(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, MA)— There are two ways to approach
Edgartown Yacht Club’s Race Weekend, scheduled for Thursday, July 23
through Saturday, July 25. Come for Saturday only to compete in the 56
nautical mile ‘Round-the-Island Race. Or, go for a full three days of
total-immersion racing therapy, come Thursday and Friday for two days of
‘Round-the-Buoy Races before circumnavigating Martha’s Vineyard on
Saturday.Stephen McManus (Annapolis, Md.), owner of the J/120 SAYKADOO, is sailing all three days. “We had been cruising in the area for 10 years, and last year I thought why not just do this regatta, so we did, and we loved it,” said McManus, who races SAYKADOO primarily on Chesapeake Bay and this year got the boat to New England by way of entering the Annapolis to Newport Race. “You do some sailing outside the harbor, get a couple of races in each day, and it gets you warmed up for the weekend. You can’t beat Edgartown in late July, and Edgartown Yacht Club does a fabulous job of hosting and provides good communication for someone like myself coming from a long distance.”
McManus said that instead of renting a house, SAYKADOO’s owners chartered, like they did last year, a 50-foot cruiser that will sit on a mooring in Edgartown Harbor where the J/120 can easily raft alongside it in the evenings. He looks forward to competition from another J/120, APRES, owned by Stephen Besse of Vineyard Haven, and the J/46 WINGS, owned by Richard Egan of Hyannis, Mass.
“The J/46 rates similarly under PHRF, and we owe the J/109 time, but a 109 can beat a 120 and vice versa, depending on the conditions,” said McManus, also mentioning the two very competitive Navy 44s, Tenacious and Gallant, that are returning from the Naval Academy.
And while the Annapolis to Newport Race takes between three and four days to complete, the ‘Round-the-Island Race starts Saturday morning and typically finishes in the late afternoon that same day. “Last year, it was a really nice breeze in the low teens, and we had every point of sail: upwind while we went down the east side, a reach down the southern side, spinnakers on the way up Vineyard Sound, and a reach back to the finish outside Edgartown Harbor.”
For the Round Buoys event on Thursday-Friday, the big deal is the PHRF class with 20 boats registered. The boats range in size from 37 to 50 feet. The fastest rated boat in the class is the J/111 JEREMY SMALL sailed by Mike Williamson from Portsmouth YC. They will be up against a trio of J/120s, including McManus’ SAYKADOO, Besse’s APRES and Richard Joy’s KINDRED SPIRITS from Mattapoisett YC. The Egan’s J/46 WINGS is also sailed, as are two very fast J/109s- Ted Herlihy’s GUT FEELING (a past J/109 NA Champion) and Ed Dailey’s RAPTOR. Two one-design J/105s will be out there, including Matt Schmitt’s HARDTACK and the Joyce/ Reservitz/ Wagner trio on DARK’N’STORMY from Plymouth YC. One other 35 foot J will be in their midst, Ashley Simpson’s J/35 UNCLE JOE!
The classic Round Island Race is about as long as the “other” classic Round Island Race- the Isle of Wight in Great Britain. Both cover over 50nm of sailing (depending on how you sail it) and both have copious amounts of current, sometimes fog, plenty of wind, lots of shoals and rocks and plenty of opportunities to play the various points, lighthouse and bays for tactical advantage. In the IRC Division, the recent IRC East Coast Champion in Division 3, AUGUST WEST, will be sailed by James Shachoy and crew from Beverly YC. The PHRF Division mushrooms into 38 boats, nearly twice the Round Buoys fleet. Joining the boats above will be two more J/111s- Doug Curtiss’ WICKED 2.0 (a 3x past Round Island Class champ) and Mike Williamson’s BRIGADOON. Another J/109 will jump in for the tour of the island, Eliot Shanabrook’s HAFA ADAI from Marblehead YC, as will the J/37 CARINA skippered by Will Passano from Gibson Island Yacht Squadron. And, another J/105 will join the fray for class honors; the local juniors from the Nantucket Community Sailing center will be aboard PRIMA with skipper Chris Raymond. Finally, Steve Dahill’s J/35c RIVA from Beverly YC will be keepin’ them all honest!
The PHRF Non-Spin division will see the addition of the J/42 PANASEA sailed by Kent Nicholas from Red Brook Harbor YC. For more Edgartown Regatta sailing information
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