MASSA Fleet Championship & Mallory Qualifier

Eighteen teams from five states arrived at Toms River Yacht Club for the 2023 MASSA Spring Fleet Championship and qualifier for the Mallory National Championship. While the skies remained overcast for the entire day, temperatures were in the 70s and the west-southwest breeze gradually increased as the racing progressed. A light 3-5 knots grew to 6-10 by the middle of the afternoon. Eighteen races were completed, 10 in A Division and eight in B Division, by 17:30.

At the end of day one, the Severn School held a commanding lead, while racing was tight between second place Norfolk Academy and third place Archbishop Spalding. Places four through eight were separated by just 15 points, setting up an interesting Sunday of racing which will resume with race B9.

The judges heard five protests on Saturday evening, before pausing and setting an 8:00 resumption time for Sunday morning.

Day two at the MASSA Fleet Championship and Mallory Qualifier saw much different conditions than those on Saturday. A front passed through overnight, leaving us with a northeast breeze and cooler temperatures in the morning hours. Racing began in that northeast breeze, which called for a WA3 course for the second race in each set. Around noon, a southeast breeze filled at 8-12 knots and racing was completed just after 14:00 in that breeze. A total of four A races and six B races were sailed on Sunday.

The Severn School grew its lead to a whopping 99 points, winning the MASSA title with impressive sailing. Norfolk Academy used consistent finishes to earn second place, recording just two races outside of the top-10. Third place Archbishop Spalding cemented itself in third place.

The fourth and final spot to the Mallory Nationals was up for grabs on Sunday, with five different schools being within 10 points of that spot during the day's racing. Ultimately, Stony Brook edged the competition and earned the berth. Congratulations to the top four teams for qualifying to return to Toms River Yacht Club in three weeks for the National Championship!

The next five teams - Southern Regional, Hampton Roads, Donovan Catholic, Christian Brothers and Norfolk Collegiate - have qualified for the Phebe King National Invitational in three weeks.

One protest was filed on Sunday that resulted in a DSQ, while one protest from Saturday was reopened and a previously disqualified boat was reinstated.

It was truly a team effort to put on this championship at TRYC. Our thanks to the following individuals: Dr. Randall Nunn (Regatta Chair & Mark Set), Dave Magno (PRO), Jody Lutz (Mark Set), John Paggi (RC), Harry Foote (US Sailing Judge), and Pris Gettis (US Sailing Judge).

A special thanks to Toms River Yacht Club for welcoming 18 teams to the clubhouse and the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association for supplying the FJ fleet and Ribcraft RIBs.

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.