Lilla - IRL 7600 - CNB Briand 76 yacht skippered by Simon De Pietro (Photo by Daniel Forster/PPL)

Hamilton, Bermuda, June 21, 2012 – ‘Lilla’, the big red Briand 76 (IRL7600) owned by Simon and Nancy De Pietro of Cork, Ireland and Mattapoisett MA, sailed a fast straight-forward Newport Bermuda Race and won Class 13 in the Cruiser Division. ‘Lilla’ also took first place in the whole Cruiser Division and will be presented with the Carleton Mitchell Finesterre Trophy for first place.

True - USA 22 - J160 production yacht yacht skippered by Howard B Hodgson Jnr (Photo by Daniel Forster/PPL)

‘Lilla’ led classmate ‘True’, a J-160 owned by Howard Hodgson of Ipswich MA by 1 hr 17 min on corrected time for the win in class and division. ‘True’ was second in both Class 13 and the division. Third place in the Cruiser division went to ‘Odyssey’ a Swan 55 sailed by Glenn Dexter from Halifax NS.

And there is Icing on the cake for ‘Lilla’. In 2011 she raced in the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race and set the 645-mile course record from Marion MA to Bermuda at 68:58:45. That performance last year and her top finish in the Newport Bermuda Race earn her the Bermuda Ocean Cruising Yacht Trophy presented by SAIL Magazine. This special combined competition trophy goes to the captain who has the best performance in consecutive Newport Bermuda and Marion Bermuda races. ‘Lilla’ sailed from Newport this time— a 10-mile shorter course in 63:17:13, some 5 hours and 41 minutes faster.

“The only problem we had,” said navigator Nancy De Pietro, “was getting water to the forward head and shower. The water tank we were using was aft, on the port side [That was the high side on the long port tack all the way down from Newport] and the pump had trouble because it was sucking air up there.”

“The one great thing about sailing on this type of boat is that we get to shower after coming off of every watch,” said Simon De Pietro with a smile.

Not having water for showers would have been a crisis for this cruiser crew… all good friends and family. It was an international crew with sailors from Ireland, the Dutch West Indies, England, Canada, South Africa and the USA. ‘Lilla’ has a comfortable 3-cabin layout and is used for charter as well as offshore racing.

In addition to doing the Bermuda Races, she has also done the Caribbean 600. She is an aluminum yacht with just 8.5-foot draft. She does not go to weather well but on a reach her waterline works and she is good and fast. The De Pietros thought of entering the St. David’s Lighthouse Division but needed to be able to use the power winches.

‘True’ a 53 foot J-160— also in Class 13— finished an hour behind ‘Lilla’ Her navigator Richard Casner of Dedham MA said, “The conditions were perfect for ‘True’ we had entered as a non-spinnaker boat and we think that paid off. We were right next to the Swan 60 ‘Lady B’ when she set a chute and we were able to walk away from her. The double headsail rig we used was just right for this boat in this race.”

The Newport Bermuda Race had 6 divisions and 17 classes. The Cruiser division had 30 entries. More than 100 prizes will be awarded Saturday evening on the lawn of Bermuda’s Government House. His Excellency Mr. George Fergusson the Governor of Bermuda will present the prizes along with Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore John Brewin and the Cruising Club of America Commodore Dan Dyer.

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Carina -USA 315 - McCurdy & Rhodes 48 yacht skippered by A Rives Potts Jnr, making the most of the blustery conditions. Carina is the provisional winner of the principal St David's Lighthouse Trophy for the third time. (Photo by Barry Pickthall / PPL)

Going into Monday evening, LLwyd Ecclestone’s ‘Kodiak’ crew was hopeful of winning the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, the most coveted of the three main Newport Bermuda Trophies awarded to the corrected time winner of the large amateur division. Then came ‘Carina’ to steal the show.

It looks as though, Based on provisional results, Rives Potts’ McCurdy and Rhodes 48-foot ‘Carina’ (Westbrook CT) won Class 3 and the silver scale model St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy for first in the Division and probably more loot to boot. ‘Carina’ with Potts at the helm won the same first place trophy in the 2010 race and in 1970 ‘Carina’ won it under Richard Nye. This ties ‘Carina’ with ‘Finisterre’ as the boat with the most lighthouses on her trophy rack. ‘Finisterre’ won three in a row under Carleton Mitchel 1956, 1958 and 1960.

Defiance - NA 23 - Navy 44 training yacht skippered by Bryan Weisberg (Photo by Daniel Forster / PPL)

‘Carina’ finished at 6:16PM in Bermuda and had a corrected time of 45:08:16. The US Naval Academy’s new Navy 44 ‘Defiance’ was second in Class 3 behind ‘Carina’ and also second in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division. Her corrected time was 45:42:50. The US Naval Academy’s older Navy 44 Class 2 boat, ‘Swift’, was first in her class and third overall for the division with a corrected time of 46:09:04. It was a pretty tight race with just 26 corrected minutes between these top two boats in the division after a 635-mile sleigh-ride.

