Naval Academy Team Wins Columbus Day Weekend Collegiate Regatta

From Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta:

Over 420 college sailors from the United States, Canada and France raced on 45 owner-coached keelboats over Columbus Day Weekend in the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) sailed on western Long Island Sound. A team from the United States Naval Academy (Navy) sailing the J/44 MAXINE was the overall winner after winning four races and finishing second in one race in the competitive six-boat J/44 class comprised of all service academies.

The J/44 MAXINE, sailed by the U.S. Naval Academy, was the overall winner at the 2016 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta.

Up until the Tuesday before the 2016 IOR, the forecast for Hurricane Matthew had Western Long Island Sound right in the center of the National Weather Service’s forecast cone. As safety comes before other considerations, the organizing authorities feared the same outcome as at last year’s IOR. In 2015, due to the threat from Hurricane Joaquin the week before the IOR, other regattas were cancelled and many boat owners had hauled their boats or moved them to safer locations. This year, the weather gods treated the IOR more favorably and in a 12-hour period, on the Wednesday morning before the IOR, the forecast had completely changed, sparing a possible hit to the Northeastern United States. The IOR was back in full swing.

After the hurricane potential, it was ironic that the forecasts for the first day were for 2-4 knots of wind, even as late as the evening before. Once again, the weather gods did their own thing and offered up an 8-12 knot northeasterly for a great day of three races with a relatively flat sea state and moderate temperatures. The Navy team on J/44 MAXINE had three bullets on Saturday.

MAXINE’s skipper Midshipman Matthew Robbins said, “We knew that to win the overall would require us to win almost every race. We sailed with teammates filling in for three of our regular crew members, which is a huge testament to the depth and talent within our program.”

Jahn Tihansky, the Director of the Navy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team said, “To watch them handle their boat across the range of conditions from getting off the start to shifting gears upwind and turning the corners efficiently, was amazing. They were also able to rebound from some misfortunes and quickly got back into winning form."

The second day of racing was sailed in an increasing northerly, which ironically was an outer band from the now dissipating Hurricane Matthew. The breeze was in the mid teens with some gusts to over 20 knots. The race committee, led by Storm Trysail Club Principal Race Officer Charles “Butch” Ulmer, skillfully got in two races in stronger breeze and wave heights before the conditions became marginal.

The Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta is presented by the Storm Trysail Foundation (STF) with organizing authorities Larchmont Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, and this year was again led by Regatta Chairman Barry Gold. “The IOR provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to come together in a unique forum that is both highly competitive yet educational,” said Gold. “It also allows some college dinghy sailors with no big boat experience to be introduced to an entirely new aspect of racing.”

The 45-boat fleet was divided into five classes: IRC 38’-43’ (9 boats), J/44 (six), J/109 (eight), PHRF (12), and J/105 (10).

The J/44 one-design class was won by the overall IOR winning team from Navy sailing MAXINE, followed by the United States Coast Guard Academy sailing their own J/44 GLORY. In third place was a team from Massachusetts Maritime Academy sailing the J/44 VAMP.

The EDHEC Sailing Cup is the world’s largest college sailing regatta that draws over 1,500 sailors and 180 boats, and the joint venture with the STF is designed to bring the top college sailors in the world together. As a result of being the overall winner of the IOR, the team from Navy has won an all-expense-paid (except for air fare) trip to the 49th EDHEC Sailing to be sailed from March 31 – April 8, 2017 in France. All U.S. collegiate teams are welcome.

The University of Florida St. Petersburg won the J/105 class aboard MAGIC with three bullets, a second and a third, followed by a team from Massachusetts Maritime Academy on GOOD TRADE, and third place in the J/105 class was another team from NAVY sailing ARETE. In the 12-boat PHRF division, Tulane University was first sailing on the J/88 JAZZ with 10 points. Virginia Tech was second sailing on the X-34 Maudelayne also with 10 points, and another team from Navy was third sailing aboard the C&C 115 Constance.

The IRC class at the windward mark: 2016 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta.

Photos courtesy of McMichaelYachts.com