(Annapolis, MD)- It was a weekend to remember for the proud members of
the Annapolis YC. Seemingly everything came up spades in the cards that
were dealt to them, with AYC members in some capacity leading home all
three fleets in the Storm Trysail Club sponsored IRC East Coasts/
Mid-Atlantics sailed on the Chesapeake Bay in mid-October. Marc Glimcher's J/122 CATAPULT hammered their IRC 2 class, with 5 firsts and 3 seconds! Marc's tactician happened to be Geoff Ewenson, who's wife is AYC member Mary Ewenson. Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH took home first in IRC 3 class and a former J/122 owner, David and Sandy Askew's latest FLYING JENNY took the top spot in IRC 1 class.
The AYC PRO had a rather amusing Twitter commentary on the first day of racing:
"Friday @ 09:25AM - Good morning - this is your Race Committee and we are on our way to the starting line. It's a really nice day - a little cool this morning but we should have very good breeze for the first race of this regatta - the distance race around the central Chesapeake Bay.
Friday @ 11:14AM - In a cool breeze the first race of the IRC Mid-Atlantic Championships started at 10:00 am Friday 10/21. The fleet will have a fabulous day on the Chesapeake under sunny skies and good wind - 10-15 from the west and increasing. No incidents, the IRC 1 class had an exciting start. IRC 2 is the largest class and are powering away from the starting line."
And
so it was for the ensuing three days of racing on the Chesapeake in the
fall, one of the nicer places to sail in America's autumn sailing
season. The event opened to pleasant 20+ breezes on October 14th for
the distance race on the first day- a double-counter for the fleet
scoring. While the wind nearly died for the buoy racing on the second
day of sailing, it built again for the final day, allowing the teams to
finish five races. The J/122s had an outstanding showing as Marc Glimcher's CATAPULT and Andrew Weiss's CHRISTOPHER DRAGON were at the top of the leader-board in the IRC 2 division finishing first and third in the class respectively. Interestingly, it was quite an accomplishment for the J/122s as well to beat three purpose-built custom IRC boats from Ker and Mills- the latest Ker 43 PTARMIGAN, the Mills 43 COOL BREEZE and the Summit 40 DOWNTIME- all sailed with professional crews.
While the J/122 family racer-cruisers were showing the latest custom IRC boats owners the fruitlessness of their task (and, the expense) to beat the J/122s, the J/109s simply ran the table in their class. Bill Sweetser's RUSH took all firsts while Paul Milo's VENTO SOLARE took all seconds. Sailing photo credits- Dan Phelps @ Spinsheet.com For more IRC East Coast/ Mid-Atlantics sailing information
