(Cedar Point, CT)- Over the years, sailors from up and down Long Island
Sound have watched the evolution of various regattas that cater to their
needs- a combination of fun, serious sailing, and great camaraderie
ashore. As the first “unofficial” regatta of the summer, Westport,
Connecticut’s Cedar Point Yacht Club created an event that has had
particular allure to J/sailors on the Sound- the Cedar Point One-Design
Regatta. This year, it has become quite literally a de-facto “J/FEST”
regatta, with four of five classes present being J/classes- the J/70s,
J/88s, J/105s, and J/109s- that represents 82% of the event.The eight-boat J/70 class has a cast of characters that have been sailing some of the J/70 winter series events, Charleston Race Week, and are now easing into summer mode. Those teams include Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA, Josh Goldman’s BUILDING A, Carrie & Ed Austin’s CHINOOK, Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE, and John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES.
The J/88s are enjoying a great turnout for the event, with seven-boats registered to do battle leading into their J/88 North American Championship sailing in the same waters of Long Island Sound late in the summer. Some of the leading teams present in Cedar Point include Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION, Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE, Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY, and Mike Bruno’s WINGS.
Somewhat similar to the J/88s, the J/105s are slowly migrating east out of Long Island Sound for those wanting more competition leading up to the J/105 North Americans in Marblehead, MA. In the nine-boat J/105 fleet are contenders such as Harald Edegran & Jeremy Henderson’s CONUNDRUM, Max Kalehoff’s LAURA BEA, Richie Palmer’s TOLO, and Randy Bourne’s STRANGE BREW.
Speaking of eastward migrations out of Long Island Sound, the huge eighteen-boat J/109 class is basically migrating to their number #1 destination resort on Planet Earth- Block Island Race Week! The next stop on the way there is Westport, CT, how convenient! Virtually all the top J/109 teams will be present. The first major regatta of the summer for the J/109s provides each team a sense of where they are on the totem pole, and what needs to be improved upon before the next major event. Based on their recent performances in the American YC Spring Series, watch out for these teams to be fast “out-of-the-box”- William Rogers’ BIG BOAT, Jonathan Rechtschaffer’s EMOTICON, John Greifzu’s GROWTH SPURT, David Rosow’s LOKI, Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY, and Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY. However, do not be surprised if some guys driving a boat named RUSH from Annapolis YC (Bill Sweetser) upset the cooks in the kitchen from Long Island Sound. Nor, do not be surprised if some old Navy guy from Newport aboard VENTO SOLARE (Bill Kneller) throws a boomerang at the fleet and ends up in the chocolates. In other words, watch this space…the popcorn is ready; it will be fun to watch. For more Cedar Point One-Design Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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