After four days of racing in a variety of conditions across a mix of around-the-buoys and distance, New York Yacht Club’s seventh biennial Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex came to an end this afternoon. Light winds threatened to cancel the last day of racing for the 35 competing boats, but by 2pm Newport’s classic southerly sea breeze filled in against a stubborn northerly and offered suitable conditions for racing. All classes raced on a four-leg windward/leeward course, and at the end of the day the Southern Cross 52 Vela Veloce was determined the best performing boat and was named the 2010 Rolex US-IRC National Champion. Its owner and skipper, Richard Oland (St. John, New Brunswick, CAN), was presented with a specially engraved Rolex Yacht-Master at this evening’s Rolex Gala and Awards Party held at Harbour Court.
“This is a tremendous thrill for us,” said Oland, who won his IRC class in March’s International Rolex Regatta. He pointed out that competing against all of the boats in the fleet is exciting. “That’s the secret of IRC. The reason it’s become so good is because it allows for innovation. If you look at the results, and you look at boats you see how close they are. Like in our class, class 2, we were all within 50 feet.”

The overall winner was calculated by comparing all entries based on a formula of average seconds per nautical mile. In determining the overall winner, the NYYC Sailing Office noted that the time separating winner Vela Veloce from the second-place overall was 13/100s of a second.

Winning the class wasn’t enough; it was the overall performance that counted. Not much of a consolation to Steve Benjamin (South Norwalk, Conn.) and his team onboard his Tripp 41 Robotic Oncology, which won IRC Class 3 and finished in second place overall.

“We knew we won our class quite easily,” said Benjamin. “We knew we had a good shot at the overall title. Today was great, but we were nervous because there was so much on the line. We have been trying to win with this boat for the past five years, and although we have had some success there was all this added pressure.”

Vela Veloce won IRC Class 2 with an impressive score line of four first places and two seconds. In second place was Captivity, George Sakellaris’s (Framingham, Mass.) Farr 60, 10 points back. Although Blair Brown’s (Padanaram, Mass.) 55-foot Sforzando won today’s final race, it wasn’t enough to move up in the standings, and it finished in third.Robotic Oncology finished the regatta with five wins and one fifth-place finish in six races. After racing, Benjamin’s oncologist Dr. Samadi of Mount Sinai Hospital, who was on the water watching today’s race was clearly impressed with his patient’s racing skills. “The way that he worked with his team is the same as when you do robotic surgery. You have to work together with your team in the same way. Steve did an amazing job.”

John Cooper’s (Springfield, Mo.) Mills 43 Cool Breeze placed second in IRC Class 3, while Philip Lotz’s (Newport, R.I.) NYYC Swan 42 Arethusa finished in third.

Daniel Meyers’s (Boston, Mass.) J/V66 Numbers took a second in today’s only race and held onto the lead in IRC Class 1. George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) Rambler finished in second place, while Ray Roberts’s (Sydney, Australia) STP65 Evolution Racing is in third.

IRC Class 5 winner was Storm, Rick Lyall’s (Wilton, Conn.) J/109 that moved up to win the overall class by placing third in today’s race. “We only started racing in IRC, and this is our fourth or fifth IRC event. It’s a very good measurement and rating system. We seem to have a competitive boat. We worked really hard at making sure we had a good configuration in the sail plan, and we sailed really well. To have beat Carina, the winner of Newport Bermuda Race, in the Annual Regatta and now here. Well, that’s top-notch competition. You know, Rush beat us earlier this year, and it’s been back and forth with them. They put in a really good effort.”

Bill Sweetser’s (Annapolis, Md.) J/109 Rush finished in second, while Nordlys, Robert Schwartz’s (Port Washington, N.Y.) J/109, finished in third by winning the last race.

Lyall went on to give credit to the split-format of Race Week. “The first half of the week was our J/109 North American championship,” he said. “And that was very tough and competitive racing. Coming into it I was the defending champion. I was disappointed we didn’t’ defend, but Gut Feeling is a bunch of great sailors and we take no shame in losing to them. In the IRC event, we had a really terrific distance race. You can’t ever beat a race like that with 25 knots of wind. We were going 14 knots; it was fantastic racing!”

Christopher Dragon held onto its IRC Class 4 lead going into today’s final race, finished second and held on to win overall. “To tell you the truth, we were hoping for no race,” joked owner and skipper Andrew Weiss (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) “It turned out pretty well. The breeze filled in, and the wind wound up being steadier than yesterday.”

The J/122 won by one point over Craig Albrecht’s (Sea Cliff, N.J.) Farr 395 Avalanche. “All we did for today was cover Avalanche and the other J/122, Partnership,” said Weiss. “We sailed more conservatively, after being over the line early yesterday. To win the series was our goal.”

