Edgartown Yacht Club’s Race Weekend cranks into high gear

by Barby MacGowan on 22 Jul 2013 On the opening day of the Edgartown Yacht Club’s Race Weekend, Thursday July 18, after notching only eight knots of breeze, the three-day race cranked into high gear for a subsequent two days of action, loading up 25 teams with 20 knots of breeze for a second day of the event’s Big Boat Buoy Races.

Giving 62 teams an exhilarating run for their money in 25 knots plus during the 54.7 nautical mile ‘Round-the-Island Race, which was scored separately and comprised the final day of racing (Saturday, July 20).

In the light air, after the first day, we were in last place overall,' said Ned Joyce (Cataumet, Mass.), who won PHRF B class in the Big Boat Buoy Races with his J105 Dark ‘n Stormy, 'but in the heavy air we turned in three first-place finishes to win. That’s what we are more used to having on Buzzard’s Bay where we usually sail.' Joyce’s closest competition, Paul Ulyatt (Edgartown, Mass.) aboard his 'backyard-built' boat Sophie, was tied on final points but the tie-breaker went to Joyce, who also took home the John J. Trask Trophy for his efforts. As well, Joyce went on to win his class in the ‘Round-the-Island Race (Sophie dismasted in the ‘Round-the-Island Race but limped home safely), making him one of only two racers to claim victory in both of the weekend’s double-header events.

The other was Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah/Edgartown, Mass.) aboard his IRC52 Vesper. After posting six victories in six buoy races to win IRC one class, Swartz and his crack crew handily won IRC one in the ‘Round-the-Island Race, taking home the Alexander Orr Trophy and the Great Venona Trophy for best performance overall. (Second in class for both events was Tokyo’s Takashi Okura, skippering the TP52 Sled.) The buoy races, which were inaugurated last year as a one-day adjunct to the decades-old ‘Round-the-Island Race, were expanded this year to two days, and the move proved to be popular, especially when the race committee chose to run them close to the mouth of Edgartown Harbor.

'I think they hit it out of the park,' said Gavin Brady (Annapolis, Md.), Vesper’s tactician. 'On Friday we sailed three and a half hours, got three races in and were back to the dock by 1:30 to enjoy the island. Other yacht clubs should take note that short courses close to shore are okay and that sailing doesn’t have to be an all-day sport where you race all day and you’re so exhausted when you get home that you can’t do anything else!' Brady added that Swartz was especially proud that Vesper’s name would be added to the names of other famous American boats already on the Great Venona Trophy. 'This is now one of the classic races, with a really good vibe, and the word is getting out that, especially with the three full days of racing, it’s worth getting to the Vineyard to do it. As for this year’s race, it was one of those magic days we’ll remember for a long, long time. It couldn’t be replicated if you tried.' Brady explained that Vesper clocked 24 knots on the back side of the island. 'It was like Hawaii, with big waves and heaps of wind.'

Joining the IRC fleet for Saturday’s ‘Round-the-Island Race was George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) 90 foot maxi yacht Rambler, which won the Concord Cup for fastest elapsed time around the island. The team’s time of four hours and ten minutes is now officially the fastest recorded time for the circumnavigation of the island in the Edgartown Yacht Club Race Weekend (breaking Rambler’s record in 2009 of just over five hours). 'Our top speed was 27 knots on the north side of the island, after the final corner to the finish,' said Rambler’s Team Manager Mick Harvey (Newport, R.I.) 'The boat just lit up! We were ripping along with flat water and no waves. George was driving, and he was having the time of his life. It was really, really cool; we were all pinching ourselves in the end.'

The ‘Round-the-Island Race was first held in the summer of 1938 and has been held every year since, except for the years of World War II. The Big Boat Buoy Races are sanctioned as part of the prestigious U.S. IRC Gulf Stream Series, and the ‘Round-the-Island Race is part of the New England Lighthouse Series for PHRF yachts.

