MDISA Fleet Qualifier - Fall '23

After racing was cancelled for Saturday September 23rd due to an unmanageable forecast, sailors arrived at Chancellor's Point early on Sunday morning to expected overcast breezy conditions. After a quick competitors' meeting, A division took to the water for a 9:40 first race start. Southerly winds of 10-14 knots lasted through the morning and into the afternoon, when the wind began to drop slightly while angling further and further west through the rest of the day. By the final few races, wind speeds were measured at 7 knots and dropping, as the direction steadily clocked west to WSW by the end of racing. During race 2A, an offset mark was set at the windward mark but the fleet did not notice it and rounded only the windward mark before heading downwind, prompting RC to pull the offset before the second upwind. For race 1B and beyond, the offset was replaced and the fleet was notified it would remain part of the course. Perhaps thanks to the nature of the event, nearly a dozen protests were heard throughout the day including one that took place against RC in relation to the mark misunderstanding during 2A. Ultimately no action was taken by the protest committee as no measurable disadvantage to any competitor was discoverable in that situation. Despite dealing with the changing current throughout the day, both A and B fleets managed the starting line well. One general recall and a handful of individual recalls occurred during the day but overall the Race Committee's job remained fairly simple. The markset team of Tom and Xander Moulds, Chris and Allie Clark, and Mike Sullivan worked efficiently to make continuous course adjustments to the right following the wind through the afternoon (and to keep a leaky gate mark topped up with air!) while the RC team of PRO Josh Morrison and Nancy Clay, Jen Lilyquist, and Barbara Clark were able to complete 14 races to make up a very worthwhile qualifying event. Thanks also extends to the many involved on the shore side of things, including regatta chair Brooke Sullivan and boatswain Steve Brelage. Congratulations to the Severn Admirals for winning the event, and to the many teams who will use this result to advance to the MASSA Gold and Silver Championships next month. We look forward to hosting many more regattas on the St. Mary's River!

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.