Seven days of racing, 147 competing boats, 11 divisions, two National Championships, one North American Championship, 1200 sailors and one great sailing town of Newport. It all adds up to New England’s favorite regatta – New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. Kicking off on Saturday, July 17 with three days of one design and Classic, 12 Metre and PHRF-rated competition, Race Week’s “first half” welcomes the Beneteau 36.7, J/105, J/109, J/122, J/80, Classics, S Class, 12 Metre, 6 Metre and NYYC Swan 42 classes. In all, 109 boats are registered for the first half of Race Week.
After a lay day featuring a classic New England Lobster Bake hosted at the New York Yacht Club’s on-the-water clubhouse Harbour Court, the “second half” is scheduled for four days of racing to determine the Rolex US-IRC National Champion. To date 38 IRC-rated racers are registered for the fourth annual competition. Preliminary entry lists, sailing instructions and daily results can be found online at www.nyyc.org.
The largest One Design Class is the J/105 with 22 boats currently entered including the top three finishers from 2008 Race Week: Eclipse, owned by Damian Emery (Shoreham, N.Y.); Savasana, owned by Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.); and Live Edge, owned by Michael Mountford.
“My team is looking forward to a great event,” said Mountford, who is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “We really enjoy sailing in the New England area as sailing on the East Coast is good training for us. I decided to keep Live Edge in the Newport area this year after sailing in Rye in the fall. The NYYC runs a great regatta, the location is excellent and the people and sailing are terrific.”
The second largest One Design fleet is the NYYC Swan 42 Class with 15 registered boats competing for the national championship. The 2008 Race Week champion Tiburon, owned by Mark Watson (San Antonio, Texas/Newport, R.I.) and 2009 national champion Arethusa, owned by Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.), are expected to compete.
“Each year, the Swan 42 Nationals represents the premier event for the fleet,” said Paul Zabetakis (Jamestown, R.I.), NYYC Swan 42 class president and owner of Impetuous. “The teams use the regattas prior to this event to prepare for what has become the most competitive racing of the year. The teams consist of some of the most talented Corinthian competitors in the sailing community. The racing is so close that even minor mistakes are very costly – it can mean the difference between first or last at the rounding marks. Clearly, the winner of this regatta is acknowledged by the fleet as the ‘best of the best.’”
North American championship title is on the line in the J/109 class where 13 boats are registered, including defending champion Storm, owned by Rick Lyall (Wilton, Conn.) and 2008 champion Gut Feeling, owned by Ted Herlihy (South Dartmouth, Mass.).
Elan, John Hammel’s (Arlington, Mass.) Beneteau 36.7, is looking to defend its 2008 victory against an increasingly competitive fleet. “This year we are fortunate to have six of the eight competing boats traveling to Newport specifically for this event,” said John Hammel, the local fleet captain. “Five are from Long Island Sound and one is from Boston.” The event is one of five events that are used to determine the North East Fleet 36.7 Boat of the Year award. Last year’s winner was Bill Purdy’s (City Island, N.Y.) Whirlwind, which is frequently at the top of Long Island Sound 36.7 events, and finished fourth in the 2006 North Americans, held in Newport, and third overall in 2008.
Other skippers and boats to watch include Chick Pyle (San Diego, Calif.), 2005 North American Class champion, skippering Kea/Slipstream, a name mixed with his chartered Slipstream and his own, 36.7 Kea. Lou Mellio’s (Middletown, N.J.) Surface Tension and Junius Brown’s (Ridgefield, Conn.) Resolute are also strong competitors in the Long Island Sound fleet.
In total, 120 boats are registered for the first half of the week of racing, July 17-19, which will take place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.
Second Half of Week to Showcase IRC-Rated Racing
After taking a one-day break on Tuesday, July 20 to allow boats to switch to IRC configuration, the second of half kicks off on Wednesday, July 21 featuring four days of IRC racing with a mix of short course and middle-distance racing planned. To date, 36 IRC-rated boats are entered with George David’s Custom 90-footer Rambler the largest competing. The Rolex US-IRC National Championship will end with a Rolex gala and awards party on Saturday, July 24.
Swan 42 Class 2 Weiss New York Christopher Dragon 12204
J-109
Kamisher New York Blue Rider 71
Filippelli Caminos 52202
Kenny / Ames Gossip 274
Herlihy Gut Feeling 72
Jannetti Breakwater Jibber Jabber 272
Gutshall Maddogs & Englishmen 260
Schwartz Manhasset Bay Nordlys 267
Salk New York picante 126
Sweetser New York Rush 51
Vos Skoot 369
Lyall New York Storm 146
Milo Vento Solare 266
BLUE FLEET
Class 3 Shachoy Beverly August West 54
Tortorello Partnership 12
Furnary New York Patriot 61220
Murphy Pugwash 60003
Chapman Screaming Eagle 52920
Gold New York Sundari 12235
Boyle / Bruno / Callahan New York Wings 12241
Shaw New York Tumbleweed 52770
Class 1 Clarke Newport Next Wave 31113 36 Farrv395
Tofias Royal Thames Race Horse US-1 42 W 37
Milligan/Roche New York Act One 52915 60 sloop
Rich New York Settler 31200 61 Cust. Peterson 42
Janney Eastern Die Fledermaus 73179 75 J/35
Armstrong St. Croix Good Girl ISV68 82 J/100
Tyler Hyannis Straight Jacket 3333 84 Quest 30
Hall Bluto 53194 89 Evelyn 32
Hyde Freightrain 40926 93 Frers 36
Stookey / Hallowell New York Jest 50686 93 Quest 32
Beneteau 36.7
Class 2 Powers Agora 52475
Palmer New York A C Breakaway 69
Hammel New York Elan 51920
Pyle San Diego Kea/Slipstream 52498
Raczkowski Mischief 93206
Brown Saugatuck Harbor Resolute 230
Melillo Atlantic Highlands Surface Tension 4444
Purdy City Island Whirlwind 52134
J-105
Class 3 Lewis Annapolis Bat IV 328
Bloom Falmouth Bear Spirit 51682
Henderson / Edegran Larchmont Conundrum 170
Wagner Buzzards Dark ‘n Stormy 413
Emery Eclipse 50
Rugg New York Jaded 92
Groobey Annapolis Java 674
Weiderman Kima 300
Esdorn New York Kincsem 324
Mountford Royal Canadian Live Edge 267
Koten Planet Claire 630
Stone St. Francis Power Play 37
Keane Beverly Savasana 523
Brauer/Neff New York Scimitar 526
Mindich LHYC/HYC Shakedown 488
Allen Riverside Strange Brew 175
Weglarz Chicago The Asylum 673
Darlington East Greenwich Tonto 493
Masur New York Two Feathers 344
Beane New York Vixen 657
Class 1 Kane New York Bolero 134 48.5
Fetter New York Black Watch 71 48
1
Class 2
Cholerton-Brown Manhattan America II US 46
Heckman New York USA US 61
Isham / Auersperg New York Courageous US 26
Williams Corinthian Victory 83 K-22
Swift New York American Eagle US 21
Class 3
6 METRE
C
S Class
Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail #
Class 5
Davis Aquila 51
Sloan New York Argument 22
Silken Firefly 7
McCaffrey Newport Osprey S8
Herreshoff New York Lady Luck 2
Patterson Pirate 63
Hutchinson RIYC Shona 15
Hagen Sturdy Beggar 17
Roy Newport Surprise 5
Boylan Whistler S3
Migliaccio Wistful 14
PHRF 2
Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail # Rating Model
Class 6 Lavin East Greenwich Dirty Harry 40561 111 J-29
Nauber Wolverine 41354 111 Frers 33
Rasadi New York Showdown 31628 111 J-29
Walters IYAC Poia 22956 121 Catalina 38
Mentelos Park Place 41976 150 O’Day 34
CRF 2
2 Metre
Towbin New York Sumurun 14 58
Class 1
Colburn New York Apparition 4235
Lotz New York Arethusa 4216
Fisher New York Bandit 4208
Brownyard New York Barleycorn 4224
G. Rojek New York Better Than… 18
Culver New York Blazer 4243
Gefter New York Celeritas 42021
Cahoots Syndicate New York Conspiracy 4201
Hele New York Daring 4214
Darden / Williamson New York Hoss 4227
Zabetakis New York Impetuous 4206
Kane New York Mutiny 4204
Widmann New York Quintessence 4210
Watson New York Tiburon 4223
Halbert Vitesse 4240
Rodes New York Ranger US112
Towse / Towse New York Syce US14
Fair New York Madcap US21
Loughborough New York Belle L24-2
lass 4
Glassie New York Fortune 312 36.6
Pearsall New York Chips 13 36.1
Croll New York Angelita 18 34.9
Colie Mantoloking Silent Maid T 82 29
The start to the weekend was the Around the (Conanicut) Island Race on Friday, which is scored separately from the Saturday/Sunday races. The race has become a popular “add on” for competitors, especially those gearing up for the biennial Newport Bermuda Race the following week. George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) Custom Maxi Rambler took line honors, finishing the 19-nautical mile distance in two hours, 10 minutes. However, Titan 15, a Reichel/Pugh 75 owned by Tom Hill (Puerto Rico) finished in first on corrected time with Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, MN) in second with his Mini Maxi Bella Mente. “We really love the competition,” said Hill after racing. “We have been having so much fun racing Titan that to be that close to the other boats is really enjoyable.” Rambler finished in third.
