The first half of the biennial New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex, which finished up yesterday for seven classes, has also now concluded for five more one-design classes that have been racing since Saturday.  The catch, however, was that today’s first race had to be abandoned and then competition cancelled when severe thunderstorms passed over Rhode Island Sound, leaving winners to be determined by cumulative standings posted yesterday.

The circumstances left J/105 skipper Damian Emery (Shoreham, N.Y.), sailing his J/105 Eclipse in the largest class here (20 boats), very happy. He is now the 2010 J/105 East Coast Champion, a title he also won in 2008 at this regatta, coincidentally under similar circumstances when a storm aborted racing on the last day. “The difference was that then, we shredded all of our sails because we didn’t get them down fast enough,” said Emery at the early afternoon Rolex Awards Ceremony where the sky had returned to sunny blue. “This time, we could see the front coming through and we were the first to drop our sails.”

According to Robin Wallace, the principal race officer for the White Course, where the J/105s and the Beneteau First 36.7s sailed, “It had looked as if the initial storm cell would track north of the course, but then a knuckle developed right across the sailing area, with heavy, heavy rain and winds up to 27 knots.” Since the Race Committee had forewarned everyone to keep their radios on, both fleets–which by then were approaching the first leeward mark on a twice-around course–knew to change course for home.

Eclipse’s tactician Dan Neff (Manhasset, N.Y.) explained that his team only needed an eighth or better in both races to win. “Based on our previous performance (victories in four of six races), we felt reasonably comfortable that we’d do that,” said Neff, “but the stress was still on.”  Joerg Esdorn’s (Katonah, N.Y.) Kincsem, which finished second overall, “was capable of posting two bullets if we weren’t there.” 

In a similar situation but with less of a winning margin was Ted Herlihy (South Dartmouth, Mass.), skipper of Gut Feeling in the 13-boat J/109 Class, which was sailing for its North Americans. Second-place Caminos, owned by Don Filippelli (Amagansett, N.Y.) and skippered by Ryan Dempsey, had only four points to make up, and Herlihy was “worried about what could happen.” In fact, in the pre-start time frame, the 10-12 knot breezes dropped to almost nothing, and Gut Feeling had a hard time getting to the line. “After the first mark we weren’t looking good,” said Herlihy, “and then the thunder storms roared in.” Caminos bow woman Kristen Robinson (Annapolis, Md.) said her team accepted that Gut Feeling out-sailed them over six races, “but we really wanted to battle it out today; I wish Mother Nature would have given us just 30 more minutes….”

Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.), skippering Arethusa, seemingly trounced the competition in the 15-boat NYYC Swan 42 class to become that class’s National Champion for a second consecutive year. His team posted four victories in six races to lead Glen Darden/Phillip Williamson’s (Fort Worth, Texas) Hoss by 16 points in overall scoring. Lotz, however, was philosophically proud of his third- and fourth-place finishes in races four and six, respectively. He had had to fight back for the fourth from deeper in the fleet, and about the third, he said, “We all finished within a few feet of each other, and that sums up how racing went the entire weekend.”

Emery, Herlihy and Lotz all won Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariners for their performances.

Two more teams won their classes by never losing their early leads. Thomas Boyle’s Wings (Irvington, N.Y.) topped the seven-boat J/122 class and took the North American title home after a hotly contested battle with second-place finisher Pugwash, owned and skippered by David Murphy (Westport, Conn.), while John Hammel’s (Arlington, Mass.) Elan won in the eight-boat Beneteau First 36.7 class, winning all but one of six races.

The second half for the New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex officially starts Wednesday and serves as the Rolex US-IRC National Championship.  Over all days, the event will have catered to 145 boats and 1200 sailors over seven days of competition.

