LIVORNO, Italy – Members of the Navy sailing teams traveled to Livorno, Italy this past weekend to compete in the annual Naval Academies Regatta, taking first place in the event that was hosted by the Italian Naval Academy as part of the Livorno International Sailing Week.
 
The competition featured a field of 33 nations representing naval and military academies from four continents who traveled to northern Italy for three days of racing in the one-design Trident 16 Class. The Midshipmen dominated the week, winning four of six races and taking first overall by an impressive 11-point margin. Navy's victory was a joint effort between the intercollegiate and offshore sailing teams with offshore junior Jackson Lubalin handling bow work, offshore junior Lauren Aaby picking up trim and pit duties and intercollegiate freshman Leo Robillard calling the shots as helm and tactician.
 
The first day began in a dying 6-8 knot seabreeze which made separating from the pack difficult, but the Mids stayed focused, methodically worked up through the fleet and posted a strong 1-2-1 score line for the day. The day's results indicated that competition for the podium would come down to just a handful of teams, with the Italian Naval Academy trailing the Mids by seven points and the Chinese Dalian Naval Academy trailing the Mids by 12.
 
The second day got off to a slow start with several hours of onshore postponement waiting for the breeze to fill, while the sole race of the day began with a poor start for Navy. Lubalin, Aaby and Robillard remained calm and clawed back to a third-place finish in the race, ending the day with a diminished three-point lead over Italy and 11-point lead over the Chinese crew.
 
In the third and final day of racing, the Mids were firing on all cylinders, starting first and extending their lead in both races. The first race of the day began in a big left shift, and, shortly after the gun, Navy committed to an early tack, narrowly crossing the fleet on port which immediately established its lead just ahead of the Chinese boat. Those clean starts and their outstanding boat speed had the Mids ahead of the fleet, consistently sailing higher and faster than the competition. Their lead grew larger with every leg, resulting in back-to-back first-place postings that sealed the victory for the Mids over the runner-up Italians and the third-place Chinese.
 
The team went home with three trophies, finishing as the top under-23 team, taking first overall in the Trident 16 class (inclusive of local Italian civilian teams), and then placing first in the Naval Academies Subdivision.