For Potts and crew, this is his second St. David’s Lighthouse win in a row. “We had a fantastic race,” Potts said. “ Pretty straight forward. We powered through the stream and then played two big shifts down the rhumbline further south. We gybed twice and then tacked twice for the finish when the wind got lighter and went forward. We finished under a light #1 headsail.” These gybes and tacks were more than most of the other boats in the race made and probably helped ‘Carina’ win overall.

“The boat just got back from a circumnavigation and racing in the world’s top races three weeks ago. My son and nephew did a great job of getting ‘Carina’ ready for Bermuda. In a race like this, preparation is one key to winning. Crew work is another and we had a family based crew working together.” Potts added.

The crew of ‘Carina’ is made up of four fathers and five sons. One of the fathers, Bud Sutherland, is Rives Potts’ brother-in-law and his son Rives Sutherland is the Captain of ‘Carina’ who took her on her global trek.

Change happened overnight in the Double-Handed Division, too. Perennial double-handed winner Hewitt Gaynor (Fairfield CT) slipped his J120 Mireille into first in Class 15 and first in the division. Joe Harris (South Hamilton MA) who sailed such a fast race in his Class 40 ‘Gryphon Solo2’ was alone on the leader board Monday. Harris had an elapsed time of 60:20:26 while Gaynor’s was 74:12:34. On corrected time, ‘Mireille’ beat ‘Gryphon Solo2’ by roughly 4 hours.

Shockwave - USA 60272 - a mini maxi yacht skippered by George Sakellaris (Photo by Daniel Forster / PPL)

The provisional Gibbs Hill Division winner is ‘Shockwave’ a Reichel/Pugh 72 skippered by George Sakellaris of Farmington MA. Sakellaris will win the silver replica of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, a top prize along with the St. David’s Light. ‘Shockwave’ took double silver snatching the North Rock Beacon Trophy, the third important prize for the IRC corrected time winner, which is a silver replica of the 1960-1990 North Rock Light Tower that once warned mariners of the rocky approach to Bermuda from the North.

Med Spirit - FRA 1575 - Welbourn 92 maxi skippered by Michael D'Amelio. (Photo by Daniel Forster/PPL)

‘Med Spirit’ sailed by Michael D’Amelio (Boston, MA) in the Open Division is the other winner that seems clear under the provisional results for the Royal Mail trophy. Six boats started in this division that featured boats from 40 feet to 100 feet in length. Their common denominator was moveable ballast, either canting keels or water ballast. The 3 Class 40 boats all had water ballast and were fully crewed so they did not qualify to sail against the 3 Class 40’s that went double-handed in Class 15.

The Wally 100 ‘Indio’ under Mark Fliegner (Monaco) came second. ‘Donnybrook’, in her maiden race skippered by Jim Muldoon (Washington DC) had to retire with damage to her daggerboard and daggerboard trunk. Under corrected time only about 5 hours separated the winning 100-footer and the bottom Class 40.

‘Spirit of Bermuda’, the Bermuda Sloop Foundation sail-training vessel, was the sole entry in the new Spirit of Tradition Division. She finished Monday night at 11:20 ADT.

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Shockwave - USA 60272 - a mini maxi yacht skippered by George Sakellaris (Photo by Daniel Forster/PPL))

By John Rousmaniere

As of 1800 Sunday, six boats have finished the race, each of them breaking an elapsed time course record. In finishing order, they are Rambler (Class 10), Bella Mente (Class 10), Shockwave (Class 10), Team Tiburon (Class 10), Med Spirit (Class 16), and Kodiak (Class 8). Shockwave and Kodiak are the current corrected time leaders in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division and St. David’s Lighthouse Division, respectively. Med Spirit is the current corrected time leader in the Open Division.

First to finish Rambler, a 90-foot Reichel/Pugh sloop owned by George David (Hartford, Conn.), broke the course record decisively, averaging 16.06 knots down the 635-mle course in a time of 39 hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds. She clipped 9 hours off the previous course record set in 2004 by Morning Glory, which averaged 13.06 knots for Open Division boats and 14 hours from the ‘Official’ Record. Med Spirit set the new Open Division record of 45 hours, 26 minutes, 28 minutes… three hours faster than the previous record.

Sailors had vivid descriptions of high-speed, extremely rough conditions on the long, fast reach that prevailed from start to finish. Scott King, Team Tiburon, reported that after starting under a spinnaker, once the boat cleared the Narragansett Bay entrance buoys the crew set a double-headsail rig with a topsail over a jib. They then took in and shook out reefs in the mainsail as the conditions warranted, with one or two sailors always working the mainsheet.