About the Rolex US-IRC National Championship

With the concept of moving the Rolex US-IRC National Championship around the country to encourage growth in IRC fleets, the 2009 championship was run in conjunction with St. Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series, in San Francisco, Calif. and crowned a winner in Vincitore, the Custom 52 owned by Jim Mitchell (Zurich, SUI/Chicago, Ill.). In 2008, the championship was sailed in conjunction with the 48th Little Traverse Yacht Club Regatta and One Design Series, in Harbor Springs, Mich. and won by Stripes, the Great Lakes 70 owned by Bill Martin, (Ann Arbor, Mich.), and in 2007, the inaugural championship was held as part of the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex and won by Blue Yankee the Reichel/Pugh 66 owned by Bob and Farley Towse (Stamford, Conn.).

The event is part of the 2010 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series http://www.us-irc.org.

New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex
Rolex US-IRC National Championship| July 21-24, 2010

Final Results, July 24 – Day 4 of racing

One race completed (six in the series)

Overall Rolex US-IRC National Championship

1. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross, Richard Oland, Saint John, Maine
2. Robotic Oncology, Tripp 41, Stephen Benjamin, South Norwalk, Conn.
3. Numbers, JV 66, Daniel M. Meyers, Boston, Mass.
4. Christopher Dragon, J122, Andrew Weiss, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
5. Storm, J/109, Rick Lyall, Wilton, Conn.

Class Winners

Position, Boat Name, Boat Type, Skipper, Hometown, Race 1-R2-R3-R4-R5-6, Total points

Class – IRC 1

1. Numbers, JV 66, Daniel M. Meyers, Boston, Mass, 2-2-1-1-1-2, 9
2. Rambler, Custom 90, George David, Hartford, Conn., 1-1-2-3-3-1, 11
3. Evolution Racing, STP65, Ray Roberts, Alexandria, AUS, 3-3-3-2-2-3, 16

Class – IRC 2

1. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross, Richard Oland, Saint John, Maine, 1-1-1-1-2-2, 8
3. Captivity, Farr, George Sakellaris, Framingham, Mass., 2-2-8(DNF)-2-1-3, 18
2. Sforzando, Kerr 55, Blair, Brown, Padanaram, Mass., 4-3-4-3-4-1, 19
5. Snow Lion, Ker 50, Lawrence Huntington, New York, N.Y., 3-4-6-5-3-7, 28
4. Privateer, Cookson 50, Ronald O’Hanley, Boston, Mass., 5-6-2-7-5-6, 31
6. Rima2, R/P 55, John Brim, New York, N.Y., 6-7-3-4-6-5, 31
7. Anema&Core, JV52, Ennio Staffini, Annapolis, Md., 7-5-5-6-7-4, 34

Class – IRC 3

1. Robotic Oncology, Tripp 41, Stephen Benjamin, South Norwalk , Conn., 1-1-5-1-1-1, 10
2. Cool Breeze, Mills 43 Custom, John Cooper, Springfield, Mo., 2-2-4-3-2-2, 15
3. Arethusa, NYYC 42, Philip Lotz, Newport, R.I., 3-4-1-2-3-3, 16
4. The Cat Came Back, NYYC Swan 42, Lincoln Mossop, Bristol, R.I., 7-7-2-4-4-4, 28
5. Devocean, Swan 45, Stephen DeVoe, Jamestown, R.I., 4-3-3-6-6-6, 28
6. Big Booty, Lutra 42, Pat Eudy, Charlotte, N.C., 5-5-7-5-5-5, 32
7. Temptation, Taylor 45, Arthur Santry, Arlington, Va., 6-6-6-7-7-8(DNF), 40

Class – IRC 4

1. Christopher Dragon, J/122, Andrew Weiss, Mamaroneck, N.Y., 1-1-1-3-4-2, 12
2. Avalanche, Farr 395, Craig Albrecht, Sea Cliff, N.Y., 2-2-4-2-2-1, 13
3. Partnership, J/122, David & MaryEllen Tortorello, Fairfield, Conn., 5-4-2-1-3-3, 18
4. Act One, Sloop, Charlie Milligan /Tom Roche, Newport, R.I., 3-7-3-4-7-5, 29
5. Alliance, Summit 35, Dominick Porco, New York, N.Y., 7-3-8-5-1-7, 31
6. Indra, Beneteau First 44.7, Thomas Linkas, South Hamilton, Mass., 8-8-6-6-5, 33
7. Settler, Cust. Peterson 42, Thomas Rich, Middletown, R.I., 4-6-7-8-6-6, 37
8. White Gold, J/44, James D. Bishop, New York, N.Y., 8-5-5-7-8-DNS, 42

Class – IRC 5

1. Storm, J/109, Rick Lyall, Wilton, Conn., 1-4-3(RDG)-2-4-3, 17
2. Rush, J/109, Bill, Sweetser, Annapolis, Md., 3-2-4-1-3-4, 17
3. Nordlys, J/109, Robert Schwartz, Port Washington, N.Y., 4-7-6-3-1-1, 22
4. Carina, Cstm Sloop, Rives Potts, Essex, Conn., 7-1-1-6-7-2, 24
5. Cowboy, N/M 46, Isdale/Cochran, Greenwich, Conn., 2-5-8-4-2-6, 27
6. Good Girl, J/100, Robert W. Armstrong, Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI, 5-6-2-5-5-10(DNS), 33
7. Eclipse, Corby 33, Dave Kellogg, Oyster Bay, N.Y., 6-3-9-8-8-5, 39
8. Out of Reach III, X-35, Louis Nees, New York, N.Y., 8-8-5-7-6-10 (DNS), 44
9. Blue Rider, J/109, Eric Kamisher, Norwalk, Conn., 9-9-3-9-9-10 (DNC), 49

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In contrast to yesterday’s overcast skies and light rain, today’s sunshine and vigorous winds brought smiles to the sailors onboard 35 boats competing in New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) seventh biennial Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. It was a perfect day for NYYC’s Race Committee to send the fleet, all sailing under the IRC handicap rating, on a distance race starting in Newport Harbor, then out on Rhode Island Sound toward Block Island and finally finishing on Narragansett Bay near Quonset Point. With a steady 10-12 knots of breeze and a sea much more settled than yesterday, there could be no finer day for a tour of local waters.
“It was very challenging, very exciting and the high point of the regatta for me,” said Peter Cummiskey, the regatta chair who is crewing aboard Rives Potts’s Carina in IRC 5. “It was a real distance race. We had to go out into the ocean and back into the Bay, so the tactics changed from leg to leg. Not only were there marks we had to honor, but there were some we didn’t have to, so the navigational challenges were intense.” He went on to give credit to Carina’s navigator Brad Dellenbaugh, who is NYYC’s Sailing Director, for his ability to “get us up close and personal, within a stone’s throw of Castle Hill.”

Fresh off a class win in June’s 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race, the 48-foot sloop Carina charged through IRC Class 5’s 32-mile tour taking line honors by a little more than 12 minutes. “The breeze held up great,” said Cummiskey. “The course was a little bit of everything.” Carina leads the nine-boat class ahead of Rush, Bill Sweetser’s (Annapolis, Md.) J/109.

In a repeat of the first day, George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) Rambler was the fastest in IRC 1, finishing the 53-nautical mile course 23 minutes ahead of Daniel Meyers’s Numbers. At the start, Rambler pegged the pin end and led to the first mark – a buoy set off of Conanicut Yacht Club – by close to a minute ahead of Ray Roberts’s (Sydney, Australia) STP65 Evolution Racing. Although Numbers corrected, on time, ahead of Rambler, it holds onto the second place overall ahead of Evolution Racing, in third.

In IRC 3, Philip Lotz’s (Newport, R.I.) NYYC Swan 42 Arethusa finished the 32-nautical-mile course in a little over two minutes behind first-to-finish Big Booty, owned by Pat Eudy (Charlotte, N.C.) Lutra 42. The impressive finish allowed Arethusa to bump up in the standings to second overall. Steve Benjamin’s (South Norwalk, Conn.) Tripp 41 Robotic Oncology leads the seven-boat class.

In IRC 4 Christopher Dragon continued its winning ways remaining undefeated and at the top of the class, while Richard Oland’s (Saint John, New Brunswick, CAN) Vela Veloce moved into first in IRC 2. The Southern Cross 52 held its lead over Blair Brown’s (Padanaram, Mass.) 55-foot Sforzando and George Sakellaris’s (Framingham, Mass.) Farr 60 Captivity, which are in second and third place, respectively.

At the halfway point in the regatta Cummiskey was delighted so far. “I really like the mix of conditions we’ve seen,” he said. “That has been a true test. So far it hasn’t been the kind of regatta that a specialized boat can win. Really, you have to have an all-around boat and finish well in all conditions. We have two more days of racing, so we’ll continue to narrow it down. ”

Racing continues through Saturday where the best performing boat will take the Rolex US-IRC National Championship title and its skipper will be presented with a specially engraved Rolex timepiece at the Rolex Gala and Awards Party on Saturday evening.   http://www.nyyc.org

After racing, NYYC hosted daily awards and post-racing refreshments in the Hospitality Villa at Harbour Court.

On-demand video produced by t2p.tv will be available after 9 p.m. each evening of Race Week at www.nyyc.org where complete results also can be found.

About Rolex Watch U.S.A.

Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America’s Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including elite athlete preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing and offshore, one-design and women’s events. Since 1994, Rolex Watch U.S.A. has been the exclusive presenting sponsor of NYYC events.

