J/122s and J/109s Sweep IRC Classes
(Newport, RI- June 11-13) – Known as the longest running regatta in America, having started in 1845, the New York Yacht Club’s 156th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex also has the distinction of kicking off the sailing season in New England. This past weekend, June 11-13, over 1,000 sailors on 111 boats gathered from across the U.S. and Europe for three days of racing on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.The start to the weekend was the Around the (Conanicut) Island Race on Friday, which is scored separately from the Saturday/Sunday races. The race has become a popular “add on” for competitors, especially those gearing up for the biennial Newport Bermuda Race the following week. The J/122 WINGS was second in IRC Class (the winner last year) and Governor Pete du Pont's J/122 SPITFIRE was third. Winning their IRC Class was Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH. As a result, the J's won the prestigious ROLEX CUP – presented to the best performing two-boat team in the Around the Island Race – won by a globally dominating "J-Team"- RUSH, a J/109 sailed by Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, MD) and SPITFIRE, a J/122 skippered by Pierre (Governor Pete) du Pont (Rockland, DE).
On Saturday, the first day of the two-day buoy racing, most classes completed three races. The skies may have threatened rain but didn’t deliver much on that promise. The wind was forecast to be S veering SW in a classic scenario. However, it was not to be. No matter what fleet one spoke to, it was quite clear that "middle left" on the windward legs prevailed and hanging into longish streaks downwind, no matter the direction, was the strategy that prevailed for the winners. Those who'd gone right upwind simply evaporated into thin air. By Sunday, the promise of ideal conditions didn’t materialize until late in the day, and most classes ended up adding only one more race to the total score. And, with a breeze forecast to go from Easterlies to North and later Northwest in the day, it didn't seem clear that going right upwind would pay dearly. Yup, as one might've guessed, staying left of your competitors was the winning strategy.
Adhering to good starts and sound strategies all weekend was IRC4 overall winner WINGS, a J/122 co-skippered by Mike Bruno and Tom Boyle; they won the largest class in the regatta with fifteen boats from across the IRC spectrum. WINGS' 3-2-1-2 score was more than enough to overcome a strong challenge from Andrew Weiss' very well-sailed J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON with a 4-1-2-4 record. Most importantly, rounding out a J/122 sweep of IRC4 was Governor Pete du Pont's J/122 SPITFIRE with a 1-3-4-5 tally. Just off the pace was Jim Bishop's experienced, winning team racing the J/44 GOLD DIGGER, finishing in fourth place and giving the J/122s a strong run for the money all three days of sailing (note- these are the same guys who won the Miami Grand Prix in March this year).
IRC5 was dominated by the J/109s against some tough IRC competitors. STORM, the champion J/109 owned and skippered by Rick Lyall (Wilton, CT), was winner of the 12-boat IRC 5 class with a 1-2-4-3- record. STORM certainly did not walk off with the lead, they were challenged all weekend long by fellow J/109 RUSH sailed by Bill Sweetser's strong team. In fact, RUSH's score of 5-3-2-2 score was just two points back from the lead and with the shifty winds, it was anyone's regatta going into the last race.The nine boat J/105 class sailed in the Green Fleet division and sailed all five of their races in northern Narragansett Bay. The J/105s were won by LIVE EDGE, owned by Michael Mountford (Toronto, CAN) with a 4-2-4-1-2 record, six points clear of JADED. Dudley Nostrand’s (Hamilton, MA) JADED placed second in a three-way fight for the 2nd and 3rd spots. JADED's record started out very strong with a 1-1-2 streak to be winning after Saturday's races, but Sunday's crazy conditions threw them for a loop and a 9-6 scoring dropped them into second. Chris Beane's (Marblehead, MA) VIXEN finished third with a consistent 7-3-3-4-3 score. For more Rolex NYYC Annual Regatta sailing information.