Team Tiburon sailed Wizard a 74-foot sloop designed by Reichel/Pugh and chartered by Mark E. Watson III, a Bermuda business CEO. They covered 385 miles in her first 24 hours in the race, averaging almost 17 knots. “She felt slow when the speed dropped to 11,” King said. “I’ve been in boats where 11 knots was not even part of the plan.”

King said the water was always rough, with some waves 8 feet or higher and water constantly on deck, pushing sailors around. The Gulf Stream crossing was not as rough as he expected, he said, but it was spectacularly beautiful.

“Just before we entered the Stream we saw a long streak of phosphorescence in the water, as though a full moon was out and shining right down on it.” The phosphorescence disappeared when the boat charged into the main body of the Gulf Stream, but reappeared. “Dolphins were torpedoing through all this, right in front of us,” King said.

As they neared Bermuda on Sunday morning, Team Tiburon sailed into a series of rain-squalls with stronger winds that pushed the boat to over 20 knots as she crossed the finish line off St. David’s Head.

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George David"€™s 90ft maxi Rambler has smashed the 635 mile Newport Bermuda race record, clipping a massive 14 hours off the previous best time set 10 years ago by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket. The new record now stands at 39hr, 39 minutes, 18 seconds (subject to ratification) - an average speed of 16knots(Photo by Barry Pickthall/PPL)

Dateline: 07:09:18 ADT Bermuda: George David’s 90ft maxi Rambler has smashed the 635 mile Newport Bermuda race record, clipping a massive 14 hours off the previous best time set 10 years ago by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket. The new record now stands at 39hr, 39 minutes, 18 seconds (subject to ratification) – an average speed of 16knots.

A delighted George David said. “These were perfect conditions. The most exciting moment was when we hit 26 knots. I’m so pleased with our performance. We have reduced the record by 25% – Not bad for a boat that is now 10 years old. This Rambler is the best boat I have ever owned!”

Rambler not only slashed the race record, her crew also spanked their rivals, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente crossing the lighthouse line 1 hour 43 minutes behind, followed 3 minutes later by Shockwave skippered by George Sakellaris.

On corrected time however, Shockwave beat Rambler by 33 minutes, followed by Belle Mente in 3rd and Team Tiburon 4th. Two yachts in class 10 are still racing.

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Newport Bermuda Race 2010 Start (Photo by George Bekris)

Entry List for Newport to Bermuda 2012

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Pugwash, owner David Murphey; Wings, owner Mike Bruno & Tom Boyle (Photo by Billy Black / Rolex )

New York Yacht Club 158th Annual Regatta Presented by Rolex

 
After a rousing 19-mile Around the Island Race on Friday, sailors at the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) 158th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex had to face light winds on Saturday and Sunday and a subsequently abbreviated race schedule where every move counted as critical to final results.  With 104 boats entered in Friday’s race (separately scored and optional) and 133 entered in weekend racing, this 2012 edition of what is revered as America’s oldest regatta will go down in sailing history as having its biggest fleet ever…and, for some, the most intriguing last-minute victories.
 
One for the record is Alex Jackson’s (Riverside, Conn.) trumping of the nine-boat Melges 32 class with Leenabarca in the second of two races today.  Two of the class’s world champions (Doug Douglass on Goombay Smash and Pieter Taselaar on Bliksem) were tied for first going into that race, which was the last of three in the regatta series, and Jackson trailed in scoring by one point.  According to Douglass, who exchanged friendly banter with Jackson back onshore, “We both went right, and Alex schooled us by going left and winning—he stole (the series) from us!”  Jackson joked that while the competition was incredible, “we were just better,” but in all seriousness, the stakes are high for this class as it prepares for its world championships here later this summer.  “More teams will be showing up as we get closer to that event,” said Jackson, who finished sixth two years ago at the worlds, “so I wouldn’t say that this was the biggest fleet of Melges 32s we’ve ever had, but it sure included some of the toughest teams.”
 
Also winning on the final note today was defending champion Mike McCaffrey (Newport, R.I.) aboard Osprey in the Herreshoff S class.  Stephan Sloan’s (East Greenwich, R.I.) Argument was leading the regatta until it was forced over the start line prematurely in today’s second race and had to restart. “That gave us the opportunity to salvage a first out of what was looking to be a second or third,” said McCaffrey.
 
Andrew Fisher (Greenwich, Conn.), winner of the Swan 42 class with Bandit, said his team also had an “incredibly bad start” in today’s first race, but it battled back to finish fifth.  “Luckily, we were very much in phase in the second race,” said Fisher, “and we picked more of the right wind shifts than the wrong ones and won.  It was a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill.”  His closest competition was John Hele’s Daring, which represented the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to win last year’s New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex and is helmed by Canada’s Terry McLaughlin, an America’s Cup veteran and 1984 Olympic silver medalist in the Flying Dutchman class.
 