The New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex joins other prestigious Rolex-sponsored events including the Rolex Miami OCR, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, New York Yacht Club’s 156th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex.

About the Rolex US-IRC National Championship

With the concept of moving the Rolex US-IRC National Championship around the country to encourage growth in IRC fleets, the 2009 championship was run in conjunction with St. Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series, in San Francisco, Calif. and crowned a winner in Vincitore, the Custom 52 owned by Jim Mitchell (Zurich, SUI/Chicago, Ill.). In 2008, the championship was sailed in conjunction with the 48th Little Traverse Yacht Club Regatta and One Design Series, in Harbor Springs, Mich. and won by Stripes, the Great Lakes 70 owned by Bill Martin, (Ann Arbor, Mich.), and in 2007, the inaugural championship was held as part of the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex and won by Blue Yankee the Reichel/Pugh 66 owned by Bob and Farley Towse (Stamford, Conn.).

The event is part of the 2010 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series http://www.us-irc.org.

(end)

New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex
Rolex US-IRC National Championship| July 21-24, 2010

Preliminary results, July 22 – Day 2 of racing

One distance race completed; three races total to date

 

Class – IRC 1

Position, Boat Name, Boat Type, Skipper, Hometown, Race 1-R2-R3, Total points

1. Rambler, Ctm 90, George David, Hartford, CT, 1-1-2, 4 points
2. Numbers, JV 66, Daniel M. Meyers, Boston, MA, 2-2-1, 5
3. Evolution Racing, STP65, Ray Roberts, Alexandria, (AUS), 3-3-3, 9

Class – IRC 2

1. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross, Richard Oland, Saint John, ME, 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Sforzando, Kerr 55, Blair, Brown, Padanaram, MA, 4-3-4, 11
3. Captivity, Farr, George Sakellaris, Framingham, MA, 2-2-8(DNF),12
4. Privateer, Cookson 50, Ronald O’Hanley, Boston, MA, 5-6-2, 13
5. Snow Lion, Ker 50, Lawrence Huntington, New York, NY, 3-4-6, 13
6. Rima2, R/P 55, John Brim, New York, NY, 6-7-3, 16
7. Anema&Core, JV52, Ennio Staffini, Annapolis, MD, 7-5-5, 17

Class – IRC 3

1. Robotic Oncology, Tripp 41, Stephen Benjamin , South Norwalk , CT, 1-1-5, 7 points
2. Arethusa, NYYC 42, Philip Lotz, Newport, RI, 3-4-1, 8
3. Cool Breeze, Mills 43 Custom, John Cooper, springfield, MO, 2-2-4, 8
4. Devocean, Swan 45, Stephen DeVoe, Jamestown, RI, 4-3-3, 10
5. The Cat Came Back, NYYC Swan 42, Lincoln Mossop, Bristol, RI, 7-7-2, 16
6. Big Booty, Lutra 42, Pat Eudy, Charlotte, NC, 5-5-7, 17
7. Temptation, Taylor 45, Arthur Santry, Arlington, VA, 6-6-6, 18

Class – IRC 4

1. Christopher Dragon, J122, Andrew Weiss, Mamaroneck, NY, 1-1-1, 3 points
2. Avalanche, Farr 395, Craig Albrecht, Sea Cliff, NY, 2-2-4, 8
3. Partnership, J 122, David & MaryEllen Tortorello, Fairfield, CT, 5-4-2, 11
4. Act One, Sloop, Charlie Milligan /Tom Roche, Newport, RI, 3-7-3, 13
5. Settler, Cust. Peterson 42, Thomas Rich, Middletown, RI, 4-6-7, 17
6. Alliance, Summit 35, Dominick Porco, New York, NY, 7-3-8, 18
7. White Gold, J/44, James D. Bishop, New York, NY, 8-5-5, 18
8. Indra, Beneteau First 44.7, Thomas Linkas, South Hamilton, MA, 8-8-8, 22

Class – IRC 5

1. Carina, Cstm Sloop, Rives Potts, Essex, CT, 7-1-1, 9
2. Rush, J/109, Bil, Sweetser, Annapolis, MD, 3-2-4, 9
3. Storm, J109, Rick Lyall, Wilton, CT, 1-4-7, 12
4. Good Girl, J/100, Robert W. Armstrong, Christiansted, USVI, 5-6-2, 13
5. Cowboy, N/M 46, Isdale/Cochran, Greenwich, CT, 2-5-8, 15
6. Nordlys, J 109, Robert Schwartz, Port Washington, NY,4-7-6, 17
7. Eclipse, Corby 33, Dave Kellogg, Oyster Bay, NY, 6-3-9, 18
8. Blue Rider, J109, Eric Kamisher, Norwalk, CT, 9-9-3, 21
9. Out of Reach III, X-35, Louis Nees, New York, NY, 8-8-5, 21

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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/

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In the end, smaller production yachts topped the podium. Two of the new Farr-designed Beneteau First 40s, Two True (Andrew Saies) and Wicked (Mike Welsh) placed first and second.

