Attracting nearly 100 Boats, New York Yacht Club Commodore William P. Ketcham (Greenwich, Conn.) was committed to running the 166th edition. “That is why we kept delaying the event rather than canceling it outright. It was a challenge, but we finally got to a point where we could run it based on Rhode Island’s COVID-19 guidelines and our own Club policies on safety. The enthusiasm on the water, both this weekend and at last weekend’s Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex, was tremendous. Our team on MAXINE packed basically our entire sailing season into two weeks, and we couldn’t have had more fun.”
With 11 points in four races, Ketcham’s J/44 MAXINE placed second in ORC 3. At the head of the class was Tom Sutton’s J/109 LEADING. While Sutton hails from Houston, Texas, where he lives and sails in the cooler months, Newport has become a second home.
With most multi-day sailing regattas in 2020 were canceled, the LEADING EDGE team cobbled together a summer of weeknight and one-day races in and around Narragansett Bay.
“We raced every race on Tuesday night and did the weekend regattas,” says Sutton. “We went to Block Island with the Twenty Hundred Club, we raced around Prudence Island two times, Conanicut Island four or five times. We’ve gotten in more sailboat racing than in most years. But we miss racing around the buoys. That’s what we really like.”
All that time on the water paid off this weekend with wins in the Around the Island Race on October 2 as well as the Annual Regatta around the buoys. Sutton was quick to share the credit, singling out his wife Diana for her work off the water and on the foredeck and the team’s tactical brain trust of Tom Meeh and Alex Crowell.
“My guys work as hard or harder than anybody,” says Tom Sutton. “We’ve sailed together since 2014 and everybody a great time this year. We’re all looking forward to coming back next summer.”
As it turns out, J/Teams lead a sweep of the top five in ORC 3 Class. Third step on the podium went to Ken Luczynski's J/44 VAMP, fourth to John & Sue Sutherland's 19th NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, and fifth place to Bill Kneller's J/109 VENTO SOLARE. Job well done to all!
Winning PHRF 1 Class was Bob Manchester's J/133 VAMOOSE, followed by Joe Brito's J/121 INCOGNITO in fourth place.
In past years, the Annual Regatta would signal the start of the Newport sailing season, with competitors looking forward to Race Weeks in Newport or Block Island, or a long thrash to Bermuda. This year, however, it closed out the racing season.
The summer of 2020 wasn’t what anyone expected, but those fortunate enough to participate in the 166th Annual Regatta will head into winter with fresh memories of competition and camaraderie. The 167th edition of the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta is scheduled for June 11 to 13, 2021.Sailing photo credits- NYYC/ Rolex/ Daniel Forster. For more New York YC Annual Regatta sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
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