The Rolex Cup – presented to the best performing two-boat team in the Around the Island Race – was won by Rush, a J/109 owned by Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, MD) and Spitfire, a J/122 owned by Pierre du Pont (Rockland, DE).
On Saturday, the first day of the two-day buoy racing, most classes completed three races. The skies may have threatened rain but didn’t deliver much on that promise. Come Sunday, the promise of ideal conditions didn’t materialize until late in the day, and most classes ended up adding only one more race to the total score. The IRC boats were split into six classes, with Classics, 12 Metres, 6 Metres, J/105 and NYYC Swan 42 one designs rounding out the fleet.
In IRC 1, Bella Mente won three of four races and took the overall title. An IRC 69 from Reichel/Pugh, the Mini Maxi adds this title to a recent victory in Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race, in May, and the 2009 IMA Mediterranean Circuit. The much-anticipated duel among Bella Mente Titan 15, Rambler and Rán, Niklas Zennström’s (London, U.K.) Judel/Vrolijk 72, proved exciting with the 90-foot Rambler taking line honors in some, but not all races, and the fleet finishing within minutes of each other.
Sforzando, Blair Brown’s (Padanaram, MA) Kerr 55, used consistency to take the IRC 2 title. With four second-place finishes, Sforzando held off Natalie J, Philip O’Neil’s (Bloomfield Hills, MI) TP52, race 1 and 3 winner finishing in second overall, and Snow Lion, Lawrence Huntington’s (New York, NY) Kerr 50, winner of race 2. The U. S. Naval Academy’s TP52 Invictus finished in third.
Rounding out the IRC classes was IRC 3 overall winner Cool Breeze, a Mills 43 owned by John Cooper (Springfield, MO), with four victories in as many races; Wings, a J/122 co-skippered by Mike Bruno/Tom Boyle/Jim Callahan (Irvington, NY) won the largest class, the 14-boat IRC 4; Storm, the J/109 owned by Rick Lyall (Wilton, CT), winner of the 12-boat IRC 5 class; and Bluto, the Evelyn 32 owned by Ben Hall (Tiverton, RI), winner of IRC 6.
In the Classics division, a total of 15 boats competed in the first leg of the 2010 NYYC Invitational Racing Series for Vintage and Classic Yachts. Entries were split among five classes, each full of eye pleasing entries.
One such is Columbia that ushered in the 12 Metre era of America’s Cup racing in Newport and won the 1958 Cup. This year, it was chartered for racing by a group of nine friends lead by Americans Charlie Ingersoll (Washington, DC) and Mike Furgueson (Mendham, NJ). “A group of us have been sailing for the past nine years in (the) Around Island in Cowes (England) and decided we wanted to try something new,” said Ingersoll. “So, with my seven European friends we decided on this regatta and because Mike Ferguson and I are both NYYC members. We chartered Columbia since we like to race and thought it would be fun to charter a 12 Metre. I mean, we’re in Newport Harbor, and we really wanted to have that Newport experience.” With three first places and one second, Columbia took the traditional class win over Jon Wullschleger’s (Sarasota, FL) Nefertiti, while Guy Heckman (Newport) and USA won the 12 Metre Modern class over second-place Victory 83 and Denis Williams (Hope Sound, FL).
In CRF Classics, Black Watch, Lars Forsberg’s (Greenwich, CT) Custom S&S won CRF-1, while Peter Kellogg’s (Summit, NJ) Catboat Silent Maid won CRF-2. Clarity, Bill Doyle and Jed Pearsall’s 6 Metre won both all three races to take the 2010 title.