Third and fourth were two of the Murray, Burns & Dovell Sydney 38 one-designs, Next (Ian Mason/Jay Krehbiel), and Swish (Steven Proud).

These first four boats followed a similar strategy; heading well out to sea from the start, staying mainly east of the rhumb line and chasing the current eddies. And they pushed each other hard, racing one-design.

The two Sydney 38s ended their 628nm match race with a gybing duel over the last 11 miles in the River Derwent. Next crossed half a boat length in front to win the Sydney 38 One Design division ahead of Swish, but placed fourth behind Swish on IRC overall because she has a slightly higher IRC overall handicap for carrying a masthead spinnaker.

Next’s skipper Ian Mason said: “It was a very tough race. It was just match-racing for nearly 400 miles with Swish. We were never more than about 800 metres apart and then she beat us by five seconds.”

Two True also won the ORCi division, introduced into the race for the first time this year in response to a growing push among Australian owners for a more measurement-based, transparent rule than IRC.

Ragamuffin’s veteran skipper Syd Fischer, strongly behind the move towards ORCi was surprised and gratified that 33 boats in the 100-boat fleet, raced under ORCi as well as IRC. “I think it will be a great rule because it’s fully measured, transparent and we don’t have anyone’s input into it other than the measurements,” he said.

“It’s fair. I can’t stand anything that isn’t fair because people spend a lot of money on these boats. If you look around the world there’s billions of dollars spent on them and they’ve come into what’s a club rule.”

At the presentation, Matt Allen, Commodore of the race organizer, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, who sailed his first Hobart race in 1976 and the 21st this year on his own modified Volvo 70 Ichi Ban, said: “The race to Hobart has certainly captured my imagination. Now it has never been in better health and I’m convinced that the best years are ahead.”

Matteo Mazzanti from Rolex SA presented overall winning skipper Andrew Saies from Two True with a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece, and the Tatersall’s Cup for the overall handicap winner in IRC.

Sailes, sailing in his fifth Rolex Sydney Hobart, but on a brand-new boat this year, was clearly touched and said, “You can’t win without a great boat, a great team and an ounce of Hobart luck..This is an iconic race, if you’re a yachtie in Australia, you want to win this race.”

RESULTS

LINE HONOURS
Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, (NZ), Reichel Pugh 100

IRC OVERALL
1. Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
2. Wicked, Mark/Mike Welsh (AUS), Beneteau First 40
3. Next, Ian Mason (AUS), Sydney 38

DIVISION LEADERS
IRC Div 0: Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, (NZ), Reichel Pugh 100
IRC Div 1: Ran, Niklas Zennstrom, (UK), Judel-Vrolijk 72
IRC Div 2: Tow Truck, Anthony Paterson (AUS), Ker 11.3
IRC Div 3: Next, Ian Mason (AUS), Sydney 38
IRC Div 4: Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
PHS Div 1: Wasabi, Bruce McKay, (AUS), Sayer 12
PHS Div 2: She, Peter Rodgers, (AUS), Olsen 40 MOD
Sydney 38: Swish, Steven Proud, (AUS), Sydney 38
ORCi: Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
Cruising: Holy Cow!, John Clinton (AUS), Oceanis 50

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Andy Saies’ Two True survived a protest this afternoon to be confirmed as overall winner of the Tattersall’s Cup, the major prize in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for the overall IRC handicap winner.

After a two-hour hearing, the International Jury dismissed the protest entered by the Inglis 39 She’s the Culprit (Todd Leary), the Hobart yacht damaged in a crush of boats approaching the first rounding mark after the race start on Sydney Harbour.

Two True, one of the first new Farr-designed Beneteau First 40 stock production racer/cruiser to be imported into Australia, won IRC overall by 42 minutes from another new First 40, (Mike Welsh) after a close race-long duel in which they followed a similar strategy – stay well east of the rhumbline.

Ian Mason’s Sydney 38 Next, in third place, another 1hr 19min behind, was similarly pushed by close competition in the six-boat Sydney 38 fleet racing one-design, as well as on IRC handicap. Another Sydney 38, Swish (Steven Proud) from the strong Sydney fleet, was fourth and Tony Kirby’s Jeppersen X-41 Patrice Six, fifth.

In sixth place was the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race winner Ran (Niklas Zennstrom), from the UK.

Two True, from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, is the first yacht from South Australia to win the Tattersall’s Cup since Kevan Pearce’s win with SAP Ausmaid in 2000. The South Australians continue to be strongly committed to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, sailing 1000 nautical miles just to get to the start.