For full results, here

EYCRW-2013 Big Boat Buoy Races
Place, Boat Name, Type, Skipper, Club Affiliation, Finish Positions, Total

Class 1 IRC (4 boats)
1. VESPER, IRC52, Jim Swartz, EYC, 1-1-1-1-1-1; 6
2. SLED, TP 52, Takashi Okura, NYYC, 2-2-2-2-2-2; 12
3. CARINA, McCurdy & Rhodes, Rives Potts, NYYC, 3/DNF-3-3-3-3-3; 18

Class 2 PHRF A (5 boats)
1. Zefiro Torna, Carroll Marine 1D35 Modified, John Schimenti, Old Greenwich YC, 1-1-2-2-2-3; 11
2. Gut Feeling, J109, Ted Herlihy, NBYC, 3/DNF-2-1-4-1-2; 13
3. Defiance, Navy 44, Alexa Ciarolla, Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, 3/DNF-4-4-1-3-4; 19

Class 3 PHRF B (4 boats)
1. Dark 'n Stormy, J105, Ned Joyce, Plymouth YC/Buzzards YC, 3-2-2-1-1-1; 10T
2. Sophie, DNS 26, Paul Ulyatt, US Sailing, 2-1-1-2-2-2; 10T
3. Blue Sky, Hanse 400e, Alan Savenor, Kingman Yacht Club, 1-3-3-4/DNS-4-4; 19

Class 4 PHRF N/S (8 boats)
1. Osprey, Alerion Express 38, James W. Swent III, none, 1-1-2-1-1-2; 8
2. Wild Horses, W.76., Donald Tofias, Royal Thames Yacht Club, 3-3-3-2-2-1; 14 3. RUSE, Swan 44 Mark II, William Marsh, Stage Harbor Yacht Club, 2-2-1-4-3-4; 16

Class 5 Double-Handed (4 boats)
1. WINGS, J46, Richard Egan, Hyannis Yacht Club, 1-2-2-1-1-1; 8
2. BIG BIRD, Pearson Composites Alerion 38, Sal Giordano, Edgartown YC, 2/DNF-1-1-4-2-4/DNF; 14
3. Orpheus, Alerion Express 33, Sandy Vietor, Edgartown YC, 2/DNC-3/DNC-3/DNC-2-3-2 ; 15

EYCRW-2013 Round-the-Island Race
July 20, 2013
Place, Boat Name, Type, Skipper, Club Affiliation, Finish Positions, Total

Class 1 IRC (7 boats)
1. VESPER, Custom IRC52, Jim Swartz, EYC; 1
2. SLED, TP52, Takashi Okura, NYYC; 2
3. RAMBLER, Custom 90, George David, New York YC / IHYC; 3

Class 2 PHRF A (8 boats)
1. Wicked 2.0, J/111, Douglas Curtiss, New Bedford YC; 1
2. Après, J-120, Stephen Besse, Vineyard Haven and Holmes Hole; 2
3. Zefiro Torna, 1D35 Modified, John Schimenti, Old Greenwich YC; 3

Class 3 PHRF N/S A (6 boats)
1. Kinship, Baltic 52, Tom Selldorff, New Bedford; 1
2. SEA LEAF, Apogee Able Marine, Massachusetts Maritime; 2
3. Ballyhoo, J-44, Wesley McMichael, Beverly Yacht Club; 3

Class 4 PHRF B (9 boats)
1. Dark 'n Stormy, J105, Ned Joyce, Plymouth YC/Buzzards YC; 1
2. DEFIANCE, Navy 44, Alexa Ciarolla, Naval Academy Sailing Squadron; 2
3. Lyric, J105, Pete Lebish, Buzzards Yacht Club; 3

Class 5 PHRF C (8 boats)
1. Soma Holiday, Hanse 355, Francis Sutula, Vineyard Haven YC; 1
2. SPARKLE PONY, KIRIE ELITE 37, Bill Finn, Constitution Yacht Club; 2
3. RIVA, J35C, Steve Dahill, BYC; 3

Class 6 PHRF N/S B (10 boats)
1. EIDER DOWN, Morris 51, Bruce Robinson, Buzzards Yacht Club; 1
2. Osprey, Alerion Express 38, James W. Swent III; 2
3. Indian Summer, Sabre Mk2, Mark Carey, Hyannic YC; 3

Class 7 PHRF N/S C (6 boats)
1. Camelot, Nevins Wood Sloop, Robert Labdon, Hyannis Yacht Club; 1
2. Isobar, Cal 33 - 2, Andrew Berry, Vineyard Haven Yacht Club; 2
3. Second Wind, C & C 29-2, Paul Waldeck, None; 3

Class 8 Double-Handed (8 boats)
1. Iniki, Alerion Express, Paul Stafford, EYC; 1
2. ATALANTA, Sabre 28 Ketch, Richard Sides, Eastern YC; 2
3. Killua, Aphrodite 101, James Binch, EYC; 3