The first day of racing at the 2nd edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth dawned with 25 knots of tropical tradewind breeze and showers sweeping over the picturesque French island located midway down the Caribbean chain. The regatta’s fleet of maxis, racing and cruising yachts, multi-hulls and classics – 48 confirmed on race day – set off on a race course around the nearby archipelago, and met with plenty of wind and bumpy seas, especially on the islands’ exposed eastern side.

You certainly couldn’t have asked for a prettier race course, which today sent fleets on jaunts of either 16-, 22-, or 25-nautical mile jaunts.  Most intriguing was the trip around the northern tip of St. Barth and through the nearby archipelago, which in a typically French way makes one ready for a meal with names such as Ile Chevreau (baby goat), Ile Fregate (bird), Ile le Boulanger (the baker), Ile Fourchue (fork), Grouper et Petite Groupers (fish), Le Boeuf (beef), and Le Pain du Sucre (sugarloaf).

Today’s later start at 1300 did nothing to diminish the wind and sea, as the first two classes off – Maxis and Multihulls – with eleven boats, started in 22 knots and encountered two meter seas and were sent on a 25-nautical mile course. George David’s Rambler 100 with Ken Read as skipper, got away at the pin end of the starting line and lead Hugo Stenbeck on Genuine Risk up into the outer harbor to an offset turning mark. Once around, Rambler set a huge asymmetric spinnaker and was on her way for the day.

On the eastern, and windward, side of the island the big boats reveled in the conditions which eventually topped out above 30 knots – Genuine Risk, with their combined crew Swedish/ American crew, recorded 30 knots of boat speed surfing downwind through the islands.

Also racing in the Maxi class was the 86’ CNB sloop Spiip, owned by Robin de Jong, who is making his way westward to Tahiti with the boat. Onboard Spiip is Bruno Trouble, well known for creating and overseeing the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series (for the America’s Cup) that originated in 1983. Trouble is racing at the regatta for the first time, and he said, “Les Voiles de St. Barth reminds me a lot of the early days of the Nioulargue with boats from all over the place taking part.  Things are going to really build and it is just great, it really reminds me of the first Nioulargue!”

In the Racing Class, the crew work aboard Jim Swartz’s Vesper looked well-honed as the team traded tacks with Peter Cunningham’s Farr 60 Venomous (CAY) up the first short beat. Back on the quay, Venomous’ tactician Tony Rey recounted the day, “We had some great sailing   – St. Barth’s is such an awesome place to sail, every time you turn around an island, or a piece of land, the view just gets better and better. It’s just that the race course is a minefield because the wind twists and turns up the corners and the crevices – but it’s a fascinating place to sail! We also had the added challenge that our instruments went down, so we were guessing on our wind speed and direction, and guessing at our boat speed for part of it too, which turned us into good seat-of-the-pants sailors.”

Before scores were tabulated, though Rey suspects, “We think we were probably 2nd or 3rd, we’re pretty sure Vesper beat us handily, because downwind you just can’t stay with a boat like that.  We could have sailed better for sure, we left a few seconds on the race track, but generally we’re thrilled, it was a great day of sailing!”

In the 24-boat Racing Cruising class, the Swan 60 Fenix closely led Jereon Hin’s First 50 Black Hole (NED) after the first upwind beat. This class has a gamut of boats including two all-women entries, Annie O’Sullivan’s Diamonds Are Forever (UK), and Henneke Stegweg’s iLost (NED). As well, there are two Moorings 50.5 charter boats with two crews from Oakville, Ontario, Canada, headed up by Andre Beese and Patrick Festing. Both crews are comprised of friends and fellow Etchells sailors, who were originally headed to Antigua to race when a friend suggested they race at Les Voiles de St. Barth.

The Classics class, while low on numbers with just five boats, were high on style points with the 76’ W-class White Wings, the 80’ Fife yawl, Mariella, the 60’ dark-hulled gaff-rigged yawl Kate from St Kitt’s, and the 26’ Friendship sloop La Sirene, gracing the line.
Carlo Falcone, from Antigua, is a frequent competitor with Mariella in both classic and offshore races around the world, which he, more often than not, wins. He enjoys sailing in St. Barth because it has, he says, “more European style than other parts of the Caribbean.”

The yacht was designed by American naval architect Alfred Mylne, and built by Fife in Scotland in 1938. As Falcone says, “The beauty of this boat is the mix of the two. Mariella is well sailed and immaculately maintained, and Falcone says,  “I believe the more you use the boat the better it is. But it’s never-ending work – not buying the boat, but keeping it. They say, ‘the owners are just taking care of the boat until the next one.’” His regular crew is a mix of family and friends including his daughter Sylvia, his long-time navigator, 89-year old Henry Pepper (Marblehead, Mass), and crew from Italy, Australia and Dominica. Les Voiles de St.Barth is a way to prepare the boat for this summer’s classic yacht series in New England.

With a relatively new event, one may wonder what goes into the thinking for the course on day one. Following this morning’s skipper’s briefing, the, Les Voiles Race Committee Principal Race Officer, Jean Coadou offered some insight, “There were three main elements: the weather forecast, looking at the strength and direction of the wind around all of the islands. Also it was important with such a large fleet to avoid any boats crossing paths. And first and foremost, the enjoyment of sailing was a key factor. We try to ensure that the competitors encounter all the different points of sail, upwind, downwind and reaching. The idea is to come up with three hours of exciting racing each day; that is why the courses are around 30 miles in length for the fastest boats and 16 miles for the smaller craft.”
Key information: Les Voiles de St. Barth is being hosted from April 4 – 9 2011 by the St. Barth Yacht Club

 

Entries

Yacht Name   Sail Design LOA Skipper Status

SOJANA
 GBR 115 FARR 115 Peter HARRISON /Marc FIDZGERALD  

HIGHLAND BREEZE
 888 SWAN 112 RS/GPR 112′ ALBERT KEULARTS
 
SPIIP
 FRA 8686 CNB 86 86′ ROBIN DE JONG 
 
RAMBLER 100  USA 25555   READ Ken
 
GENUINE RISK
 8390 DUBOIS/MC CONAUGHY 97′ HUGO STENBECK

ICARUS
  JONGERT 90′   
 

 
PANIC ATTACK
 750 OPEN 750 24′ JAN VANDEN EYNDE
 
TECHNOMARINE
 FRA 27917 Farr 36,7 DEREDEC Christian 
 
PUFFY
 USA 45454 Farr 45 DEMARCHELLIER Patrick
 
ANTILOPE
 GRB 1513L GRAND SOLEIL 43′ WILLEM WESTER
 
SPEEDY NEMO  SBH 26   MAGRAS Raymond

VESPER
  TP 52 54′ JAMES SWARTZ 
 
VENOMOUS
 GBR 60006 FARR DESIGN 60′ PETER CUNNINGHAM
 
MAE-LIA     MAGRAS Raphael

SOLANO  FRA 34625   

Classic
Yacht Name   Sail Design LOA Skipper Status
 
 
WHITE WINGS
 US2 W CLASS 76′ DONALD TOFIAS
 
KATE
 ES5 MYLNE 60′ Walwyn 
 
LA SIRÈNE
 3 FRIEND SHIP SLOOP R WILSON 26′ DAVID PERTEL  
 
MARIELLA
 464 YAWL/FIFE 80′ CARLO FALCONE Pre-entry
 
Racing Cruising
Yacht Name   Sail Design LOA Skipper Status
 
 
FENIX
 GBR 9660R SWAN  60′ MORITZ BURMESTER  
 
L’ESPERANCE
 123 Beneteau 45 VELASQUEZ Robert 
 
BLACK HOLE
 GER 150L FIRST 50 50′ JEROEN HIN  
 
COSTA MESA
 88 DUFOUR 425 GL 43′ REY PASCAL
 
ORMEAU
  FINOT BENETEAU 47.3 ALAIN CHARLOT 
 
MR. WALKER
 FRA 491 REQUIN 33 MELISSA RIMBAUD
 
LIL’E
 FRA 479 REQUIN 33 FOX MOWGLI
 
SUGAR CANE
  BERRET 50.5 ANDRE BEESE
 
MAE-LIA
  X-YACHT 34 MAGRAS Raphael
 
TRITON
  BERRET 50.5 PATRICK SMITH
 
SPEEDY NEMO
  DUFOUR  34′ RAYMOND MAGRAS
 
THULA
 51952 BALTIC 39 39′ MAX IMRIE  
 
TARA II
  SUN ODYSSEY 54 DS 54′ HENRY ALBERT
 
SPLENDIDO
 FRA37407 GRAND SOLEIL 40′ PHILIPPE HERVOUET
 
NIX
 IVB 612 X-YACHT 60′ NICO CORTLEVER
 
AFFINITY
 US 50007 SWAN  48′ JACK DESMOND 
 
SOLANO
 FRA 34625 LATINI 52 FELCI 52′ FREDERIC RIALLAND  
 
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
 GRB 1007L ELAN 37′ ANNIE O’SULLIVAN 
 
COYOTE 2
 GBR 9949 T FIRST 40.7 41′ KEN ACOTT 
 
iLOST
  HARMONY 42 42′ HANNEKE STEGWEG
 
SHAMROCK VII
 USA 1 J 95 31′ THOMAS MULLEN
 
WILD DEVIL ISLAND WATER WORLD
 NM 1993 KIWI 35 35′ BEN JELIC
 
TANGRA  413 REQUIN 35′ QUERE Pre-entry
 
Racing Multihull
Yacht Name   Sail Design LOA Skipper Status
 
 
PHAEDO
 399BC GUNBOAT 66′ PAUL HAND 
 
DAUPHIN TELECOM
  COULOMBEL 40′ ERICK CLEMENT 
 
BLANCA
  SEACART 30′ HERVE DE MARJOLIE
 
SPIRIT 
 GBR 565  40′ JASON GARD
 
BLUE CAT   VAN PETEGHEM 40′ CHAYER
 
CARIB CAT
CATAMARAN MY CAT 26′ CONSIDERE CLAUDE

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Topping off three days of sun-drenched racing in the International Rolex Regatta, over 700 sailors on 77 teams mixed it up today on Pillsbury Sound, completing distance courses that explored the cays and islands off St. Thomas, where the event has been hosted for 38 years by St. Thomas Yacht Club. Big guns, such as Boewe Bekking, Gavin Brady, Ed Baird, Steve Benjamin, Richard Clarke and Chris Larson were in abundance aboard the keelboats that competed, but it by no means took the calling cards of professional sailors to guarantee victory—or a good time—in the eight classes, which included two for IRC, four for CSA, and one each for IC 24s and Beach Cats.

“This has been one of the best groups of boats and sailors we’ve ever had,” said Regatta Director Bill Canfield. “Sailors came from around the globe, and each class had a good number of boats with impressive depth of competition.” Canfield explained that the largest keelboat competing was the 90-foot Genuine Risk, the recent Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race winner, with Hugo Stenbeck (SWE) steering, while the smallest were 24-footers. (Melges 24s sailed in a CSA Spinnaker class that was populated by sport boats, while IC 24s came in numbers large enough to earn their own One-Design circle.) Ages ranged from in the single digits to mid 70s, and included newcomers, returning veterans and everything in between.

With today’s two victories to add to an already perfect score line, Willem Wester’s (SUI) Grand Soleil 43 Antilope made an impressive showing in the nine-boat IRC 2 class, earning Wester a Rolex timepiece as prize. (Timepieces were also awarded to IRC 1 class, the top performer among CSA Spinnaker classes and IC 24 one-design class.)

“This was our first time to this part of the world,” said Wester, who has won Cowes Week the last two years aboard Antilope and sailed with a crew from Belgium and Holland that included veteran Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking, who called tactics, and Olympian Philippe Bergmans, who steered. “The whole atmosphere here was fantastic, with the Race Committee setting some wonderful courses; Bekking is a bit of a slave driver (laughs), but a nice one, and he raised the level of the team.” 

Bekking gave credit to good starts, letting the crew do its work and keeping a cool head during the challenge of negotiating Friday’s “town races” to and from Charlotte Amalie; Saturday’s distance races skirting the south coast of St. John island; and today’s exceptionally intriguing “Pillsbury” courses set between St. Thomas and St. John. “I’d say by far, it is the best of the events I’ve sailed in the last couple of years,” said Bekking.

Antilope’s closest competitor, Phil Lotz’s (Newport, R.I.) Club Swan 42 Arethusa, fell to third today with two fourth-place finishes, while James Hudleston’s (St. Petersburg, Fla.) Oceanis 44 Three Harkoms snagged second, just one point ahead, on merit of a 3-2 today.

For Ed Baird (St. Petersburg, Fla.), being a seasoned professional didn’t take anything away from his experience here.  The winning skipper from the 2007 America’s Cup (Alinghi) crewed aboard Richard Oland’s (New Brunswick, CAN) Southern Cross Vela Veloce while Canadian Olympian Richard Clarke steered. The team finished second in IRC 1 class, conceding to Jim Swartz’s (Park City, Utah) TP52 Vesper/Team Moneypenny, which won all but one of six races.

 “It’s the first time either Richard (Clarke) or I have raced here,” said Baird. “We’ve both sailed all over the world but never with so many islands and rocks in close proximity; it was challenging, not knowing what the wind would be doing around the next corner. “

Baird described the top-three boats in his class, all 52 footers, as “locked in battle” the whole regatta. “Vesper (with New Zealand’s America’s Cup veteran Gavin Brady replacing Jim Swartz on the helm today) had a speed advantage, especially upwind, so they could usually sneak out to a strong position and stay ahead, but we went back and fourth with Interlodge (Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s entry from Newport, R.I.)”

Vesper and Interlodge have both sailed this event before,” said Brady, “so when we’d gain a little near the shore, they’d come back at us, maybe using some local knowledge they had. We figured that by the end of the regatta, we’d be really ready for next year!”

Though their expectations in CSA Spinnaker 3 class were modest in the beginning,Timothy Molony’s (New Orleans, La.) Southern Yacht Club team aboard Wild at Heart proved unbeatable in the end. Only on day one were they not at the top of the scoreboard, but today was to still be a test with only two points separating them and Kike Gonzalez’s (San Juan, PR) J/80 Otrakosa, which wound up second overall. 

“We won both of today’s races by exactly two minutes and 25 seconds, which is pretty remarkable,” said Molony, who counts this as his first time to race in the islands. “We ended up with one second and five firsts, while Otrakosa had one first and five seconds.” (Paul Davis’s St. Thomas entry Mag 7 took third overall.)

“We’ve all sailed together since we were kids, so it’s like a family quarrel when we call tactics,” joked Molony, who chartered Wild at Heart from a company in Germany “that took care of everything and perfectly prepared the boat.” 

It was a young William Bailey (St. Thomas), skippering Team INTAC JV, who won the Rolex timepiece in the 16-boat IC 24 class. The high school senior, age 18, endured 17 around-the-buoys races that were reserved especially for this hotly contested one-design class and counted among his crew 2010 College Sailor of the Year (from Yale) Thomas Barrows, a fellow St. Thomian. 

Before racing the last six races today, Bailey knew he had to stay in the top three as much as he could. A bad start in the first race buried him, but he calmly scratched back to win handily, then continued with a string of finishes that were fourth or better.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” said Bailey, who was duly impressed when he was told he’d be awarded the newest model of the Rolex Explorer, which accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on his famous ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953.

Second-place finisher, a full 24 points behind, was Fraito Lugo’s (Ponce, PR) Orion, followed by Chris Cuerreri’s (St. Thomas) Soggy Dollar BVI in third.

From day one, Mark Plaxton’s (Tortola, BVI) Melges 32 Team INTAC/CROWLEY established his lead in the six-boat CSA Spinnaker 1 class. After posting two victories today, he showed nothing higher than a second-place finish in his six-race score line, which also kept Andrea Scarabelli’s (St. Maarten, AHO) Melges 24 Budget Marine and David West’s (Tortola, BVI) Melges 32 Jurakan in second and third, respectively, for the entire event.

Plaxton was awarded the Rolex watch as the top performer among the CSA spinnaker classes and was philosophical about it. “I was a Junior A hockey player from Canada where I learned ‘stick on ice, head up and pass the puck.’ Basically, that means it’s not about the watch or winning, it’s about peace, love and boat speed and helping out the next generation.” (It is no coincidence that William Bailey’s winning IC 24 team of young sailors shared the same boat name.)

Things sorted out just fine today for Calvin Reed’s (Tampa, Fla.) Beneteau First 40.7 Elandra of Hamble, yesterday’s leader in CSA Spinnaker 2 class. With finish positions of 2-2 they fended off who they considered their #1 competition, Richard Wesslund’s (Miami, Fla.) J/120 El Ocaso, which slipped to third place overall after posting a 5-4 today. Rising from fourth place yesterday to second place, with a 1-3 today, was Jaimie Torres’s (San Juan, PR) Beneteau First 40 Smile and Wave.

In the 10-boat CSA Non-Spinnaker class, James Dobbs’ (Antigua) Lost Horizon turned in a 1-2 today to tie on point score (10) with Tony Sanpere’s (St. Croix, USVI) J/36 Cayennita Grande but win the class after tie-breaking rules were applied.

Lost Horizon was definitely the sleeper of the regatta, arriving with an incomplete crew and adding to it to finish third overall after the first day of racing. On the second day, the team managed to rise through the ranks to second overall behind Cayennita Grande then top them in the finale. Bernardo Gonzalez’s (Dorado, PR) Beneteau First 35s5 Bonne Chance, maintained its third from yesterday.

In Beach Cats, with nine boats competing, Jorge Ramos’s (San Juan, PR) Hobie 16 Universal had only to finish today’s two races to win his class’s five-race series. He not only finished the races but also won them both, just as he had won his two previous races—by huge margins. “We are happy that the fleet was bigger this year,” said Ramos, considered to be one of the top five cat sailors from his country. “There was some attention lost for a few years, but now we are hoping that the class will build again and this regatta will become a primary focus for us.” Giving Ramos a run for his money with a 2-2 today was last year’s winner John Holmberg (St. Thomas), also sailing a Hobie 16, Time Out, with his 12-year-old son Kai. In third was Teri McKenna’s (St. Thomas) Hobie 16 Island Girl.

The International Rolex Regatta, considered the “Crown Jewel” of the traditional spring Caribbean regattas, is the third of the four-part Caribbean Ocean Racing Circuit (CORC), which also includes major regattas in St. Croix, Puerto Rico and Tortola. Sailors are treated to a mix of short-course and long distance races that take place off St. Thomas Yacht Club and along the waterfronts of St. Thomas and St. John. Parties are legendary, including a Saturday evening reggae party at Yacht Haven Grande marina, which adds exotic flair to the activities. 

The International Rolex Regatta has been hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club since 1974, making it the oldest regatta in Rolex’s portfolio of international sailing events. Rolex is known for sponsoring famous offshore and grand-prix events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship.

A.H. Riise, Official Retailer of Rolex watches in the U.S. Virgin Islands, takes an active role in sponsorship of the International Rolex Regatta.  The St. Thomas shop is one of the largest in the Caribbean and is located on the historic waterfront of downtown Charlotte Amalie.

FINAL RESULTS

International Rolex Regatta 2011

Day 3

IC 24 (One Design – 16 Boats)
1. Team INTAC JV, IC 24, William Bailey , St. Thomas, VI, USA – 6, 3, 3, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 6, 2, 4, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, ; 51
2. Orion, IC 24, Fraito Lugo , Ponce, PR, USA – 5, 2, 7, 2, 11, 8, 1, 2, 5, 3, 7, 3, 9, 4, 2, 3, 1, ; 75
3. Soggy Dollar BVI, IC 24, Chris Cuerreri , St. Thomas , USVI – 2, 8, 2, 12, 3, 4, 4, 7, 1, 12, 9, 4, 2, 1, 3, 2, 6, ; 82

CSA Spinnaker 1 (CSA – 6 Boats)
1. Team INTAC/CROWLEY, Melges 32, Mark Plaxton , Sea Cows Bay, Tortola, BVI – 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, ; 9
2. Budget Marine/GILL , Melges 24, Andrea Scarabelli , Cole Bay, St. Maarten, AHO – 3, 1, 4, 1, 2, 4, ; 15
3. Jurakan, Melges 32, David West , Road Town, Tortola, BVI – 2, 3, 1, 4, 4, 3, ; 17

CSA Spinnaker 2 (CSA – 11 Boats)
1. Elandra of Hamble, Beneteau First 40.7, Calvin Reed , Tampa, FL, USA – 3, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, ; 12
2. Smile and Wave, Beneteau First 40, Jaime Torres , San Juan, PR, USA – 6, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, ; 17
3. El Ocaso, J 120, Richard Wesslund , Miami, FL, USA – 4, 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, ; 19

CSA Spinnaker 3 (CSA – 6 Boats)
1. Wild At Heart, JOD 35, Timothy Molony , New Orleans, LA, USA – 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 7
2. Otrakosa, J 80, Kike Gonzalez , San Juan, PR, USA – 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 11
3. Mag 7, J 27, Paul Davis , Charlotte amalie, VI, USA – 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, ; 21

CSA Non-Spinnaker (CSA – 10 Boats)
1. Lost Horizon, J 122, James Dobbs , Falmouth, ANT – 5, 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 10
2. Cayennita Grande, J 36, Antonio Sanpere , Christiansted, VI, USA – 2, 2, 2, 3, 1, ; 10
3. Bonne Chance, Beneteau First 35s5, Bernardo Gonzalez , Dorado, PR, USA – 1, 3, 3, 2, 3, ; 12

IRC 1 (IRC – 6 Boats)
1. Vesper, TP 52, James Swartz , Park City, Utah, USA – 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 7
2. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross 52, Richard Oland , Saint John, NB, CAN – 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, ; 14
3. Interlodge, JV 52, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , Newport, RI, USA – 1, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, ; 17

IRC 2 (IRC – 9 Boats)
1. Antilope, Grand Soleil 43, Willem Wester , Breskens, Zeeland, NED – 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 6
2. Three Harkoms, Oceanis 44, James Hudleston , St. petersburg, FL, USA – 2, 4, 2, 4, 3, 2, ; 17
3. Arethusa, Club Swan 42, Phil Lotz , Newport, RI, USA – 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 4, ; 18

Beach Cats (Portsmouth – 9 Boats)
1. Universal, Hobie 16, Jorge L Ramos , San Juan, PR, USA – 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 6
2. Time Out, Hobie 16, John Holmberg , St. Thomas, VI, USA – 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, ; 12
3. Island Girl, Hobie 16, Teri McKenna , St. Thomas, VI, USA – 5, 3, 5, 3, 3, ; 19

 

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Thirty eight years ago the first International Rolex Regatta took place in St. Thomas and so began an annual tradition that endures to this day. The three-day event, which starts tomorrow, has increased its participants over last year, with 77 teams signed up in IRC, CSA (Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker), IC 24 and Beach Cat classes. The gamut of keelboat sizes runs from 90 feet (the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s canting keel Maxi Yacht Genuine Risk, chartered by Sweden’s Hugo Stenbeck and competing in IRC) down to 24 feet (three feisty Melges 24 sport boats competing in CSA Spinnaker 1 class and 16 “homegrown” IC 24s sailing in their own one-design class). Likewise, there are plenty of established teams with “rock star” crews from the top end of the international sailing spectrum and heaps of lesser knowns with otherwise enormous talent from around the globe, surrounding islands, and St. Thomas itself.

 IRC and CSA Fleet Racing

Certainly one of the best known names here is Bouwe Bekking (DEN), who will be calling tactics on the Grand Soleil 43 Antilope in IRC 2 class. Bekking has five around the world races under his belt (most notably as skipper of the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race entry Telefonica Blue, which finished third), and has also won the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race once and the Cape Town to Rio Race three times.

Antilope is owned by Willem Wester (SUI), who will serve as navigator onboard, and though it is Antilope’s first time to compete in the International Rolex Regatta, Bekking says its core team has been together for several very successful years. As for other recognizable names on the crew, he says, “they are all well known back home. On the international scene; however, our helmsman Philippe Bergmans has two Olympics under his belt in the Laser class, and another crew member Bert Schandevyl sailed in the last Volvo on Delta Lloyd and sails on heaps of good boats.”

For all of his accomplishments, Bekking says this regatta is as important as any other, and he doesn’t have a particular win that he considers his “Holy Grail.” “I like to win even when it is a Wednesday night race; you are only as good as your last result,” said Bekking.

IRC 2 class will also get a show from the likes of Peter Corr’s (St. Thomas) new Warwick 82 Aiyana, which will have Steve Benjamin (South Norwalk, Conn., USA) aboard as tactician. Phil Lotz’s (Newport, R.I.) Swan 42 Arethusa, who won here two years ago, practiced against Aiyana today and was impressed. “They had good speed and a symmetrical chute, so it will be interesting,” said Lotz, explaining that “with Arethusa using an asymmetrical chute, we won’t be sailing the same angles downwind.” He also had good things to say about Pat Eudy’s (Charleston, S.C., USA) Lutra 42 Big Booty. “Big Booty is a good boat; it’s always right there. We sailed against them at the US-IRC Nationals and two years ago here.” Among the other contenders is Tea Ekengren-Sauren’s (FIN) Swan 45 Blue Nights.

Battling with Genuine Risk in IRC 1 class will be Richard Oland’s (CAN) Southern Cross 52 Vela Veloce, which won last year and will have America’s Cup skipper Ed Baird (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA) calling tactics and Richard Clarke (CAN) steering. Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s (Newport, R.I., USA) IRC 52 Interlodge gave them a run for the money last year, up until the last race which they lost by a hair, so the challenge is on. Bill Alcott’s chartered Swan 601 Aquarius will also be on the starting line along with Jim Swartz’s (Edgartown, Mass., USA) Vesper/Team Moneypenny and Ron O’Hanley’s (Boston, Mass.) Cookson 50 Privateer. The Privateer team was so intent on doing this regatta that they sailed the boat down from Florida last week and will deliver it back immediately after the event is over.

 

After class splits were determined this afternoon, CSA Spinnaker 1 class shook out to include three Melges 24s, two Melges 32s and a Henderson 30. “It’s nice to have sport boats all in one class,” said Kevin Rigley (BVI), headsail trimmer on fellow BVI sailor Dave West’s Melges 32 Jurakan. “Our boat speeds are faster on the 32s, but with the handicaps, racing against the 24s is always tight. The 24s might favor lighter conditions (he predicts 12 knots, max 15 over the next three days), but in anything over 15 knots and under 10 knots we might have the edge.”

CSA Spinnaker 2 class features everything from Peter Haycrafts’s (Tortola, BVI) Sirena 38 Pipe Dream to Tony McBride’s (GBR) Beneteau First 50 Bigamist and Sergio Sagramosa’s (San Juan, PR) Grand Soleil 54 Lazy Dog, while CSA Spinnaker 3 class will see plenty of action from the two J/27s Mag 7, skippered by Paul Davis (St. Thomas), and No Sea Dem, skippered by Christopher Hardin (St. Thomas); Robert Read’s (Seekonk, Mass.) J/40 Nepenthe; and Kike Gonzalez’s (San Juan, PR) Otrakosa, among others.

In CSA Non Spinnaker class, Antonio Sanpere (St. Croix, USVI) holds all the cards as defending champion and perhaps the best prepared of the entrants. The crew of his J/36 Cayennita Grande returns with him each year, but there are new faces on the race course for 2011. An all-woman sailing team, GirlsforSail, will step up to the plate, with Annie O’Sullivan (GBR) skippering. Once a buyer for Woolworth’s, O’Sullivan quit that job after seeing famous yachtswoman Ellen McArthur speak and started a company that encouraged women to sail. “It was ten years ago when not many would have asked me to race, and women weren’t given the same chances as men, so I said ‘I’ll have to do it myself,’” said O’Sullivan, who has since skippered her GirlsforSail team on three Atlantic crossings and to victories in such events as Antigua Race Week.

 Other classes

The IC 24 class, the largest with 16 entries here, is hugely popular here in St. Thomas, in large part because the one-design class was developed locally as a way to increase inter-island competition with a fun, easy boat to own and sail. The resulting hybrid of a J/24 hull and Melges 24-style deck did the trick, convincing hordes of talented island sailors to give up whatever they had sailed before and join the class, which at the International Rolex Regatta typically features lead changes on every leg and at every mark rounding on short courses set close to shore. Top IC 24 skippers from St. Thomas include Verian Aquilar on Green Boat, Chris Cuerreri on Soggy Dollar, Paul Stoeken on Island Sol, and Mike Williams on Red Dog. But the fiercest competition will come from off-island from no  less than four Puerto Rican teams, including eight-time winner at this event, Fraito Lugo (Ponce), skippering Orion.

In Beach Cat class, defending champion John Holmberg and his 12-year-old son Kai have proven in recent regattas that they still have what it takes to repeat last year’s performance here. Sailing Hobie One Canobie, the duo will match up with other local Hobie 16 teams Island Girl, skippered by Teri McKenna, and Chancletero, skippered by Mike Williams, while Mark Chong’s (St. Thomas) Blame it on Rhea, Pedro Colon’s (PR) Furia Roja and Jason Siska’s (Fox River Grove, Ill., USA) Puma round out the fleet with Nacra 20, Hobie 20 and Prindle 20 teams, respectively.
 

Race Formats and Schedule

First up on the three-day race schedule are tomorrow’s colorful “town races” that start at St. Thomas Yacht Club and finish in Charlotte Amalie Harbour at lunchtime before starting again around 1 p.m. for a return to the yacht club.  Visitors and residents alike will be able to catch the spectacle from vantage points around the island, including Marriott Frenchman’s Reef, where a bird’s eye view of multi-colored spinnakers can be had.  Racing will continue on Saturday with as many as eight windward/leeward races for the IC 24s, while all other classes will sail a combination of island and/or distance races on the south side of St. John. Sunday features as many as six races for IC 24s and two races for all others on Pillsbury Sound. Racing starts at 10 a.m. each morning.

The International Rolex Regatta is the third of the four-part Caribbean Ocean Racing Circuit (CORC), which also includes major regattas in St. Croix, Puerto Rico and Tortola. Sailors are treated to a mix of short-course and long distance races that take place off St. Thomas Yacht Club and along the waterfronts of St. Thomas and St. John, and those lucky enough to win the top classes here can also take home a Rolex watch as a prize. Parties are legendary, including a Saturday evening reggae party at Yacht Haven Grande marina, which adds exotic flair to the activities.

The International Rolex Regatta has been hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club since 1974, making it the oldest regatta in Rolex’s portfolio of international sailing events. Rolex is known for sponsoring famous offshore and grand-prix events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship.

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Owned and sailed by Rives Potts (Westbrook, CT) with a crew blending four families, Carina is the 46th winner of the race’s top trophy in the 104-year history of the race, which runs 635 miles from Newport, RI to St. David’s Light, Bermuda.
The 48-foot McCurdy & Rhodes designed sloop won on corrected time under the Offshore Racing Rule by the very large margin of 3 hours, 35 minutes over Gregory B. Manning’s Sarah  (Warwick, RI). Belle Aurore, a Cal 40 owned by R. Douglas Jurrius (Easton, MD) was third, seven minutes behind Sarah.

Carina’s chances for winning looked good but hardly certain when she finished the race at dawn Tuesday. Her chief challenge came from Belle Aurore and three other boats in Class 1, the small-boat class. Any of them could save their time and elbow Carina off the victory podium should she finish by about 7 PM. Many sailors at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and elsewhere spent much of Tuesday following the quartet’s progress on the online iBoattrack tracker. In the end, nobody was able to save their time on Carina.

Those four smaller boats still did well. Belle Aurore won Class 1 and took third place in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division. Two other Cal 40s, Peter Rebovich’s two-time defending champion Sinn Fein (Metuchen, NJ) and Bill Leroy’s Gone with the Wind (Tiburon, CA), took second in the class and seventh in the division, and third in class and eighth in the division, respectively.  The fourth boat, David G. Dickerson’s Peterson 38 Lindy, was fourth in class and 20th in the division.

Carina also won the North Rock Beacon Trophy as the top boat under the IRC Rule, with a margin of nearly four hours over Gracie, a custom 69-footer owned by Stephen and Simon Frank (Darien and Rowayton, CT). Gracie was also designed by McCurdy & Rhodes. Third under IRC was Arbella, a First 44.7 owned by James Shaughnessy (Greenwich, CT).

As of Noon ADT Wednesday, 9 boats in the 183-boat fleet were still on the race course. This is the third largest Newport Bermuda Race since it was founded in 1906. The St. David’s Lighthouse Division, for amateur crews, is the largest of the race’s five divisions, with 103 boats this year. 

  Invictus At Start (Photo by George Bekris)

FOR NEWPORT BERMUDA RACE START PHOTOS CLICK HERE

2010 Newport Bermuda Race

PROVISIONAL RESULTS

Place, Yacht, Owner, Origin, Results (ORR(Cls, Div) / IRC(Cls, Div))

Class 1 (11 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Belle Aurore, Cal 40, R Douglas Jurrius, Oxford, MD, 1, 3 / 1, 8 2. Sinn Fein, Cal 40, Peter S. Rebovich, Sr., Metuchen, NJ, 2, 7 / 2, 10 3. Gone With The Wind, Cal 40, William M. LeRoy, San Francisco, CA, 3, 8 / NA, NA 4. Lindy, Peterson 38, David G. Dickerson, Niantic Bay, 4, 20 / NA, NA 5. Aurora, Tartan 41, Andrew F. Kallfelz, Jamestown, RI, 5, 22 / 3, 26 6. Frolic, Sabre 362, Peter G. Brown, Greenwich, CT, 6, 26 / 4, 37 7. Hiro Maru, Swan 43 Classic, Hiroshi Nakajima, Stamford, CT, 7, 34 / 5, 40 8. Spirit, Baltic 38DP, A. John Gregg, Philadelphia, 8, 90 / 6, 98 Class 2 (15 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Cygnette, Swan 441, William J. Mayer, Jamestown RI, 1, 5 / 1, 19 2. Swift, Navy 44 MK1, US Naval Academy, US Naval Academy, 2, 13 / 2, 24 3. Avenir, C&C 41, Joseph T. Murray, Bristol, RI, 3, 16 / NA, NA 4. Jacqueline IV, Hinckley SW42, Robert S. Forman, Jr, West Islip, NY, 4, 28 / 3, 47 5. Akela III, Swan 43, Djoerd Hoekstra, Oxford, MD, 5, 36 / NA, NA 6. Flirt, Navy 44 MK1, US NAVAL ACADEMY, US Naval Academy, 6, 44 / 4, 60 7. Mojoe, Peterson 43, Joseph M. Naroski, Marblehead, MA, 7, 45 / 5, 65 8. Rainmaker, Swan 40, Kenneth P. Hylwa Mr., Jamestown, RI, 8, 58 / NA, NA 9. Misty, J-40 WK, Fred A. Allardyce, Watch Hill, RI, 9, 62 / 6, 69 10. Beausoleil, Beneteau 456SD, Richard A Parent, New Harbor, ME, 10, 64 / 7, 79 11. Zwerver, S&S 57′ Berm Cut, Frans van Schaik, Rotterdam (NLD), 11, 65 / 8, 83 12. Morgan Of Marietta, Centurion 42, Colin G Golder, Newport RI, 12, 85 / 10, 93 13. Greyghost, Zaal 38, Philip W. Parish, Georgetown, MD, 13, 89 / 9, 87 14. Zest, Hinckley SW42, Brian E. Swiggett, Jamestown, RI, 14, 93 / 12, 97 15. Regatta, Carter 41, Constantine G. Koste, Oxford, MD, 15, 97 / 11, 95 Class 3 (14 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Carina, Ctm 48, Rives Potts, Westbrook, CT, 1, 1 / 1, 1 2. Dolphin, J-42, Henry S. Morgan, Annapolis, MD, 2, 10 / 2, 13 3. Xenophon, Swan 44 MKII, Jeffrey V. Rabuffo, MD, Newport, RI, 3, 12 / 5, 27 4. Triple Lindy, Swan 44 MK II, Joseph Mele, New York, NY, 4, 15 / 6, 32 5. Finesse, J-42, Newton P.S. Merrill, St. George, ME, 5, 17 / 3, 21 6. Babe, Swan 46, Colin E. Couper MD, Newport, RI, 6, 18 / 4, 25 7. Amigo VI, J-42, Bernie P. Coyne, Marblehead, MA, 7, 33 / 7, 45 8. True, J-42 (mod), Howard B. Hodgson, Jr., Newport, RI, 8, 37 / NA, NA 9. Whisper, Canning 48, Sheldon Brotman, Martha’s Vineyard, 9, 43 / 9, 56 10. Kalevala II, Grand Soleil 37, Tapio O. Saavalainen, Annapolis, MD, 10, 49 / 8, 55 11. Apsara, J-109, Mike Sleightholme, New Rochelle, NY, 11, 76 / 10, 76 12. Jade, J-42, Robert W. Thuss, Jr., Atlantic Highlands, 12, 81 / 11, 90 13. Tiger, Swan 46, Thomas & Nancy Grieb, Newport, RI, 13, 82 / NA, NA 14. Sailor Bandido, Quest 33, Christopher A. Palabrica, Chicago, IL, 14, 96 / NA, NA Class 4 (13 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Windborn, J-120, Richard W. Born, Annapolis, MD, 1, 31 / NA, NA 2. Lapin, Benn Frst 40.7, Christopher Clark, Greenwich, CT, 2, 32 / 2, 41 3. Thejackal, Beneteau 40.7, John DeFilippo, Annapolis, MD, 3, 35 / 3, 43 4. Slide Rule, First 44.7, Scott Bearse, Barnstable, MA, 4, 46 / 1, 5 5. Hound, Ctm 60, Eberhart Frank, Vinalhaven, ME, 5, 50 / 9, 74 6. Shinnecock, J-120, James C. Praley, Annapolis, MD, 6, 51 / 4, 48 7. Valkyrie, First 44.7, David Andril, West River, MD, 7, 55 / 8, 72 8. Ricochet, J-120, USCGA, New London, CT, 8, 57 / 5, 61 9. Terrapin, Beneteau 40.7, Jonathan Litt, Riverside, CT, 9, 59 / 6, 62 10. Dogsled, Kaufman 47, Todd F. Barnard, Halifax, NS, 10, 60 / NA, NA 11. Ragana, Cape Fear 38R, Darius Peleda, Stmford, CT, 11, 71 / 10, 75 12. Star Chaser, Swan 51, Wijnand (Boogie) van den Boogaard, London, UK, 12, 74 / 7, 66 13. Rocket Science, J-120, Rick F. Oricchio, Black Rock, CT, 13, 84 / 11, 85 Class 5 (9 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Glory, J-44, Jack Neades/ USCGA, New London, CT, 1, 29 / 2, 36 2. Runaway, J-44, Lawrence R. Glenn, Oyster Bay, NY, 2, 40 / 3, 38 3. Vamp, J-44, Leonard J. Sitar, Atlantic Highlands, 3, 41 / 1, 34 4. Resolute, J-44 WK, Fred Madeira, Cumberland, ME, 4, 42 / 5, 53 5. Beagle, J-44, Philip H. Gutin, New York, NY, 5, 53 / 4, 46 6. Gold Digger, J-44, James D. Bishop, Jamestown, RI, 6, 73 / 6, 70 7. Charlie V, J-44, Norman H. Schulman MD, Glen Cove, NY, 7, 83 / 7, 80 8. Sirena Bella, J-44, Joe Murli, Mystic, CT, 8, 91 / 9, 94 9. Akubra, J-44, Reginald H. Goodday Dr., Halifax, NS, 9, 99 / 8, 91 Class 6 (13 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Sarah, X-41, Gregory B. Manning, Warwick, RI, 1, 2 / 2, 4 2. Arbella, First 44.7, James P. Shaughnesy, Greenwich, CT, 2, 9 / 1, 3 3. Relativity, Beneteau 53F5, Hall Palmer, St. Thomas, USVI, 3, 48 / 3, 42 4. Buzz, Sydney 38, Richard E. Stevenson, Jr, Falmouth, ME, 4, 54 / NA, NA 5. Sirensong, J-133, Thomas J Carroll, Larchmont, NY, 5, 61 / 4, 63 6. Cilista, J-130, Jeffrey L. Eberle, Manchester, MA, 6, 63 / 5, 64 7. Merlin, Swan 57, John H Duerden, Stonington, CT, 7, 68 / NA, NA 8. Avra, J-120 Mod, George Petrides, New York, NY, 8, 70 / 7, 77 9. Fearless, Farr 395 OD, Shaun J. Ensor, Branford, CT, 9, 75 / 6, 68 10. American Girl, King 40, Daniel Galyon, Stamford, CT, 10, 87 / 10, 92 11. Amadeus, IMX-40, Jack R. Yaissle, Royal Oak, MD, 11, 88 / NA, NA 12. Upgrade, Farr 395, Peter Gibbons-Neff, Annapolis, MD, 12, 94 / 8, 84 13. Bacci, Swan 53, Lorenzo Vascotto, Oyster Bay, NY, 13, 95 / 9, 88 Class 7 (16 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Temptation, Taylor 45, Arthur & Peter Santry, Newport, RI, 1, 4 / 2, 9 2. Barleycorn, NYYC Swan 42, Brendan J. Brownyard, Newport, RI, 2, 11 / 1, 6 3. Vortices, J-145, Christopher L Saxton, Plymouth, MI, 3, 21 / NA, NA 4. White Rhino, Swan 56, Todd Stuart, Wilmington, DE, 4, 23 / 3, 12 5. Bombardino, Santa Cruz 52, James W. Sykes, Rye,NY, 5, 25 / 4, 17 6. High Noon, Tripp 41, Colin Rath, Norwalk, CT, 6, 27 / 5, 33 7. Xcelsior, IMX-45, Alice O. Martin, Chicago, IL, 7, 38 / 7, 51 8. Reindeer, Morris 47, Peter/Tony Driscoll/Parker, Annapolis, MD, 8, 47 / 6, 50 9. Cybele, IMX-45, Richard M. Burnes, Jr, Boston, MA, 9, 52 / 9, 71 10. Jacknife, J-133, Andrew Hall, Caernarfon, 10, 56 / 8, 54 11. Nasty Medicine, Corby 41.5, Stephen J. Sherwin MD, Hamilton, BDA, 11, 66 / 12, 82 12. Threebeans, Santa Cruz 37, Christopher Rosow, Southport, CT, 12, 79 / 11, 81 13. Magic, Santa Cruz 52, Kenneth Laudon, Rye, NY, 13, 86 / 13, 86 14. Convictus Maximus, Farr IRC 42, Donald W. Nicholson, Perth Amboy, NJ, 14, 92 / 10, 78 15. Wazimo, Aerodyne 38, W. Barrett Holby, Jr., Barrington, RI, 15, 98 / NA, NA 16. Flying Goose, Ctm 56, Daniel C. van Starrenburg, New