Owner-skipper Saies said he was absolutely elated at the win after being in the surreal situation of not knowing the outcome until after the protest hearing. “Obviously we are very happy with the jury’s decision. We believe we did everything in the circumstances to avoid significant damage to the other boat. We gave our intention to protest, we did a 720 (degree penalty turn), though the damage to the other boat was minor and superficial.”

“I respect the decision of the skipper of She’s the Culprit not to continue racing in those circumstances, but obviously we are very happy and delighted with the outcome.”

He thanked his crew, which raced the two prior Sydney Hobart Races on his previous boat True North, a Beneteau First 40. “The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race cannot be won without a great team, a great boat and an ounce of Sydney Hobart luck. Our team are fabulous guys. We have worked together for the past three years on my previous boat True North.” Saies particularly thanked Brett Young, his team and boat manager. “Energetic, tireless work ethic, great understanding of the rules.”

He said the race was a physical endurance event over 628 miles. “The wind was in, the wind was out, we drifted, we went backwards, we lost internet access, we didn’t know what was going on until the last few minutes. It was a classic Rolex Sydney Hobart event and we were in it up to our back teeth and it came our way in the end.

“Great boat, this new Beneteau it just jumps out of the water, jumped a bit too hard in the last day or so in those big short waves. It’s a fast boat, we had belief that this boat was going to rate well and do okay in this event, if the weather conditions allowed a small boat event.

“We may be privileged enough to have a boat and a team that gets to this position as people have in the past. But in yacht racing to have everything going right in one event at the right time is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So it meant so much to get this right this time. So celebrations, back to normal, business as usual, great boat, great team looking forward to the next regatta in Melbourne, the next Sydney Hobart.”

The last boat to finish, Chris Dawe’s Polaris of Belmont (AUS/NSW) was due to cross the finish line at 0830pm tonight.

The 100-boat fleet that started the 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart had crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia, as well as every Australian state.

Results:

IRC overall: 1, Two True (Andy Saies, SA), Beneteau First 40, corrected time 04 days 07hr 57min 43sec; 2, Wicked (Mike Welsh, Vic), Beneteau First 40, 04:08:39:08; 3, Next (Ian Mason, NSW), MBD Sydney 38, 04:09:48:54.

IRC 0: 1, Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton, NZ), Reichel Pugh 100, corrected time 04 days, 12hr, 11min, 51sec; 2, Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts, NSW), Farr Cookson 50, 04:14:32:46; 3, Ichi Ban (Matt Allen, NSW), Jones Volvo 70, 04:16:27:22.

IRC 1: 1, Ran (Niklas Zennstrom, UK), Judel/Vrolijk 72, 04:10:48:21; 2, Shogun (Rob Hanna, Vic), J/V 52, 04:13:09:50; 3, Ragamuffin (Syd Fischer, NSW), Farr TP52, 04:15:18:43.

IRC 2: 1, Tow Truck (Anthony Paterson, NSW), Ker 11.3, 04:11:16:18; 2, AFR Midnight Rambler (Ed Psaltis/Bob Thomas), modified Farr 40, 04:11:26:24; 3, Chutzpah (Bruce Taylor, Vic), Reichel/Pugh IRC 40, 04:14:06:32.

IRC 3: 1, Next Ian Mason, NSW), 04:09:48:54; 2, Swish (Steven Proud, NSW), 04:10:17:42; 3, Patrice Six (Tony Kirby) Jeppersen X-41, 04:10:24:32.

Sydney 38 One Design: 1, Swish, 04:00:16:54; 2, Next, 04:00:16:59; 3, Subzero Goat (Bruce Foye, NSW), 04:06:37:59.

ORCi (ORC International): 1, Two True (Andrew Saies, SA), Beneteau First 40, 04:07:57:43; 2, Wicked (Mike Welsh, Vic), Beneteau First 40, 04:08:39:08; 3, Zephyr Hamilton Elevators (James Connell/Alex Brandon, NSW), Farr 1020, 04:10:52:17.

Performance handicap:

PHS 1: 1, Wasabi (Bruce McKay, NSW), Sayer 12m, 04:19:02:33; 2, Sailors with disAbilities (David Pescud, NSW), Lyons 54, 04:21:26:15; 3, Mahligai (Murray Owen/Jenny Kings, New Zealand), Sydney 46, 04:21:26:15.

PHS 2: 1, She (Peter Rodgers, NSW), Olsen 40; 2, Flying Fish Arctos (A.Fairclough, NSW), McIntyre 55, 04:13:41:02; 3, Namadgi (Canberra Ocean Racing Club, ACT), Bavaria 44, 04:16:12:30.

