(Hyannis, MA)- The 43rd Annual Figawi Race did not disappoint the 206
boats and 3,000+ sailors making the annual pilgrimage from Hyannis to
Nantucket Harbor nearly 25.0nm away. According to Brad Mascott on the
J/105 TWO IF BY SEA, “Big wind and big seas made for a fast sleigh ride to Nantucket for
those brave enough to carry their chutes. Wind was 15-20 knots from NE,
which made for a broad reach on port tack for the spinnaker fleet on
Course #5 on their way to Tuckernut Shoal Bell #1. As the J/105s started, Dark n Stormy had a great start, popped the chute and never looked back on their way for a 3peat win in its division. Another J/105 to my starboard had trouble with another spinnaker boat as they both nearly broached with a t-bone and then when the dust settled the J/105’s spinnaker exploded on the forestay! While other boats also blew spinnakers and halyards, it was reported that several crew members lost their breakfast over the rail - yes, it was rough but I am sure they had too much fun at the Hyannis YC pre-race party and then late night at Baxter’s- a favorite local pub.
We chose not to fly our spinnaker as we had our cruising crew onboard and still thoroughly enjoyed the fast and easy ride at 7-9 knots surfing down the waves!
Our
2nd leg was a “head bashing, lose your dental work” slog upwind to #15
north of great point and thank God it was only approximately 4 miles
long in some huge waves. The J/105 took it in stride. The J/122
PATRIOT trucked past us as they looked to be in fine fighting form.
Both PATRIOT and the J/44 SPICE popped their chutes one last time to the
finish and both looked good on the nearly dead downwind final leg.Really hard to complain with sunny skies all day, strong breeze and temps in the 50s-60s leading into a raucous scene at the wharf. The “BaHa Brothers” band were in fine form in the tent as crews and friends told stories, danced and drank the night away. Late night burrito at “Tacos Tacos” capped off a great day!”
As for how the J/Navy did in the race? Quite good overall. Not surprisingly, a J/105 was 3rd overall on the long course and the J/29 was 4th! In Division A the J/46 WINGS sailed by Rick Egan, a long—time veteran of the FIGAWI took 5th and Lauren Burke’s J/44 SPICE finished 5th.
In
Division C, the J/29 SEEFEST sailed by Ira Perry took 2nd place in
class and 4th overall! In Division G Non-Spinnaker the J/40 SMITTEN
skippered by Bill Jones took 4th.The sprit boat division crews could not have been grinning wider after the finish, an epic race indeed for this fast-moving crowd! In Division S1 Spinnaker, the J/120 M-SQUARED sailed by Gordon Mack took first followed by the two J/122s finishing together in third & fourth, respectively- Peter Duncan’s PATRIOT and Jim Maseiro’s URSUS MARITIMUS (exactly 60 seconds apart!). All three boats finished within 8 minutes of one another.
The Division S2 Spinnaker saw the J/105 DARK’N’STORMY sailed by Joyce & Wagner Reservitz win followed by Jonathan Bloom’s J/105 BEAR SPIRIT in 3rd, Diana Brown’s J/105 CLIO in 4th and Bill Kneller’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE in 5th. The top four boats all finished within a 2 minute time span! Wow, that was fun, close racing! For more FIGAWI Race sailing information
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