Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta- World's Largest College Sailing Event(Larchmont, NY) - A record 425 college sailors from 38 schools racing 43 borrowed boats came together for the 2012 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta hosted by the Storm Trysail Foundation and Larchmont Yacht Club. With so many college sailors participating, the event has become the world’s largest college sailing regatta. Schools travelled from Canada, the Midwest, New England and the mid-Atlantic states with the University of Wisconsin Madison traveling the farthest.
The
regatta introduces college sailors, most of whom sail dinghies, to the
dynamics of big boat racing. This regatta also gives college sailors who
already have big boat experience a chance to take charge of some of
very vast and evenly matched offshore boats. The fleet racing boats were
divided into five divisions: J/105s (10 boats), J/109s (8 boats), J/44s
(five boats), a PHRF class (10 boats) and an IRC class (10 boats). The
IRC class included four Swan 42s, a King 40, a Farr 400 and an
assortment of J/Boats ranging from a J/133 to a J/111. These are very
leading edge boats! In fact of the 43 boats sailing, 28 of them were
J/Boats- 65% of the fleet! Kudos to all the J/Boat owners in the
Northeast and Long Island Sound for supporting this remarkable event!Five races were sailed over the course of the two-day weekend. A fresh 15-20 knot breeze on the first day created some great photo moments as boats rolled out or had problems getting spinnakers down. For the most part, the students handled the boats well. On the second day, the race committee was lucky to get two races in before the wind faded to zero. For the IRC division, the second beat of the second race turned into a run as the wind shifted from the north to the southeast, prompting the race committee to shorten or abandon for certain classes.
The
U.S. Naval Academy team sailing the J/133 BACCHANAL received the Paul
Hoffmann Trophy as the overall winner of the regatta. The Ed duMoulin
Trophy was presented to BACCHANAL's owner, former Larchmont YC Commodore
Jan Smeets. Navy won the IRC division sailing the J/133 to a 3-1-1-1-1
record for 7 pts. Fourth in IRC was Hamilton College team sailing the
J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON (Andrew Weiss) to a 4-6-3-2-9 score for 9 pts,
dropping from 2nd overall due to slow performance on the last race.
Sixth was the J/111 PARTNERSHIP (David & MaryEllen Tortorello)
sailed by VILLANOVA with a 6-5-7-5-4 tally for 27 pts, showing steady
improvement on how to sail their horse a bit faster over the weekend. 
The
J/44 Class had a remarkably tight and competitive regatta for the five
boats sailing. Keeping up with their tradition of having the tightest
one-design big-boat competition anywhere, the top three podium finishers
were determined on a tie-breaker, based on most first/seconds. The
previous IOR Overall Winners, Maine Maritime, won the J/44 division
sailing Jim Bishop’s GOLD DIGGER with a 1-1-5-3-3 record for 13 pts.
Second was another well-sailed NAVY team on board MAXINE (Bill Ketcham),
scoring 5-2-3-2-1 for 13 pts, too. Third was MASS MARITIME sailing
VAMP (Len Sitar) to a 2-4-4-1-2 also for 13 pts! 
Like
their compatriots in the J/44s, the MASS MARITIME team in the J/109
Class sailed well to clinch their glass sailing time won the J/109
division sailing Adrian Begley’s MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN to a
1-4-3-4-3 tally for 15 pts. Second and nearly pulling off a win in the
last race was MAINE MARITIME sailing STRATEGERY (Jack Forehand) to a
7-1-2-1-5 for 16 pts-- having to absorb a scoring penalty in the first
race. Third was WEBB INSTITUTE sailing APSARA (Mike Sleightholme) to a
very steady 3-3-7-3-1 record for 17 pts to nip QUEENS UNIVERSITY on a
tie-breaker sailing NORDLYS (Bob & Ellen Schwartz). Fifth was MIAMI
OF OHIO sailing VENTO SOLARE (Paul Milo).
BOWDOIN
won the J/105 division sailing Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY to a 2-1-4-2
record for 9 pts. Three points back was UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN BADGERS
sailing PEREGRINA (Josh Burack) to a 1-2-5-4 tally for 12 pts. Third
was STEVENS INSTITUTE sailing SYNERGY (Perry Moy) to a 4-5-2-7 for 18
pts. Rounding out the top five were RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute) in fourth on PLANET CLAIRE with 21 pts (John Koten) and fifth
was YALE on LIQUID COURAGE (Dan Herron) with 23 pts.In PHRF Division, OHIO STATE sailed Bill Mack's J/120 M-SQUARED to second overall with a 1-3-1-4-7 record for 16 pts- a bummer for them after having started so strongly the first day to be easily leading PHRF class, only to lose those hard-earned races with a 4-7 on the last day-- perhaps they had too much fun Saturday night dancing?
Besides
great sailing, the regatta is free for the boat owners and sailors
thanks to carefully cultivated sponsorship. There is no entry fee or
damage deposit. There are two free dinners for the sailors as well as
125 free pizzas for the awards ceremony, at least five kegs of beer, 55
cases of soda and 800 Good Humor Ice Cream bars. Great sailing, plenty
of socializing and free food – no wonder so many kids call the IOR the
highlight of their college sailing year!! Here are a sample of the e-
mails that came in from sailors and boat owners:“Again, what an amazing weekend at the IOR! We had SUCH a great time! American University would definitely love to participate again next year, so let us know how/when we sign up.” Lisa Gabrielson.
“Once more please accept my thanks for letting me be a part of that terrific regatta this past weekend. What a fitting way to depart Newport and Long Island Sound for home!” Paul Milo- J/109 Vento Solare.
“It is a fantastic event that I only hear the highest appraisals of from everyone that knows about it. Thanks for doing it.” Kenneth Madsen, Vice President of Dimension/Polyant Sailcloth (a regatta sponsor).
Schools
that participated were: American University, Bates College, Bowdoin,
Bucknell University, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Colgate, Denison, Drexel,
Fordham University, Hamilton, Harvard, Maine Maritime Academy,
Maryland, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Miami University of Ohio,
University of Michigan, Monmouth University, U.S. Naval Academy,
University of New Hampshire, Northeastern, Ohio State, University of
Ottawa, Purdue, Queens University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
University of Rhode Island, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Stevens
Institute of Technology, SUNY at Stony Brook, SUNY Maritime, Tufts, U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy, Villanova, Webb Institute, University of
Western Michigan, Williams College, William and Mary, Wisconsin and
Yale.In 2012, the IOR was made possible by sponsorship from: Rolex, Vineyard Vines, Safe Flight Instruments, Dimension/Polyant Sailcloth, Brewer Yacht Yards, Flintlock Construction, J/Boats, UK Sailmakers, Gill, Clarion Partners and Yacht Scoring.
The Storm Trysail Foundation and Larchmont Yacht Club extend their sincerest thanks to the regatta’s sponsors, boat owners, volunteers and Event Chairman Adam Loory, a Storm Trysail Club member, without whom this sailing opportunity would not be possible for many college sailors.
Once again there is a contest for the Best Team Sailing Video of the regatta. All 43 college sailing teams were provided with digital video cameras-- all the footage is be pooled together digitally on-line, so any team can take their footage and combine it with others to make a video- documentary, music video, whatever. Let your imaginations run wild with creativity! The winning team will earn a $1,500 prize! VILLANOVA won last year with this sailing video. For full Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing results
