ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy's offshore sailing team had five crews compete in the ORC 1 class at the Annapolis Yacht Club Race to Solomons on Saturday where the Midshipmen's crew on Wasp finished first in the class.

The Race to Solomons was a 35-mile race where a total of 54 boats competed over eight classes. The wind conditions were better than forecasted which allowed for a fairly quick race. The competition began at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday off of Thomas Point Light in a 10-knot northeasterly breeze. The wind fluctuated between eight and 13 knots throughout the day while backing to the north allowing downwind spinnakers to be flown the entire race. Rain and mist intermittently swept across the course causing limited visibility and variations in the wind. Combined with the foul flooding current and occasional commercial traffic, this made for some challenging strategic decision-making on each skippers' part.

Skipper Paul Jervis led his crew on the J/133 Wasp to a first-place finish in the ORC 1 class, where seven boats competed. Matt Gillcrist and his crew on the Farr 40 Zephyr finished second and Nicholas Hogan paced the Farr 40 Ranger to finish fourth. Rounding out Navy's crews in the event was Katie Boyle's crew on the Ker 50 Wahoo and Don Poirier skippered the R/P 66 Zaraffa and they finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Jervis's crew on Wasp included Nicholas Walden on trimming spinnaker, Adam Lance on trimming main, Matthew Malone on bow, Corey Street on mid bow, Madelyn Ploch on helm, Joseph Garcia on trimming jib, Larry Frazier on mast and Carson Hillier in the pit. The pair of Jervis and Garcia split the navigation chores.

"Paul pushed his crew hard during practice leading up to the race, which paid off in their excellent performance," head coach Jahn Tihansky said.