ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy offshore sailing team hosted the 10-team Kennedy Cup over the weekend in Annapolis, Md., as the Midshipmen placed eighth at college sailing's big boat national championship to conclude their fall season.
 
Despite a dismal local wind forecast on Saturday, enough of a southerly wind filled in to allow for two races. With the wind stabilizing to allow racing after a 40-minute delay, Navy got off to a good start in the first race and battled Cal Maritime around the course only to stumble late in the race, dropping back to fourth while Cal Maritime took the win and Coast Guard and Wisconsin finished second and third, respectively. In Saturday's second race, Navy got off to a poor start in a lighter wind and was unable to recover, finishing seventh while Wisconsin improved on their strong performance from the first race and took the win.
 
The race committee worked hard to attempt a third race but the conditions would not cooperate towards the end of Saturday. At the end of the first day, Wisconsin sat first with four points, Cal Maritime in second with six, and Merchant Marine, Coast Guard and Webb in a three-way tie for third with eight points, while Navy was tied with Maine Maritime at 11 points.
 
Light wind conditions allowed for just one race to be held on Sunday to close out the regatta. Navy's trouble on the starting line continued and the Mids' crew was unable to recover and get back into contention, carding a 10th-place finish in the race to end the regatta in 8th overall. Merchant Marine moved up from Saturday's third position to win Sunday's race and the overall regatta, overtaking both Wisconsin and Cal Maritime. Wisconsin finished seventh on Sunday but was still able to hang on to second overall while Cal Maritime took eighth place on Sunday to fall out of podium contention.  Coast Guard managed to take fourth in the final race, winning the tiebreaker for third overall over Webb.
 
Navy's crew was led by senior skipper Javier Jimenez Kane and included fellow seniors Henry Isom, Kit Oney, and Kobe Nguyen and juniors Nick Gibbons, Elliott Brandicourt, Chris Corder and Nate Broomfield.
 
The 2024 spring season kicks off in February with the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta in Charleston, S.C.