(Stamford, CT) – Stamford Yacht Club’s Vineyard Race is a classic
American yachting event, a 238-mile offshore course stretching from
Shippan Point east, through swirling currents of the famous “Race”, past
Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard’s
Bay, to return leaving Block Island to starboard to the finish in
Stamford Harbor. Begun in 1932, it has attracted the finest sailors and
fastest boats for nearly 80 years, and its intricacies and challenges
bring them back time after time. 96 boats entered this year’s race with a
number of J crews dragging off bags full of silverware and
pickle-dishes for their kitchens (or trophy cabinets).Sailing the classic Vineyard Course were a combination of IRC, PHRF and Double-handed classes. In the Class 6 IRC Double-handed fleet, Hewitt Gaynor’s J/120 MIREILLE took first followed by Jason Richter’s J/35 PALADIN in fourth. In Class 9 IRC, the J/109s dominated the top five, with Jim Vos’ SKOOT in 2nd, Bob Siegel’s PAX 3 in 3rd, Chris Nicholls & Cao Deambrosio’s RHIANNON III in 4th and Eric Kamisher’s BLUE RIDER in 5th. In the large Class 12 IRC, the J/teams dominated their division, taking 7 of the top ten. Winning was HL Devore’s J/44 HONALEE, followed by Peter Becker’s American YC Jr Big Boat Team sailing the J/122 PATRIOT (note- they won this division last year!). Fourth was Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes’ J/44 KINCSEM, 5th was Len Sitar’s J/44 VAMP, 6th was Dan Heun’s J/122 MOXIE, 7th was John Pearson’s J/122 RED SKY and 9th was Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION. Finally, in Class 13 PHRF, the two J/120s took 3rd and 4th, respectively, Steven Levy’s EAGLE and Marcus Cholertown-Brown’s SUNSET CHILD.
The shorter Seaflower Reef Course also saw J/Teams take their fair share of the loot. In PHRF 4 Class, Todd Aven’s J/92 THIN MAN was first. And, in PHRF 5 Class, Marc Berkowitz’s J/105 CLEAN SLATE was third followed by Paul Zajac’s J/105 SKAL in fourth. For more Stamford Vineyard Race sailing information
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