MASSA Fleet Championship and Mallory Qualifier

MASSA schools from upstate New York to southern Virginia met on the Rappahanock River at 9AM to find dense fog, no wind and 60 degree drizzle. After a period of onshore postponement, the fog lifted and boats were launched around 11:30. They sailed to the course on the far shore and commenced racing around noon with easterly winds building to just below a meager 7mph. The committee achieved 2 A and 2 B 4 races amidst multiple stong current, shifty conditions and multiple course adjustents in the period before the wind clocked to north and promptly stopped. The regatta was postponed for a half four on water and the course was reset again. Clocking to east and 2 A an 1 B races were accomplished in about 5 mph easterly winds. The wid dies again at 4:30 and the regatta was called.

Two protests were held. Race committee v NA and ArchBishop Spaulding for violation of rule 42 was disallowed after much deliberation aand research. A port/starboard protest, Gilman v St. Marys, resulted in a DSQ for St. Marys.

The day was left with Severn school leading with 10 points, followed by Stony Brook School with 27 points, Christchurch School with 39 points, and Norfolk Collegiate School with 40 points.

Sailors arrived to more dense fog and still sea. The regatta was on shore postponement until filled in at 5 mph around 11:30 when the boats launched. After moving the course and waiting at on the water for the breeze to fill in further, the regatta was able to accomplish an additional 3 B and 2 A races in southerly winds of 8-12 mph. Seas were flat overall with a bit more chop on the left side where the current was stronger.

A protest regarding port starboard filed by Gilman v St. Mary's was heard. St. Mary's was penalized with a DSQ in race 6B.

The MASSA qualifier for the Mallory Trophy resulted in Severn School winning first place with consistent high place finishes. Christchurch School captured second at the last minute displacing Stony Brook to third, and Norfolk Collegiate School finished fourth after much back and forth over the third to fifth places throughout the event. These four teams are offered berths at The Mallory Trophy National Fleet Race Championship at Mission Bay YC. Teams ranked 5-9 are offered berths at the Phebe King Fleet Championship at Youth Sailing Virginia on Fort Monroe in Virginia.

We extend thanks to Christchurch School for hosting, and to all the volunteers especially PRO Alex Jacob, and Coach Kieran O'Connell. They managed to pull off an outstanding regatta in challenging conditions.

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.