Buccaneers Finish Fifth Overall at Kennedy Cup

Buccaneers Finish Fifth Overall at Kennedy Cup

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – The Massachusetts Maritime Academy sailing team took part in the Kennedy Cup this weekend at the Naval Academy. The winner of the two-day competition qualifying to represent the United States in the Student Yachting World Cup next fall in France making this the national championship of intercollegiate sailing. The Buccaneers finished fifth out of the 10 teams that competed with SUNY Maritime taking the title.

The Bucs were greeted by gray skies and drizzle upon arrival at the Naval Academy on Saturday morning. But, just before competition began the skies cleared and the wind picked up, with gusts near 30 MPH. Hosts Navy took first place in the first two races of the day with Coast Guard taking first in the final two races of day one. The Bucs battled hard all day, finishing in third place at the end of day one with 17 points, five points behind leaders Navy.  

On Day two, the Buccaneers remained consistent. With the exception of a ninth place finish in the final race of the weekend, the team held on to the third place spot in the competition right until the end. SUNY Maritime made a big move on Sunday with to take the top spot in the competition. Finishing in second place was the host school, Navy, who was in first place the entire weekend until their fourth place finish to finish the weekend. Coast Guard took home a third place finish after also faltering on Sunday, finishing a spot ahead of the Bucs in the final race. The University of Rhode Island overtook the Buccaneers on Sunday to take fourth place.

Massachusetts Maritime's fifth place finish was two spots behind their McMillan Cup finish from a few weeks ago which had qualified them for this competition. The Buccaneers still finished ahead of King's Points, The College of Charleston, California Maritime Academy, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University.

The Win for SUNY Maritime qualifies them for the Student Yachting World Cup which will take place next fall in France. The Kennedy Cup marks the end of the fall season for Maritime Sailing. The team will continue their season in the spring.