J/133 SIREN SONG and J/122 PATRIOT Crush Fleet
(Larchmont, NY)- It was a not the best of forecasts for this past weekend's Edlu Distance Race on Long Island Sound. Cool temperatures, rain, fog, clearing then blowing a gale. Not your typical glam day on the Sound. Nevertheless, the forecast didn't deter the enthusiastic fleet from getting out to the starting line early in fog and rain to get down the track in this 64 mile race. At it turns out, the fleet was severely tested when the forecasters were right (for once) and the weather magically transformed into a 30-40 knot gale with plenty of sun and spray-- "jumping condo's on Long Island Sound" with single/double-reefed mains and small jibs? It really did turn into a glam day, a challenging one at that!In IRC1, the J/133s dominated their class, taking 1-2-3 overall. First was Tom Carroll's well-sailed SIREN SONG, followed by Ron Richman's ANTIDOTE and Jan Smeets' BACCHANAL. These three boats were virtually unstoppable as they powered to windward in the big breeze and waves to punish the rest of their competitors.
In the Double-handed PHRF class, Sandy Weill's J/122 PATRIOT won in pretty convincing fashion in the blustery conditions. Just behind him were two J/105s, Kevin Grainger's GUMPTION3 in third and Peter Rugg's beautiful green JADED in fourth- both managed to beat home a lot of larger boats. Both sailboats, the J/105 and the J/122 are proving to be hard sailboats to beat when racing short-handed-- as sailors in the UK and Europe learned a long time ago sailing various J's offshore, the forgiving nature of their hull shapes and the fact that you can sail them "in the groove" longer than most sailboats means you're always going fast no matter what the conditions on all points of sail- uphill or downhill.The 55th edition of the Edlu Race has a history of adopting to the times. As Rick Lyall, owner of the J/109 STORM said last year, "it's our first big event. The Edlu is a short distance race of approximately 32 miles from Larchmont to 11B north of Eatons Neck and back, and does not require the intense crew work of around-the-buoys regattas. It's just the right length for a fun day on the water." To further develop the race, many sailors wanted to include double-handed racing. Rich du Moulin said, "double-handed racing is growing in popularity. When the U.S went into IRC, we convinced the IRC leaders to allow an owner to hold two certificates at one time on the same IRC boat with the second certificate dedicated to double-handed racing. On my boat, that certificate can only be used for double-handing. The rating is based on a smaller jib and that makes the boat easier to handle. One of our goals is to encourage people to come out and race whether they want to double-hand or sail fully crewed, or go back and forth between the two as I do." Yet another good idea for expanding participation in the sport of sailing. For more Edlu Race information For more photos of the race- Alan Clark-Photoboat.com Photo credits above: Howie McMichael
