Today was the last day of the Gill Coed National Championship. This is the final of three high caliber spring college sailing national championships that were run on the Elizabeth River, hosted by Old Dominion University. After four days of challenging conditions and competition the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has won the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy.
The sailors arrived to very little wind this morning and had a slight delay before racing began in about 5-8 knots from the southwest. It was a hot and sunny day and the winds did lighten up off and on, so the sailors had some more delays through the day and a wind shift to the northwest.
Today was the second and final day of the Semifinals for the Gill Coed National Championship, hosted by Old Dominion University. The top 36 college sailing teams in the nation have been sailing on the Elizabeth River in front of the Old Dominion Sailing Center, for 18 spots in the championship Finals, which begin tomorrow, Thursday, May 31. The top nine teams from each of the Semifinal fleets make up the 18 teams who qualify to compete in the finals.
Today racing started around 10:30 a.m. The sailors were delayed on land while the race committee waited for wind to fill in. A light northerly breeze came in under cloudy skies. The temperature stayed around 80 degrees. The competitors are sailing in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses with 3 and 4 and legs.
