Carina (Photo by George Bekris )
Newport Bermuda 2012 entries on pace with past fleets
Three weeks into the entry process for the 48th Newport Bermuda Race®, applications for entry for the 2012 race continue to roll in at a rapid rate for the 106-year-old biennial ocean-racing classic, with expectations of another large fleet.
Brin Ford, Database Chairman for the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, commented, “As of February 3rd, the rate of entries was exactly on pace with the 2010 race with 105 boats having submitted Applications for Entry (AFE).” The Newport Bermuda Race is an invitational event, so skippers must submit an application and receive an invitation before completing the registration process. The 2010 race was the third largest ever, with 183 boats. The only bigger fleets were 264 in the 2006 Centennial Race and 198 in 2008.
“Of the 105 AFE’s submitted,” Ford continued, “77 are now approved for their invitation, 35 need to provide Experience Forms, and the rest are pending. Thirty-three skippers say their boat has not done the race before. We’re still missing many of our old friends, but they have time to enter before the April 15th deadline without paying an extra late fee. An additional 17 captains have begun the registration process, but have yet to file an AFE.”
Newport Bermuda Race Chairman and a multi-race veteran, Dr. John Osmond, is enthusiastic about the prospects for another successful race with a large fleet: “The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee is gratified by this early response which shadows the very successful 2010 experience. The Organizing Committee, the Race Ambassadors (mentors for newcomers), and the Inspectors – some 140 volunteers in all – are deeply interested in presenting for our sailing friends an unparalleled racing and social experience. That is the tradition of this wonderful event.”
Some experienced Bermuda Race skippers are coming back. Among the returning boats is Rives Potts’ McCurdy & Rhodes 48 Carina (Westbrook, CT). She was the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy winner in 2010 and also 1970, and is a veteran of 16 Bermuda Races over 40 years. Carina is now sailing home from Australia under the command of Potts’ son and nephew after competing in December’s Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. Prior to that, she sailed in the Transatlantic Race 2011 from Newport to England and the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race before sailing to Australia. Carina will have sailed more than 30,000 miles in less than a year by the start of the 2012 Bermuda Race.
Newport Bermuda 2010 Start (Photo by George Bekris)
So far, other returning Lighthouse winners are Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 (Metuchen, NJ) winner of the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy in 2006 and 2008 and Llwyd Ecclestone’s Frers 68 Kodiak (West Palm Beach, FL).
The classic S&S yawl Dorade, which did her first Bermuda Race under the command of Olin Stephens in 1930, will be sailed by new owner Matt Brooks from San Francisco, CA. Charlie Robertson (Old Saybrook, CT) is returning after a 15-year absence with his Frers Mini-Maxi Cannonball. This is the big yellow boat he sailed back in 1988 to win first place in IMS.
Jimmy Sykes has sailed two yachts named Bombardino, a J130 once and his current Santa Cruz 52 seven times. He notes, “I have skippered all eight races and approximately half the crew have been on board for all of the races. Our best finish in class was first in 2008 and worst in class was thirteenth. Fleetwise, in 2006 we were sixth in fleet and third in class. I have done this many races because two of my three children were on board for all of the races and all three children were aboard on two. They keep me coming back.”
Among stock boat builders, currently J Boats has 21 entries, Swan has 12 and Beneteau has 8. Designer/builders with two or more entries include Peterson, McCurdy & Rhodes, S&S, Santa Cruz, Tartan, Hinckley, C&C, Cal, Baltic, IMX, Ker, Morris, Sabre and Hallberg Rassey. Gold Digger, Jim Bishop’s J44 (New York, NY) and Robert Foreman’s Hinkley SW 42 Jacqueline IV (Bay Shore, NY) will be back for their twelfth races. Gracie, Steve and Simon Frank’s McCurdy & Rhodes 69 (Darien, CT) will make her eleventh race.
Many entries are expected to sail the triathlon of offshore racing by entering the Onion Patch Series, a three-event series in which boats and crews first compete in the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta in Newport, then race to Bermuda, and finally participate in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta. Information is online at www.onionpatchseries.com.
The race website, www.BermudaRace.com, carries Newport Bermuda Race rules, news, videos, photos, race history, and expert advice on inspections, the Gulf Stream, and preparing for the classic 635-mile race across the Gulf Stream to St. David’s Light. Race news is also posted on the Newport Bermuda Race 2012 Facebook page and on Twitter at @BdaRace.
The Cruising Club of America Newport Bermuda Race Safety at Sea Seminar will be held at Newport on March 17-18 with a new curriculum option, a new schedule, and a new seminar attendance rule, plus special hotel room rates for attendees. For more information go to www.BermudaRace.com.
Newport Bermuda 2010 ( Photo by George Bekris )
Rambler and Titan (Photo by George Bekris )
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.
Around the Island Competitors ( Photo by George Bekris )
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.
Bella Mente (Photo by George Bekris )
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/
