J/40 Wins IRC, J/120s Win PHRF 2(Marblehead, MA) - Blue skies and fair winds prevailed for the start of the 34th biennial edition of the Marblehead-to-Halifax ocean race Sunday afternoon. Eighty nine sailing yachts, in nine categories crossed the starting line to begin the 363 nautical mile course from Marblehead, MA to Halifax, Nova Scotia. For the first time in the history of the race the starting course took the yachts towards land before turning to port and out to sea. Winds were more than 7 knots as the first class set sail and went up to 10 knots as the start sequences continued. Thereafter, the weather conditions became significantly more challenging for the sailors, described by one as "It was tough sailing. It was thick fog, dark, dark, dark, windy as hell, big lumpy seas on Sunday night." And, it made for a fast race for all.
For
the big boats, it was a record-shattering year, especially with an
enormous Low southwest of the fleet pushing them faster and faster with
strongly developing south-southwest breezes in the 17-22 knots range.
The entire fleet essentially aimed easterly for Navigation mark "A" in
the Cape Channel just off the southern tip of Nova Scotia called "The
Hawk Point" on Stoney Island. Thereafter, the fleet turned left and
headed NNE up to Halifax, gybing downwind in big waves and a 12-19 knot
breeze before making one final left turn to the NW to head up the
channel to the Halifax finish line.Jim Grundy's custom 75 footer BELLA PITA set a new record, finishing Monday in 30:46:52, shattering the old record of 33+ hours set by a Santa Cruz 70 back in 1989. Not only was it a fast race, but a beautiful race. Little if any fog, no drifting, no whales, no icebergs to deal with! The conditions made for a lot of happy crew. Amongst them were the fleet of J's racing, loving the conditions for their large, easy to set a-sails.
In the IRC class, a "classic" cruising J/40 called MISTY and sailed by Fred Allardyce from Watch Hill, RI finished 3rd overall IRC and 1st in class IRC2!! The J/44 VAMP sailed by Leonard Sitar sailed a great race and finished 3rd class, 5th in fleet IRC!
The
race course and the wind direction certainly was welcomed by the
double-handers! Start out jib reaching. Then turn the corner, set the
big a-sail once, sheet in and go! Gybe once to make the heads off
Halifax, surf into the finish line! Could it have been any easier?
Without a doubt, Peter Rugg and Joe Cooper hailing from Fisher's Island,
NY are having fun racing their J/105 JADED this year. Having just won
the Block Island Race overall in the Double-handed division, they must
be happy with their 2nd in the PHRF Double for the Halifax Race! Also
sailing a good race was Jon Knowles and Charlie Poole on the beautiful
J/46 ABRACADABRA from Portland, Maine.IN PHRF 1, the two J/130s and the J/133 all sailed good races. Getting the better of the other two was Jeff Eberle's J/130 CILISTA, these veteran offshore campaigners managed to pull off a third overall. In sixth was Kris Kristiansen's J/130 SAGA from Marblehead, MA and in seventh was Raymond Rhinelander's J/133 BELLA J from St Johns, Nova Scotia.
The PHRF 2 division saw a "clinic" on offshore racing by two J/120s from Annapolis, MD, with HERON and SHINNECOCK sweeping the top two spots on the podium. Greg Leonard has campaigned HERON very successfully for years. This year they sailed the Annapolis-Newport and sailed well, so winning PHRF 2 in the Halifax Race is a terrific highpoint for their summer sailing. Second was Jim Praley, who has also campaigned extensively with SHINNECOCK and adds the silver cup to their shelfful of trophies and pickle dishes! In fifth was a good effort by the J/109 HEAT WAVE sailed by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA. Sailing Photos courtesy of Craig Davis For more Marblehead-Halifax Yacht Race sailing information
