PUGWASH Wins Around Martha's Vineyard Race

(Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard)- Edgartown Yacht Club held its first race around Martha’s Vineyard Island in the summer of 1938, and except for the years of the Second World War the race has been an annual event since then.  The 52 nm course is a splendid sail.  It is reminiscent of the race around the Isle of Wight in England, which was the course of the first America’s Cup.  The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is similar (only a few miles longer); both courses have views of cliffs, headlands, villages and open water; and the tidal currents and wind effects are important in both. The course around the Vineyard passes in sight of the seven lighthouses of Cape Poge, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West Chop, East Chop and Edgartown.  In the morning the fleet sails between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday they are in the open Atlantic Ocean with views of the south coast of the Vineyard.  In the afternoon, rounding the gorgeous cliffs of Gay Head, the fleet sails up Vineyard Sound which was the second busiest body of water in the world during the age of sail.

The report from Doug Curtiss aboard WICKED 2.0 gives you a great perspective on what it's like to sail the race: "After a short upwind beat, we sailed down the channel between MVY and ACK with chutes set.   We reached the sea buoy ahead of the larger faster J/122 PUGWASH sailed by David Murphy.  She became our sparing partner for the rest of the day.

The breeze freshened out of the West, so we had a long beat to windward for the 22 miles down the South Shore.  We made the turn at Gay Head about 3 minutes behind PUGWASH which put us in very good spot as she owed us about 10 minutes corrected time after a 52 nm race.

We tacked down wind along the North Shore. We held our own until PUGWASH caught some extra tide lift at Middleground by going outside near the shoal where the tide runs stronger.  She lead by about 4 minutes as we came past East Chop and headed to Edgartown.

Then disaster.  The steady 10 knots out the West we had enjoyed all day began to die, and we saw the big boats out ahead starting to dump their chutes.  The breeze came in from the East Northeast almost 180 degrees the opposite direction, with a big calm doldrums in between.  We held our spinnaker as long as possible in the old breeze, but then got parked for almost 30 minutes with very little movement.  PUGWASH was to windward and in the new breeze.  She sailed off out of site to the finish.

We were very happy with a second at the end of the day.  Anytime you can knock off a Jim Swartz TP52 VESPER that sails away over the horizon, that is a good day.  But the real test was against the larger and faster J/122.  Dave Murphy's PUGWASH is a well sailed boat and we were in the hunt till the very end.  Hoping for a rematch at Buzzard's Bay Regatta in August!"

For more Round the Island Race sailing information

  

NUTMEG IV Sails Fast Around Island Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The famous Around Island Race, an epic 50 nautical mile adventure that is also the original "America's Cup race track", was run this year with nearly 2,000 entries from all over the world (1,908 to be exact).  Weather is always a major factor in a race of this size and stature. Saturday's forecast was particularly important given the vast number of yachts starting off the Royal Yacht Squadron's famous starting line in front of Cowes' equally famous waterfront walk- "The Parade".  Although some of the smaller boats felt it best to withdraw owing to threats of bad weather, the bulk of the record-breaking fleet of 1900 plus yachts turned up to take part in this historic event, the fourth largest participation sporting occasion in the UK. Some 16,000 sailors faced wind speeds of up to 28 knots and there were huge swells up to 20 feet to contend with off the Needles and at St. Catherine's as the record-breaking fleet undertook this most famous westabout Island circumnavigation on Saturday.  In short, the race was a blast through waves upwind to the infamous Needles, then flying downwind at enormous surfing speeds down around St Cats to the Forts and a final near fetch home to the start/finish line off Cowes-- one of those rare races where the weather Gods simply provided epic conditions and record speeds around one of the world's best "round island" races.

At the end of it all, in IRC 1A was the French J/122 NUTMEG IV sailed by Francois Longnone finishing 4th.

For more Round Island Race sailing information.    A fun YouTube sailing video of the Round Island Race.