New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex
July 17-24, 2010

Final Results for First Half – Monday, July 19, 2010 | Top three in each class

Position, Boat Name, Skipper, Hometown, Finishes, Total points

Blue Fleet – 6 races completed

Class 1 – NYYC Swan 42 (15 boats)
1. Arethusa, Phillip Lotz, Newport, R.I., 1-1-1-3-1-4, 11
2. Hoss, Darden /Phillip Williamson, Fort Worth, Texas, 2-6-5-4-5-6, 28
3. Daring, John Hele Newport, R.I., 5-8-3-5-7-2, 30

Class 2 – J/122 (7 boats)

1. Wings, Thomas Boyle, Irvington, N.Y., 1-1-1-2-1-1, 7 points
2. Pugwash, David Murphy, Westport, Conn., 4(SCP)-2-2-1-2-2, 13
3. Christopher Dragon, Andrew Weiss, Mamaroneck, N.Y., 3-4-3-3-3-3, 19

Class 3 – J/109 (13 boats)

1. Gut Feeling, Ted Herlihy, South Dartmouth, Mass., 2-1-1-1-2-4, 11
2. Caminos, Dan Filippelli, Amagansett, N.Y., 3-2-2-3-3-2, 15
3. Gossip, Steve Kenny & Greg Ames, Wainscott, N.Y., 1-3-4-2-3, 17

White Fleet – 6 races completed

Class 1 – PHRF 1 (10 boats)

1. Good Girl, J/100, Robert Armstrong, St. Croix, 1-1-1-2-2-1, 8 points
2. Settler, Peterson 42, Thomas Rich, Middletown, R.I., 2-3-2-1-1-2, 11
3. Act One, Summit 354, Charlie Milligan & Tom Roche, Newport, R.I., 2-3-3-3-3, 18

Class 2 – Beneteau First 36.7 (8 boats)

1. Elan, John Hammel, Arlington, Mass., 1-1-1-2-1-1, 7 points
2. Whirlwind, William Purdy, New York, N.Y., 4-4-1-2-6, 21
3. Kea/Slipstream, Chick Pyle, San Diego, Calif., 3-3-5-6-4-2, 23

Class 3 – J/105 (20 boats)

1. Eclipse, Damian Emery, Shoreham, N.Y., 1-1-4-1-3-1, 11 points
2. Kincsem, Joerg Esdorn, Katonah, N.Y., 6-2-1-4-5-7, 25
3. Savasana, Brian Keane, Weston, Mass., 3-3-5-12-1-5, 29

Green Fleet – All classes completed two races today

Class 1 – CRF 1 (3 boats)

1. Black Watch, Trevor Fetter, Dallas, Texas, 2-1-1, 4 points
2. Bolero, Edward Kane, Concord, Mass., 1-2-2, 5
3. Sumurun, Robert Towbin, Camden, Maine, 3-3-3, 9

Class 2 – 12 Metre (5 boats, Two races)

1. Courageous, Ralph Isham, New York, N.Y., 2-4-1-1-, 8 points
2. Victory 83, Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, Fla., 1-1-2-4, 8
3. USA 61, Guy Heckman, Newport, R.I., 3-3-4-2, 12

Class 3 – CRF 2 (5 boats, Two races)

1. Chips, Jed Pearsall, Newport, R.I., 1-1-2, 4 points
2. Sonny, Joseph Dockery, Newport, R.I., 2-2-1, 5
3. Fortune, Don Glassie, Newport, R.I., 3-3-4, 10

Class 4 – 6 Metre (6 boats; two races)

1. Ranger, Thomas Rodes, Cambridge, Mass., 1-4-1-1, 7 points
2. Syce, Bob & FarleyTowse, Stamford, Conn., 2-1-2-2, 7
3. Madcap, Thomas Fair, N. Kingstown, R.I., 6(DNC)-2-3-3, 14

Class 5 –S Class (10 boats, two races)

1. Firefly, Alan Silken, Newton, Mass., 1-1-1-4, 7 points
2. Osprey, Mike McCaffrey, Newport, R.I., 2- 4-3-3, 12
3. Argument, Stephan Sloan, E.Greenwich, Conn., 3-5-8-1, 17

Class 6 – PHRF 2 (5 boats, Two races)

1. Park Place, O’Day 34, Richard Mentelos, Guilford, Conn., 1-1-1-4, 7 points
2. Wolverine, Frers 33, David Nauber, Higganum, Mass., 2-2-3-1, 8
3. Showdown, Bijan Rasadi, Groton, Conn., 3-3-2-3, 11

 

It was a busy day on Narragansett Bay when hundreds of athletes swam across it in the early morning, then 1200 more plied its waters from mid-morning to afternoon, sailing the first day of the New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. While the annual early-morning “Save the Bay” swim finished, 107 boats left their berths in Newport Harbor to converge on three race circles: two “outside” on Rhode Island Sound and one “up the Bay,” or north of the iconic Pell Bridge, which serves as gateway to historic Newport and frames the sweeping view of the city from Harbour Court, where host New York Yacht Club has its on-water clubhouse.

“It was everything you could hope for in a day of sailing,” said NYYC Race Committee Chair John “Tinker” Miles, noting sunshine and warm temperatures cooled by manageable 12-15 knot breezes from the Southwest.

For leaders in seven of the 12 classes, when it was good it was very good. The conditions enabled them to post nothing but first-place finishes in multiple races. Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.) posted three bullets in as many races in the 15-boat NYYC Swan 42 class, further attributing his stellar performance to “essentially good starts and speed, and conservative plays, which were more or less up the middle of the course.” Sailing with Lotz for the class’s National Championship were his wife Wendy and son Doug (age 23), while another Newporter Martha Parker, who worked the bow, also enjoyed having family aboard–her 13-year-old son Frasier. “There was enough variation in the wind velocity and seaway, however, that we were changing gears and sail trim constantly,” said Lotz, who is the 2009 national champion in this class and also represented the New York Yacht Club last year in its victory at the first-ever NYYC Invitational Cup, which hosted yacht club teams from around the world.

Thomas Boyle’s (Irvington, N.Y.) Wings was also three-for-three in the tight J/122 fleet, but it was only because it had the “slightest edge” on speed over David Murphy’s (Westport, Conn.) Pugwash, which finished right behind it on every account. “We’d come off the starting line and two miles later we were only two boat lengths ahead, “ said Mark Ploch (City Island, N.Y.) whose job it is to concentrate on boat speed. “With the boats all stacked together, I’d say it was a combination of things that kept us ahead, including Tom’s incredible ability to concentrate on the long beats.”

Other leaders with perfect scores over three races were Robert Armstrong (St. Croix) on Good Girl in the PHRF 1 class; defending Race Week champion John Hammel (Arlington, Mass.) on Elan in the Beneteau First 36.7 class; Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla.) on Victory 83 in the 12 Metre class; Alan Silken (Newton, Mass.) on Firefly in the S Class; and Richard Mentelos (Guilford, Conn.) on Park Place in PHRF 2.

Defending Race Week champion Damian Emery (Shoreham, N.Y.) won two of three races on Eclipse in the J/105 class, sailing for its East Coast championship and the largest here with 20 boats. The J/109s, which are fighting for their North American title, were led today by defending Race Week champion Ted Herlihy (South Darmouth, Mass.) after he posted a 2-1-1 with Gut Feeling.

Racing for the first half of Race Week continues through Monday for the five One-Design classes and concludes tomorrow for Classics, Herreshoff S Class, 12 Metre, 6 Metre, and PHRF. The second half is scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday when the Rolex US-IRC National Championship will take center stage. To date, 38 IRC-rated racers are registered for the fourth annual competition.
New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex

 July 17-24, 2010
Preliminary Results – Saturday, July 17, 2010
Top three in each class
Place, Boat Name, Skipper, Hometown, Finish Positions, Total Points

Blue Fleet – 3 races completed

Class 1 – NYYC Swan 42 (15 boats)
1. Arethusa, Phillip Lotz, Newport, R.I., 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Hoss, Glen Darden & Williamson, Fort Worth, Texas, 2-6-5, 13
3. Apparition, Kenneth Colburn, Dover, Mass., 4-2-9, 15

Class 2 – J/122 (7 boats)
1. Wings Thomas Boyle, Irvington, N.Y., 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Pugwash, David Murphy, Westport, Conn., 2-2-2, 6
3. Christopher Dragon, Andrew Weiss, Mamaroneck, N.Y., 3-4-3, 10