In the first of two one design classes, the 13-boat NYYC Swan 42 class was won by Chris Culver’s (New York, NY) Blazer, with Glen Darden’s (Fort Worth, TX) Hoss in second. The NYYC Swan 42s are gearing up for the national championship, which will be held during NYYC’s Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex (July 17-24). The class enjoyed one day of buoy racing on Friday as a standalone day in lieu of participating in the Around the Island Race where Jon Halbert’s (Dallas, Texas) Vitesse won.
The nine boat J/105 class was won by Live Edge, owned by Michael Mountford (Toronto, CAN), with Dudley Nostrand’s (Hamilton, MA) Jaded in second.
More Photos of the weekend’s racing can be found HERE
New York Yacht Club 156th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex June 11-13, 2010
Preliminary Results
Blue Fleet
Top 3 in each class
IRC 1 Overall (6 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat Type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, total points
1. Bella Mente, Mini Maxi, Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, MN) 1-1-1-2, 5
2. Rán, JV72, Niklas Zennstrom (London, UK) 3-2-2-1, 8
3. Titan 15, RP 75, Tom & Dottie Hill (Puerto Rico) 2-4-6-3, 15
IRC 2 Overall (7 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat Type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, total points
1. Sforzando, Kerr 55 Blair Brown (Padanaram, MA) 2-2-2-2, 8
2. Natalie J, TP52, Philip O’Niel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) 1-7-1-3, 12
3. Invictus TP52, USNA (Annapolis, MD) 6-3- 4-1, 14
IRC 3 Overall (13 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat Type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, total points
1. Cool Breeze, Mills 43, John Cooper (Springfield, MO) 1-1-1-1, 4
2. Nasty Medicine, Corby, Stephen Sherwin (Hamilton, RI) 3-2-4-3, 12
3. Temptation ,Taylor 45, Arthur Santry (Arlington, VA) 4-4-2-4, 14
12 Metre Traditional (4 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, total points
1. Columbia, Mike Furgueson (Mendnem, NJ) 2-1-1-1, 5
2. Nefertiti, Jon Wullschleger (Sarasota, FL) 1-2-3-2, 8
3. American Eagle, Carol Swift (Barnstable, MA) 3-3-2-5(DNS), 13
12 Metre Modern (3 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat Type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, total points
1. USA, Guy Heckman (Newport, RI) 2-1-1-3, 7
2. Victory 83, Denis Williams (Hope Sound, FL) 1-2-3-2, 8
3. Courageous, Isham / Auersperg (New York, NY) 3-3-2-1, 9
Green Fleet
Top 3 in each class
J/105 (9 boats) – 5 races
Place Boat Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4-R5, Total points
1. Live Edge, Michael Mountford (Toronto, CAN) 4-2-4-1-2, 13 points
2. Jaded, Dudley Nostrand (Hamilton, MA) 1-1-2-9-6, 19
3. Vixen Christopher Beane (Marblehead, MA) 7-3-3-4-3, 20
CRF1 (7 boats) – 3 races
Place Boat, Boat type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3, Total points
1. Black Watch, S & S Cstm., Lars Forsberg (Greenwich, CT) 2-1-1, 4 points
2. Sonny, S&S Sloop Joe Dockery (Newport, R.I.) 1-2-2, 5
3. Angelita, 8 Metre, Sam Croll (Greenwich, CT) 3-4-3,10
CRF2 (2 boats) 3 races
Place Boat, Boat type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3, Total points
1. Silent Maid, NY Catboat, Henry Colie (Summit, NJ) 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Windigo, Reliant, Mark Treat (Barrington, RI) 3(DNC)-3(DNF)-3(DNC), 9
6 Metre (5 boats) – 3 races
Place Boat, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3, Total points
1. Clarity, Jed Pearsall (Newport, RI) 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Alana, Thomas Rodes (Cambridge, MA) 4-2-3, 9
3. Madcap, Thomas Fair (N. Kingstown, RI) 3-3-4, 10
White Fleet
Top 3 in each class
NYYC Swan 42 (13 boats ) – 4 races
Place Boat, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, Total points
1. Blazer, Chris Culver (New York, NY) 1-1-2-6, 10 points
2. Hoss, Darden / Williamson (Fort Worth, TX) 3-7-4-1, 15
3. Vitesse Halbert (Dallas, TX) 5-8-1-2, 16
IRC 4 (14 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, Total points
