Ringing in 90th anniversary with action packed racing

by Kirsten Lingerfelt on 4 Sep 2017 Heavy breeze and high seas – remnants of Hurricane Harvey – made for some exhilarating racing on Narragansett Bay yesterday (Sunday, September 3) for the 90th edition of the Conanicut Yacht Club Around the Island Race. The day kicked off with wind speeds clocking in over 20 knots, forcing Race Committee to postpone the start 1.5 hours and send the five small boat classes on a shortened inshore course. The remaining five classes proceeded to race 18.1 nautical miles counter clockwise around Conanicut Island.

Although the rigorous conditions convinced 35 of the original 98 entrants to drop out before the start, the remaining 63 teams all successfully finished the race and winners were crowned in ten classes. Taking the overall event win was Jamestown sailor and race newcomer Chris Cannon and his team aboard his Alden 63 Verissimo.

“It was a great race and we exceeded expectations by an infinite amount,” said Cannon adding that they started the race in about 20 knots of breeze coming out of the east, which died down as the race progressed, to around 13-15 knots at the finish. “It was very windy and wet but once we got out there it was great. We had a good start and we just stayed in front of everybody. It was really a reaching race, which was great for our boat. We did one gybe, at Sterns Farm at the top of the island, and one tack at Beavertail, that was it!”

Cannon also took home two of the event’s four perpetual trophies. The Eads Johnson Trophy for CYC Member with the lowest corrected that is 31 feet and over and the Commodore John C. Quinn Trophy for the boat that finished with the fastest corrected time.

Mike Hill’s J/24 Obstreperous took home the Robert A. MacLeod Rear Commodore Trophy for being the CYC member with the lowest corrected time in a boat with an overall length less than 31 feet. William Hubbard’s Siren was awarded the Commodore Bruce R. Brakenhoff Memorial Trophy for finishing the race with the shortest elapsed time.

“This is the second year in a row that we’ve had to contend with hurricanes during the race, but I think the conditions definitely made for an exciting race and competitors enjoyed the challenge that it provided,” said Race Organizing Chairman Alan Baines. “The Around the Island Race is a summer favorite among many sailors in the area and the enthusiasm surrounding it seems to build every year. All in all I think we rang in The Race’s 90th anniversary in style, mixing some thrilling racing with lots of fun. I look forward to what next year will bring.”

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