ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy offshore sailing team opened its fall season with a pair of local events over Labor Day weekend, sending crews to the Annapolis Labor Day Regatta and the J/105 Fleet 3 Women's Regatta.
 
Starting the weekend, the Midshipmen had six crews competing in the Annapolis Labor Day Regatta on Saturday, as the conditions were ideal with a building southerly breeze and a challenging upwind current of nearly two knots.
 
The best Navy boat in the regatta was the Navy 44-class DEFIANCE, as senior skipper Javier Jimenez Kane led his crew to wins in both of the day's races to finish in first place of five boats in the PHRF-A division.  Jimenez Kane's crew included senior XO Rick Irving, seniors Kit Oney, Ian Mason and Henry Isom and Cam Coffelt and juniors Elliott Brandicourt and Chris Cordner.
 
The PHRF-A division featured three more Navy 44 boats, as GALLANT, skippered by senior Renee Bonner, finished second in the class while INTEGRITY, skippered by senior Nate Bramwell, finished third and senior skipper Phil Pacheco's TENACIOUS crew placed fourth.
 
In the J/105 class, the best Navy crew was the CONSTELLATION, skippered by junior Gus Reed, as the boat finished seventh out of 14 boats. Reed's crew included junior XO Ulysses Buzan alongside sophomores Sawyer Barnard, Maddy Nienow, Olivia Schchard, and Drew Schipper. The second J/105 boat for Navy, AVENGER, placed 10th in the class for junior skipper Brandon Prouse.
 
The Mids then had one crew competing in the J/105 Fleet 3 Women's Regatta on Sunday, with senior skipper Renee Bonner leading her CONSTELLATION crew to an eighth-place finish. Three races were held in similar conditions as Saturday, with a southerly wind in the 7-10 knot range and a significant amount of tidal current.
 
Bonner's boat posted scores of 7, 10 and 8, with seniors Sydney Richardson and Kit Oney, junior Isabella Navolio and sophomores Nancy Rhodes, Kaili Williams and Chloe Cowan making up the crew.
 
Next up for Navy is the Race to Oxford on Saturday, followed by the return Hammond Memorial Race on Sunday.