Charleston Wins College Nationals

Mount Pleasant, SC (June 2, 2017) – Today was the last day of the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship, hosted by the College of Charleston. This is the final of three high caliber spring college sailing national championships that were run on the Cooper River in Charleston Harbor. After four days of intense competition the College of Charleston has won the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy on their home waters.

The sailors arrived to very little wind this morning and sat in a wind delay until 2 p.m. The sea breeze filled in from the southwest at around 7-8 knots. The skies were partly cloudy and temperatures were in the mid-80s. Luckily the sea breeze held for the rest of the afternoon and allowed the sailors to combat the strong current.

The race committee was able to work efficiently and complete seven races today, before the 5 p.m. deadline, in both divisions for a total of 17 races for the regatta. The competitors sailed in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses with three, four and five legs. The principal race officer through all of the events was Ryan Davidson, who ran three great championships and is an alum of the College of Charleston.

It was a tough regatta both for the difficult conditions and the intense competition. The top five teams did a lot of swapping places on the scoreboard and it was tight racing up until the last race of the day.

Charleston won the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship a few days ago and today has won the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy, which was donated by a group of nationally known yachtsmen as a memorial to Henry A. Morss, a Boston yachtsman and 1907 Bermuda Race winner, as well as an MIT alumnus and benefactor.

The top three teams in this regatta were very consistent and close throughout the event, but Charleston sailed very well and stayed consistently in the top of the fleet. Winning on their home waters is a great victory, especially for a second time in these championship events. The A-division sailors won their division and B-division placed third showing the depth of their team and it turned out to be the winning combination.

Sailing for Charleston was: Stefano Peschiera ’18 with Grace McCarthy ’18 in A-division and Jack Cusick ’17 with Chloe Dapp ’17 in B-division.

Yale University finished in second place moving up from fifth place after yesterday’s racing. They finished 12 points ahead of third place overall and won the Oxford University Trophy.

The Oxford University Trophy is awarded to the second place team in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The Oxford University Yacht Club team and its captain Jeremy Thomas presented this trophy in 1954 on the occasion of the first of a continuing series of college regattas between British and North American teams held alternately in the United States and Great Britain every two years.

Sailing for Yale was: Ian Barrows ’17 and Clara Robertson ’17 in A-division and Nicholas Baird ’19 with Graceann Nicolosi ’20 and Natalya Doris ’17 in B-division.

Dartmouth College finished in third place, winning the Metropolitan Sailing League Trophy, which was first presented in 1971. Dartmouth was in third place yesterday and was able to hold onto their position today.

Sailing for Dartmouth was: Charles Lalumiere ’17 with Rebecca McElvain ’19 and Robert Floyd ’17 with Madeleine Cooney ’17 in A-division and Christopher Williford ’19 with Sophie Kerr ’17 and Nathaniel Greason ’17 in B-division.

The Robert Allan, Sr. and Robert Allan, Jr. Trophies are awarded to the low point “A” and “B” teams, respectively, in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. Stefano Peschiera ’18 with Grace McCarthy ’18 won A-division from College of Charleston with 120 points, only three points ahead of second place. Christopher Williford ’19 with Sophie Kerr ’17 and Nathaniel Greason ’17 from Dartmouth College won B-division with 80 points, 23 points ahead of second place.

Final, Overall Results (17 Races)
1. College of Charleston, 230
2. Yale University, 249
3. Dartmouth College, 261
4. Boston College, 267
5. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 271
6. Georgetown University, 300
7. Fordham University, 311
8. U.S. Naval Academy, 314
9. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 323
10. Roger Williams University, 324
11. University of South Florida, 339
12. George Washington University, 343
13. Boston University, 345
14. Tufts University, 358
15. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, 365
16. Stanford University, 375
17. Brown University, 394
18. University of California Santa Barbara, 445

Event details – Social feed – Final results – Live broadcast

Source: Jennifer Mitchell (words), Michael Wiser (photos)