York, NY, 16, 100 / 14, 96 Class 8 (12 Boats) – St. David’s Lighthouse Division 1. Gracie, Ctm 69, Stephan A. & Simon W Frank, Newport, RI, 1, 6 / 1, 2 2. Aurora, Reichel/Pugh 66, Gus Carlson, New York, NY, 2, 14 / 5, 22 3. Brand New Day, J-65, James C. Madden, Newport Beach, CA, 3, 19 / 2, 11 4. Denali, Nelson Marek 70, Michael A. D’Amelio, Buzzards Bay, MA, 4, 24 / 3, 16 5. Sforzando, Ker 55, Clayton G. Deutsch, Newport, RI, 5, 30 / 4, 18 6. Kodiak, Swan 601, E. Llwyd Ecclestone, Newport, RI, 6, 39 / 6, 29 7. Vanquish, STP 65, Rego / Riker Lucas / USMMA, Kings Point, NY, 7, 67 / 7, 39 8. Mischievous, Ctm 65, Albert J. Fitzgibbons,III, Stonington, CT, 8, 69 / 12, 89 9. Donnybrook, Ctm Sloop, James P. Muldoon, Annapolis, MD, 9, 72 / 9, 57 10. Invictus, TP52, US Naval Academy, US Naval Academy, 10, 77 / 8, 52 11. Starlight, Simonis Voogd 56, Michael Dybvik, Kings Point, NY, 11, 78 / 11, 73 12. Big Booty, Lutra 42, Patrick Eudy, Charleston, SC, 12, 80 / 10, 67 Class 9 (8 Boats) – Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division 1. Noonmark VI, Swan 56, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, Hamble, UK, 1, 1 / 1, 7 2. Snow Lion, Ker 50, Lawrence S. Huntington, New York, NY, 2, 2 / 2, 14 3. Hoi An, Ctm 50, Heilner Marc, London, UK, 3, 3 / 6, 44 4. Natalie J, TP52, Philip D. O’Niel III, D.D.S., Newport, RI, 4, 4 / 3, 15 5. Catapult Racing, SouthernCross 52, Marc Glimcher, Essex CT, 5, 5 / 5, 30 6. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross, Richard H Oland, RKYC, Saint John, NB, 6, 6 / 4, 23 7. Captivity, Farr 60, Samuel T. Byrne, Newport, RI, 7, 7 / 8, 59 8. Rima2, R/P 55, John Brim, Newport, RI, 8, 9 / 7, 49 Class 10 (5 Boats) – Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division 1. Ran, JV 72, Niklas Zennstrom, Ramsey, Isle of Man, 1, 8 / 1, 20 2. Bella Mente, Mini Maxi, Hap Fauth, Newport, RI, 2, 10 / 2, 28 3. Beau Geste, Farr 80, Karl Kwok, BVI, 3, 11 / 4, 35 4. Titan Xv, Ctm 75, Tom Hill, Mr., Newport, RI., 4, 12 / 3, 31 5. Rambler, Ctm 90, George David, New York, NY, 5, 13 / 5, 58 Class 11 (7 Boats) – Cruiser Division 1. Shearwater, Morris 40, Conrad Hall, Norfolk, VA, 1, 2 / NA, NA 2. Bluebird, Migrant 45 Ketch, Harry Bird, Essex, CT, 2, 3 / NA, NA 3. Temptress, IMX-45, Arent H Kits van Heyningen, Newport, RI, 3, 8 / NA, NA 4. Eclipse, Hinckley 59, Barbara & Robert Cavanagh, Sakonnet Point, RI, 4, 17 / NA, NA 5. Restive, Alden 48 Ctm, George P Denny III, Saunderstown, RI, 5, 31 / NA, NA Class 12 (16 Boats) – Cruiser Division 1. Laura B, Isl. Packet 45, Joseph R. Triggs, Jr., Avalon, NJ, 1, 4 / NA, NA 2. Cadence, Apogee 50, R. David Warters, Houston, TX, 2, 5 / NA, NA 3. Poeske, First 42, Richard Donn, Thornwood, NY, 3, 6 / NA, NA 4. Bonspiel, Nordic 44, James J. Richter, East Boothbay, ME, 4, 9 / NA, NA 5. Nostos, Alden 44, Lorenzo D. Weisman, Sag Harbor, NY, 5, 11 / NA, NA 6. Bermuda Oyster, Oyster 435, Paul B. Hubbard, Hamilton, BDA, 6, 14 / NA, NA 7. Pilgrim, Alden 44, Mark Rice, Old Lyme, CT, 7, 20 / NA, NA 8. Shindig, Pearson 39-2, Kevin G. Flannery, Newport, RI, 8, 21 / NA, NA 9. Convergence, Jeanneau 43 DS, James Linsley, New York, NY, 9, 24 / NA, NA 10. Freedom, Sabre 452, Cary W. Thomson, Georgetown MD, 10, 25 / NA, NA 11. Liberty Call, HR 43, Matthew G. Pilon, Newport, RI, 11, 27 / NA, NA 12. Eagle, J-40, Dana Oviatt, Mystic, CT, 12, 29 / NA, NA 13. Misty, Little Harbor 54, Eric G. Thorkilsen, Pt. Judith, RI, 13, 32 / NA, NA 14. Haerlem, Swan 55, Hendrikus (Henk) P L Wisker, Newport, RI, 14, 33 / NA, NA Class 13 (15 Boats) – Cruiser Division 1. Clover III, Swan 56, Neal F. Finnegan, Newport, RI, 1, 1 / NA, NA 2. I’Ll Think About It, Beneteau 523, Marc Tandourjian, Baltimore, MD, 2, 7 / NA, NA 3. Cetacea, Hinckley 59, Christopher J. Culver, Newport, RI, 3, 10 / NA, NA 4. Nova, Swan 56, Mark DiStefano, Newport, RI., 4, 12 / NA, NA 5. Lilla, CNB 76, Simon M. De Pietro, Kingstown, SVG, 5, 13 / NA, NA 6. Whiskey Girl, Hinckley 70, Michael McAllister, Providence, RI, 6, 15 / NA, NA 7. Windwalker II, Lyman Morse 60, Daniel Levangie, Newport, RI, 7, 16 / NA, NA 8. Nirvana, Maxi 80, Charles F Kiefer III, Marblehead, MA, 8, 18 / NA, NA 9. Isola, Baltic 52, Howard M. Eisenberg, Newport, RI, 9, 19 / NA, NA 10. Fox, Swan 53, Ruth M. Pecherek, Chicago, IL, 10, 22 / NA, NA 11. Manana, Swan 48, Michhael V. Johnson, Nantucket, MA, 11, 23 / NA, NA 12. Angel, Ctm 84, Edward T. Anderson, George Town CI, 12, 26 / NA, NA 13. Sceptre’D Isle, Ctm 63, Rex G. Herbert, Newport RI, 13, 28 / NA, NA 14. Blue, C&C 51xl, Dan Epstein, Newport, RI, 14, 30 / NA, NA 15. Rutaine, C&C 37/40+, David P. McLoughlin, Wickford, RI, 15, 34 / NA, NA Class 14 (12 Boats) – Double-Handed Division 1. Paladin, J-35, Jason A Richter, Port Jefferson, NY, 1, 1 / NA, NA 2. Great Scot, J-35, Darren T Garnier, Marblehead, MA, 2, 2 / NA, NA 3. Lora Ann, Express 37, Richard T. du Moulin, Larchmont,NY, 3, 3 / NA, NA 4. Kiva, Hinkley SW51CB, Mark Stevens, New Castle, NH, 4, 4 / NA, NA 5. Dirigo, C&C 41, Eric M. Johnson, Annapolis, MD, 5, 8 / NA, NA 6. Esmeralde, Sabre 386, Bruce R. Beard, Jr., Newport, RI, 6, 9 / NA, NA 7. Choucas, Jeanneau SF36, Frederic Cosandey, City Island, NY, 7, 11 / NA, NA 8. Ocean Wanderer1, Montivideo 43, Erwin Wanderer, Halifax, NS, 8, 12 / NA, NA 9. Plum Crazy, Sabre MK II, Michael R. Berg, Stage Harbor, MA, 9, 14 / NA, NA 10. Whisper, Hinckley 48, Thomas J. Vander Salm, Salem, MA, 10, 16 / NA, NA Class 15 (14 Boats) – Double-Handed Division 1. Seabiscuit, J-46, Nathan C. Owen, Mount Desert, ME, 1, 5 / NA, NA 2. Alibi, J-120, Gardner L. Grant, Jr., Westport, CT, 2, 6 / NA, NA 3. Delawana, Swan 51, Hans F. Himmelman, Lunenburg, NS, 3, 7 / NA, NA 4. Heron, J-120, Greg R. Leonard, Annapolis, MD, 4, 10 / NA, NA 5. Mireille, J-120, Edwin Gaynor, Southport, CT, 5, 13 / NA, NA 6. Resolute, J-122, D. Scott Miller, Blue Hill, ME, 6, 15 / NA, NA 7. Dawn Treader, Swan 48 MK II, Lawrence G. Cohen, Gloucester, VA, 7, 17 / NA, NA 8. Next Boat, Morris 45, Mark Ellman, Mamaroneck, NY, 8, 18 / NA, NA 9. Sir Edmund, Ctm 49, Vince E. Todd, San Francisco, CA, 9, 19 / NA, NA 10. Bolands Mill, Class 40, John Ryan, Dublin, 10, 20 / NA, NA 11. Kamoa’E, Class 40, Eric Lecoq, Portsmouth, RI, 11, 21 / NA, NA 12. Dragon, Class 40, Michael S. Hennessy, Mystic, CT, 12, 22 / NA, NA 13. Cutlass, Class 40, Alex / Nick Mehran / Halmos, Newport, RI, 13, 23 / NA, NA 14. Toothface, Akilaria Class40, Michael W. Dreese, Boston, MA, 14, 24 / NA, NA Class 16 (3 Boats) – Open Division 1. Genuine Risk, Dubois 90, Mark E. Watson III – USMMA, Kings Point, NY, 1, 1 / NA, NA 2. Ilmostro, VOR70, Ken Read, Malta, 2, 2 / NA, NA 3. Speedboat, Maxi, Alex Jackson, Georgetown,GC, 3, 3 / NA, NA

