AYC SPRING SERIES CLOSES WITH DOZEN RACES

 

(Rye, New York)- The second half of the 2021 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta held on April 30 – May 2 had over 50 boats entered in the One Design, PHRF, and ORC classes to compete off Rye, NY on Long Island Sound. The AYC Race Committee was able to complete races for the Short Course ORC and J/44 classes, and one distance race for the Coastal Racing course, which included PHRF, Doublehanded, and Mixed Doublehanded classes.

The weekend began with a gale warning holding teams shoreside Friday. The wind subsided Saturday afternoon to a more manageable 15-18 knots across the Long Island Sound allowing just enough time for three races. Sunday started off light and shifty with the rain looming over the New York City skyline, before giving way to sunshine and a little more pressure for three more races rounding out the series.

Continuing where they had started on the first weekend of racing, Bill Ketcham's MAXINE sailed a very consistent series to win the J/44 one-design class with 17 pts after eleven races, counting all podium finishes. Frequently giving them a run-for-the-money was Don & Dick Rave's RESOLUTE, finishing just three points back to take the silver. Rounding out the podium was Tom Blackwell's BREAKAWAY with a total of 29 pts.


Winning the J/105 one-design class was Paul Beaudin's LOU LOU, winning seven races enroute to a somewhat dominating win in the highly competitive class with 18 pts total. Second was Dave Willis' SOLUTION, counting nine podium finishes for a total of 25 pts. Taking the bronze in his first known podium finish in the J/105 class was Greth Lester's ECHO, showing flashes of brilliance, like winning the first race, but getting "unglued" and inconsistent in other races to fall behind the leaders. 

The J/88 one-design class was a tale of two weekends and two protagonists "flip-flopping" their roles in the fleet. On the first weekend, it seemed Iris Vogel's DEVIATION team could do no wrong and was winning by a good margin in the light to moderate conditions and flat water. Then, the second weekend saw a dramatic change in wind/ wave conditions which proved to be the undoing of the DEVIATION crew, but also much to the liking of the dynamic duo of Lawrence Cutler & Andrew Weiss on ONE TOO MANY. After closing with four straight bullets, the ONE TOO MANY boys finished tied with DEVIATION, winning the tie-breaker on countback. Watching the battle unfold from the bleacher seats on both weekends was another fun-loving duo on ALBONDIGAS, Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price, taking home the bronze for their second successive major event of the season. 

The J/70 one-design class saw Jean Marc Papin's PEN SEGAL take the class win with nearly all bullets, followed by Ben Hunt's NO NAME in second, with Gibbons Sinclair's HALF MINE II taking the bronze. 

In the Coastal PHRF Division, it was Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE that won class with consistent sailing. Just two points back, Robert Schwartz's J/109 NORDLYS took the bronze. In the Coastal ORC Mixed Doublehanded, it was Todd Aven & Barbara Karpinska's J/99 THIN MAN that took the silver!

Edlu Distance Race Preview

  

(Larchmont, NY)- The classic spring opener for offshore races has been Larchmont Yacht Club's annual Edlu Distance Race. For many sailors, it provides the incentive to clear off the cobwebs accumulated from over a year of not sailing, make sure the winches and blocks spin properly, the wheel/ rudder bearings didn't lock up, and sails actually go up and down. Having been starved of going down to sea and dreaming about it for over a year, there must be more than a few sailors that recall that yearning in John Masefield's famous poem- SEA FEVER:

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking....."

With one of the best turnouts in years, the sixty-boat fleet will be looking forward to one of two courses the Larchmont YC Race Committee can select: Course #1 – from the start around Eaton’s Neck Point Lighted Gong Buoy and return for about 32.0nm or Course #2 – from the start around Twenty-Six Foot Spot Lighted Bell Buoy mid-sound off Lloyd’s Neck and return for about 18.0nm. 

Looking forward to this offshore "sprint" are twenty-four J/Teams (40.0% of the fleet!). Sailing in the eleven-boat ORC Division is Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE, John Greifzu's J/109 GROWTH SPURT, Bill Ingraham's J/124 TENEBRAE, and Len Sitar's big blue J/160 COUGAR. 

In the PHRF Doublehanded divisions is Josh Burack's J/105 PEREGRINA and Glenn Marck's J/109 WATERDOG.  In the 28-boat PHRF Spinnaker division are two J/111s (Ken Luczynski's USMMA team on BLACK DIAMOND and Bill & Jackie Baxter's FIREBALL), Cory Eaves' J/109 FREEDOM, Arthur Hanlon's J/112E DAUNTLESS, Chuck Taus' J/33 SIRIUS, Kurt Locher's J/42 ATALANTA, Neeko Helbich's USMMA team on the J/44 VAMP, Jason Viseltear's J/80 UPSETTER, and Jim Weil & EJ Haskell's J/92 VIXEN.  In PHRF Plus-One division is Ron Richman's J/133 ANTIDOTE and Richie Palmer's J/105 TOLO. PHRF Non-spinnaker class has Erick Blanc's J/112E REBELLE.

Finally, the J/88s are sailing as a one-design class with six teams ready to do battle for 32 miles straight! The usual suspects may be at the top of the leaderboard; such as Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS, Iris Vogel's DEVIATION, Larry Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY, and Kevin Marks' VELOCITY.  For more Edlu Distance Race sailing information

EMOTICON Triumphs in J/109 Fall Classic

 

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(Stamford, CT)- In a year of regatta cancellations, the Long Island Sound J/109 Fleet kept October 17-18 on the calendar with the hopes that they could finally do some one-design racing in 2020. For eight dedicated crews, the Stamford Yacht Club delivered an excellent event for the second annual Fleet 10 Fall Classic!

Saturday’s racing was in a shifty northwest breeze of 10-18 knots. All day, the game was to connect the puffs and minimize the damage when a shift did not go your way, or you were hit with an auto-tack (or auto-gybe).  JR Rechtschaffer’s EMOTICON leveraged its local knowledge from a summer of sailing in Stamford and started strong with a 1-1 in the first two races. With four races in the books, EMOTICON held the Day 1 lead with Bud Rogers’ BIG BOAT and Trevor Roach’s INCENDIARY right behind. After racing, the warmer weather permitted the fleet to have a socially distanced lawn party, a rarity for 2020.


On Sunday, the wind shifted to the east, then southeast. The Race Committee kept the fleet on time and completed another three races in 8-14 knots of breeze. What was forecast to be a consistent breeze turned out to have huge oscillations that kept the fleet on its toes. Several boats went from hero-to-zero, or zero-to-hero, in a matter of minutes. EMOTICON worked hard to overcome a missed shift (or four) and pulled out a 1-2-3 on the final day, and with 14 total points, won the regatta. BIG BOAT and INCENDIARY tied with 16 total points, with BIG BOAT winning the tie-breaker on countback. Rounding out the top five were John Greifzu's GROWTH SPURT and Greg Imbruce's JOYRIDE in 4th and 5th, respectively.   Sailing photo credits- Rick Bannerot/ Ontheflyphoto.netAdd to Flipboard Magazine.