Crimson sailors, leading all the way, were caught in the last race by an inspired team from the University of Rhode Island, and had to settle for second place in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association dinghy championships. However, their position as one of the first two finishers qualifies them for the National Championships to be held on the Charles June 19-21.

Going into the final race of the series, Harvard and U.R.I. were tied with 133 points each. U.R.I. had the advantage throughout the series of familiarity with the class of boats being raced (Beverly dinghies), although the race was held in neutral waters.

Harvard had hoped to capitalize on the fact that, in the last race, U.R.I. was assigned to call boat 11--a notorious loser. In the previous eight races, no college, including Harvard, had done well in it.

The U.R.I. crew was able to show that the boat had a defective centerboard, though, and received a different boat, in which they won the race. The final meet score was U.R.I. 143, Harvard 140, with M.I.T. third (125) and the Coast Guard fourth (106). High-point skipper for the championships was Mike Horn, at 72 points for the B division series. Carter Ford was tied with U.R.I.'s skipper for high-point honors in the A division with 68 points.