 

WINGS Takes J/122 North Americans

(Block Island, RI)- It was an epic event, no matter how you looked at this year's Rolex STC Block Island Race Week. The weather Gods tossed just about everything including the "kitchen sink" at the sailors and the PRO/RC all week long.  It was about a tough a BIRW to run for everyone in recent memory, a bit of a Catch-22, "damned if you do, damned if you don't."  Nevertheless, some excellent race management and great PRO work prevailed across all three races courses- so refreshing to see "upfront and personal" communications with the sailors to keep the ball rolling and ensure their opinions and perspectives were addressed--- after all, such events live and die on keeping the sailors happy!  Everyone came to sail and they weren't disappointed.

The Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) 24th biennial Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex by all indications hasn’t lost one bit of charm or competitive appeal in a history that spans more than four and a half decades.  In fact, the five-day competition, originally patterned after Cowes Week, is one of the last true Race Weeks remaining in America, with a dominant theme of hard racing and fine competition supported by a subtext of daily camaraderie in complete informality. The event hosted 134 boats sailing in IRC (four classes), PHRF (five classes) and One-Design (J/44, J/111, J/109 and J/122).

The sailing for the event could not have been more challenging to both competitors and the PRO's alike.  For the first two days, light winds caused delays, but nevertheless resulted in some fantastic sailing conditions late afternoon that, "thank Heaven", the PROs saw to running as many races as possible in the 8-14 knot southerly sea-breezes.  As a result, by the end of day two five races had been run for most courses.  Wednesday was never going to be good day with a rather weird setup for storms, fog, no wind, more rain and more thunderstorms.  Give the PRO's credit for trying, but it was a "no go" rather obviously and rather quickly as racing had to be canceled for more than one reason- no wind, then lightning, then fog, then you name it!  The "onshore" forecast for this day was the classic Block Island libation, the "Mudslide" that flowed by the gallon at Payne's Dock, The Oar Restaurant and Bar and Champlin's Marina-- the famous evening watering holes at the Yellow Kittens and Captain Nicks were over-flowing with fun-loving revelers.  "It is what it is," said Kevin Burnham (Coconut Grove, FL), a Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, top J/24 sailor for years and 470 Men’s Olympic Gold Medalist in the Athens Games sailing in IRC 2. 'We’re here for fun, not for sailing in the rain, so they made the right decision."  Thursday dawned with hung-over crews but a great breeze from the northeast at 10-20 kts being fed by a strong Low offshore-- simply classic conditions for the Around Island Race- a beat to 1-BI bell off the northern shoal, running clockwise around with a fast blast spinnaker reach on the east and south sides followed by a beat to the finish on the west side.  Despite somewhat grey skies, Friday made for great racing in a lingering Northeaster to finish off the week with two solid races across all three race courses.

The J/122s competed for their national title while sailing in the IRC 3 class, and it was Mike Bruno/Tom Boyle/Jim Callahan’s (Irvington, N.Y.) WINGS (pictured at right) that moved into the top three after day two to finish second in IRC 3 and snatch the J/122 Championship trophy.  Just behind them was Andrew Skibo's PLUM CRAZY II for second overall and in third was George Marks beautiful GEORGETOWN III.  The J/122s competed in a very strongly sailed IRC class that left no quarter for the J/122s as they focused on each other's positioning going around the race course, often ignoring the handicap gain to ensure the one-design positioning was secured.

For more Rolex STC Block Island Race Week sailing information   Sailing Photo Credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster and Onne Van Der Wal Photography

  

July Offshore Sailing Classics

(Newport, RI)- It seems July in the "odd years" has more classic offshore yacht races than anyone could imagine and is an armchair sailors dream (most now have tracking).  The really cool part about this year's races is that you can sail nearly all of July on a J somewhere around the world in some of the best offshore races imaginable.

