Navy wins Shields Trophy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy's offshore sailing team captured the Shields Trophy this past weekend and also competed at the Hospice Cup Regatta with both events taking place on the Chesapeake.

At the Shields Trophy, the Midshipmen sailed strong over the first four races of the event on Saturday. After the first day of competition, the Midshipmen held a two-point lead over Coast Guard. Navy posted scores of three, one and three over the final three races of the Shields Trophy on Sunday to secure the win. The winning Midshipmen crew included Ben Van Duyne, Hayden Kuzemchak, Tim Forman, Zachary Krause, Grace Vandegrift, Matthew Malone, Philip Smith and Gary Munsell.

The 10-team field at the Shields Trophy included the Australian Defense Forces Academy, British University Sailing Association, the Royal Military College of Canada, Army West Point and other maritime and service academies.

Navy also had three crews compete at the Hospice Cup Regatta on Saturday. The Midshipmen sailed in the J/105 class boats. Navy's Dreadnought led the way with a sixth-place finish where Nick Walden skippered the boat. The Midshipmen also had a team finish in 12th and a boat rounded out the field in 13th.

Navy Wins Marblehead to Halifax Race

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The Navy offshore sailing team had a pair of boats compete in the 2019 Marblehead to Halifax Race. The race is 380 miles long and began this past Sunday in Marblehead, Mass.

The Midshipmen had a boat compete in ORR-1 class and another in the ORR-2 class.

Rising senior Sean Caraher led his crew of 18 aboard Zaraffa to the class victory in the ORR-1 class. Zaraffa also was the top boat overall in the 29 boats throughout the ORR classes to win the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cup.

In the ORR-2 class, rising senior Matt McClelland skippered his crew of 14 on Wahoo to a second-place finish in the class.

Navy Wins Class in Annapolis to Newport Race

“I couldn’t be more proud of my team. It was a very tough, grueling race and our crews were more than up to that challenge,” Head Coach Jahn Tihansky said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better race to challenge our sailors. This Annapolis-to-Newport gave them the opportunity to be tested in a tough environment and see what they’re made of.”

The Naval Academy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team entered two donated Farr 40s in ORC 1A and after sailing in close proximity over the 475 nautical mile passage RANGER, Skippered by MIDN Hayden Kuzemchak beat our other Farr 40, ZEPHYR, by a mere 16 minutes. In total, the Midshipmen took home 13 trophies, also finishing 1-2 on ORC 2 with the Navy 44s Gallant and Defiance.

A new horse in the stable: Swan 56

The Naval Academy Sailing Foundation's newest donation and VOST's newest offshore rocketship: the Swan 56

The staff and Midshipmen have had her out for a shake-down and it was smiles all around. Everyone's looking forward to great things next year!

Summerwind Aerial

Special thanks to Midshipman Billy Rudiger, who knew that the most important thing to pack for a classic schooner regatta was a drone.

2016 Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

The entire regatta photo album is available to view and download at: https://500px.com/lesv3/galleries/friends-of-navy-sailing-regatta-2016

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

Friends of Naval Academy Sailing Regatta

2 Schooners in Paradise

On September 8th the replica of the yacht America sailed into Annapolis. The Midshipmen, a few staff and guests escorted her into the Santee Basin onboard our Schooner Summerwind. Joining the crew onboard were former NASA Space Shuttle astronaut (and Navy Sailing volunteer) Capt Ken Rightler, Vice Admiral Dixon Smith and Jimmy Buffet

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The 1929 John G Alden schooner Summerwind escorts the replica 1851 schooner America into Annapolis harbor.

Jimmy Buffet takes the helm with America's Cup Hall of Fame inductee Jon Wright and space shuttle astronaut Capt Ken Rightler in the afterguard.

A big fan of Naval Academy Sailing, Jimmy has been wearing our gear on stage this summer.

After its historic win of the Hundred Guinea Cup (soon after renamed the "America's Cup") the America served both sides of the Civil War and later as a Midshipman training vessel in both Newport R.I. and Annapolis.

Members of the Sailing Team onboard America in the Naval Academy's Santee Basin.

Summerwind Returns to Bristol, R.I.

Summerwind, our 1929 John G. Alden Schooner, was put to work this summer with a trip to Bristol, R.I. In company with 4 Navy 44s and their Midshipmen crews Summerwind and her 16 Midshipmen trained in the Cheseapeake for a couple weeks before beginning the trip down the Bay and up the East Coast. The five boats were hosted by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and the Bristol Yacht Club. Halsey Herreshoff took a personal interest in showing the Midshipmen the best Bristol had to offer with a fascinating tour of the family museum as well as a sail onboard a couple of his classic boats (the NY40 was a special experience). The crew of Summerwind returned the favor, giving Halsey a lift down to Newport, under sail in 15 knots of perfect Narragansett bay breese.

Navy 1 - 2 in the 2016 Annapolis to Bermuda Ocean Race!

Midshipman Zack Michel and his crew aboard INTEGRITY took overall honors in the 2016 Annapolis to Bermuda Ocean Race. Midshipman Ben Olson's GALLANT placed a close second, finishing only two miles in trail (after 750nm of racing!)

Wahoo Wins First Regatta!

After a very quick shakedown Midshipman Skipper Matt Robbins and his crew aboard the newly donated KER 50 "Wahoo" took on some of the best crews on the East Coast at the 162nd New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta. Finishing 1st in 2 of the 4 races the Midshipmen came away with a class victory! The Capital Gazette published a great piece on the race here.

The Hooligan Navy

The Varsity Offshore Sailing Team's latest weapon: the TP-52 "Hooligan." The very generous donor is letting us keep the name, which is fitting since during WWII a band of young yachtsmen and fishermen were recruited to help protect the United States' East coast from Hitler's deadly fleet of Nazi U-Boats. They were called the "Hooligan Navy" (aka "The Corsair Squadron"). Our 100' schooner "Summerwind" actually saw service in the Hooligan Navy.  If you're interested in the history the National Sailing Hall of Fame has an excellent video available to stream:

The Hooligan Navy

The coaching staff and Midshipmen are very excited to get her in the water for the 2016 season.

"The Helmsman" - Naval Academy Sailing's Focus on Safety

In 2014 the Naval Academy Sailing Program published its first edition of a new online newsletter. Emulating the Naval Avition safety magazine "Approach," the Helmsman sought to spread lessons learned though a compilation of first person narrative accounts of sailing mishaps and close calls. Timed for publication during the Naval Academy's annual Safety at Sea Seminar, the Helmsman is now collecting article submissions for its 3rd edition. If you have a story to share please contact Jon Wright at jnwright@usna.edu

2014 Edition of the Helmsman

2015 Edition of the Helmsman

RIO Sets New Monohull Course Record

Congrats to Naval Academy Sailing supporter Manouch Moshayedi and the crew of RIO for setting the Monohull record in the 1000nm Vallarta Race!

Plenty wins the 2016 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship →

Congratulations to Naval Academy Sailing supporter Alex Roepers for his victory in the 2016 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship!