Please select your home edition
Edition
Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 LEADERBOARD

Storm Trysail Club 70th Block Island Race overall

by Barby MacGowan on 26 May 2015
Comanche before its record-breaking run at the 70th Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race. - Storm Trysail Club 70th Block Island Race Randy Tankoos
The 70th edition of the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race yielded winners in ten classes – four IRC (including one for Double-hand), four PHRF, J/44 and Multihull – and a place in the record books for Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark’s new 100-foot Maxi Comanche. Fifty eight boats started the 185 nautical mile race (from Stamford Yacht Club in Connecticut, down Long Island Sound, around Block Island, R.I. and back to Stamford) on Friday afternoon (May 22) of Memorial Day Weekend, with Comanche finishing exactly one second after 2:50 a.m. the next morning, giving her an elapsed time of 11 hours 25 minutes and 01 second.

“Each year I ask the fastest boat in the fleet to give me a call when they are abeam of New Haven on the return,” said Event Chair Ray Redniss about Comanche’s call that came in at 0024 Saturday morning. “This was the earliest one yet, and a new record was established!”

Redniss said that to be precise, this year’s race was one mile shorter than that on which the 90-foot Rambler’s 2013 record of 13 hours 15 minutes and 55 seconds was set. “After 15 years of being at the entrance to Stamford Harbor, the finish line was moved out to the Cows (Red Bell “32”) in order to allow enough water depth for Comanche to compete; with a draft of 22 feet, only a high tide would allow her to finish in the harbor,” he said. In 2013, Rambler completed the 186 mile course with an average time of four minutes and 17 seconds per mile. Comanche’s completion of the 185 mile course this year was with an average time of three minutes and 42 seconds per mile. “Speed-wise, this translates to Comanche averaging 16.2 knots and Rambler averaging 14 knots.”

Comanche, which won her IRC 4 class, took home the Governor’s Race West Trophy for best elapsed time in the IRC Fleet; the William Tripp, Jr. Memorial Trophy for best corrected time in the IRC Fleet; and the self-explanatory Harvey Conover Memorial Overall Trophy.

“If I could have drawn the weather map, I think it is what I would have drawn,” said Comanche’s Navigator Stan Honey. The favorable conditions included winds of 15-27 knots and outgoing/incoming tides at all the right times, especially at “The Race” and “Plum Gut,” two notoriously difficult passage choices for exiting and re-entering Long Island Sound.

For Greg Gigliotti (Stamford, Conn.), owner of the 62-foot Gunboat Tribe, which won the first-ever multihull class, nothing could have been more perfect than averaging 20 knots of boat speed and reaching in flat water from The Race to Block Island in a short six hours, then fetching the finish line after returning through Plum Gut. “Everything tipped in our favor; it was a big part of getting a good time (finishing as the second boat, three and three-quarter hours behind Comanche). We had eight adults and three Opti sailors, all sons of fathers onboard. It was their first overnight, so we spent most of the race explaining that most races aren’t like this; normally you are on the rail and normally you’re not moving along at 18-20 knots. They were very lucky to be part of something special.”

Repeating its PHRF class (3) victory from last year was American Yacht Club’s J/105 Young American, another entry with junior sailors, but in this case, the kids were the majority onboard with Peter Becker serving as the team’s single adult safety officer and coach. “Last year, we won our class and finished third overall, which was a huge moment,” said Becker. “This year, we were first in PHRF division and first overall in PHRF, so we bested our performance by a big margin. The kids are on fire; they love it!”

The Young American team was pressured up at the start for their spinnaker run in 25 knots. When the tack of their chute blew out, they switched to a spare and were surfing down Long Island Sound at 15 knots. “We were all hiking off the stern and hanging with the big boats and double-handed boats. They started the double-hands, and then small to large classes in order, so Comanche was the last start. It was really cool when it went whizzing by us doing 18-20 knots.”

Had Comanche not competed, Andrew and Linda Weiss’s (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) Sydney 43Christopher Dragon would have won overall. The team started ahead of Comanche in the third-to-last start (for IRC 3) and finished the race in a little under 23 hours. “It’s the fastest race I’ve ever done, and I’ve been competing in this since the mid-1970s,” said Andrew Weiss. “We got to 1BI in nine hours and were the second monohull around Block Island behind Comanche. Then, coming up the Sound, Snow Lion and Temptation passed us. They normally pass us before Block Island. We’ve never won overall before; this was the closest we’ve ever come, but Comanche…it’s a different kind of boat, so we still feel like we won!”

Chairman Redniss said this was a tough year for getting boats prepared for the Block Island Race, which was a week earlier than usual. “It was quite cold and harbors were frozen; yards were simply weeks behind. Overall, we had 68 entries; however eight notified us before race day that they weren’t going to make it, and another two did not make the start. Conditions for the race were near perfect, but of course, another 10 or 12 degrees warmer would have been nice! We were cold on the Committee Boat overnight; I can imagine there was a lot of shivering on the rail!”

The Block Island Race 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%).This year's Tuna Trophy was won by Christopher Dragon with first place finishes in both events.

Results

IRC 1 DH (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Mireille, J 120, Hewitt Gaynor , Fairfield, CT, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Alibi, J 120, Gardner Grant , Westport, CT, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Pegasus, Beneteau First 36.7, Hartmut Ludwig , West Windsor, NJ, USA - 3 ; 3

IRC 2 (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Carina, Custom 48, Rives Potts , Westbrook, CT, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Talisman, Farr 395, John Bailey , Darien, CT, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Red Sky, J 122, John Pearson , Setauket , NY, USA - 3 ; 3

J/44 (IRC - 4 Boats)
1. Kincsem, Joerg Esdorn , Katonah, NY, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Vamp, Leonard Sitar , Holmdel, NJ, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Kenai, Chris Lewis , Houston, TX, USA - 3 ; 3

IRC 3 (IRC - 10 Boats)
1. Christopher Dragon, Sydney 43, Andrew and Linda Weiss , Mamaroneck, NY, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Soulmates, Custom Goetz 40, Adam Loory , Mamaroneck, NY, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Warrior Won, Xp 44, Christopher Sheehan , Larchmont, NY, USA - 3 ; 3

IRC 4 (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Comanche, Maxi 100, Jim Clark/Kristy Hinze Clark , Newport, RI, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Temptation - Oakcliff, Custom Ker 50, Arthur Santry , Newport, RI, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Snow Lion, Ker 50, Lawrence Huntington , New York, NY, USA - 3 ; 3

PHRF 1 DH (PHRF_ToT - 4 Boats)
1. Weegie, Columbia 32, Richard Fleischman , Setauket, NY, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Six Brothers, C-32, Chris Kramer , Rye, NY, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Max, Pogo 10.5, