WINGS Hat Trick Leads to Win
(Newport, RI)- The forecast was promising for the first half of this year's Rolex NYYC Race Week. Sunny days, southwest winds, nearly postcard perfect conditions for the fleet of 100+ boats sailing in a variety of classes, punctuated by the J/122s and J/109s sailing their North American Championships and the J/105s sailing their East Coast Championship.For the first day of racing, it was a busy day on Narragansett Bay when hundreds of athletes swam across it in the early morning, then 1,200 more plied its waters from mid-morning to afternoon. While the annual early-morning 'Save the Bay' swim finished, 100+ boats left their berths in Newport Harbor to converge on three race circles: two 'outside' on Rhode Island Sound and one 'up the Bay,' or north of the iconic Pell Newport Bridge, which serves as gateway to historic Newport and frames the sweeping view of the city from Harbour Court, where host New York Yacht Club has its on-water clubhouse. "It was everything you could hope for in a day of sailing," said NYYC Race Committee Chair John "Tinker" Miles, noting sunshine and warm temperatures cooled by manageable 12-15 knot breezes from the Southwest.
For leaders in seven of the 12 classes, when it was good it was very good. The conditions enabled them to post nothing but first-place finishes in multiple races. What was the common denominator for many of them? The experience of sailing in highly competitive J one-design classes to hone their competitive edge. Mike Bruno/ Tom Boyle’s (Rye, NY) WINGS was three-for-three in the tight J/122 fleet, but it was only because it had the "slightest edge" on speed over David Murphy’s (Westport, CT) PUGWASH, which finished right behind in every race. "We’d come off the starting line and two miles later we were only two boat lengths ahead," said Mark Ploch (City Island, NY) whose job it is to concentrate on boat speed. "With the boats all stacked together, I’d say it was a combination of things that kept us ahead, great teamwork, Stu Johnstone's (Newport, RI) remarkable tactical calls and Mike's and Tom’s ability to concentrate on the long beats." Regatta favorite Andrew Weiss sailed a solid three races but could not crack the top 2, getting a 3-4-3 to take third position after the first day. On Sunday, Newport served up three more races in dazzling conditions that were similar to Saturday's sailing. By the conclusion of Sunday's racing, it was clear that competitors were aware of the early leaders and ensured that none of them could repeat their performances of the previous day...in other words, no one had perfect records the second day. Perhaps the only near exception was the Boyle/Bruno team on the J/122 WINGS, which nearly pulled off a "hat-trick" again with a 2-1-1 score Sunday.
As it turns out the six races sailed on Saturday and Sunday were the final results for the event. Monday dawned with a terrible forecast, light southerlies with a front pushing in from the west that could swing the wind WNW and throw in a few hailstorms, thunderstorms and heavy showers for good measure. The NOAA forecast was not wrong. Both courses canceled all races Monday as the front pushed in with winds gusting over thirty knots with lightning bolts spraying all over the race course and curtains of rain hiding the entire fleet from one another, hiding some of the typical damage like torn sails, huge broaches with bruised egos, busted vangs and the sort.
In the end, the Boyle/Bruno team on WINGS won the J/122 North American Championship with a remarkable record of five firsts and a second. In behind them was a vastly improved team on PUGWASH, led by skipper/owner David Murphy and a crackerjack team of sailors giving the WINGS team a serious run for the money (including an 8 tack tacking-duel in one race) to count five seconds and a first. Third was the always well-sailed CHRISTOPHER DRAGON led by Andrew Weiss, proving yet again a well-honed family team can be very competitive, sailing into third with five thirds and a fourth.
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