Class 3 – J/109 (13 boats)
1. Gut Feeling, Ted Herlihy, South Dartmouth, Mass., 2-1-1, 4 points
2. Caminos, David Filippelli, Amagansett, N.Y.., 3-2-2, 7
3. Gossip, Steve Kenny & Greg Ames, Wainscott, N.Y., 1-3-4, 8

White Fleet – 3 races completed

Class 1 – PHRF 1 (10 boats)
1. Good Girl, J/100, Robert Armstrong, St. Croix, 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Settler, Peterson 42, Thomas Rich, Middletown, R.I., 2-3-2, 7
3. Act One, Sloop, Charlie Milligan & Tom Roche, Newport, R.I., 4-2-3, 9

Class 2 – Beneteau First 36.7 (8 boats)
1. Elan, John Hammel, Arlington, Mass., 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Resolute, Junius Brown Ridgefield, Conn., 2-2-3, 7
3. Kea/Slipstream, Chick Pyle, San Diego, Calif., 3-3-5, 11

Class 3 – J/105 (20 boats)
1. Eclipse, Damian Emery, Shoreham, N.Y., 1-1-4, 6 points
3. Kincsem, Joerg Esdorn, Katonah, N.Y., 6-2-1, 9
2. Savasana, Brian Keane, Weston, Mass., 3-3-5, 11

Green Fleet – 2 races completed; CRF 1 and CRF 2 completed one distance race

Class 1 – CRF 1 (3 boats)
1. Bolero, Edward Kane, Concord, Mass., 02:43:35
2. Black Watch, Trevor Fetter, Dallas, Texas, 02:46:25
3. Sumurun, Robert Towbin, Camden, Maine, 03:06:10

Class 2 – 12 Metre (5 boats)
1. Victory 83, Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, Fla., 1-1, 2 points
2. American Eagle, Carol Swift, Hoboken, N.J., 4-2, 6
3. Courageous, Ralph Isham, New York, N.Y., 2-4, 6

Class 3 – CRF 2 (5 boats)
1. Chips, Jed Pearsall, Newport, R.I., 03:08:04
2. Sonny, Joseph Dockery, Newport, R.I., 03:11:05
3. Fortune, Don Glassie, New York, N.Y., 03:18:00

Class 4 – 6 Metre (6 boats)
1. Syce, Bob & FarleyTowse, Stamford, Conn., 2-1, 3 points
2. Ranger, Thomas Rodes, Cambridge, Mass., 1-4, 5
3. Cherokee, Jerry Goldlust, Concord, Mass., 4-3, 7

Class 5 –S Class (10 boats)
1. Firefly, Alan Silken, Newton, Mass., 1-1, 2 points
2. Aquila, Geoffrey Davis, Providence, R.I., 4- 2, 6
3. Osprey, Mike McCaffrey, Newport, R.I. , 2- 4, 6

Class 6 – PHRF 2 (5 boats)
1. Park Place, O’Day 34, Richard Mentelos, Guilford, Conn., 1-1, 2 points
2, Wolverine, Frers 33, David Nauber, Higganum, Mass., 2-2, 4
3. Dirty Harry, J/29, John Lavin, East Greenwich, R.I., 3-3, 6

While history didn’t quite repeat itself today, it came pretty close.  The final races of the 2009 12 Metre World Championships were sailed on a sparkling Rhode Island Sound as helicopters buzzed and spectator boats jockeyed for front row seats to the action – evoking memories of 26 years ago to the day when the longest winning streak (132 years) in sporting history ended with the loss of the “Auld Mug” to Australia.  On this day, however, instead of just two Twelves there were 17 making their way around the old America’s Cup stomping grounds off Brenton Point and with many of the same spectators there to pay homage as the helicopters droned above.

