(Stamford, CT)- Labor Day weekend's Vineyard Race is a classic American
yachting event; a 238-mile course stretching from Shippan Point, through
the swirling currents of the Race or Plum Gut, past Block Island, and
on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay, to return
leaving Block Island to starboard en route to the finish in Stamford
Harbor. Begun in 1932, it has attracted the finest sailors and fastest
boats for over 70 years, and its intricacies and challenges bring them
back time after time. Those who are successful nearly always credit
local knowledge of these tricky waters and a good deal of luck. As one
wag put it, "go through Plum Gut or die"-- while not always the case, it
does have some merit of truth since primary breezes often are either
sea-breeze or gradient weather system breezes from the southerly
quadrants, most often from the southwest, so going up under the Long
Island shore near Montauk Point often provides significant benefits in
terms of both tidal currents and winds.There are 85 boats sailing with 20 J/Teams racing. And, amongst those J/Crews, it reads like a "who's who" of the Northeastern offshore sailing fraternity-- collectively there are countless Overall and Class Champions in the Block Island Race, Vineyard Race, Bermuda Race, Key West Race Week and New York YC Race Weeks-- in other words, a "rogue's gallery" of teams that are all perfectly capable of grabbing their fair share of silverware!
On
the "classic" Vineyard Course there are a combination of Double-handed
teams plus IRC and PHRF classes. Leading the charge in the IRC
Double-handed will be a trio of J/Duos, including the J/100 FLASHPOINT
sailed by Adrian Little of Cedar Point YC and two champion teams- the
J/35 PALADIN sailed by Jason Richter of Setauket YC (a Bermuda Race
champion) and the J/120 MIREILLE skippered by Hewitt Gaynor from Pequot
YC- another champion double-handed team. In the IRC 40 will be the
champion family team on-board Andrew Weiss's J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON
from Larchmont YC, they'll be challenged by yet another champion J/44
CHARLIE V sailed by Norm Schulman from Storm Trysail Club. In the IRC 45
Class, the J/133 MATADOR skippered by Dale & Mike McIvor from
Pequot YC will be a significant factor in a class dominated by custom
boats given the current weather forecast. The same will be true for the
IRC 50 Class were the J/145 SWEET LORRAINE sailed by Mike Nasen from
Larchmont YC could give some of the recent custom IRC offshore racers a
run for the money! Finally, to round out the IRC world, the IRC 35
class has to be one of the toughest to win-- all well-sailed boats by
veteran offshore racers on Long Island Sound. A quartet of J/109s will
be vying for class honors, including APSARA (Mike Sleightholme-
Huguenot YC), ARIEL (Jeff Warren- Pequot YC), SKOOT (Jim Vos- Stamford
YC) and RHIANNON III (Curt Schibli- Stamford YC). Not letting any of
them off the hook will be another "classic 35 footer" from the J drawing
boards, the J/35 BLUE MOUSE sailed by the team of Mark Parry &
Lawrence McGrath from Riverside YC.Over in PHRF World, sailing in PHRF 7 Class is the J/105 STRATOS (Marcus Wunderlich from Jersey City, NJ) and in PHRF 8 Class are two J/120s, EAGLE (Steven Levy from Indian Harbor YC) and M-SQUARED (Bill Mack from Stamford YC).
On the Cornfield Point Course, sailing C2 Class will be the fast J/Cruiser, the J/32 AMY BETH II skippered by Dana O'Brien from Riverside YC.
Sailing
the Seaflower Reef Course in the S2 Double-handed will be a past
champion, the J/105 MORNING GLORY sailed by Carl Olsson from Larchmont
YC. And in the S3 Class will be a quartet of J's that include the J/105
SYNERGY (David Spence- Manhattan Sailing Club), the J/33 SIRIUS (Mike
Sullivan- Fayerweather YC), the J/92 RISK (Kevin Mackay- Riverside YC)
and the J/92 THIN MAN (Todd Aven- Storm Trysail Club).The initial forecast for the Vineyard Race weekend looks very promising. Here's the NOAA "crystal ball" predictions for the weekend:
Fri: W winds 5 to 10 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 1 ft or less.
Fri Night: W winds around 10 kt...becoming NW after midnight. Seas 1 ft or less.
Sat: NW winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming NE. Seas 1 ft or less.
Sun: NE winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming SE. Seas 1 ft or less
If the forecast is anywhere near to what has happened in past Vineyard Races, the start of the race will be "fast & furious" with the entire fleet flying spinnakers in all their glory flying down Long Island Sound to the East in spectacular fashion, leading them through "The Race" at the end of Long Island Sound in a dying breeze. Then, the big question will be how to go around the "Vineyard buoy" and return back West to Long Island Sound in light winds-- perhaps the "right side/ north side" of the course headed back West may pay off big this year?? Time will tell. For more Stamford-Vineyard Race sailing information
