J/122 PARTNERSHIP Flies In Big Seas/ Big Breeze
(Stamford, CT)- The 76th running of the Vineyard Race historically takes place on Labor Day weekend. It is a classic American yachting event hosted by Stamford Yacht Club (Stamford, CT), taking the fleet on a 238-mile course stretching through Long Island Sound, past Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay before returning to the finish in Stamford Harbor. Interest in the 2010 race was high, with 85 entries confirmed, way up from 50 entries two years ago.
And then came Hurricane Earl with reports of 50 foot seas offshore, Category 3 status with winds up to 150 mph, enormous storm surge due to its 940 mb low pressure and hitting the Northeast coast at high tide. It all sounded a bit like a Hollywood death and destruction movie rolling up the eastern seaboard, mayhem and chaos left spinning in its wake. As a result, the Race Committee studied the weather projections and by late Wednesday postponed the Friday noon start until 10:00 on Saturday. It was a good move. By the early hours of Saturday the storm was over Nova Scotia going out to sea.
The 2010 Vineyard Race provided serious thrills this year, with big seas and breeze in the 20 to 30+ kt range. J/Boats dominated the winner’s circle, with first place finishes in 5 divisions, including PHRF-3, IRC-Doublehanded, IRC-30, IRC-40 and IRC-45.
And then came Hurricane Earl with reports of 50 foot seas offshore, Category 3 status with winds up to 150 mph, enormous storm surge due to its 940 mb low pressure and hitting the Northeast coast at high tide. It all sounded a bit like a Hollywood death and destruction movie rolling up the eastern seaboard, mayhem and chaos left spinning in its wake. As a result, the Race Committee studied the weather projections and by late Wednesday postponed the Friday noon start until 10:00 on Saturday. It was a good move. By the early hours of Saturday the storm was over Nova Scotia going out to sea.
The 2010 Vineyard Race provided serious thrills this year, with big seas and breeze in the 20 to 30+ kt range. J/Boats dominated the winner’s circle, with first place finishes in 5 divisions, including PHRF-3, IRC-Doublehanded, IRC-30, IRC-40 and IRC-45.
In the IRC-30 Class John Towers sailed his J/37 RIPPLE to a class a win and commented that the boat “performed better than I would have ever imagined. She was able to handle winds up to 37 knots with the spinnaker up. Our speed downwind was routinely in the 10-13 knot range and exceeded 17 knots on one wave. The win was particularly enjoyable because the crew is such a great group of guys who get along quite well.” Just behind him in third overall was Mark Perry and Lawrence McGrath sailing their J/35 BLUE MOUSE.
In the IRC-35 Class, Jeff Warren's J/109 ARIEL sailed the course well, stayed out of trouble and managed to get a fifth in class.
In the IRC-40 class, J’s took the first 3 positions, with David and Mary-Ellen Tortorello's J/122 PARTNERSHIP in first place- repeating their win the previous year. The victory for the 122 proves again how successful a design the 122 can be in IRC racing. The 122 also beat most of the next division (IRC-45, starting 10 minutes later) across the line boat-for-boat! We’re happy to see the J/122 flourishing as both a one design class and an extremely competitive boat in IRC-40. Other J's did well in the same class, Joe Healey's J/120 SOULMATE finished second and Rick Oricchio's J/120 ROCKET SCIENCE getting a third, rounding out a clean sweep for J's in the IRC-40 class. George Shaws' J/122 TUMBLEWEED finished fifth.
For the IRC-45 class, Len Sitar's J/44 VAMP simply walked away from their competition to win their class quite handily. Tom Carroll's J/133 SIREN SONG hung in to get a respectable fifth place.
In the IRC Double-handed division, the J/35 PALADIN raced by Jason Richter continued their winning ways after winning the Double-handed division in this year's Bermuda Race. Not surprising that this robust classic sailboat could take on the big seas and big breeze both upwind and downwind and prevail over their competitors. Hewitt Gaynor's J/120 MIREILLE sailed a strong race to get third overall in this division. Andrew Berdon's J/109 STRIDER also had a good race, finishing fourth.
David Spence's J/105 SYNERGY sailed the Seaflower Reef Course in PHRF 2 and placed second.
Finally, Todd Aven's J/92 THIN MAN prevailed on the Cornfield Point course, repeating their 2008 win in that division. Not only were they able to prevail in challenging conditions, but they got some great onboard video along the way! For more Stamford-Vineyard Race sailing information
For some fun, you might enjoy watching the J/92s Stamford Vineyard Race YouTube video.
In the IRC-35 Class, Jeff Warren's J/109 ARIEL sailed the course well, stayed out of trouble and managed to get a fifth in class.
In the IRC-40 class, J’s took the first 3 positions, with David and Mary-Ellen Tortorello's J/122 PARTNERSHIP in first place- repeating their win the previous year. The victory for the 122 proves again how successful a design the 122 can be in IRC racing. The 122 also beat most of the next division (IRC-45, starting 10 minutes later) across the line boat-for-boat! We’re happy to see the J/122 flourishing as both a one design class and an extremely competitive boat in IRC-40. Other J's did well in the same class, Joe Healey's J/120 SOULMATE finished second and Rick Oricchio's J/120 ROCKET SCIENCE getting a third, rounding out a clean sweep for J's in the IRC-40 class. George Shaws' J/122 TUMBLEWEED finished fifth.
For the IRC-45 class, Len Sitar's J/44 VAMP simply walked away from their competition to win their class quite handily. Tom Carroll's J/133 SIREN SONG hung in to get a respectable fifth place.
In the IRC Double-handed division, the J/35 PALADIN raced by Jason Richter continued their winning ways after winning the Double-handed division in this year's Bermuda Race. Not surprising that this robust classic sailboat could take on the big seas and big breeze both upwind and downwind and prevail over their competitors. Hewitt Gaynor's J/120 MIREILLE sailed a strong race to get third overall in this division. Andrew Berdon's J/109 STRIDER also had a good race, finishing fourth.David Spence's J/105 SYNERGY sailed the Seaflower Reef Course in PHRF 2 and placed second.
Finally, Todd Aven's J/92 THIN MAN prevailed on the Cornfield Point course, repeating their 2008 win in that division. Not only were they able to prevail in challenging conditions, but they got some great onboard video along the way! For more Stamford-Vineyard Race sailing information
For some fun, you might enjoy watching the J/92s Stamford Vineyard Race YouTube video.
