Swan 42's At The Start Line ( Photo by Rolex /Dan Nearny )
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 Wings Leads the J-122 Class ( Photo by Rolex / Dan Nearny )
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
S Class Racing With Shona and Aquila ( Photo by Rolex / Dan Nearny )
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
Docks Lines With Marks In Preparation For The Races (Photo by Rolex / Daniel Forster )
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.
Intrepid (Photo by George Bekris)
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
Challenge and Adventure Image Galleries of Newport Bucket Regatta by George Bekris
(click on image to view gallery) 
http://www.challengeandadventure.com/Newport_Bucket2009/ 
http://www.challengeandadventure.com/Newport_Bucket2008/ 
http://www.challengeandadventure.com/Newport_Bucket2006/ 
http://www.challengeandadventure.com/Newport_Bucket2005/ .
OSTAR (Photo by Colin Merry)
Challenge and Adventure’s Colin Merry in Plymouth for the start of the Ostar Transatlantic Race.
The eagerly anticipated OSTAR (Original Single-handed Trans Atlantic Race) 2009 will set off from Plymouth on Bank Holiday Monday, 25th May. The skippers are undertaking their final preparations before commencing on their 2,800 mile journey to Rhode Island, USA. Challenge and Adventure’s Correspondent has been in Plymouth checking out the fleet and will be onhand to bring you coverage and Images of the start on May 25th.
Here are his thoughts on the event today “The overwhelming thought in my mind as I wander amongst the boats taking part in this Ostar is ”they have gotten larger since the last race”. The open forties looking short compared to some! Not only larger but very much more race oriented!
Photos By Colin Merry
(click on image to enlarge)
Thirty-four boats are expected at the start line at Queen Anne’s Battery, Plymouth, home to the hosts of the race, the Royal Western Yacht Club. H.R.H, The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, K.G., K.T. will be starting the race at 12.30pm from the Trinity House Vessel, Galatea.
Competitors from all over the globe have entered, with entrants from as far afield as the USA, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Holland and of course, the United Kingdom. Each competitor has been supported by award-winning whisky favourite, Talisker, which has provided them with a bottle for their solo Atlantic crossing. With strong, prevailing winds, an adverse Gulf Stream, hazardous icebergs and dense fog, the drink is sure to be a welcome luxury.
It is expected that the boats will move out from Queen Anne’s Battery Marina into Plymouth Sound at around 10.30am in preparation for the race start. All are welcome to see the boats set sail, with the best views to be found on the historic Barbican, near the Mayflower Steps, or from the Hoe.
David Southwood, Race Director of OSTAR 2009, commented: “With just a week left until the race start you can really feel the tension building. This is one of the most exciting events in the maritime calendar and the world will be watching the progress of the skippers. The RWYC is also thrilled to have Talisker whisky supporting the race and providing the competitors with a bottle for their crossing.”
Brand Manager for Talisker, Steve Wood, comments: “We’re delighted to be the first ever official whisky of OSTAR as it is such an iconic race within the calendar and presents us with a great opportunity to build on Talisker’s heritage with the sea. We send our best wishes and fair winds to all of those taking part in the race!”
The Royal Western Yacht Club has organised a number of spectator boats which have spaces available to the public. These will depart from the Barbican at 10.30am and return at 2pm, providing spectacular views across the Sound and of the competitors. Tickets cost just £6 for children and £12 for adults.
The OSTAR, run exclusively by the Royal Western Yacht Club since its inception in 1960, is the Original Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race. This event, which is the oldest solo ocean race in history and Corinthian in nature, is primarily for amateur sailors and aspiring professionals and follows in the tradition of the original ‘half crown’ bet between Blondie Haslar and Francis Chichester. The OSTAR 2009 will be the thirteenth edition of the race and follows the traditional route from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island.