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 The smallest boat in the fleet, Zephyr Hamilton Elevators, was as of this evening, still well in the running to win the IRC overall handicap division of the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Zephyr is a Sea Nymph 33 co-owned by James Connell and Alex Braddon from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. She won division E in the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

The Sea Nymph 33 design is extremely fast downwind and is well-suited to the strong northerly wind prevailing on the lower Tasmanian east coast, forecast to reach 20-30 knots by evening.

The final 40 nautical miles of the 628nm course, with the northerly forecast to blow at 15-25 knots with gusts to 30 knots, which will put Zephyr on the wind, and will certainly slow and may end her chances of winning the Tattersall’s Cup for IRC overall handicap.

At 1550, Zephyr had 46 miles to go, and was doing 9.7 knots for an estimated finish at 2311, well inside the time she needed to take first place (0131 on Dec 31).

Second and third on corrected time standings were two of Beneteau’s new First 40s, which have already finished: Two True (Andrew Saies) from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia and Wicked (Mike Welsh) from Sandringham Yacht Club.

The Farr-designed First 40 is a replacement for the successful Beneteau 40.7. A Beneteau 40.7, First National Real Estate skippered by Michael Spies, was the overall handicap winner of the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Two True, in second spot, still has to face a protest by the Tasmanian Inglis 39, She’s the Culprit (Todd Leary), which was badly damaged after the race start in a jam of boats converging on the first rounding mark at Sydney Heads and had to retire.

With some of the boats named in the protest documents still racing, the International Jury has deferred the protest until tomorrow morning (Dec 31).

Zephyr has also signaled by radio to the race committee that she will lodge protests against three boats, without specifying who they are, after finishing. That protest could also arise from the crush of boats in the 100-boat fleet converging to leave Sydney Harbour.

Two True and Wicked finished fast under spinnakers before a moderate southeasterly sea breeze early this afternoon, with Two True crossing 22 minutes ahead of Wicked.

Saies said: “It was a very difficult and frustrating race. Having had a couple of light patches on the way down, we thought we were through it and then we got a third one, 25 miles from Tasman Light last night; around 3:00am we were flapping around for three hours.”

Tactician Brett Young said Two True had followed a strategy of always being well east of the rhumbline and had received a favourable push from the current in two major eddies.

“Our routing was always east of the rhumbline,” said Young. “It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. And we had really good competition from Wicked. They sailed hard, but we got through them. We really stuck to our game plan, even with the weather not being anything like what it was originally forecast. We only came into Tasmania when we could lay Tasman Island.”

Young said the First 40 had performed well in the bumpy seaway following the southerly front. “Last night was a tough night, but that’s when this boat comes into its own. In a seaway, it just goes faster.”

Mark Welsh, boat manager and tactician on Wicked for his owner-skipper father Mike Welsh, said: “We chose the design after a lot of searching around the world for one that would be very competitive in IRC racing and it looks like we might have chosen successfully.”

A third new First 40 was racing, Paca (Philippe Mengual) from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “So our race really depended on watching the other two boats, said Mark. “All credit to Two True, they sailed an absolutely sensational race.

“On the second night out, even though we were with them off Gabo Island, we couldn’t hold them. They sailed very, very well that night, got through us and from there we were just playing catch-up and we couldn’t catch them. They did a great job.”

The only IRC division decided, with all boats finished, is Division 0 for canting-keeled boats. The line honours winner Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton), a Reichel Pugh100, won from the Cookson 50 Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts), with the modified Jones Volvo 70 Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) third.

With 48 yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 47 yachts still racing to the finish in Hobart.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has entries representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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A strong southerly to southwesterly change sweeping up the Tasmanian coast this afternoon slowed the 87 yachts still at sea in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

At 1600, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning for the lower east coast, from Wineglass Bay to Tasman Island for southwest to southerly winds of 30 knots in open waters at first, easing to 5 to 15 kn by late evening, with two to three metre seas and a southwest swell of 2.5 to 3.5 metres.

The winds would then tend northeast to northerly at 10 – 20kn during tomorrow morning before increasing during the afternoon to 20 – 30kn by evening.

For the yachts covering the remaining miles of the 628 nautical mile race, the forecast meant a bumpy, wet night of tacking upwind before the strong northerly picks up the fleet still at sea and propels them towards Tasman Island at a very fast pace on a wild spinnaker ride.

That scenario removes any certainty about the computer calculations of the likely winner of the Tattersall’s Cup for the overall IRC handicap winner.

But it is comforting for a leading contender for the Tattersall’s Cup, already tied up at the Kings Pier Marina in Hobart. At 1800, Niklas Zennstrom’s Judel/Vrolijk 72 Ran (UK), was showing up in 15th position on corrected time calculations.

Ran’s tactician, Adrian Stead, said: “We’re in good shape; we got Neville (Alfa Romeo) by 50 minutes or so, which is good and we sailed really well. All we can do now is wait and see how we shape up.”