Among the largest boats in the fleet was George Sakellaris’s (Framingham, Mass.) Mini Maxi 72 Shockwave, which won IRC 1. “We had a conservative day,” said the boat’s captain and crew member Reggie Cole (Newport) after today’s single race. “We just wanted to beat (George David’s) Rambler today, because that’s what we had to do to win, but it was just by happenstance that we also beat (Hap Fauth’s) Bella Mente.  She  blew out a spinnaker and we passed them to finish first.”
 
Ptarmigan, Larry Dickie’s (Greenwich, Conn.) Ker 43, came from behind to win today in IRC 3.  Skipper Bill Lynn (Marblehead, Mass) said that Saturday it had been hard to get out of the shadow of James Madden’s (Newport Beach, Calif.) Swan 601 Stark Raving Mad, which won the day on the merit of posting victory in a single race. “There was massive wind sheer and shifts to deal with,” he said, explaining that on the first beat his team had looked good, but “after that, we were struggling” and finished third.  Though today proved more manageable, playing shifts was still the name of the game and Ptarmigan made the most out of them to finish first to Stark Raving Mad’s fourth and post four points to its five (for second place).
 
Steered by Lexi Gahagan, Dennis Williams’s (Hobe Sound, Fla.) Victory 83 dominated the 12 Metre class, posting three victories in as many races, while in IRC 5 class, Leonard Sitar’s (Holmdel, NJ) J/44 Vamp took class honors with a 2-1 in his series.
 
Past J/122 North American champion Mike Bruno and Tom Boyle (Irvington, N.Y.) finished 2-1 in the regatta’s two races to take IRC 6 on his J/122 Wings, while past J/109 North American champion Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, Md.) on the J/109 Rush topped IRC 7.
 
David and Sandra Askew’s (Annapolis, Md.) IRC 52 Flying Jenny 2 won IRC 2, while winning IRC 4 was the Taylor 45 Africa, skippered by Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith (Marblehead, Mass.).  Peter Kellogg’s (Short Hills, N.J.) Catboat 33′ Silent Maid won CRF 2 Non-Spinnaker, and Lars Forsberg’s (Greenwich, Conn.) S&S Yawl Black Watch took CRF 1 Non-Spinnaker.
 
In PHRF Navigator’s class, 22 boats competed, proving that this relatively new concept (begun last year) is popular for those who prefer a classic government buoy course to the more prevalent short-course racing on Saturday and Sunday.  Defending champions Ben Hall and Bill Berges (Tiverton, R.I.) won Class 5 on their Evelyn 32 Bluto, while Paul Koch’s (East Greenwich, R.I.) Freedom 35 Jazz Fish took Class 6.
 
A Rolex timepiece was awarded on Friday evening to the overall IRC winner in that day’s Around the Island Race.  Accepting the Rolex was Takashi Okura (Tokyo, Japan), owner and skipper of the IRC 52 Sled, which also won its IRC 2 class
 
Rolex also will award a timepiece to the overall winner (determined by the organizers) of Saturday’s and Sunday’s combined series of races, which officially constitutes the NYYC 158th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. This special prize, as well as engraved overall trophies in each class and the Great Corinthian Trophy for yacht club teams of three or more boats posting the best class finishes, will be announced and awarded at the November 8 Annual Awards Dinner at the NYYC’s main clubhouse in New York City.
 

Swan 42 fleet (Photo by Billy Black / Rolex)

Known for attracting a diverse range of boats, NYYC’s Annual Regatta presented by Rolex is the first major sailing contest of the season in historic Newport, Rhode Island.  In even-numbered years, the regatta draws a large number of competitors who compete a week later in the Newport Bermuda Race and who use the Annual Regatta to gear up prior to the start of that distance race.  Part of the 2012 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series, NYYC’s Annual Regatta presented by Rolex is the first event in the NYYC Classic Yacht Series.  Additionally, IRC yachts are eligible to enter the Onion Patch Series which consists of the Annual Regatta, the Newport Bermuda Race and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta.  The first race completed on Saturday and Sunday during NYYC’s Annual Regatta counts toward the Onion Patch Series. 
 
For daily results, releases, photos and video by T2p.tv, please visit the New York Yacht Club’s website at nyyc.org. 
 

