Princeton Sailing traveled to Port Jefferson, New York this past weekend to compete in the Grant Trophy. This regatta serves as the MAISA Co-Ed conference championship qualifying event where the top six teams are selected to compete at the conference championships at the end of April. Mild conditions on Saturday brought a 6-12 knot north easterly and temperatures in the low 60s. The breeze would come in and out making for a long day of racing but after 6 races for both A and B fleets, Princeton Sailing would sit in second place, 1 point behind the Drexel University Dragons. The Sunday breeze was late to arrive and much more sporadic. Racing would start around 11 am with a light and shifty easterly settling in for A fleet. An up-and-down start for the A boat would leave us with an 8-point deficit to make up in the final 2 races that would be sailed by Asher Green ‘24 and Virginia Cobbs ‘25. A 3rd place in race 1 would set the stage for a winner take all final race of the regatta giving the coaches, competitors, and spectators everything they could ask for in a college sailing regatta! A clean start from all would make for an exhilarating first beat as boats jockeyed back and forth to keep their lanes clean and protect the favored left-hand side of the race course. Princeton Sailing would round mark 1 first, closely followed by the entire fleet stacking up behind them. Less action on the downwind would make for a nailbiting last upwind beat as all of the boats made clean roundings around the leeward gate marks. With the regatta on the line Virginia Cobbs ‘25 makes the tactical call of the weekend to separate from the fleet and dig into the left corner of the race course, launching them ⅓ of a leg ahead of their competitors and securing a comfortable lead around mark 3. A steady downwind would cap off the regatta with a convincing bullet in race 8b, capping off a great regatta, and securing Princeton Sailing’s 3rd win of the spring season. Follow along next weekend as Princeton Sailing Competes in the Women’s Conference Championships at St.Marys College of Maryland and 2 NEISA regattas in Boston.