Notable for traveling the furthest to be part of this largest gathering of Twelves since the Cup left Newport:  Challenge 12, which William Borel (Paris, France) had shipped from Europe early in the summer, and Australian Skip Lissiman who was onboard the Cup-winning Australia II in 1983.  “It’s fantastic to be back in Newport,” he said.  “I wanted to be back in particular for the anniversary and [to celebrate] I will be going down to O’Brien’s Pub where they have the original boxing kangaroo flag.  We’re going to exchange it with one that the entire crew signed last year when we celebrated the 25^th and take the original flag back to the museum in Australia.”

For the final act of the world championships, two races were sailed in all four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – before The Candy Store Cup was re-run after being abandoned on day two of racing. Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), on Kiwi Magic-KZ7, won the  Grand Prix division after adding finishes of 1-3 for a net total of seven points.  Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.), driving Wright on White-KZ3, finished 3-2 to place second overall in the division standings, one point back.

More Photos Of The Action Can Be Seen HERE

The Traditional Division saw the only real upset of the championship as Charlie Millikin and Carol Swift (both Newport), on American Eagle-US21, fought back from a three-point deficit with a 1-2 today to tie Weatherly’s Clay Deutsch (Newport) who finished 2-3.  With eight points apiece, the tie-break went in favor of American Eagle earning Swift a surprise swim off the dock at Bannister’s Wharf courtesy of the crew.  In the Vintage division, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), on Gleam-US11, was one point out of first when the day began and placed first in both races to win by three points over Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), on Northern Light-US14.

“In the Modern fleet, on any given day any boat can win, they’re all that close,” said Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla./Mashpee, Mass.) after winning that division on Victory ‘83-K22.  He explained that it was Courageous who was their biggest competition after they had “two good races today and in conditions that were really pretty crazy.  They had a first and second and I think we were two points apart with one throw out, so very close.  The wind was shifting left and right and the velocity was up and down …it was a very crazy day, it was not predictable.  Everybody worked hard trying to keep the boat on track with the shifting winds.”

In addition to winning his first world championship title, it was “nice to put a little icing on the cake,” said Williams about winning The Candy Store Cup which gave a single start for all divisions and sent them on a course back from Rhode Island Sound, past Castle Hill Light, and into Newport Harbor for a finish off Bannister’s Wharf where champagne was awaiting all the teams.  “It was great,” said Williams of the 2009 12 Metre World Championship.  “Everyone on the boat enjoyed it, we had a great time, great crew.  It was just fabulous.  The competition was great.”

2009 12 Metre Worlds Final Standings

Place, Boat Name-Sail Number, Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points

Division I – Grand Prix

1. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1-1-1-(3), 7

2. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2-2-(3)-2, 8

3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3-(3)-2-1, 12

4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-DNF-4-4-4, 20

Division 2 – Modern

1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla./Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2-1-3-(3), 8

2. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 3-2-(DSQ)-2-2-1, 10

3. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 4- 5-1-4-1-(5), 15

2. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 2-3-4-5-(5)-2, 16

5. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), (DSQ)-4-3-3-4-4, 16

Division 3 – Traditional

1. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), (4)-2-2-1-1-2, 8

2. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1-2-2-(3), 8

3. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3-3-3-(DNS), 12.5

4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4-4-4-(DNF), 19

5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-(DNS)-5-5-1, 21

Division 4 – Vintage

1. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), (3)-1-2-1-1-1, 6

2. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1-2-3-(3), 9

3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-DNF-(DNS)-3-2-2, 13

More Photos Of The Action Can Be Seen HERE

There were no surprises in the finishes posted by the 17 Twelves who completed only a single race today at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship.  After sailing out to the old America’s Cup racecourse off Brenton Point, the wind speed took a nosedive as it changed direction from WSW to NNW, leaving the competitors drifting for close to two hours.  With one race completed, the four divisions were given a combined start for the Candy Store Cup, sending them on a course back into Newport Harbor to the finish line at Bannister’s Wharf.  The wind, however, continued to be uncooperative and the race was abandoned when the Twelves were unable to make the time limit for the race. 