1. Wings, J/122, Bruno/Boyle/Callahan (Irvington, NY) 3-2-1-2, 8 points
2. Christopher Dragon, Andrew Weiss (Mamaroneck, NY) 4-1-2-4, 11
3. Spitfire, Pierre du Pont(Rockland, DE) 1-3-4-5, 13
IRC 5 (12 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, Total points
1 146 Storm Lyall 1.0420 New York J109 10 1 2 4 3
2 51 Rush Sweetser 1.0410 New York J/109 12 5 3 2 2
3 156 Out of Reach III Nees 1.0460 Other X-35 15 3 5 1 6
IRC 6 (8 boats) – 4 races
Place Boat, Boat type, Skipper (Hometown) R1-R2-R3-R4, Total points
1 53194 Bluto Hall 1.0110 Other Evelyn 32 9 4 3 1 1
2 51920 Elan Hammel 1.0190 New York Beneteau 36.7 10 3 1 4 2
3 1976 Mischief Schwartz 1.0070 Bristol Seguin 40 10 1 2 3 4
Rolex Cup Results – Team top score combined, Around the Island Race
Top 3 (of 8 teams)
Team – Boat and Boat
1. THE ISLANDERS – Rush and Spitfire
2. RAMBLER – Act 1 and Rambler
3. FORTY THIEVES – Upgrade and Nasty Medicine
NYYC Swan 42 Class
June 10 – Two races
1 Vitesse, John Halbert (Dallas, Texas), 1-1 2
2 Arethusa Lotz Newport RI 2-4, 6
3 Hoss Darden / Williamson Fort Worth 6-2,
More information can be found at http://www.nyyc.org/
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) won today’s opening race in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup and was pre-empted from showing its prowess in a second race when sailing had to be abandoned due to wind and technical difficulties. The race, sailed in lumpy seas and an 18-knot easterly on Rhode Island Sound, started the regatta off with lots of action, as the Canadian boat, helmed by Terry McLaughlin, battled most closely with the New York Yacht Club, Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL) and Japan Sailing Federation for best position between the start and the first mark two miles to windward.
“Japan (with Makoto Uematsu steering) had the best start,” said McLaughlin “and we had a good lane, but a huge left shift made us overstand the mark. There were boats farther to our left, but the Japanese were not as affected and rounded first.” The Canadians passed the Japanese team on the run to round the bottom mark first and carried their lead to the finish. New York (Phil Lotz of New Canaan, Conn./Newport, R.I., skippering), Royal Cork (Anthony O’Leary skippering), and the Japan Sailing Federation finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (Mark Watson skippering) rounding out the top five.
L-R, 10, Royal Yacht Squadron, Oscar Strugstad; Mutiny, Yacht Club Italiano, Carlo A. Puri Negri;
16, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Mark Watson; 06, Royal Thames Yacht Club, John Greenland, and
15, Real Club Nautico de Barcelona, Jordi Tarré. Dan Nerney photo.
The Yacht Club Italiano’s skipper Carlo Puri Negri could have been happier at the end of the day. As it was, shortly after the start, the stitching at the head of his jib failed, causing the webbing to pull from the sail and render it useless. He was sitting in fourth, he said, at the time of the mishap. “We sailed the rest of the race with just a mainsail,” said Puri Negri. The same thing happened to the Nylandska Jaktklubben team (FIN), with Leonardo Ferragamo at the helm, and the jibs were promptly rushed to shore and repaired while the fleet moved from “outside” on the Sound to an “inside” course on northern Narragansett Bay where the waters are more protected.
“While the fleet waited for the second race to start, the wind increased to 22 knots,” said Swan 42 Class President Paul Zabetakis, explaining that this is the limit for constant winds in this regatta in accordance with the NOR, “Another jib had failed in the meantime, and that, coupled with the sustained wind strength, made it clear the racing needed to be abandoned.
“To North’s credit, they jumped right on the situation to fix the first two jibs, and tonight they will rework all the jibs so that racing can get underway again tomorrow,” said Zabetakis.
The regatta continues through Saturday (Sept. 19) when a Parade of Nations through Newport Harbor will precede the final races to determine the winner and will showcase the 19 teams from 14 countries competing here.

















