett and Mateo DiBlasi. Thanks also to the Georgetown Undergrads for running the show on the water.

After a postponement onshore racing got underway in the Lagoon at 1220PM in a light SE wind. After a few races the wind switched to a WSW and grew in speed and shiftiness. No lead was safe as big wind shifts made it hard to hold covers. At 2PM it was decided that the 2nd round would not be completed in time so the regatta moved to a top 4 and bottom 4 format. There was a tie for 1st and 2nd as well as 3rd and 4th so sailoff races were held to determine the winner. Congrats to Boston College for winning the 2026 John Jackson Memorial Regatta

Thanks again to our great umpire crew of Mariner Fagan, Marley Mais, Mateo DiBlasi, Addi Harris, Audrey Fung, Morgan Rice, Jack Corbett, Jeffrey Petersen and Wills Cook.