Shifting Winds Test Sailors' Tacks

Dicey Weather Adds to Challenges in Overnight Governor's Cup Race

The skies looked particularly gloomy Friday evening as 131 sailboats began leaving Annapolis in the Governor's Cup, an annual 70-mile race to St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Lightning was spotted on the horizon. A radio weather advisory said that "inexperienced mariners . . . should avoid navigating" in the conditions. Some sailors glanced at radar reports on their iPhones, seeing more green and yellow (signs of precipitation) than someone heading out to sea likes to see.

Heavy winds blew the storm clouds past, initially benefiting most sailors.

"As soon as the weather came through and it was nice, there was almost a relief," said Ryan Niland, 24, of Annapolis, who graduated from St. Mary's in December and was on a boat with others from his alma mater.

Boaters come from across the country for the race each year, but it is especially important to the Southern Maryland sailing community. And the race, in its 36th year, brings several thousand people to the campus for the festivities Saturday that follow the overnight contest.

The Rotary Club sold mixed drinks for $5 in a fundraiser to support college scholarships. A misting tent was set up near the finish line, and an awards ceremony and dinner kept many at the college until late in the evening.

"It's the biggest racing challenge in the bay," said Jim Muldoon, chairman of the college's board of trustees and a skipper on one of the boats.

From the outset, crews were preoccupied by the weather. The swift changes in weather patterns during the race forced them to change sails more than they normally would have, several sailors said.

"The wind was supposed to be out of the southwest, and it started off out of the northeast," said Charles Krafft, 52, of Owings, who was on the Valkyrie. "We sailed with what we had."

Boats headed south through the Chesapeake Bay, then entered the Potomac River. Depending on when they reached Point Lookout, vessels found the winds suddenly working against them. The Meridian, on which Niland and seven others were traveling, had been on track to arrive at 4:30 a.m., but a damp breeze slowed them. They docked in St. Mary's about 8:30 a.m.

Don Wagner, 73, of Shady Side said that a turning tide slowed his boat, Der Baron, to one knot. He said he thought about dropping his anchor to avoid traveling in the wrong direction, but he held off.

"It was a tricky night," he said, sipping rum punch after the race. "The wind was shifty."

His decision paid off: Wagner's boat won in its racing class.

Robin Anderson, 43 of Harwood was on Der Baron with a black cast around a broken foot. She didn't take her crutches because of the extra weight, she said. One wave got the cast wet, and it stayed moist for the rest of the night.

" 'Gimpy' was replaced with 'Stinky Foot,' " she said, joking about a possible new nickname.