STC's Race - Rambler and young American juniors take first overall

by Kirsten Ferguson on 29 May 2014 The 69th Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race, which started on the Friday (May 23) of Memorial Day Weekend, attracted--coincidentally enough--69 boats and saw George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) Reichel Pugh 90 Rambler as the first to finish early Saturday morning after some 17 hours and change of racing.

Rambler last year smashed the record for the 186 nautical mile race (from The Cows off Stamford, Conn., down Long Island Sound, around Block Island, R.I. and back to Stamford, finishing just inside the breakwaters) by finishing it in 13 hours, 15 minutes and 55 seconds, but this year’s performance will still be a favourite for David, whose haul of silver represented not only the best elapsed time in IRC Fleet (Governor’s Race West Trophy) but also best corrected time in IRC Fleet (William Tripp Jr. Memorial Trophy) and a class victory (IRC 6).

'Never in our lives have we had the max ebb with us and the same for the flood on the return,' said David, referencing the notoriously difficult currents that are typically encountered at 'The Race' and 'Plum Gut,' two passage choices for exiting and re-entering Long Island Sound. 'This actually works, given an expected five or six hours for the trip around Block from the Race/Gut exit to the same gate on the way back. More typically what happens is we have the flood on the nose on the way out and same for the ebb on the way back. Looks like we get it right every 20 years or so, which is about how many Block Island races I have done.'

The polar opposite of David’s veteran race team was Young American, the J/105 that won PHRF 1 and represented American Yacht Club with its junior team aboard. According to the team’s coordinator and solitary adult crew member Peter Becker (Rye, N.Y.), the seven Young American juniors are part of the club’s junior big boat program, which sees 35 kids between the ages of 14 and 17 'spending a huge amount of time on the water learning sailing and seamanship skills.'

'Beating out the Sound, we were underpowered, and there was a funny sea wave,' said Becker, 'but they magically called a couple of shifts, got inside some big lifts and were in good company. The biggest problem was the big boats, which were in better wind and better current, while the smaller boats had the current turn on them. Coming back we were in foul current, which was not enjoyable at all.'

Finishing around 4 a.m. on Sunday, the Young American team thought they had done horribly but soon learned they were first in PHRF Class 1 and third overall. The team also won the Harvey Conover Memorial Overall Trophy, 'awarded to the boat that has won her class and, in the judgment of the Flag Officers and Race Committee, had the best overall performance.'

Peter Becker’s son, Key Becker, who was one of three designated skippers onboard, summed up the experience by saying, 'It was pretty light, but instead of getting frustrated, we held it together, worked as a team, shared our ideas and made it work.'

Competing were six classes for IRC (including one for Doublehanders), four for PHRF and one for One-Design (J/44).

The Block Island Race, hosted by Storm Trysail Club and Stamford Yacht Club, was first held in 1946 and is a qualifier for the North Ocean Racing Trophy (IRC), the Double Handed Ocean Racing Trophy (IRC), the New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF), and the Gulf Stream Series (IRC). The Block Island Race is also a qualifier for the Caper, Sagola, and Windigo trophies awarded by the YRA of Long Island Sound and the ‘Tuna' Trophy for the best combined IRC scores in the Edlu (40%) and the Block Island Race (60%).

For more information on the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race, visit website or contact The Storm Trysail Club (914) 834-8857.

Storm Trysail Club 68th Block Island Race

Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points:

IRC 1 Doublehanded (12 Boats):
1. Lora Ann, Express 37, Richard Du Moulin, Larchmont, NY, USA - 1, ; 1 2.
Paladin, J 35, Jason Richter, Copiague, NY, USA - 2, 2
3. Eagles Dare, J 111, Mike Piper, Marblehead, MA, USA - 3, 3

IRC 2 (6 Boats):
1. Carina, Custom 48 ', Rives Potts, Westbrook, CT, USA - 1, 1
2. Dreamcatcher, Swan 48, Stephen Kylander, Hingham, MA, USA - 2, 2
3. Cygnette, Swan 441, William Mayer, Greenwich, CT, USA - 3, 3

IRC 3 (8 Boats):
1. Valkyrie, Beneteau First 44.7, Drew Chapman, New York, NY, USA - 1, 1
2. Old School, Farr 395, Ganson Evans, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA - 2, 2
3. Lucy Georgina, xP44, Peter Bacon, Noank, CT, USA - 3, 3