Shockwave, Mini Maxi 72, George Sakellaris (Photo by Billy Black / Rolex)

Final Results
NYYC 158th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex
June 9-10, 2012
 
Blue Class 1 – IRC 1 (IRC – 3 Boats)
1. Shockwave, Mini Maxi 72, George Sakellaris , Framingham, MA, USA – 1, 1, ; 2
2. Bella Mente, J-V Mini Maxi 72′, Hap Fauth , Minneapolis, MN, USA – 3, 2, ; 5
3. Rambler, RP 90 W B 90, George David , Hartford, CT, USA – 2, 3, ; 5
 
Blue Class 2 – IRC 2 (IRC – 5 Boats)
1. Flying Jenny 7, IRC 52 52, David and Sandra Askew , Annapolis, MD, USA – 1, 2, ; 3
2. Vesper, TP 52 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA – 3, 1, ; 4
3. Interlodge, IRC 52 52, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , Newport, RI, USA – 2, 4, ; 6
 
Blue Class 3 – IRC 3 (IRC – 9 Boats)
1. Ptarmigan, Ker 43 43, Lawrence Dickie , Greenwich, CT, USA – 3, 1, ; 4
2. Stark Raving Mad, Swan 601 60, James Madden , Newport Beach, CA, USA – 1, 4, ; 5
3. Defiance, Marten 49 49, Hamnett Hill , Montreal, Que, CAN – 4, 2, ; 6
 
Blue Class 4 – IRC 4 (IRC – 13 Boats)
1. Africa, Taylor 45 45, Jud Smith , Marblehead, MA, USA – 1, 2.5, ; 3.5
2. Nasty Medicine, Corby 41 41.5, Stephen Sherwin , Hamilton, BER – 2, 2.5/Protest, ; 4.5
3. After Midnight, CTM 41 41, Paul Jeka , Atlantic Highlands, NJ, USA – 4, 1, ; 5
 
Blue Class 5 – IRC 5 (IRC – 9 Boats)
1. Vamp, J 44 44.9, Leonard Sitar , Holmdel, NJ, USA – 2, 1, ; 3
2. Carina, Custom 48 48′, Rives Potts , Essex, CT, USA – 1, 2, ; 3
3. Cygnette, Swan 441 44.36, William Mayer , Dover, DE, USA – 5, 3, ; 8
 
White Class 6 – IRC 6 (IRC – 12 Boats)
1. Wings, J 122 40, Mike Bruno & Tom Boyle , Irvington, NY, USA – 2, 1, ; 3
2. Christopher Dragon, J/122 40, Andrew Weiss , Mamaroneck, NY, USA – 1, 5, ; 6
3. Old School, Farr 395 39.5, Ganson Evans , Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA – 3, 6, ; 9
 
White Class 7 – IRC 7 (IRC – 10 Boats)
1. Rush, J 109 35.25, Bill Sweetser , Annapolis, MD, USA – 1, 1, ; 2
2. Dorade, S&S Yawl 52.5, Matt Brooks , Fremont, CA, USA – 5, 2, ; 7
3. Picante, J 109 36, Rober Salk & John Sahagian , Jamestown, RI, USA – 4, 3, ; 7
 
White Class 8 – Swan 42 (One Design – 10 Boats)
1. Bandit, Swan 42 42, Andrew Fisher , Greenwich, CT, USA – 3, 5, 1, ; 9
2. Daring, Swan 42 42, John Hele , Newport, RI, USA – 1, 3, 9, ; 13
3. Vitesse, Swan 42 42, Jon Halbert , Dallas, TX, USA – 6, 1, 6, ; 13
 
White Class 9 – Melges 32 (One Design – 9 Boats)
1. Leenabarca, Melges 32 32, Alex Jackson , Riverside, Conn., USA – 5, 1, 1, ; 7
2. Bliksem, Melges 32 32, Pieter Taselaar , Newport, RI, USA – 2, 3, 4, ; 9
3. hedgehog, Melges 32 32, Alec Cutler , Pembroke, BER – 4, 5, 2, ; 11
 
Green Class 1 – 12 Metres (One Design – 8 Boats)
1. Victory 83, 12 Metre 65, Dennis Williams , Hobe Sound, FL, USA – 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Courageous, 12 Meter 68, Ralph Isham / Alexander Auersperg , New York, NY, USA – 2, 4, 2, ; 8
3. USA, 12 Metre 65′, Guy Heckman , Newport, RI, USA – 4, 2, 4/Protest, ; 10
 
Green Class 4 – Herreshoff S Class (One Design – 9 Boats)
1. Osprey, Herreshoff S Class 27.6, Michael McCaffrey , Newport, RI, USA – 2, 2, 3, ; 7
2. Argument, Herreshoff S Class 27.5, Stephan Sloan , East Greenwich, RI, USA – 1, 1, 7, ; 9
3. Swallow , Herreshoff S Class 27.5, Leeds Mitchell IV , Providence, RI, USA – 3, 4, 2, ; 9
 
Green Class 2 – CRF 1 Non-Spinnaker (PHRF – 6 Boats)
1. Black Watch, S&S Yawl 67.86, Lars Forsberg , Greenwich, CT, USA – 3, 1/Protest, 1, ; 5
2. Angelita, 8 Metre 50.33′, Samuel Croll , Greenwich, CT, USA – 1, 5/Protest, 2, ; 8
3. Sonny, S&S Custom 53 53, Joseph Dockery , Newport, RI, USA – 2, 2, 4, ; 8
 
