Tampa, Fla. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team wrapped up the fall season with the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Match Race National Championship this weekend, taking eighth place at the regatta in Tampa, Fla.
Hosted by South Florida and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the event was held in J/70s with a crew of four or five competitors. Most teams, including Navy, planned on sailing with five on board, but a forecast for light winds made teams switch to crews of four at the last minute. The weather was gorgeous all weekend with temperatures in the 70s and sunny skies, but light winds forced lengthy postponements and the organizers moved the course four miles south of the original destination where wind could fill enough to get racing in.
After waiting all day on Saturday, a light sea breeze allowed for two races before dark, as tough competition and a pre-start penalty got the Midshipmen off to a rough start, dropping the first two matches.
The fleet launched early on Sunday, but was delayed again for a long time on the water waiting for wind. Eventually, enough wind filled to get five more races in before the cutoff, as it wasn’t quite enough racing to complete the round robin but it was enough to make for an official event. Navy dropped a few close races early on, but won its last two races to close out the day.
Navy’s team of seniors Nathan Smith, Ellie Alex and Jack Welburn and sophomore Kyle Reinecke, with fellow sophomore Owen MacWilliams in reserve, finished eighth overall with 2 points.
