VISA Team Race Championship

Sailors representing 7 area schools gathered at the Lafayette River to find overcast skies, temps in the low 50's, flat water, and an absolute lull.

Sailors remained onshore until until 10:45AM when the wind filled in reaching 10mph northerly with gusts slightly higher. After launching and sailing to the course, we were able to accomplish about 6 races while the wind clocked NW before a second lull set in just after noon accompanied by rain. This precipitated another postponement with as some of the sailors remaining on the water and others on land. Sailing resumed just before 1PM with the rain ending in early afternoon, and NW wind again reaching just over 10mph and clocking back to N with the wind waxing and waning, and shifted abruptly to NE, then N, then NNW before dying at a few minutes after 4PM at which point the regatta was called after having accomplished 20 races, one race short of a full round robin.

At the completion of 20 races, the regatta was left with a tie between Norfolk Academy and Hampton Roads Academy with 5 wins and 0 losses each. Scoring ran through the tie breaker rules and since the two teams hadn't met and there wasn't enough wind for them to meet, it came down to a coin toss. HRA chose tails and won the coin toss, claiming first place in the regatta. Norfolk Academy was therefore second in the event. Christchurch School followed in third place.

Many thanks to our race committee who endured the frustration of many periods of wind too low to sail and patiently reset the course repeatedly as the wind taunted them. Special thanks to returning Alumni parents PRO Levi Thomson, and Scott Robertson.