CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- With a solid overall performance in both divisions, the Christopher Newport sailing team captured the second win of the season for the Captains with a victory at the Luce Trophy Regatta. With seven races completed in A and B division, the Captains finished with 39 points to edge out Princeton by seven points for the win.
Paired with the win, the Captains secured a spot in the 2022 War Memorial Championship later this Fall and qualified with the top six finishers at the event. Including the aforementioned top two, Washington College (Md.), Hampton, RIT, and the University of Virginia also qualified for the War Memorial.
With a calm day on Saturday, racing was unable to get started on the first day. On day two, a light and building Northerly wind created viable conditions for seven completed races. In the 14 total runs, Christopher Newport captured four bullets and ten finishes among the top three.
Leading the way in A division, senior
Brian Fox sailed with rookie
Grace Watlington for a 20-point showing to win the division. The duo started with a second place finish before posting their worst effort of the weekend with a sixth-place race. From there, they commanded the 18-team fleet by averaging a finish at 2.4 the rest of the wy. In the final five races, Fox and Watlington finished first twice, second once, and third once.
The B division boat had similar success, finishing one point better with 19 points while also winning the division. Seniors
David Grace and
Shelby Svilich sailed together for the win, crossing the line no worse than fifth overall in their seven races. The veteran tandem paired a couple of first-place finishes with one second and two thirds.
Christopher Newport will travel to King's Point, N.Y. to compete at the annual Fall championship for the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. The War Memorial Trophy was established in 1964 and the best CNU finish in the event since 2010 was a 12th place showing in 2019. This year's regatta will be sailed this weekend on October 29-30.
