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Saturday, April 20, 2013

18 schools from MASSA, Top 4 qualify for the Mallory National Championship. First race off at 9:30am in a 5-7 knot westerly and outgoing tide.  Breeze stayed consistent until race B2 when it shut off mid-way through the race.  Before the next set the breeze turned back on 13-17knots from the NW (from up-river) generating large waves.  It soon settled down to a 10-15knot Northwesterly for the next couple of sets.  A few breakdowns occurred including, but not limited to, torn sails, a sheared pintle, snapped centerboards downhauls, a flexible rudder, and a snapped tiller extension.  Breeze kept shifting right and eventually shut off resulting in a 20-minute delay.  The final A set for Saturday was sailed in a 3-5 knot NE breeze with the tide slack.  The final B race was sailed in a dying 3 knot ESE breeze and incoming tide.  Racing was called for the day ~5:00pm due to lack of wind.  Protests and redresses were heard resulting in DSQs and BKDs.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Sunday greeted us with a strong 15-18 knot Northerly, which made conditions quite chilly and choppy.  We started with the B race we finished on Saturday to close the set.  The breeze steadily decreased throughout the day but stayed more or less consistent in direction, aside from the oscillations which could be large at times.  The points were quite close for the top 7 teams coming into the end of the regatta.  Overall Severn School emerged victorious with great consistent sailing, followed by Annapolis, Broadneck, and Christchurch School all who qualified for the Mallory Trophy in Chicago.  20 Races total were sailed in a myriad of conditions.  There were more breakdowns than acceptable, but overall the regatta was a true test of sailing skill.  Thank you for all who helped and contributed.  The MASSA Board served as the Protest Committee for the regatta.