J 44 (Four Boats):
1. Beagle, J 44, Philip Gutin, New York, NY, USA – 1, 1
2. Honahlee, J 44, HL DeVore, Larchmont, NY, USA – 2, 2
3. Vamp, J 44, Leonard Sitar, Holmdel, NJ, USA - 3, 3

IRC 4 (Six Boats):
1. Lir, Swan 45, John McNamara, Darien, CT, USA - 1, 1
2. Entropy, Tripp 41, Patricia Young, Jamestown, RI, USA - 2, 2
3. King Daddy, Swan 56, Devin McGranahan, Jamestown, RI, USA - 3, 3

IRC 5 (Six Boats):
1. Bombardino, Santa Cruz 52, James Sykes, New York, NY, USA - 1, 1
2. Gracie, McCurdy 69, Clarke Murphy, New York, NY, USA - 2, 2
3. Temptation - Oakcliff, Ker 50, Art Santry, Oyster Bay, NY, USA - 3, 3

IRC 6 (Four Boats):
1. Rambler, RP 90, George David, Farmington, CT, USA - 1, 1
2. Rima2, RP 55, John Bri, Palm Beach, FL, USA - 2, 2
3. Terrapin, Andrews 70, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, MA, USA - 3, 3

PHRF 1 (Eight Boats):
1. Young American, J 105, AYC Jr. Big Boat Team c/o Peter Becker, Rye, NY, USA - 1, 1
2. Audacious, Frers 33, Robert Farnum, Oxford, CT, USA - 2, 2
3. Gadzooks, C&C 38, Geoffrey Beringer, Darien, CT, USA - 3, 3

PHRF 2 (Eight Boats)::
1. Spectre, Tripp 40, Brian Prinz, East Haven, CT, USA - 1, 1
2. Weegie, Columbia 32, Richard Fleischman, Setauket, NY, USA - 2, 2
3. Threebeans, Santa Cruz 37, Christopher Rosow, Southport, CT, USA - 3, 3

PHRF 3 (Four Boats):
1. Oakcliff Sailing Farr 47, Farr 47, Oakcliff Sailing, Oyster Bay, NY, USA - 1, ; 1
2. Hermie Louise, Little Harbor 78, Gerald Harris, Palm Beach, FL, USA - 2, 2
3. Trailblazer, Swan 45, Brian Finn, New York, NY, USA - 3, 3

PHRF PI (Three Boats):
1. ARGO, Catalina 400, Boris Keselman, Brooklyn, NY, USA - 1, 1
2. Inisharon, F&C 44, Jim Murphy, Rye, NY, USA - 2, 2
3. Yumi II, Beneteau 411, Yuji Sugimoto, Stamford, CT, USA - 4/DNF, 4

Overall Trophies:

George Lauder Trophy - Best performance by a Vintage boat (15 years old +)
Carina, Rives Potts

Commodore's Grail Trophy - Best corrected time in IRC below 1.08
Argo, Boris Kesselman

Governor’s Race West Trophy - Best elapsed time in the IRC Fleet
Rambler, George David

William Tripp Jr. Memorial Trophy - Best corrected time in the IRC Fleet
Rambler, George David

Terrapin Trophy - Best corrected time – PHRF
Oakcliff Farr 47, Oakcliff Sailing

Governor’s Race East Trophy - Best elapsed time – PHRF
Oakcliff Farr 47, Oakcliff Sailing

Gerold Abels Trophy - Best Performance Double-Handed
Lora Ann, Rich DuMoulin/Chris Reyling

Roddie Williams Team Race Trophy
Storm Trysail Red, Bombardino / Lora Ann / Vamp

Tuna Trophy - for the best IRC combined scores in the Edlu (40%) and the BI Race (60%)
Beagle, Phil Gutin

Commodore's Trophy - To the boat that has won her class and has beaten the 2nd and 3rd place boat by the greatest margin of time.
Valkyrie, Drew Chapman

Harvey Conover Memorial Overall Trophy - Awarded to the boat that has won her class and, in the judgment of the Flag Officers and Race Committee, had the best overall performance.
Young American, American Yacht Club Juniors