(Nassau, Bahamas)- The old Southern Ocean Racing Circuit (SORC) off
Florida was one of those events back in the 80s that many sailors
remember well. It was the pinnacle of the IOR, that crazy handicap rule
that created "pinched-end" boats that could go upwind remarkably well,
but provided their greatest entertainment and challenges downwind! With
teeny booms, monster fore-triangles with long poles meant you could set
ginormous masthead spinnakers. Downwind, a fleet of IOR boats were
something to behold, especially when they set their colorful "bloopers"
alongside their spinnakers in 25-30 knots of wind-- the betting parlors
were going crazy trying to guess which boat would do the classic, nearly
ritualistic, "gybe-broach dance" first. The result of this
out-of-control activity was performing the proverbial "yard sale" with
all their "laundry" (e.g. shredded spinnakers) blown across the water!
While the IOR boats all but disappeared off the world's racing circuits,
the actual race tracks around Florida and the Bahamas left many with
fond, happy memories of some extraordinary sailing-- in particular the
criss-crossing of the Gulf Stream, the Bahamas Banks and all the
wildlife!The SORC has been resurrected to some degree in the past few years, but it's still a mere shadow of its former self. The Lauderdale Race, the original "feeder race"for the SORC, is still popular since it now "feeds" Key West Race Week. A recent addition was the resurrection of the classic Miami-Nassau Race, popular for its Gulf Stream crossing, the passage across the Bahamas Banks and the Tongue of the Ocean, and the gorgeous finish off Nassau's Paradise Island. It can be an idyllic offshore passage with spectacular scenery-- flying fish, hammerhead sharks, giant 12 ft sunfish, "square groupers", or just a full moon in a 15-20 knots WNW for a truly magical crossing in these parts- shorts and t-shirts the whole way!
Leading the charge for awhile in this year's Nassau Cup Ocean Race was none other than Frank Kern's crew of veteran ocean-racers sailing the equally well-traveled (and successful) J/120 CARINTHIA. Not much will slow down this crew from Detroit- famous for sailing (and winning) a few hundred Mac Races amongst them. In the end, Frank's good friend from Detroit, Bob Kirkman and buddies aboard the J/120 HOT TICKET, managed to sail a bit smarter and faster to edge out CARINTHIA for bragging rights in the "120 class"-- getting 2nd in PHRF 1 and first 120 home. With Frank's CARINTHIA in 3rd PHRF 1, Bill Terry's team had their hands full with the boys from "8 Mile" (or someplace close by), so had to settle for 4th in PHRF 1 and 3rd in the 120s.
Not to be outdone or outshone by their stablemates, it was pretty evident that David Bond's J/105 LOKI knew their way around the race track from Miami to Nassau. Having been a veteran of this offshore classic for years, David and crew sailed an excellent race to finish just off the skirt-tails of the 120s, and managed to take PHRF 2 by a significant margin. For more Nassau Cup sailing information
