ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team was back in action this week, competing at the ICSA Women's Fleet Race National Championship on Tuesday and Wednesday in St. Mary's City, Md.
The championship featured the top 36 teams in the country, splitting into two 18-team semifinal rounds with the top nine teams from each semifinal advancing to the national finals. Navy was seeded into the western semifinal, sailing in 420s on Tuesday and FJs on Wednesday.
The first day was nice and sunny as the fleet headed out to start racing on time in a nice northerly wind, but the wind died during the first race and remained extremely fickle all day. Many races were started and abandoned, as the few races that were completed were all held in different wind directions with massive shifts and lulls over the course. The Mids had some misfortune in these varying conditions and the team was near the bottom of the standings at the end of the day.
The second day was very different, with steady rain and easterly winds that ranged from 5-15 knots. The wind was still puffy and shifty but racing was able to go on uninterrupted. The Mids took a few sets to get used to the conditions and then went on a tear in the afternoon, rising from 14th to 10th in the western semifinal field and just one point behind ninth-place Tufts heading into the final race.
In the last race, Navy got a strong start and headed to the left side of the course, while Tufts got flushed out at the start and bailed out to the right side of the course. The Jumbos caught a nice shift on the right and surged just ahead of the Mids before mark 1, with Navy having no choice but to split on the second and final beat, but Tufts caught the shift again and held on to the final qualifying place.
Showing great tenacity and resilience in clawing back from adversity, Navy finished 10th in the 18-team field with
Ava Farley,
Eleanor Niehoff and
Josie Sherry coming in fifth in the "A" division while
Kate Zurinskas,
Josie Sherry,
Mary Dwyer and
Sarah McNelly took 13th in the "B" division.
Darby Dryden was also on site as a reserve.
Navy will wrap up the season when a group of Mids compete at the ICSA Open Fleet Race Championship next week.