Yesterday, racing in the Modern division was quite contentious, with the outcome of numerous protests resulting in Challenge 12 and Courageous each picking up a DSQ when the jury decisions did not go in their favor and causing a complete shake up in the results for that division.  Unscathed by the protests, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.) at the helm of Victory ’83 is reaping the benefit of having assembled a crew that includes several who have sailed together for close to 30 years, including Heart of America veterans Wally Henry (San Diego, Calif.) and Jim Gretzky (Storrs, Conn.), along with three father and son pairs – Jerry and Rome Kirby, Bill and Randy Shore (all Newport, R.I.) and Larry and Matt Mialik (both Madison, Wisc.), making for a well-oiled effort as evidenced by the 1-1-2 they posted on day one. 

Peter Stalkus (Newport, R.I.), navigator aboard Victory ’83, has the distinction of having been navigator with four America’s Cup campaigns (’80 Clipper, ’83 Defender, ’87 USA 61 and ’97 Young America).  His take on Victory ‘83’s impressive performance here is that Dennis Williams, its owner, has been meticulous in his approach.  “The boat is well prepared and it shows,” said Stalkus after the team picked up their third win in four races.  “It has good speed and we’ve practiced ahead of time.” 

While the fallout from the protest decisions catapulted Intrepid from fifth into second and Freedom from fourth to third, today’s result did not do much to help either.  Intrepid added a fifth-place finish today and dropped back to fourth overall, while the Freedom’s fourth-place finish held them in place.  For Courageous, who had slipped from third to fourth overall after the protest, their second-place finish today moved them up to second overall.  Challenge 12, dropping from second place to fifth after the protest results, was third in today’s race and did not move in the overall standings.  

Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), on Kiwi Magic,  leads the Grand Prix division, while tied on points – six each – with Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) on Wright on White.  In the Traditional division, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.) on Weatherly leads with six points, three ahead of American Eagle being driven by Charlie Millikin and Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.).  Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.) on Northern Light is leading by one point over Gleam, driven by Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), in the Vintage division.

Images By George Bekris

(click on image to enlarge)

Legends Forums - The Legends Forums are a unique sidebar to the 2009 12 Metre Worlds, bringing together the biggest names of the America’s Cup 12 Metre era for question-and-answer sessions moderated by Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.), who won the America’s Cup with Ted Turner in 1977 and went on to become the voice of sailing for television.  Held after racing each day dockside at Bannister’s and Bowen’s Wharves, with a finale forum planned for Sunday, as well, at the awards ceremony at Harbour Court, the forums are designed to include representation from a varied – and knowledgeable – group of personalities in the categories of Syndicate Representative, Crew, Design, Journalist and Other Notables.  On opening day, the panel included Skip Lissiman (AUS), Gianfranco Alberini  (ITA), Russell Coutts (NZL), and Americans Charlie Hovey, Harry Anderson, Dave Pedrick, Andy MacGowan, Bill Koch and Dick Enerson.  The questions ran the gamut from “Who was the best 12 Metre skipper?” (all of them who won, it was decided in consensus) and “What was the best Twelve ever?” (Intrepid for being the biggest departure, changing all future designs) to “What will win the next America’s Cup, a trimaran or a catamaran?” (that one was a toss-up).  Clearly, the audience was enjoying  the up close-and-personal encounter, and they lingered to talk about the exchanges long after the luminaries had left, some even discussing what questions would be best to ask a different group tonight.

Racing resumes tomorrow, Friday, September 25, and concludes Saturday, September 26.  

2009 12 Metre Worlds Results for Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009
Place, Boat Name-Sail Number, Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points

Division I – Grand Prix

1. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1-1, 6

2. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2-2, 6

3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3-3, 12

4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-DNF-4, 17

 

Division 2 – Modern

1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2-1, 5

2. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 3-2-DSQ-2, 13

3. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 4- 5-1-4, 14

2. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 2-3-4-5, 14

5. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), DSQ-4-3-3, 16

 

Division 3 – Traditional

1. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1-2, 6

2. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), 4-2-2-1, 9

3. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3-3, 10

4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4-4, 15

5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-DNS-5, 21

 

Division 4 – Vintage

1. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1-2, 6

2. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), 3-1-2-1, 7

3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-DNF-DNS-3, 13

 Some of the competitors at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship are certainly experiencing déjà vu as a veritable “Who’s Who” of sailing walked the docks at Bannister and Bowen’s Wharves this morning as the first day of this long-anticipated event got underway.  From current America’s Cup poster boy Russell Coutts (Auckland, NZL), who is sailing on Kiwi Magic with Cup patron and skipper Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), to Dawn Riley (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who broke ground as team leader of the first women’s entry in the Cup, to noted British sailors Harold Cudmore (Cowes, GBR) and Andy Green  (Lymington, GBR), there is a surfeit of recognizable faces.  Twenty-six years ago when the America’s Cup was won by Australia (in 1983) in Newport, it ended the longest winning streak in sporting history (132 years).  Four years later, two more milestones in the event’s history were marked:  Dennis Conner became the first person to lose and then win the Cup, and the Twelves were sailed for the last time as the America’s Cup yacht of choice after 29 years.  

“It’s wonderful to wander about the docks at Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharf and see the 12 Metres here again, where they were in ’83, many of them with their same crews from then,” said Robin Wallace (Newport, R.I.) who was a member of Race Committee for the Challenger Series in ‘83 and is the Principal Race Officer for this event.  “With the current legal squabbles going on, people have become disenchanted with the America’s Cup, but this is like a re-awakening of the class, a reinvention of a competition that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 12 Meters first being used in the Cup.”

Divided into four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – the 17 competing yachts sailed three races today, all in different wind levels in the Twelves old stomping grounds off Brenton Point.  The southwesterly breeze went from light, increasing to 12 knots for race two, and into the mid-teens for the third race, with a relatively flat sea state until race three.  

 We broke a couple of sails,” said Dawn Riley who came to the event to participate in the Legends Forums and wound up racing on America II.  “But, we’re kind of a slower boat in the Grand Prix so we were happy to beat one of the boats to the top mark and almost to the bottom mark.  And, we improved from the first race to the second race and everybody on board had fun.  The bad news is you break sails and you can’t race, the good news is it was full-on physical, athletic, screaming, swearing . . . and everyone came out with smiles.”

All Images By George Bekris

(click on image to enlarge)

 The 2009 12 Metre World Championships are expected to be the largest gathering of these vintage yachts in the 26 years since Newport last hosted the America’s Cup (in 1983) is scheduled for September 22-27, and the accompanying reunion of sailing personalities has drawn a great deal of interest and speculation. This will be a homecoming for these sailing legends, many of whom rose to prominence in the sport while racing “Twelves” on Narragansett Bay. The 2009 Worlds are the centerpiece of the Golden Year of Racing, a year-long 50th anniversary celebration of the 12 Metre’s debut in the America’s Cup, in 1958, which ultimately saw Columbia ~ US 16 defeat the British challenger, Sceptre ~ K17. Five America’s Cup winning boats (including Columbia), a winning skipper, and several boats that were in the Defender competition for the Cup will race. International sailors, including the skipper and crew from France’s Challenge 12, and crews from Norway (racing on Gleam), Switzerland (racing Onawa) and the United Kingdom (racing on USA ) will up the ante in what should be a fierce competition. In the Grand Prix Division, Kiwi Magic ~ KZ 7 will be skippered by 1992 America’s Cup winner Bill Koch (Osterville, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), while among the six Twelves sailing in the Modern Division are three (Courageous ~ US 26, Freedom ~ US 30 and Intrepid ~ US 22) who collectively have won the Cup five times. Cup winners Columbia ~ US 16 and Weatherly ~ US 17 will sail in the five-boat Traditional Division and Onawa ~ US 6, the oldest yacht in the American fleet, willcompete in the Vintage Division which will have three yachts racing.

