Seven days of racing, 147 competing boats, 11 divisions, two National Championships, one North American Championship, 1200 sailors and one great sailing town of Newport. It all adds up to New England’s favorite regatta – New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. Kicking off on Saturday, July 17 with three days of one design and Classic, 12 Metre and PHRF-rated competition, Race Week’s “first half” welcomes the Beneteau 36.7, J/105, J/109, J/122, J/80, Classics, S Class, 12 Metre, 6 Metre and NYYC Swan 42 classes. In all, 109 boats are registered for the first half of Race Week.
After a lay day featuring a classic New England Lobster Bake hosted at the New York Yacht Club’s on-the-water clubhouse Harbour Court, the “second half” is scheduled for four days of racing to determine the Rolex US-IRC National Champion. To date 38 IRC-rated racers are registered for the fourth annual competition. Preliminary entry lists, sailing instructions and daily results can be found online at www.nyyc.org.
The largest One Design Class is the J/105 with 22 boats currently entered including the top three finishers from 2008 Race Week: Eclipse, owned by Damian Emery (Shoreham, N.Y.); Savasana, owned by Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.); and Live Edge, owned by Michael Mountford.
“My team is looking forward to a great event,” said Mountford, who is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “We really enjoy sailing in the New England area as sailing on the East Coast is good training for us. I decided to keep Live Edge in the Newport area this year after sailing in Rye in the fall. The NYYC runs a great regatta, the location is excellent and the people and sailing are terrific.”
The second largest One Design fleet is the NYYC Swan 42 Class with 15 registered boats competing for the national championship. The 2008 Race Week champion Tiburon, owned by Mark Watson (San Antonio, Texas/Newport, R.I.) and 2009 national champion Arethusa, owned by Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.), are expected to compete.
“Each year, the Swan 42 Nationals represents the premier event for the fleet,” said Paul Zabetakis (Jamestown, R.I.), NYYC Swan 42 class president and owner of Impetuous. “The teams use the regattas prior to this event to prepare for what has become the most competitive racing of the year. The teams consist of some of the most talented Corinthian competitors in the sailing community. The racing is so close that even minor mistakes are very costly – it can mean the difference between first or last at the rounding marks. Clearly, the winner of this regatta is acknowledged by the fleet as the ‘best of the best.’”
North American championship title is on the line in the J/109 class where 13 boats are registered, including defending champion Storm, owned by Rick Lyall (Wilton, Conn.) and 2008 champion Gut Feeling, owned by Ted Herlihy (South Dartmouth, Mass.).
Elan, John Hammel’s (Arlington, Mass.) Beneteau 36.7, is looking to defend its 2008 victory against an increasingly competitive fleet. “This year we are fortunate to have six of the eight competing boats traveling to Newport specifically for this event,” said John Hammel, the local fleet captain. “Five are from Long Island Sound and one is from Boston.” The event is one of five events that are used to determine the North East Fleet 36.7 Boat of the Year award. Last year’s winner was Bill Purdy’s (City Island, N.Y.) Whirlwind, which is frequently at the top of Long Island Sound 36.7 events, and finished fourth in the 2006 North Americans, held in Newport, and third overall in 2008.
Other skippers and boats to watch include Chick Pyle (San Diego, Calif.), 2005 North American Class champion, skippering Kea/Slipstream, a name mixed with his chartered Slipstream and his own, 36.7 Kea. Lou Mellio’s (Middletown, N.J.) Surface Tension and Junius Brown’s (Ridgefield, Conn.) Resolute are also strong competitors in the Long Island Sound fleet.
In total, 120 boats are registered for the first half of the week of racing, July 17-19, which will take place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.
Second Half of Week to Showcase IRC-Rated Racing
After taking a one-day break on Tuesday, July 20 to allow boats to switch to IRC configuration, the second of half kicks off on Wednesday, July 21 featuring four days of IRC racing with a mix of short course and middle-distance racing planned. To date, 36 IRC-rated boats are entered with George David’s Custom 90-footer Rambler the largest competing. The Rolex US-IRC National Championship will end with a Rolex gala and awards party on Saturday, July 24.
Swan 42 Class 2 Weiss New York Christopher Dragon 12204
J-109
Kamisher New York Blue Rider 71
Filippelli Caminos 52202
Kenny / Ames Gossip 274
Herlihy Gut Feeling 72
Jannetti Breakwater Jibber Jabber 272
Gutshall Maddogs & Englishmen 260
Schwartz Manhasset Bay Nordlys 267
Salk New York picante 126
Sweetser New York Rush 51
Vos Skoot 369
Lyall New York Storm 146
Milo Vento Solare 266
BLUE FLEET
Class 3 Shachoy Beverly August West 54
Tortorello Partnership 12
Furnary New York Patriot 61220
Murphy Pugwash 60003
Chapman Screaming Eagle 52920
Gold New York Sundari 12235
Boyle / Bruno / Callahan New York Wings 12241
Shaw New York Tumbleweed 52770
Class 1 Clarke Newport Next Wave 31113 36 Farrv395
Tofias Royal Thames Race Horse US-1 42 W 37
Milligan/Roche New York Act One 52915 60 sloop
Rich New York Settler 31200 61 Cust. Peterson 42
Janney Eastern Die Fledermaus 73179 75 J/35
Armstrong St. Croix Good Girl ISV68 82 J/100
Tyler Hyannis Straight Jacket 3333 84 Quest 30
Hall Bluto 53194 89 Evelyn 32
Hyde Freightrain 40926 93 Frers 36
Stookey / Hallowell New York Jest 50686 93 Quest 32
Beneteau 36.7
Class 2 Powers Agora 52475
Palmer New York A C Breakaway 69
Hammel New York Elan 51920
Pyle San Diego Kea/Slipstream 52498
Raczkowski Mischief 93206
Brown Saugatuck Harbor Resolute 230
Melillo Atlantic Highlands Surface Tension 4444
Purdy City Island Whirlwind 52134
J-105
Class 3 Lewis Annapolis Bat IV 328
Bloom Falmouth Bear Spirit 51682
Henderson / Edegran Larchmont Conundrum 170
Wagner Buzzards Dark ‘n Stormy 413
Emery Eclipse 50
Rugg New York Jaded 92
Groobey Annapolis Java 674
Weiderman Kima 300
Esdorn New York Kincsem 324
Mountford Royal Canadian Live Edge 267
Koten Planet Claire 630
Stone St. Francis Power Play 37
Keane Beverly Savasana 523
Brauer/Neff New York Scimitar 526
Mindich LHYC/HYC Shakedown 488
Allen Riverside Strange Brew 175
Weglarz Chicago The Asylum 673
Darlington East Greenwich Tonto 493
Masur New York Two Feathers 344
Beane New York Vixen 657
Class 1 Kane New York Bolero 134 48.5
Fetter New York Black Watch 71 48
1
Class 2
Cholerton-Brown Manhattan America II US 46
Heckman New York USA US 61
Isham / Auersperg New York Courageous US 26
Williams Corinthian Victory 83 K-22
Swift New York American Eagle US 21
Class 3
6 METRE
C
S Class
Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail #
Class 5
Davis Aquila 51
Sloan New York Argument 22
Silken Firefly 7
McCaffrey Newport Osprey S8
Herreshoff New York Lady Luck 2
Patterson Pirate 63
Hutchinson RIYC Shona 15
Hagen Sturdy Beggar 17
Roy Newport Surprise 5
Boylan Whistler S3
Migliaccio Wistful 14
PHRF 2
Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail # Rating Model
Class 6 Lavin East Greenwich Dirty Harry 40561 111 J-29
Nauber Wolverine 41354 111 Frers 33
Rasadi New York Showdown 31628 111 J-29
Walters IYAC Poia 22956 121 Catalina 38
Mentelos Park Place 41976 150 O’Day 34
CRF 2
2 Metre
Towbin New York Sumurun 14 58
Class 1
Colburn New York Apparition 4235
Lotz New York Arethusa 4216
Fisher New York Bandit 4208
Brownyard New York Barleycorn 4224
G. Rojek New York Better Than… 18
Culver New York Blazer 4243
Gefter New York Celeritas 42021
Cahoots Syndicate New York Conspiracy 4201
Hele New York Daring 4214
Darden / Williamson New York Hoss 4227
Zabetakis New York Impetuous 4206
Kane New York Mutiny 4204
Widmann New York Quintessence 4210
Watson New York Tiburon 4223
Halbert Vitesse 4240
Rodes New York Ranger US112
Towse / Towse New York Syce US14
Fair New York Madcap US21
Loughborough New York Belle L24-2
lass 4
Glassie New York Fortune 312 36.6
Pearsall New York Chips 13 36.1
Croll New York Angelita 18 34.9
Colie Mantoloking Silent Maid T 82 29