LITTLE MARTHA Missed Life ON THE BEACH!(Portland, ME)- The 30-4-30 Anniversary J/24 Downeast Regatta was exceptionally fun for all those hardy and lucky souls who made the trek to Portland, Maine for this early fall classic. The outcome of the regatta was determined on the final leg of the last race, with Lee Buress’ ON THE BEACH narrowly beating Chis Clancy’s LITTLE MARTHA at the finish for the overall regatta title and bragging rights for another twelve months as “King of the Down’east’ahs”!
After the first two races on Saturday, it was anyone’s guess what the ultimate outcome was going to be for veterans of this Gulf of Maine event. Buress’ crew had a 3-1, while Clancy had a 4-2, Mark Gardner’s JAM had a 2-4 and Denman/Smith’s AIRODOODLE from Marblehead, MA had a 1-12! That was the top five after the conclusion of the day’s racing on Saturday. Meanwhile, the rest of the top crews had scorelines all over to hell and back!
Clearly, some crews may have had too good a time, perhaps much too good a time, on Saturday night. As Sunday dawned, it was self-evident some crews appeared to be navigating through the “fog” on a clear, sunny day! That perspective was manifest in their extraordinarily insane scorelines. Gardner’s JAM got “jammed”, dropping two 12ths to nose-dive down the standings. Denman/Smith’s roller-coaster ride kept doing just that, posting a 3-20! Consequently, ON THE BEACH sailed clean and fast to win with LITTLE MARTHA second. Third went to John O’Rourke’s SPOOKY, fourth going to former high-flyer JAM and fifth going to a steadily improving Tim Corbett’s ESKIMO SISTERS. For more J/24 Downeast Regatta sailing information
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