Story Links ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy offshore sailing team opened the spring by sending six Midshipmen down to Charleston, S.C., to compete in the J/105 division of the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta. Finishing eighth out of nine boats, the Navy crew was led by junior Colin Caraher, who was joined by fellow juniors Chad Schaffer, […]
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy offshore sailing team opened the spring by sending six Midshipmen down to Charleston, S.C., to compete in the J/105 division of the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta.
Finishing eighth out of nine boats, the Navy crew was led by junior Colin Caraher, who was joined by fellow juniors Chad Schaffer, Sammy Mentel, Chloe Cowan, Maddy Nienow and Matt Irving.
A warm first day of racing on Saturday began with a postponement, but the fog slowly burned off and a solid sea breeze filled in the afternoon. Navy had a tough start, struggling on the start line and fighting the Charleston Harbor’s current. After on-the-water troubleshooting and getting to current relief on the right side of the course, the Mids ended Saturday with a tight fourth-place finish in race No. 4, their best of the day.
Sunday brought more wind and a strong ebb tide in the morning compared to Saturday’s afternoon flood, as the Mids arrived early to the boat to make rig and sail setup adjustments. Two more windward-leeward races were in store along with a long-distance course to finish the regatta. Navy kicked off the second day with their best race of the weekend, finishing third out of nine teams, followed by another strong showing of fourth place in the final windward-leeward race of the regatta. An error on one leg of the distance course bumped Navy to the back of the fleet for the final race.
Overall, Navy sailed hard and learned a lot about the conditions in Charleston Harbor, one of the toughest inshore sailing venues in the United States.
