Annapolis, Maryland, to host 2021 U.S. Offshore Sailing Championship this weekend

2021 U.S. Offshore Sailing Championship © US Sailing

Eight teams representing their respective US Sailing Areas from regions around the country will compete for the Lloyd Phoenix Trophy this week in Annapolis, Md. at the 2021 U.S. Offshore Sailing Championship.

The U.S. Naval Academy Sailing Squadron will once again play host to this US Sailing National Championship over three days of racing Navy 44 MK II sloops on Chesapeake Bay. Racing takes Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26.

The Notice of Race requires competing teams to have a certain amount of consistency in their crew arrangements — A minimum of five competitors on each team must have raced together (including the designated skipper) in a minimum of five regattas in IRC, ORC, ORR, PHRF, Offshore One Design, Offshore Level Class Racing or Portsmouth Numbers rating systems in the past 36 months. They are also required to sail with a U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman from the varsity offshore sailing team aboard.

"It's a chance for the Midshipman to see how other crew and skippers work together, execute how to handle the boat, and gain and outside perspective that they otherwise might not be able to get," says Jahn Tihansky, Director and Head Coach of the U.S. Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Team, and also chairman for this event.

"There are pieces of other crews who are coming back from past regattas, putting together teams themselves," says Jahn. "We have some returning past contenders coming back. There are a lot of people who really enjoy this event and love to come back year after year....and we host the sailors after racing for fun events. It's one of those good, old-fashioned regattas that is a really good time."

Teams will be challenged through a series of races in a variation of formats and distances designed to test their overall offshore sailing skills. The weekend will consist of a series of shorter buoy racecourses, with legs with legs of approximately 0.8 to 2.5 nautical miles, as well as distance races between 13 and 33 nautical miles.

"These sailors have big boat and offshore experience, so we want to give them something that aligns with their experience level and challenges them," says Tihansky. "We want to include navigation, some spinnaker reaching, and other types of sailing that really fall under the offshore racing guise."

The U.S. Offshore Sailing Championship is a biennial event. The winner of the Championship is awarded the Lloyd Phoenix Trophy, named for a US Naval Academy Graduate who served in the Civil War. After resigning and going into business he became a yachting enthusiast and Rear Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. The Trophy is on display in the Robert Crown Center at the United States Naval Academy.

For additional information about this Championship, visit the event website.