Mater Dei wins Dinghy Nationals

Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA) won the 2023 High School Doublehanded National Championship held June 3-4 in Toms River, NJ. Twenty teams competed in Club Flying Juniors, with Mater Dei winning both A and B Divisions and finishing seven points ahead of Severn School (Severna Park, MD) with St. George’s School (Middletown, RI).

Details: https://scores.hssailing.org/s23/issa-mallory-national/

ISSA report:

Saturday, June 3:
Sailors were greeted with unseasonably cool temperatures in the low 60s and a northeast breeze, which made for some puffy and shifty conditions on Toms River. Racing commenced around 10:15 and the courses were split evenly between W4 and W5, with the latter being run to finish close to the rotation dock. The fleet sailed until just after 19:00, stopping after race 10B.

Multiple protests were heard by the team of US Sailing judges, resulting in three DSQs. Requests for breakdown points were granted to three schools. Protests from Saturday will be heard prior to racing on Sunday as well.

Mater Dei (PCISA) was the leader after Saturday’s 20 races, 18 points ahead of second place Severn School (MASSA). Norfolk Academy (MASSA), St. George’s (NESSA), and Point Loma (PCISA) were third through fifth after day one.

The first warning is set for 09:30 on Sunday to finish out this year’s National Championship.

Sunday, June 4:
Sunday saw a bright, sunny day for the 20 teams in Toms River. A light northeast breeze held on long enough to complete the first two races of the day, but soon shut off and a half hour on-the-water postponement was needed ahead of race 11B. An easterly breeze filled to a nice 6-10 knots, in which the remainder of the races were sailed in. A total of 10 races – five in each division – were completed before the 15:00 cut off time.

As Sunday progressed, the gap between Mater Dei and Severn dwindled. Going into the 15th and final race for both divisions, the point difference was in the single digits. Ultimately, Mater Dei was able to emerge victorious after tightly-contested final races, securing the PCISA school’s second consecutive ISSA Fleet Race title.

Severn (MASSA) was a strong runner-up, seven points behind Mater Dei. St. George’s School (NESSA) edged Norfolk Academy (MASSA) for third place. Point Loma (PCISA) was 13 points behind in fifth place overall.

Mater Dei’s Morgan Pinckney, Ashtyn Tierney, and Vera Allen won a tiebreaker over Severn’s Thomas Sitzmann, Jed Lory, and Scarlett Harris in A Division. Similarly, Mater Dei’s Reade Decker, Noah Stapelton, and Hannah Crompton won B Division by seven points over Severn’s Robby Meek and Helena English.

Multiple protests were heard on Sunday with two resulting in disqualifications. One boat retired after finishing.

New Jersey’s first-ever Mallory National Championship could not have been possible without an army of volunteers and support personnel. A special thank you to the following: Dr. Randall Nunn (Regatta Chair/Mark Boat), Tim Hogan (ISSA President), Clay Johnson (PRO), Jason Lutz (ISSA Rep/Support Boat), Dave Magno (Support Boat/Finish Boat), Jody Lutz (Mark Boat), Diane Schmelz (Hospitality Chair), Harry Foote (Chief US Sailing Judge), Pris Gettis (US Sailing Judge), Jan O’Malley (US Sailing Judge), Peter Chirlian (US Sailing Judge), Brendan Hogan (Dock Support), Autumn Hoover (RC Boat), Reese Munger (RC Boat), Brooke Schmelz (RC Boat), Tim Faranetta (Finish Boat), Sam Stokes (Dock Support).

ISSA sends a big thank you to Commodore Mandie Rhodes and Toms River Yacht Club for welcoming the Mallory teams to TRYC’s beautiful clubhouse and excellent facilities, as well as to Commodore Scott Yates and the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association for supplying the CFJ fleet and the Ribcraft RIBs for support boats. If this weekend was any indication, New Jersey High School Sailing is certainly in great shape thanks to these dedicated partners.