For the first time in the 19-year history of the 70-mile Annapolis-to-St. Mary's City Yachting Governor's Cup Race, the start was postponed for an hour in the face of a violent thunderstorm that struck the 230-boat fleet as it was preparing to start Friday evening.
Although a some boats sustained equipment damage serious enough that they were forced to withdraw before the 7:15 start of the East Coast's largest overnight race, more than 200 finished the race between 4 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. yesterday. The race is sponsored by Yachting magazine. The Joseph Waldschmitt Memorial Trophy for best in fleet, for the winner of the most competitive class, measured as the smallest time difference between first and fifth-place finishers, was awarded to Chesapeake, a Serendipity 43 owned and campaigned by Seward Lawlor of Norfolk, Va.