The Twelves will be docked at Bowen’s Wharf and Bannister’s Warf in historic downtown Newport. Of particular interest to sailing afficionados will be the 12 Metre Legends Forums, sponsored by North Sails, held after racing in the 12 Metre Worlds Village at Bowen’s Wharf on September 23, 24 and25. Moderators Tom Whidden (Essex, Conn.) and regatta co-chairs Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) and Jan Slee (Newport, R.I.) will interview the slate of 30+ participants who are skippers, tacticians, crew and yacht designers. They include Gianfranco Alberini (ITA), Richard du Moulin (Larchmont, N.Y.), Halsey Herreshoff (Bristol, R.I.), Ted Hood (Portsmouth, R.I.) , Luigi Lang (ITA), Andy MacGowan (Middletown, R.I.), Lowell North (San Diego, Calif.), Charles Dana, Bill Langan, David Pedrick and David Ray (all Newport, R.I.), Jack Sutphen (San Diego, Calif.) and Sam Wakeman (Cohasset, Mass.). The North Sails Legends Forum Finale will take place before the awards presentation on Sunday, September 27, at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court. Gary Jobson will narrate and produce a one-hour film for ESPN Classic on the history of the 12 Metres and the 2009 Worlds. Bill Koch is the Executive Producer for the film which will feature racing footage shot during the Worlds and interviews with the Legends. It is set to air Saturday, November 7, at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic and will be available in the future on DVD.

.

 

 

The 12 Metre Class competes in 5 Divisions: Status as of September 16, 2009

DIVISION A ~ Grand Prix - yachts built for the 1987 America’s Cup

America II ~ US 46 - Manhattan Sailng Club (Michael Fortenbaugh), based in New York City, built in 1986 for the ‘87 Cup
Kiwi Magic ~ KZ 7 - Bill Koch, based in Newport, built in 1986 for the ‘87 Cup
USA ~ US 61 - USA-61 LLC, based in Newport, built in 1986 for the ‘87 Cup, Richard Matthews, Skipper
Wright on White ~ KZ 3 - based in Newport, built in 1985 for the ‘87 Cup, Lexi, Gahagan, Skipper

DIVISION B ~ Modern - yachts built between 1974 and 1983

Challenge 12 ~ KA 10 - William Borel, based in Antibes, France, built in 1982 for the ‘83 Cup
Courageous ~ US 26 - Courageous Foundation (Stephen Glascock), based in Newport, built in 1974, ’74 & ’77 Cup winner
Freedom ~ US 30 - Ernest Jacquet, based in Newport, built 1979, ’80 Cup winner
Intrepid ~ US 22 - Jack Curtin, based in Newport, built in 1967,’67 & ‘70 Cup winner
Victory ‘83 ~ K 22 - Dennis Williams, based in Newport, built in 1983 for the ‘83 Cup

Withdrawn:
Enterprise ~ US 27 - Jan & Caroline Slee, based in Newport, built in 1976 for the 1977 America’s Cup
Lionheart ~ K 18 - Harry Graves, based in Newport, built in 1979 for the 1980 America’s Cup
Valiant ~ US 24 - Gary Gregory, based in Marblehead, MA, built in 1970 for the 1970 America’s Cup

DIVISION C ~ Traditional - yachts built between 1958 and 1970

American Eagle ~ US 21 – Herb Marshall, based in Newport, built in 1964, Carol Swift/Charlie Milligan, Skippers
Columbia ~ US 16 - Alain Hanover, based in Newport, built in 1958, ‘58 Cup winner
Easterner ~ US 18 - Shake-A-Leg (Paul Callahan), based in Newport, built in 1958 for the ’58 Cup
Nefertiti ~ US 19 - Sears Wullschleger, based in Newport, built in 1962 for the ‘62 Cup
Weatherly ~ US 17 – Geotge Hill, based in Newport, built in 1958, ‘62 Cup winner, Clay Deutsch, Skipper

DIVISION D ~ Vintage - yachts built 1919 and 1937

Gleam ~ US 11 -, Elizabeth Tiedemann, based in Newport, built in 1937, Einar Sissener, Skipper
Northern Light ~ US 14 - Elizabeth Tiedemann, based in Newport, built in 1938, Kip Curren, Skipper
Onawa ~ US 6 – Syndicate owned (Morten Kielland), based in Newport, built in 1928

.

 

 

.