Oct 23, 2020 @ 11:02:45 EDT
Today dawned sunny and calm at the Naval Academy where 9 teams are on hand to contest the McMillan Cup. As the fleet of Navy 44s motored out to the race area, the sky became overcast, temperatures dropped and a light southeasterly breeze filled in.
PRO Paul Clissold and his NASS Race Committee got their course set and race 1 underway on time. While Navy led at the first mark, the breeze got flukey on the run with URI and MASS Maritime moving to the lead. Queens hit the right hard on the second beat and along with Mass were rewarded with a big right shift. Mass took the win with Queens second and Navy nipping URI in a photo finish for third.
In race 2, The West Point Black Nights nailed the right side shift and led the entire race for the victory with Mass on their heels at the finish in second. URI demonstrated consistent form taking 3rd after KP was disqualified.
For race 3, URI sailed strong to take the win with Mass sailing very consistently getting another 2 while Coast Guard had a strong showing posting a 3.
For race 4, Navy finally found their mojo getting off the line clean and going wire to wire in convincing fashion for the win. KP had another good effort to take second while URI stayed in the top tier with a 3.
Racing continues tomorrow with Mass holding a 2 point lead over URI. Navy lurks 4 points back of URI in 3rd.
Jahn Tihansky Regatta Chair
Day 2 at the McMillan Cup started out with a light drizzle but a decent southwesterly in the 7-10 knots range. Mass Maritime started the day 3 points up on URI and 6 ahead of Navy. Queens was 3 further back.
For the first race, Navy jumped into the lead and led wire to wire with Queens close behind in second. Both Mass and URI found themselves back in the pack with only Mass able to work back near the front to snatch a 3rd. URI struggled to a 6th.
For race, Navy and Mass suffered poor starts while URI won the right side. Navy elected to bail left by themselves and found a rabbit to round mark 1 close behind URI and Maine Maritime. These top 3 boats rounded the gates very close with Maine turning left while URI and Navy turned right. Navy got squeezed off and joined Maine on the right while URI played the left. The left paid and URI extended for the win while Navy got by Maine to take second. Maine hung on for third. Mass, meanwhile had their worst race of the series and could only get back to 6th which left them in a 3-way tie for the lead with URI and Navy.
For the 7th and final race, it came down to a showdown for these three teams who were now well clear of the 4th place crew.
With just five minutes before the race start deadline, race 7 got underway. Mass, Navy and Queens went left while URI and the other teams elected to tack right. About halfway up the leg, the wind on the right totally caved in while the 3 boats on the left sailed fast. Navy led at the top mark just ahead of Mass and Queens. URI was one of the unfortunate others who were stuck in the right side void. Navy held off Mass to win the race and the regatta just ahead of Mass who finished 2nd. Queens came 3rd to solidify their 4th overall position. URI managed a 5th, closing the considerable gap that had opened between them and the leaders but dropping them to 3rd for the regatta nonetheless.
Huge thanks to PRO Paul Clissold and his NASS RC crew as well as Dan Trammell and his jury for adjudicating one protest (resulted in a DSQ), our cadre of safety officers and the NASS Social Committee who fed over 140 sailors and volunteers at the Navy Sailing BBQ Saturday at the Robert Crown Center. Next up at Navy Sailing in the Kennedy Cup 6-8 November.
Jahn Tihansky Regatta Chairman
| School | Team | A | P | TOT | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | U. S. Naval Academy | Midshipmen | 19 | 19 | ||
| 2 |  | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | Buccaneers | 20 | 20 | ||
| 3 |  | University of Rhode Island | Rams | 23 | 23 | ||
| 4 |  | Queen's University | Gaels | 30 | 30 | ||
| 5 |  | SUNY Maritime College | Privateers | 41 | 41 | ||
| 6 |  | Maine Maritime Academy | Mariners | 45 | 45 | ||
| 7 |  | U. S. Military Academy | Black Knights | 46 | 46 | ||
| 8 |  | U. S. Coast Guard Academy | Bears | 47 | 47 | ||
| 9 |  | U. S. Merchant Marine Academy | Mariners | 49 | 49 |
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.