Green Class 3 – CRF 2 Non-Spinnaker (PHRF – 7 Boats)
1. Silent Maid, Catboat 33′, Peter Kellogg , Short Hills, NJ, USA – 1, 4, 1, ; 6
2. Belle, Luders 24 38.25, Jonathan Loughborough , Newport, RI, USA – 2, 2, 2, ; 6
3. SYCE, 6 Metre 34, Bob and Farley Towse , Stamford, CT, USA – 3, 5, 3, ; 11
 
Green Class 5 – PHRF Navigators Race (PHRF – 14 Boats)
1. Bluto, Evelyn 32-2 32, Benjamin Hall , Tiverton, RI, USA – 2, 2, ; 4
2. Tonto, J 105 34.5, Fred Darlington , Cumberland, RI, USA – 6, 1, ; 7
3. Blockade Runner, Farr 30 30, Bruce Bingman / Taran Teague , Annapolis, MD, USA – 1, 8.5, ; 9.5
 
Green Class 6 – PHRF NS Navigators Race (PHRF – 8 Boats)
1. Jazz Fish, Freedom 35 35, Paul Koch , East Greenwich, RI, USA – 1, 3, ; 4
2. Duck Soup, C&C 40 39’6, Bill Clavin , Warwick, RI, USA – 2, 2, ; 4
3. True, J 160 52, Howard Hodgson , Ipswich, MA, USA – 5, 1, ; 6
 

Victory 83, 12 Metre 65, Dennis Williams (Photo by Billy Black / Rolex)

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Sled (Photo by George Bekris)

Sailors on over 100 boats enjoyed classic Newport weather for today’s 19-mile Around the (Conanicut) Island Race, a traditional prelude to the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, which will mark its 158th edition this weekend. The oldest regatta in America is enjoying a record number of 146 entries, with 133 of those signed up for weekend racing. (Today’s Around the Island Race was separately scored and optional.)

“It was southwest 8-12 knots, building to Beavertail,” said Tom Erskine (Marblehead, Mass), main trimmer on Ken Colburn’s Swan 42 class winner Apparition, explaining that with that much horsepower to the wind, the race committee had no problems sticking to a scheduled noon start for a clockwise course that started just south of the iconic Newport (Pell) Bridge. “Then it was 12-15 on the backside of the island and 15-16 on the nose coming home — just great conditions.” It didn’t hurt, either, that the sun shone all day after several days of relentless rain.

“The Race Committee started the smaller boats first,” added Erskine, “which made it fun to see all those classics like Black Watch and Dorade sailing near us, and then at the top of the island Rambler (the largest boat in the fleet at 90 feet) came ripping by us at 17 knots!”

Though Rambler was first to finish in just under two hours, but it was the IRC 52 Sled’s performance that earned owner Takashi Okura (Tokyo, Japan) a class win in IRC 2 and the overall victory in IRC class, which meant he goes home with the coveted Rolex watch as prize for his efforts today. Sled circumnavigated the island in just over two hours.

Spinnakers (Photo by George Bekris)

“I am still jet lagged,” said Okura, who arrived only yesterday to join his mostly-Japanese team on a charter boat that bears the name Interlodge. (Austin and Gwen Fragomen also sailed their newly built IRC 52 named Interlodge and finished third in the class behind Jim Swartz’s IRC 52 Vesper.) “We tried to sail calmly and quietly and just think about the wind and the tide.” Okura added that for ten minutes after the start, Vesper was leading, but the Sled team was able to play the current to its advantage and succeed at a takeover. Okura also won a Rolex watch here in 2006 when he sailed the Farr 40 North Americans as part of the New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex and he has every intention of adding an Annual Regatta victory to his resume after he competes this weekend. (Rolex also will award a timepiece to the overall winner of Saturday’s and Sunday’s combined series of races.)

Fourteen class winners today included Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn./Newport, R.I.) with his newly built Judel-Vrolijk 72’ mini maxi Bella Mente in IRC 1 and Annual Regatta defending champions Rives Potts (Westbrook, Conn.) in IRC 6 aboard his custom 48 Carina; Michael McCaffrey (Newport) in the Herreshoff S class with Osprey; Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla.) in the 12 Metre class with Victory 83; and Joseph Dockery (Newport) in CRF 1 (classics) with his custom S&S 53 Sonny. (Ken Colburn’s Swan 42 Apparition is also a defending champion.)

Since 1845, the tradition of the Annual Regatta, first hosted at the New York Yacht Club’s original clubhouse in Hoboken, N.J., has been interrupted only by war. The event – in even years — is part of the Onion Patch Series, which also includes the Newport Bermuda Race and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta.

