(Newport, RI)– The Ida Lewis Distance Race scheduled for Saturday, August 15, has a record-breaking 74 entries, indicating how much sailors are itching to compete and embrace any and all event modifications that the pandemic has necessitated. The race, in its 16th year, is hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club and starts off Fort Adams at 11 am. Because of CDC guidelines, the skippers’ meeting – typically held at the Club – will be held on the water at 10:15 a.m. (broadcast on VHF Channel 79A).“It definitely will not be your normal Ida Lewis Distance Race,” said Event Chair Pat Kennedy. “We have been taking it week-by-week, but we started early on with tailoring the event to family and friends (those who can sail together safely) and keeping our plans flexible.”
To that end, the race starts on a Saturday rather than its traditional start on Friday, and 44 boats in the PHRF Aloha class (for smaller boats with PHRF ratings of 55 and higher), Coronet class (for larger boats with PHRF ratings of 54 and lower) and Cruising Spinnaker class will sail a never-before-offered inshore course that tracks 33 nautical miles around Conanicut, Prudence and Patience Islands. “Those teams will not need to sail overnight, which makes it easier for those forced to sail with a smaller crew,” said Kennedy.
The balance of the fleet– an IRC class with 10 boats and a PHRF Doublehanded class with 20 boat – will each sail one of the race’s four traditional overnight offshore courses. The round-trip courses, ranging in length from 112 to 169 nautical miles, are decided by the Race Committee just prior to the race to best fit the weather conditions expected. With turning marks at Castle Hill, Brenton Reef, Block Island, Montauk Point, Martha’s Vineyard and Buzzards Tower, they incorporate some of New England’s most celebrated cruising grounds.
In the IRC Class of ten boats, three J/Teams will be competing for handicap honors, including Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE, Dan Heuen's J/122 MOXIEE, and Bob Manchester's J/133 VAMOOSE.
The Doublehanded sailors, comprising the largest class this year with twenty boats, and the largest class of its kind in the history of the race, has two J/Crews sailing, including Tom O’Connell’s J/99 FINALE and the American YC's mixed double youth crew on the J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN.
A half-dozen J's will be sailing inside the Bay on the very popular round-the-islands format, a very scenic tour of the Bay! The nineteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Aloha class has many accomplished teams enrolled, including EC Helme’s J/92 SPIRIT, Bill Kneller’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE, Sam Sylvester's J/29 MEDDLER, and the US Merchant Marine Academy's J/44 VAMP.
The sole J/Team in the eighteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Coronet division will be Mark Nannini's J/120 SALACIA.
This is the 16th running of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, which is for boats 28 feet or longer and is certified as a “Clean Regatta” by the Sailors for the Sea organization. It begins off Fort Adams and ends just inside Newport Harbor where Ida Lewis volunteers can site the finish line from their clubhouse on Lime Rock before greeting each team on the water with a congratulatory bottle of Prosecco. For more Ida Lewis YC Distance Race information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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