MIRAGE Nips 105s, AUNT JEAN Dusts 35s(Annapolis, MD)- This past weekend's 31st Annual Hospice Cup in Annapolis - one of the country's oldest and longest-running charity regattas- saw a lot of boats come out and play, especially seven brand new J/70s in their first Chesapeake Bay one-design regatta! While J/105s posted the biggest class, the J/70's were turning lots of heads as they worked the waves downwind. Those that came out found great breeze with 12-15 kt southerlies, big waves and not a cloud in the sky.
The Hospice Cup, an annual tradition of mixing sailboat racing and charity, has not always brought good sailing weather to Annapolis. But anyone who participated in this year's edition of the event on Saturday, September 22 has erased all bad weather from memory... What a day to be on the Bay! Great breeze, tight competition on the race course, fantastic food at the shoreside party, an auction, upbeat live music and all with the best views in Annapolis.
Here's
a brief synopsis of the event from proud new J/70 owner- Chris &
Carolyn Groobey: "The charity regatta started with a four-leg
windward-leeward race followed by a two-leg race with one long windward
leg followed by a tight reach into the Severn River for a finish in
front of the regatta’s spectator boats. This was the first race for
most of the participants, with some of the boats literally finishing
their commissioning that morning. Everyone enjoyed the 70’s upwind
balance through the medium chop and worked on
planing-versus-displacement decisions on the downwind legs. Skippers
reported speeds of 12+ knots on the downwind legs, crews reveled in the
challenge of the tight reach back into the river and everyone wished the
race committee had kept the fleet out longer. Long-time J/sailor Tate
Russack showed his experience with both J/performance designs and
high-performance sportboats and posted a 1-1 scoreline to win the
regatta. The remainder of the fleet was tightly clumped, indicating a
future of close racing for the fleet. The Chesapeake fleet will soon swell to the low 20s with existing orders, with critical mass not only in Annapolis but also in Lewes (Delaware), Fishing Bay (Virginia) and the Hampton Roads area, and fleet leaders expect 40+ by early next year.
The
Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis will host a J/70-only regatta November
3-4 and hopes for 25-30 boats, comprised of both the local fleet and
other 70s passing through Annapolis on their way to this winter’s
southern circuit. Annapolis will then welcome the 70s back at next
spring’s NOOD regatta, where a 40+ boat fleet is shaping up to be a
reasonable expectation. All in all, a great start for the next great
one-design fleet in the Chesapeake region."
Meanwhile,
the J/105 fleet saw some spirited competition with Cedric Lewis' MIRAGE
winning a cliff-hanger tie-breaker with Carl & Scott Gitchell's
TENACIOUS- the tie-break going to Cedric winning two races. Third was
Bob Reeves' A-TRAIN. Fourth was Steve & Gregg Sunshine's HELIOS and
fifth was Andrew Kennedy's BAT IV.In the J/35 world, it was Jerry Christofel's famous AUNT JEAN (left) that brought "home the bacon" by taking all three races in first place. Second was Ken Karsten's BZING and third was Stephanie Reuer's DAKOTA GIRL (mostly by default). Sailing photo credits- Dan Phelps at SPINSHEET Please see Hospice Cup gallery- http://www.SpinSheet.com