Also at 1800, Tony Kirby’s X41 Patrice 6 was calculated to be leading IRC overall handicap from an eclectic mix of designs and sizes. She was 12nm east of Cape Sonnerat, between the coastal villages of Swansea and Triabunna, making seven knots with 96nm to sail.

Second was Andrew Saies’ Beneteau First 40 Two True, followed by Wicked (Mike Welsh), another Beneteau First 40. Then came the Spanish entry Charisma (Alejandro Perez Calzada), a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens IOR rule design that should revel in the strong upwind conditions.

One IRC handicap result that is certain is the win of Neville Crichton’s 100ft super-maxi Alfa Romeo, the line honours winner, in IRC division 0 for canting keel-powered boats and the second place in that division for Matt Allen’s modified Jones-design Volvo 70, unbeatable in second place on current position reports.

Allen said the Volvo 70 was a very good boat for upwind and in high-wind pressure sailing. In the sou’-wester of up to 25 knots on the first night, she worked up to within a half mile behind Wild Oats XI.

“We were not overly surprised to see that, but we knew the next night in the lighter airs and with the bigger sails the maxis carry, giving away rating, they would get through that first light-air gate. Only the three boats got through and the next morning we were there with all our fellow-sized boats stuck for five or six hours.”

Allen said that every night there were challenges. “You’d sail through the day, with quite a few wind shifts, but generally the night-time sailing was tricky. Every night we parked up. Tactically it was a very interesting race, because you had to work out where you were going to get through in the next transition.

“Last night we’d had a 30-knot nor’-westerly and we were doing 25 knots, white water coming over the boat. It lasted for an hour and-a-half and within minutes it went down really quickly: to ten knots, to five and then zero. So we went from having 30 knots to being in no wind with leftover swell and you could only go in one direction, with the waves.

“The big transition zones had the navigators really on their toes, playing the angles and trying to work out how to handle the next transition.”

With eight yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 87 yachts still racing to the finish in Hobart.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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Fifth home, at 0927, was Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran from the UK, a Judel/Volijk-designed 72-footer that was overall handicap winner in the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race.

Ran has a chance of winning the race’s major trophy, the Tattersall’s Cup, for the first yacht on IRC corrected time. She has certainly beaten Alfa Romeo, which led the IRC overall standings for a time yesterday, denying Crichton the rare handicap/line honours double.

Wild Oats’ Mark Richards was gracious in defeat. “It was a tactical race and we never got a look in really,” Richards said. “They had a little edge on us on the first night and the next morning we were in a big parking lot together. They got out first and put 30 miles on us before we knew what had happened.”

Mike Slade had an historical perspective of the close three-way battle of the maxis: “When Napoleon turned up at Waterloo he knew he was in for a bad day, he had a bad day at the office didn’t he? I’ve been a bit like that. It was a fantastic race and well done Alfa, bloody marvellous.”

Slade said that Leopard had gambled by sailing farther offshore than Alfa and Oats down the east coast of Australia rather than sailing in Alfa’s wake. “We went offshore because there was no point in covering Alfa’s tracks; she had about 20 miles on us and we just got locked out. We had about four shut-downs and it was as frustrating as hell. We sat there for hours, watching them go away. That cost us. We got punished.”

Rounding Tasman Island was the worst Slade had experienced. “There was no wind and appalling seas; really nasty because it’s a lee shore, you’ve got no steerage because there’s no wind, but the seas were huge and that took us a couple of hours.

“Alfa and Oats had already gone round. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer, that’s what the game’s all about. So it was a shocker but we loved every minute of it. We will be back to do another one I think – the boat’s a glutton for punishment.”

Ran, after performing well in the fresh upwind work on the first night, parked in calms before zooming back into handicap contention with a blistering run on the new nor’-west breeze off Flinders Island.

Ran’s owner/skipper Niklas Zennstrom said: ” “The race at times was frustrating, we got parked up. Yesterday afternoon we had a fantastic run, we were reaching at up to 24 knots of boat speed, averaging 18 and 19 knots. It was excellent sailing.

“This morning was also very good; last night we had a few stops and goes. But we are happy with how the boat performed on corrected time and we will have to wait and see how the other boats are going on handicap.

“At times it looked really, really bad for us and really good for the small boats, but that’s how it is. All you can do is sail as good as you can and avoid making as many mistakes as possible. I don’t think we made too many mistakes.”
.”

Ran’s tactician Adrian Stead said that after riding the nor’-wester fast, Ran hit a light spot last evening, 20 miles northeast of Maria Island. “We got through that and sailed the last bit up here pretty well, very conscious that 10:20 was our deadline to beat Alfa,” he said.

With six yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 89 yachts still racing.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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