Monday, June 23, 2008

J’s are 55% of Block Island Fleet

Block Island Race Week has been a magnet for J sailors for years and 2008 was no exception. While overall regatta enrollment was down from prior years, you wouldn’t have known it by the quality and quantity of racing packed into the week. Regatta hosts Duck Island Yacht Club and Zuse, Inc. ran 11 races over 5 days, including the classic Round the Island Race midweek. With the Newport Bermuda Race drawing away most of the larger boats, the tightest action was found in the J/105 and J/109 divisions, where in each case the eventual runner-up ran off a streak of 4 bullets over the final two days to make things very interesting. J/105 veteran Damian Emery on ECLIPSE edged out Brian Keane on SAVASANA and Ken Colburn on GHOST to capture the J/105 class; while Greg Ames and Steve Kenny on GOSSIP held off a late charge from Ted Herlihy (GUT FEELING) to win the J/109 class by one point. Other notable finishes included the Esposito family aboard the J/29 HUSTLER who won PHRF 2 with Ira Perry on the J/29 SEEFEST finishing 2nd. Results