(Rye, NY)- The second and final weekend of the 40th Annual American Yacht Club Spring Series Regatta concluded this past weekend in the same way it started on April 27-28; with challenging weather that included little wind on Saturday and heavy rain and 30 kt gusts on Sunday.
However, this didn’t prevent excellent performances, as determined sailors on over 70 boats in nine separate boat classes – IRC, PHRF, J/44, J/109, J/88, J/105, J/70, and J/80- toughed it out and got in good racing on western Long Island Sound.
With two races on Sunday, Mike Bruno’s WINGS placed first in the J/88 division and continued building on a hot streak that dates back to January with a win at the J/88 Midwinter Championship in St. Petersburg, FL. Elizabeth Barry’s team on ESCAPE had sailed strongly the previous weekend, but had a rough time in the rough weather and her 4th place finish in her last race dropped her into a tie with WINGS with 6 pts each, but lost the tie-breaker on most 1sts. Taking third was Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY.
WINGS skipper Mike Bruno commented, “it was pretty brutal, rain, low 50s air temp, 44 degree water temp, gusting to 25 kts plus or more in the last race was tough on everyone. One of our competitors pulled their jib cars off the deck, and the Canadians just called it a day, not surprised. We were happy, grateful, to get around the track in the last race to win and also get the series win.”
In the J/109 Class, Rosow’s LOKI continued their dominating performance, posting a 2nd on the last day to win with just 4 pts net! By winning the last race, John Greifzu’s GROWTH SPURT leapt into the silver spot, while Robert Schwartz’s NORDLYS placed 4th in the finale to drop into third place. .
Continuing their amazing string of 2nds was Paul Beaudin’s J/105 LOU LOU. With yet another two 2nds, LOU LOU won with just 7 pts net. John Koten’s GRAY MATTER posted a 6-1 to jump up the leaderboard to grab the silver medal. Meanwhile, “the kids” on YOUNG AMERICAN dropped off the pace, posting an 11-3 to fall to fifth in the challenging conditions. Then, David Greenhouse’s SKIPPERDEE had an outstanding day with a 3-4 to grab the bronze position. Rounding out the top five was David Willis’ SOLUTION in 4th and YOUNG AMERICAN 5th.
In the J/70s, Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA barely held on to their lead to win by a point. It was the hard-charging duo of Carrie & Ed Austin’s CHINOOK that posted double bullets to nearly pull off a surprise win on Sunday. Third was J-RHINO.
The East Course saw Commodore Ketcham maintain their lead in the J/44 fleet to take the class win with 8 pts net. Reveling in the rough conditions was Don & Dick Rave’s RESOLUTE, firing on all cylinders to post a 1-2-1 scoreline Sunday and grab the silver. Just behind them was Len Sitar’s VAMP in third position.
In the PHRF Racing division, Scott Devine’s brand new J/112E REVIVER closed with a smoking hot 2-2 as they prepared for their summer season of racing. Meanwhile, Ron Richman’s J/133 ANTIDOTE closed the regatta in fourth place. Finally, in the PHRF Plus One division, Steven Levy’s J/121 EAGLE took second place. For more American YC Spring Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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