(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard)— Light air became a challenge for racers and organizers at this year’s Edgartown Race Weekend hosted by Edgartown Yacht Club, but the show went on for all to enjoy on Martha’s Vineyard.
The event’s most illustrious of three events– the 56-mile ’Round-the-Island (RTI) race that has been a New England racing tradition for 81 years now– started Saturday, July 27 in “triple-naught” to “whispers” of breeze. Without making much progress in the first few hours, the EYC Race Committee wisely elected to shorten course on the south side of the island for two-thirds of the fleet. Those boats completed a 25-mile course, while another nine boats sailed for 45 miles to finish near West Chop.
For this year’s ’RTI race, there were 42 boats in eight classes, two of which were non-spinnaker. Twelve boats opted for the ’Round-the-Sound (’RTS) race, the third component of Edgartown Race Weekend and an option for those wanting a shorter course. While last year this fleet’s course was 18 miles, this year it was 11.
“We had three courses from which to choose, and that worked out well that we could opt for a shorter one based on the wind conditions,” said Race Chairman Bob Hurst. “The ’Round-the-Sound sailors started 15 minutes after the last start of the ’Round-the-Island race on Saturday, and the first boats finished the course in a little over three hours.”
Edgartown Race Weekend’s ’RTI/’RTS and ’RTB races are scored separately, with top-three prizes awarded in each class. Sailors enjoyed a Mount Gay-sponsored “Jump-Up” party on Friday night (July 26) and awards for the ’RTB on Friday afternoon and the ’RTI and ’RTS on Sunday morning (July 28).
Sailing in the Round the Buoys Races, winning PHRF B Division was Dan Heun’s J/122 MOXIEE. In PHRF C Division, the two J/105s- Matt Schmitt’s HARDTACK & the trio of Joyce/ Reservitz/ Wagner on DARK’N’STORMY- finished second and third, respectively.
For the Round the Island race, leading a clean sweep of the podium and winning PHRF 2 Division was Doug Curtiss’ J/111 WICKED 2.0 (below) with a corrected time of 8:15:26! Wow, that was a long race! Second was Stephen Besse’s J/120 APRES and taking third place was Jonathan Burt’s J/130 LOLA! Finishing in 5th position was Eliot Shanabrook’s J/109 HAFA ADAI.
Winning PHRF C Division in the RTI race was Steve Dahill’s J/35C RIVA with Phillip Stathos’s J/110 AIRBENDER taking third place.
In the PHRF “white sails” division, Alan Fougere’s J/160 AVATAR took the bronze, while Kent Nicholas’ J/42 PANASEA placed 5th.
Finally, in the Round the Sound Races, winning the J/70 class was Veronica Lundgren’s GHOST. Second was Anthony Giordano’s TONIC and third went to JP Bretl’s SEAHAWK. In the PHRF 2 Division, winning was Daniel Heun’s J/122 MOXIEE. Sailing photo credits- Stephen Cloutier/ BlockIslandSteve. For more Edgartown Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
|