Fleet (Photo by George Bekris)

Racing for the NYYC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex takes place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound for all classes, with a PHRF Navigator Class — for those who prefer a classic government buoy course to the more prevalent short-course racing on Saturday and Sunday — having the option of racing either one or both of the weekend days. Live music, refreshments and daily prizes greet the sailors as they come ashore after racing each day to the rolling lawn at NYYC’s Harbour Court clubhouse.

NYYC Around the Island Race (Photo by George Bekris)

For daily results, releases, photos and video, please visit the New York Yacht Club’s website at nyyc.org.

Results New York Yacht Club Around the Island Race

Friday, June 8, 2012

Place, Sail, Yacht Name, Yacht Type, Owner/Skipper, City, State, Country, Finish Date-Time, Elapsed, Corrected, Class Finish/Fleet Finish

Class 1 – IRC 1 (IRC – 4 Boats)
1. USA 45 Bella Mente, Judel-Vrolijk Mini Maxi, Hap Fauth , Minneapolis, MN, USA — 08Jun12-02:56:37PM / 0:01:56:37 / 0:03:06:07 — 1 / 3
2. USA 60272 Shockwave, Mini Maxi, George Sakellaris , Framingham, MA, USA — 08Jun12-02:58:22PM / 0:01:58:22 / 0:03:07:22 — 2 / 6
3. USA 4511 Team Tiburon (Wizard), R/P 74, Mark E. Watson III , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-02:59:16PM / 0:01:59:16 / 0:03:08:47 — 3 / 9

Class 2 – IRC 2 (IRC – 6 Boats)
1. USA 5206 SLED, IRC 52, Takashi Okura , Tokyo, JPN — 08Jun12-03:07:54PM / 0:02:12:54 / 0:03:03:00 — 1 / 1
2. USA 52007 Vesper, TP 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA — 08Jun12-03:09:09PM / 0:02:14:09 / 0:03:05:15 — 2 / 2
3. USA 5210 Interlodge, IRC 52, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:10:45PM / 0:02:15:45 / 0:03:08:41 — 3 / 8

Class 3 – IRC 3 (IRC – 8 Boats)
1. USA 79 Ptarmigan, Ker 43, Lawrence Dickie , Greenwich, CT, USA — 08Jun12-03:19:12PM / 0:02:29:12 / 0:03:07:14 — 1 / 5
2. IVB 4915 Defiance, Marten 49, Hamnett Hill , Montreal, Que, CAN — 08Jun12-03:25:27PM / 0:02:35:27 / 0:03:13:04 — 2 / 21
3. USA 50069 Temptation – Oakcliff, Custom Ker 50, Arthur Santry – Oakcliff Sailing , Arlington, VA, USA — 08Jun12-03:24:52PM / 0:02:34:52 / 0:03:15:17 — 3 / 31

Class 4 – IRC 4 (IRC – 9 Boats)
1. USA 52915 White Witch, King 40, Larry Landry , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:32:39PM / 0:02:47:39 / 0:03:08:36 — 1 / 7
2. USA 52830 Barra, Morris 486, Bruce MacNeil , Lincoln, Ma., USA — 08Jun12-03:35:41PM / 0:02:50:41 / 0:03:12:52 — 2 / 17
3. BER 1000 Nasty Medicine, Corby 41, Stephen Sherwin , Hamilton, BER — 08Jun12-03:31:00PM / 0:02:46:00 / 0:03:13:53 — 3 / 25

Class 5 – IRC 5 (IRC – 10 Boats)
1. USA 49 Gold Digger, J 44, James D. Bishop , Jamestown, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:31:33PM / 0:02:51:33 / 0:03:07:09 — 1 / 4
2. USA 43600 Vamp, J 44, Leonard Sitar , Holmdel, NJ, USA — 08Jun12-03:34:32PM / 0:02:54:32 / 0:03:10:04 — 2 / 14
3. USA 60003 Pugwash, J 122, David Murphy , westport, CT, USA — 08Jun12-03:36:51PM / 0:02:56:51 / 0:03:12:35 — 3 / 16

Class 6 – IRC 6 (IRC – 11 Boats)
1. USA 315 Carina, Custom 48, Rives Potts , Essex, CT, USA — 08Jun12-03:35:16PM / 0:03:00:16 / 0:03:08:55 — 1 / 10
2. USA 16 Dorade, S&S Yawl, Matt Brooks , Fremont, CA, USA — 08Jun12-03:44:10PM / 0:03:09:10 / 0:03:09:09 — 2 / 12
3. USA 1976 Mischief, Lyman-Morse 40, David Schwartz , Smithfield, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:44:19PM / 0:03:09:19 / 0:03:10:04 — 3 / 13

Class 7 – 12 Metre GP/M (One Design – 5 Boats)
1. K 22 Victory 83, 12 Metre, Dennis Williams , Hobe Sound, FL, USA — 08Jun12-03:02:22PM / 0:02:32:22 / 0:02:32:22 — 1 /
2. USA 61 USA, 12 Metre, Guy Heckman , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:08:57PM / 0:02:38:57 / 0:02:38:57 — 2 /
3. KZ5 Laura, 12 Metre, Kip Curren , Warwick, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:10:30PM / 0:02:40:30 / 0:02:40:30 — 3 /