In the Northern Atlantic on July 10th, a Canadian-American classic that has attracted a nearly "cult" following is the Marblehead to Halifax Race.  Never the fastest, never the coolest, but an incredibly challenging event that keeps those hardy New Englanders (e.g. "Colonialists") answering that oft-called desire to hear the "call of the running tide, a wild call, a clear call that cannot be denied"!  And, boy is that call of the running tide loud and clear, hundreds of sailors make an annual pilgrimage, to weather fog, ferries, 40 foot tidal changes, massive current and the breathless views of that spectacular "village" called Halifax (this is truly a race to the party as the Nova Scotians are notoriously fabulous hosts).  Amongst the J's sailing in IRC Class are  Reginald Gooday's J/44 AKUBRA from Royal Nova Scotia Sailing Squadron and George Shaw's J/122 TUMBLEWEED from Boston YC.   For more Marblehead-Halifax Race sailing information.

The next weekend sees a "head-to-head" battle for the "classic" or the "longest" Great Lakes race in the great American Midwest.  On Saturday, July 16th, two huge events start.  The "grand dame" and perhaps the most prestigious is the Chicago to Mackinac Race- a 289 nm classic that basically pits the best-of-the-best offshore sailors from the western Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie).  Much farther to the east is the "first Great Lake", Lake Ontario, the last lake to empty down the grand St. Lawrence Seaway into a yet slightly larger body of water, the North Atlantic Ocean.  The Lake Ontario 300 starts and finishes in Mississauga, Ontario on a great tour of a very difficult lake to race.  Following these two big Lakes races is the Port Huron-Mackinac starting on July 23rd.  The longest consecutively running freshwater long-distance race since 1925. More previews to follow on these three events in coming weeks!

  

J/122 ANAM CARA Completes Tough Van-Isle Race

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- No matter how many times teams have sailed the Around Vancouver Isle race, they know they can expect at least one or two epic passages on one of the nine legs and most of the time that would be on the desolate western coast offshore into the Pacific.  This year's Leg Eight-  from Winter Harbour to Ucluelet - is a 138 miler that can make or break the entire event for some boats. It can best be summed up as epic.  It was a very hard leg.  One sailor stated, "it was the toughest race I have ever been in."   Seasickness was rampant in the fleet leaving many crews shorthanded to deal with the tough conditions.  With wind in the high 20's and square confused waves, the consensus was it was the waves and not the wind that made the leg so miserable.   All but the first few boats made an immediate transition from SE to NW winds as they got down the course and most finished under spinnaker.  Nevertheless, after surviving the leg, the awards ceremony held at the new community center in Ucluelet was a huge success.  The fleet raised over $8500.00 for the Coast Guard Aux. Unit 38, who stood by all day and night to escort the boats into Ucluelets' inner harbour.  A salmon BBQ was enjoyed as the stories from this leg grew and the waves got bigger!

J/109- Team Mojo account of this epic leg:  "The west coast of Vancouver Island is a graveyard to boats and beside the other boats competing in this race, a very lonely place. There is nothing else out there but whales and big rocks until the end of this leg.  By 2300, we were thirty miles offshore, beating into a gale.  We were fully powered up with a double reefed main, traveller down and a small no.3 jib. Seas were 2-3 meters.  Going out, we would hit the waves and slam very hard from time to time.  Every wave you smash into sends a wall of water and spray at the guys on the rail and over the boat and slows you down.  At times you think the boat will break in half.  At 1800 I decided to go down and start to get dinner ready to feed the guys.  I lashed myself to the stove in order not to get sent flying across the cabin, boiled water and poured it into those adventure meal packs.  I managed to do all seven meals without injury and without getting sea sick. Being down below for an hour in those conditions is tough.  I am quite happy to say we managed to do the race without anybody getting sick.  Many boats were not so lucky and some had most of the crew incapacitated."

