J/145 Sweet Lorraine Leads All J's with Win, Place or Shows in all Five IRC Classes
(Stamford, CT- May 22-23)- The 186 nautical mile race began May 22 and sent a fleet of 20 J's and 35 other IRC- and PHRF-rated boats off on a course from Stamford, Conn., down Long Island Sound, clockwise around Block Island (R.I.), and back. A Southwest breeze of 8-10 knots got the boats off to a quick downwind start and stayed consistent until the fleet got to Plum Gut.
The Block Island Race – the traditional start to the Long Island Sound summer sailing season, held each Memorial Day Weekend – featured eight classes for IRC and PHRF. A total 55 out of 60 entered boats completed the race, with J's comprising 33% of the fleet! Top dog in IRC 50 class of seven boats was Sweet Lorraine, a J/145 sailed by Mark Hansen from Scarsdale, NY.
The IRC 45 group of eight boats might just as well have been called the "J 44 Foot Class"- for 6 of the 8 boats were J's- J/44s, J/46 and a J/133. Leading the pack was Leonard Sitar's J/44 Vamp followed by Tom Carroll's J/133 Siren Song and Kevin Tongue's J/44 Glory.
In the IRC 40 class of ten boats the J/120s finished 3-4-5, lead by Joe Healey's J/120 Soulmate, then Kirstin Haas's J/120 Richochet and George Petrides J/120 Avra.
The IRC 35 class of eight boats had the lone J/109 racing in the fleet- David Rosow, from Southport, CT sailed Loki to a third in class on corrected. Not to be outdone by his faster stablemates, John Towers took his J/37 Ripple to a second in IRC 30 class.
Perhaps the most interesting fleet entered into this year's race happened to be the growing contingent of double-handed racing. The Double-Handed IRC class had a solid showing of eleven boats, with over 50% of them J's. Represented were a J/100, two J/105s, J/35 and two J/120s. It was a competitive bunch, but getting the awards for 2nd and 3rd, respectively, were Gardner Grant on his J/120 Alibi and Peter Rugg/ Dudley Nostrand on the J/105 Jaded. For more info.