Class 8 – 12 Metre Traditional (One Design – 3 Boats)
1. USA US 21 American Eagle, 12 Metre, Cynthia Alten-DeLotto , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:15:50PM / 0:02:45:50 / 0:02:45:50 — 1 /
2. USA 16 Columbia, 12 Metre, Alain Hanover , Weston, MA, USA — 08Jun12-03:16:10PM / 0:02:46:10 / 0:02:46:10 — 2 /
3. USA 19 Nefertiti, 12 Metre, Jon Wullschleger , Sarasota, FL, USA — 08Jun12-03:16:24PM / 0:02:46:24 / 0:02:46:24 — 3 /

Class 9 – Swan 42 (One Design – 8 Boats)
1. USA 4235 Apparition, Swan 42, Ken Colburn , Dover, MA, USA — 08Jun12-03:07:25PM / 0:02:42:25 / 0:02:42:25 — 1 /
2. USA 4227 Hoss, swan 42, Glenn Darden & Paul Williamson , Fort Worth, Texas, USA — 08Jun12-03:10:46PM / 0:02:45:46 / 0:02:45:46 — 2 /
3. USA 4214 Daring, Swan 42, John Hele , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:10:57PM / 0:02:45:57 / 0:02:45:57 — 3 /

Class 10 – CRF 1 Non-Spinnaker (PHRF – 6 Boats)
1. USA 50 Sonny, S&S Custom 53, Joseph Dockery , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:32:59PM / 0:03:12:59 / 0:02:38:07 — 1 / 1
2. USA NY 6 Spartan, NY 50, Charlie Ryan , Providence, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:20:07PM / 0:03:00:07 / 0:02:43:09 — 2 / 2
3. US 71 Black Watch, S&S Yawl, Sam Earle , USA — 08Jun12-03:26:38PM / 0:03:06:38 / 0:02:43:36 — 3 / 3

Class 11 – PHRF 1 spin (PHRF – 9 Boats)
1. USA 34 Blockade Runner, Farr 30, Bruce Bingman / Taran Teague , Annapolis, MD, USA — 08Jun12-03:19:48PM / 0:03:04:48 / 0:02:48:29 — 1 / 7
2. USA 51109 Capella, Sabre 452, David Millet , Needham, MA, USA — 08Jun12-03:24:41PM / 0:03:09:41 / 0:02:53:03 — 2 / 16
3. USA 56 Spirit, J 92S, EC Helme , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:40:29PM / 0:03:25:29 / 0:02:54:46 — 3 / 17

Class 12 – PHRF 2 spin (PHRF – 3 Boats)
1. USA 8 Osprey, Herreshoff S Class, Michael McCaffrey , Newport, USA — 08Jun12-04:02:48PM / 0:03:52:48 / 0:02:47:33 — 1 / 6
2. USA 22 Argument, Herreshoff S Class, Stephan Sloan , East Greenwich, RI, USA — 08Jun12-04:04:59PM / 0:03:54:59 / 0:02:49:44 — 2 / 10
3. USA 5 Surprise, Herreshoff S Class, Fred Roy , Newport, RI, USA — 08Jun12-04:08:17PM / 0:03:58:17 / 0:02:53:02 — 3 / 15

Class 13 – CRF 2 Non-Spinnaker (PHRF – 2 Boats)
1. T 82 Silent Maid, Catboat, Peter Kellogg , Short Hills, NJ, USA — 08Jun12-03:54:12PM / 0:03:44:12 / 0:02:52:42 — 1 / 13
2. USA US 53 Cherokee, 6 Metre, Molly Savard , Middletown, CT, USA — 08Jun12-04:07:22PM / 0:03:57:22 / 0:03:08:06 — 2 / 23

Class 14 – PHRF Non-Spinnaker (PHRF – 9 Boats)
1. USA 1968 Hermie, Columbia 50, Gerald Harris , Rowayton, CT, USA — 08Jun12-03:36:02PM / 0:03:26:02 / 0:02:46:03 — 1 / 4
2. USA 414 Coup d’ Etat, McCurdy Rhodes 46, Michael Shea , Farmington, CT, USA — 08Jun12-03:34:26PM / 0:03:24:26 / 0:02:47:19 — 2 / 5
3. USA 42700 Duck Soup, C&C 40, Bill Clavin , Warwick, RI, USA — 08Jun12-03:32:51PM / 0:03:22:51 / 0:02:48:37 — 3 / 8

For More Images Of the NYYC Around- the- Island Race 2012 by George Bekris click HERE

NYYC Round the Island Race 2012 (Photo by George Bekris)

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