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Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk in the Open Division for cant-keel boats. Speedboat, owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record.  Rán, the Fastnet and Sydney Hobart race winner, finished first in Class 10 and is a strong contender for the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy.

Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. “We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line,” Watson said. “We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us.” Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race.  “This was the easiest Bermuda Race I’ve ever done and I’ve done a few.”  

Photos of Bermuda Race Start By George Bekris  HERE

PUMA Ocean Racing’s IL Mostro (Photo by George Bekris)

  Rán, Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, is the provisional winner in Class 10 for big professional boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division after being pushed hard by Tom Hill’s Titan XV for more than 600 miles. George David’s Rambler matched up with Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste and took line honors for these fixed-keel boats. “I’ve never sailed a Bermuda Race when you’re head to head with another boat for so long,” said Rambler’s tactician, Jerry Kirby.  “It came down to the last tack to St. David’s Light.”
 
Vanquish, co-skippered by Bermudian Buddy Rego and Americans Russell Lucas and Jamie Hilton, crossed the line first in Class 8 for the big boats in the amateur St. David’s Lighthouse Division, but Gus Carlson’s Aurora is the provisional class winner. Some smaller boats have a good shot at winning the division. Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, has a 60-mile lead over her Class 3 competition. In the highly competitive Class 1, Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 and the two-time defending St. David’s winner, has sailed farther west than anybody and is fighting for the lead with David Dickerson’s Lindy.
 
In the Double-Handed Division, iBoattrack showed Michael Hennessy’s Dragon at the head of the pack, 160 miles from the finish, with the four-time winner Lora Ann not far behind. The Cruising Division’s leader, Clover III, was about 70 miles out on Saturday afternoon with a healthy lead on the 80-footer Nirvana.

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The lead boats entered the Gulf Stream at around sunset Saturday, heading upwind into a moderate southwesterly wind with as much as 4 knots of favorable current in the long, hot meander that they have been steering for since the race start on Friday afternoon. Speedboat, at 100ft the largest yacht in the fleet, was making more than 12 knots over the bottom. The earlier “champagne conditions” were behind them as they pounded into big, square, confused seas.

iBoattrack  positions at 11 AM EDT Sunday showed Speedboat averaging almost 11 knots with 175 miles to the finish. At this rate she is behind the  48-hour elapsed time race record for cant-keel, Open Division boats – She has to average 13knots for the whole race to beat this time.

Rán was 38 miles back. Following close on the heels of this English boat in the Gibbs Hill Division were Titan XV, Beau Geste, Bella Mente, Rambler, Il Mostro, Vanquish, and Genuine Risk. This tightly bunched pack of eight has been separated by only a few miles since the start.

By this morning the ‘big boat’ leaders were clear of the Stream and entering the 250-mile stretch of often confused wind and currents between the Gulf Stream and Bermuda. Race veterans wryly call this “Happy Valley,” for it is where the race is often won and lost.              

Chris Museler, on Titan XV, filed this report just before midnight:
“Now this is what we came for! The boat is literally crashing into waves close reaching onto the Gulf Stream and the water temperature has leapt into the 80s. It’s getting darker and the Aramid rigging has been humming and groaning, and the deck bounces from each loud crack when a sheet or the traveler is eased. This wild ride comes from being in a positive eddy heading south, straight into it! (Wind and current collide to stack up the seas that the boats are crashing into.) This is getting to be fun after losing a bit to competitors this afternoon. The bright sun and the flat water sailing are gone. Can’t write anymore, quite hot and uncomfortable down here. So I’m on watch and will be seeing you in the morning. Knew I wouldn’t want to sail a Bermuda Race without a proper ‘thrash,’ as Mr. Rousmaniere calls it!”

The Smaller Boats

By dawn today, Rán was out of the Stream, and the team was speculating in their blog whether the smaller boats – a hundred miles astern, and just entering this zone – have had consistently more wind than the big ones.

In Class 1, the St. David’s Lighthouse Division class for boats of about 40 feet, Sinn Fein, the two-time defending St. David’s champion, has chosen a course well to the right of the fleet leaders, and her close class rivals sistership Gone with the Wind and the Tartan 41 Aurora, and charting a route 50 miles west of the rhumb line.   

In the Double-Handed Division, two of the light-displacement Class 40s, Dragon and KamoaE, have a healthy lead on elapsed time, but Richard du Moulin’s Lora Ann remains in contention. 

The Cruiser Division leader is the 56-foot Clover III, well ahead of the bigger boats in this Division.      

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The Newport Bermuda Race fleet made their upwind starts in 16 classes over a period of more than two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. There now are 183 boats, after Avatar didn’t start. In addition, Blue sailed back to the shipyard to get her broken centerboard cable fixed; she’s expected to start again after the repair.

The start found some skippers were surprisingly aggressive. Apparently forgetting that this isn’t a day race but a 635-mile marathon running several days, they also seem to have experienced a touch of amnesia about the tide table.  As the new ebb tide ran with every great velocity out of Narragansett Bay, it pushed them inexorably toward Bermuda, but also over the starting line a little earlier than their tacticians had planned.

Of the 13 boats in Class 4 (St. David’s Light Division, 45-55 footers), four found themselves over early at the pin end, with Star Chaser getting what one of her crew called “the best start in the fleet” in an email to media@BermudaRace.com. “We were at the committee boat end of the line with some of the J-Boats but higher and faster. We all chose to be slightly late on the gun: no use being OCS  on a race of 635 nm!”

In Class 8 (St. David’s Light, 65-footers) two boats were premature. One was Aurora (with Gary Jobson in the afterguard), and she had to pick her way back to the line, losing at least three minutes in the process.

The current new on the Newport Bermuda Race  is that  Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west.  Two boats set Code Zeros.

For current boat positions click HERE

 Chris Museler reports from Titan XV:  a collision, a Code Zero, and a champagne wake

 Friday, 2045 EDT.  What an incredible day we’ve had! When I woke up to clear skies and glassy conditions, I knew the sea breeze was setting up nicely. After our delicious hot lunch aboard Tom and Dotty Hill’s Titan XIV, we set out in a relaxed mood, everyone smiling about the conditions. The spectators were all smiles and cheers. There were so many people camped out on the Castle Hill lawn that you couldn’t see any grass.

We started well to weather of the other mini maxis in Class 10 (Gibbs Hill Division) and from then until sunset (a few moments ago) it’s been champagne sailing conditions – sailing at 13-15 knots in a steady wind.   We’ve been the lead boat for a few hours, but now as it’s getting dark, Speedboat is passing us to leeward.  She started at 4:30, an hour after we did, and it’s now after 8.  Rán (in our class) isn’t far behind.

At about 5:30 we hit a large marine animal of some kind.  It may have been a basking shark, maybe as long as 20 feet. The hit was soft and we almost stopped. The fish made a few squiggles, spun off, and swam away in our wake.  The boat appears to be undamaged.

We’ve switched to a Code Zero, and as our grinders are getting busy they look a lot bigger than before. Mark Strube, who finished second at the Star Class Europeans two weeks ago, is 250 pounds of muscle.  The crew has just had dinner – hot rice and chicken with pineapple, which took an hour to cook in two large pots, plus the usual Snickers and Pringles for snacks . . . and apples, too.

Photos By George Bekris

More Photos Of The Newport Bermuda Race Start by George Bekris click HERE

 The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm.  Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda.  Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead.  There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.

By John Rousmaniere

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