Harbor Cup

The ten teams of sailors from across the nation kicked off the event with a morning of practice in a building breeze, looking smart and confident in their maneuvers. East Coast crew were decked in shorts and t-shirts, as if to mock the snow-capped mountains in the distance, as the competitors pulled off three lively practice starts. Defending champion Cal Maritime led at the top mark and extended their lead over the fleet as they lapped the twice-around course to capture the first bullet of the event. University of Hawaii finished second; Univ. of California Santa Barbara, third.

The wind continued to clock and build as Race Two started. Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers overtook the Hawaii Rainbows at the finish to take first, with Hawaii second, and the US Coast Guard Bears third.

The fleet was more consolidated as Race Three began, in a crisp breeze of 15 knots. The Catalinas charged up the choppy course, led once again by the Keelhaulers and followed by US Naval Academy. After a dusty start the Midshipmen were returning to prior form: they had won this event in 2018 and in 13 years of racing often finished in the top three. They clinched second place in Race Three with College of Charleston. The Keelhaulers solidified their day with a final bullet in Race Four as Navy repeated their second-place finish. -by Betsy Senescu

Although light winds forced a brief postponement on Day Two of Harbor Cup Racing, the wind machine turned on swiftly, and with force. Four races were held in challenging conditions and exhilarating breeze of 18-knots, creating lively competition among the ten teams from across the nation. California Polytechnic State Univ. won the first race of the day, with Navy second and Univ. Rhode Island third. In Race Six, it was Univ. of Hawaii over Univ. of Calif. Santa Barbara, and Cal Maritime third. Navy returned to the podium with a first place in Race Seven; Cal Maritime took second and UCSB third. And in the day’s final race Cal Maritime solidified their lead with another first, followed by College of Charleston and Mass. Maritime. In the final leg of that race, Univ. RI experienced a steering failure 100 yards from the finish line. The team retired and returned safely to the dock using the emergency steering, and was requesting redress at press time. Although defending champion Cal Maritime remains the frontrunner after eight races, victory is still up for grabs with Navy, UCSB and Univ. Hawaii all in striking distance. The final two races of this prestigious intercollegiate sailing invitational the 10-race series will be held tomorrow, Sunday March 13, followed by a prize-giving at host Los Angeles Yacht Club. -by Betsy Senescu

Cal Maritime claimed their eighth victory in the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup-California Maritime Academy Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta, after three exciting days of racing in the waters off Pt. Fermin. The Keelhaulers set the pace on Day One, logging the first bullet of the event and monopolizing the leaderboard before claiming victory today. But it wasn’t without a challenge from a tough field of opponents from across the nation. Skipper Kyle Collins revealed the battle had been “a little stressful” for the recently formed Keelhauler team. “Going into it we had had some shifts in crew and positions; and the competition was really great.” Four teams in particular had been nipping at Cal Maritime’s heels and eager to upset the defending champion: Navy, UCSB, Univ. Hawaii and Univ. Rhode Island; spurring a fierce fight for silver and battle for bronze. After two idylilic days of racing, Sunday started out light. “Mother Nature does not observe daylight savings time,” noted PRO Tom Trujillo and races were postponed an hour. In Race Nine, a split in the fleet at the leeward gate saw Hawaii capture the lead and take first, followed by Navy and UCSB. Cal Maritime, OCS at the start, rebounded smartly and finished fourth. Victory in the Harbor Cup was sealed! Conditions continued to test the fleet into the final race. Several boats didn’t make the pin end of the start line, and URI grazed the buoy. The final race was three times around in building, shifting breeze. Hawaii gained on the downwind legs and overtook their opponents to grab hold of the lead, crossing the line first in Race 10 with Keelhaulers second and Charleston third. LAYC has hosted the Harbor Cup since 2008, providing boats, housing, meals and activities for ten competing teams. It is recognized as one of the leading intercollegiate sailing invitationals in the nation. -Betsy Senescu

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.