ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team began its spring break with a pair of team-racing regattas, hosting the Graham Hall Team Race in Annapolis and sending a contingent of Midshipmen to the Bob Bavier Team Race in Charleston, S.C.
The first major cross-regional regatta of the spring, the 10-team Graham Hall Team Race saw a wide variety of conditions in Annapolis, with the first few races held in 20-30 knots while the last few races featured 2-4 knots. Navy sailed well overall despite the team showing its inexperience by making mistakes on Saturday, ending the first round in fifth place. After going in the early hole, the Mids charged back on Sunday, winning two tiebreaker rounds to finish second overall. The skippers for Navy were senior
Gavin McJones, sophomore
Cooper Walshe and freshmen
Nathan Smith and
Jack Welburn, while the crews included seniors
Colin MacGillivray and
Jonah Hatt, junior
Madeline Smith, sophomore
Ryan Wahba and freshman
Ellie Alex with sophomore
Linnea Forsberg in reserve.
Navy also competed in the nine-team Bob Bavier Team Race down Charleston, as the team struggled with the current and lost a bunch of close races over the course of the weekend. In the end, Navy's 4-12 record was good for eighth overall. Skippering down in Charleston were senior
Caden Scheiblauer and sophomores
Tanner Kelly and
Evie Blauvelt, with crew spots filled by juniors
Julia Christie and
Catherine Aitken, sophomore
Maggie Schuler and freshmen
Darby Graham and
Alex Brenia.
The Mids return to racing on March 18-19, hosting the Navy Spring Women's Fleet Race in Annapolis and also sending sailors to the St. Mary's Team Race and the Washington College Team Race.