By Ken Legler
Navy hosts the largest college regattas in the country. With their armada of multiple fleets of dinghies they can run events with four divisions on the water all at once. Their Navy Fall Invite and Truxtun Umstead regattas each put 80 dinghies on the water. Their location puts them within a ten hour drive of the bulk of four conferences as well.
Annapolis is known for light air and in summer and early fall that is true. During spring and fall seasons the winds are driven by the weather systems meaning the wind can do anything. September is an extension of summer wind-wise; if can be very light in Annapolis just like most of the Northeast. Come mid-October as well as November, March and April, it can be pretty windy in Nap-towne.
The Severn River, which is the main feed into Annapolis Harbor runs nearly straight down from the Northwest. As such NW is the best wind direction for the following reasons: Racing can be held right in the river with the nearby basin for convenient boat rotation, the wind oscillates rapidly so marks rarely need moving, the chop and wind chill keep most powerboats out, and even the spectating is better from the large sailing center and long seawall. Post cold front NW winds are often strong off-season which is good news/bad news…great wind/cold temperatures.
As the current is the Severn is mostly wind driven and partly tidal, a strong ebb can occur in strong NW winds. This means starting high up on the line and compensating at each windward mark while others pile up on it. Despite a long fetch to the NW, the wind will be rapidly shifty meaning the layline can be a moving target, making the first mark even more perilous in an ebb current. Getting out of the current close to the seawall only works occasionally as the current can run pretty close to the seawall. In a light NW wind with a flooding current that can work on the run of a trapezoid course they employ for multiple fleet regattas. There is a little cove on the river across from the basin; never go there.
The Northeast wind might be the shiftiest. Bigger boat regattas can find stronger and steadier NE winds out in the Bay but in the harbor, particularly the river, a shifty NE wind is menacing for both competitors and the race committee. For racers, be patient, the race committee will likely have delays and still get it wrong with big unpredictable swings in the wind. Watch the changes while waiting and try to get in phase right from the prep signal understanding that the variations are not perfectly rhythmic, rather they are random. One tack beats can occur or be abandoned; just be patient. Except for team racing practice, all college sailing will be in the wider harbor in NE winds.
Southeast winds in storms bring the biggest waves; the kind of waves that will go over a heavy 420 bow. Southeast winds occur more frequently as light seabreezes, very light seabreezes. The Annapolis seabreeze occurs often in warmer months, it just isn’t very strong and can fight a dying Northerly with a half mile neutral zone that shifts from one race course to another. Calms notwithstanding, they are used to racing in seabreezes. They tend to come with both steady light wind and powerboat chop, which can be relentless. Sometimes regattas are held in the river with a SE wind but more likely they are out in the harbor to get enough width to the race course. The harbor is three times wider than the river. The left side gets more tidal current as it aligns with the river, which can help or hurt depending upon the leg being sailed and the direction of the flow. Speaking of powerboat chop, waves rebound off the seawalls so stay away, unless you are rotating boats, then use caution. Despite light winds, racing works in seabreezes due to it being generally steady.
Sou’westers are by far the warmest winds but not the steadiest in Annapolis Harbor. Hot puffs blow off the Eastport village landing in random places on the race course. Being perfectly consistent will be nearly impossible in a good fleet but as usual, the boats with the best starts have the most freedom to tack to play the shifts that can be seen. Forget about current in this direction with the exception being near the leeward mark which might be aligned with the river.
The race management at Navy is very good on average. It is usually a large committee of Midshipman and some coaches. Not long ago there were countless general recalls at major regattas but use of the port-line boat at starts has reduced the number of GRs to about one or two per day on average. With all the buoys and multiple fleets, it is cumbersome for them to adjust to wild windshifts such as in a fluky NE wind, or worse a SE seabreeze fighting with an inconsistent NW pressure gradient. You hope for strong pressure gradient winds there or at least a steady seabreeze.
Harbor traffic can be absolutely ridiculous with sail and power boats. A summer long parade of rec boats culminates with a crescendo of traffic on Columbus Day weekend. During the Fall Women’s Inter-conference regatta, all the powerboats in the state take the opportunity to empty their gas tanks on the last long and warm weekend of the year. The Seven River looks like I-95 without the law of keeping to the right. Despite the temptation of entering a big Women’s Inter-conference regatta, it is better to wait for the cold winds of March than drowning in a cauldron of powerboats. Also on Columbus Day weekend, the traffic to and from Maryland and within Annapolis during Boat Show weekend is terrible. That said, every tenth year a NW wind whistles down the Severn on Columbus Day weekend for near perfect conditions.
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