"We accelerated with each wave and it felt like we were flying.  It was dark so visibility was poor since it was raining, but we were going like hell. The next 5 hours were just insane.  I would rotate two guys to rest and warm up down below.  Per and I have developed a little system for driving Mojo hard in breeze so we stayed together till morning, keeping Mojo upright and watching the speedo hit 9 knots as we seemingly launched off the waves in the dark.  From time to time, I would doze off to be awakened by the lurching motion as we launched yet again off another ramp.  So that's what we did until sunrise.  It was a cold, wet, and difficult night.  I just wanted to go to sleep so bad, but had to keep fighting to stay awake and warm. It's not natural! You have to stay awake, you cannot leave and go hide in a warm spot. Just 4 more hours...just two more...the sun will come up in one hour... And then it's light and your body chemistry comes back to normal.  You are tired, but the struggle is over.  That is the nature of night racing."

"The front had also passed in the night and all of a sudden we went from sailing upwind to sailing downwind. The guys were tired but after a terrible attempt to put up our spinnaker, which ended up in the water, we finally got it up and managed to sail down wind the next 65 miles. The sea state was very confused for the first two hours because of the change in wind direction 180 degrees but we finally got Mojo going and racing to the finish.  What a leg to be remembered."

For the final Leg Nine headed back to Victoria, the long awaited westerly breeze finally showed up, in spades.  A solid 20 knots and big swells on the start line at Amphitrite point made for perfect surfing conditions as the 38 boats remaining in the race headed for home.

For Division 1, the J/122 ANAM CARA hung into their top five position overall.  For more Vancouver Isle 360 sailing results

  

Rolex New York YC Regatta

(Newport, RI) – With 135 boats competing (nearly one-third were J/Boats), the New York Yacht Club’s 157th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, held June 10-12, broke all of its past attendance records, and with winds whipping into the high teens for buoy racing over the weekend, it certainly is in line for being the most memorable Annual Regatta in recent history.

The oldest regatta in the country kicked off with an optional 18-nautical mile Around the Island Race on Friday that saw the IRC 3 class led home by George Shaw's J/122 TUMBLEWEED from Marblehead, MA, only to lose on handicap to a sistership Andrew Weiss' J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON for first overall.  Third was the J/122 WINGS sailed by the very capable Bruno/ Callahan/ Boyle team.

Saturday and Sunday saw unusually windy conditions relative to what was forecasted by the NOAA Met office for the waters of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.  Saturday was especially windy and rough with winds blowing in from the ENE at 15 to 22 knots with a huge quartering swell on starboard tack rolling in from the SW.  Sunday's racing for J's occurred up the Bay in the area north of Newport Bridge, nearby to the Quonset Naval Airbase.

The most competitive division happened to be IRC 4 that had J/111s, J/122s and J/44s all competing against one another.  It was a very tough class.  After the dust settled amongst this group, whoever got a "lane" to keep the boat going fast until the first shift had a huge advantage.  Top dog amongst this trio of boats was Bruno/ Boyle/ Callahan racing their veteran champion J/122 WINGS to second place.  Fourth was Annapolis-Newport winner Andrew Weiss' CHRISTOPHER DRAGON. For more Rolex New York YC Annual Regatta sailing information

  

J/122 NA's Preview

(Block Island, RI)- For many summer starts in New England with the biennial summer-time classic, Storm Trysail's Rolex Block Island Race Week.  With wonderful sponsors like Mount Gay Rum and Rolex, it's hard not to like the fact that if you happen to win some races, you not only get some Mount Gay Rum to share with crew, family and friends, you could walk off with the ultimate prize of the week- a shiny new stainless steel Rolex Submariner watch.  135 competitors will be fighting for all that hardware.  Again, J's will be by far the largest brand represented at the Rolex BIRW with 41 boats sailing, about 1/3 of the fleet.

The premiere fleet will be the J/122 class.  Amongst the J/122s, past NA Champion Mike Bruno/ Tom Boyle/ Jim Callahan from American Yacht Club will be hoping to extend their winning streak. 

For more Rolex Block Island Race Week sailing information