Sail-World.com : Entries Now Open for 2009 Pineapple Cup
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Entries Now Open for 2009 Pineapple Cup |
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'Montego Bay Race'
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The Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) announces the official opening for entries in the 29th Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race.
Schedule to start on February 6, 2009 just outside of Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, the race – known affectionately by sailors as ‘Mo Bay’ – runs 811 nautical miles to Montego Bay, Jamaica and offers navigators, tacticians and crews a challenging all-points-of-sail blast to a fabled destination. The current race record is held by Titan 12, set in 2005, with an impressive elapsed time of 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds.
Shortly after the official opening of the entry system, race management reported seven entries and a large number of participant inquiries – an early indication of the potential strength of the 2009 fleet. The race is sponsored by the Lauderdale Yacht Club (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), the Montego Bay Yacht Club (Montego Bay, Jamaica), the Jamaican Yachting Association (Kingston, Jamaica), the Storm Trysail Club (Larchmont, N.Y.) and managed by SORC with the collective group.
The Pineapple Cup has long been an ocean racing classic. The race started in 1961 and has run either annually or biannually ever since. Past winners are a Who’s Who of ocean skippers and yacht names. Ted Turner won three times in Vamoose (’67), Lightnin (’73) and Tenacious (’79); the Johnson family won in Ticonderoga (’65); John Kilroy won twice in Kialoa (’75 & ’77); and Jack King won in Merrythought (’91).
Past competitors claiming line honors include Sir Peter Blake on Condor (’79), Larry Ellison on Sayonora (’97) and Roy Disney on Pyewacket (’99). Other notable past entrants include the venerable yacht Windward Passage, which maintained the overall elapsed time record from 1969 to 2003. Steve Fossett also made a run in the 90s at the overall race record in the catamaran Lakota.
Details about the Pineapple Cup
Immediately after the start, the racers cross the Gulf Stream for the Northwest Providence Channel. The middle of the race usually offers a fetch down the eastern side of the Bahamas Island Chain towards the tip of Cuba. The final stretch is a sailor’s dream: a 240 mile downwind sleigh ride from Cuba’s eastern tip, known as Windward Passage, to the finish at Montego Bay. Typical 20-plus-knot aft trade winds and rolling, following seas push the racers downhill into the sunset toward the finish, where they’re greeted at the finish line with the traditional case of Jamaica’s finest Red Stripe beer.
Classes invited include IRC, PHRF, Multihull and ocean racing one designs. The online race entry system and an updated Notice of Race, along with information on the race history, past events and accommodations can be found at www.montegobayrace.com.
by Luiz E. Kahl
10:00 PM Fri 22 Aug 2008 GMT
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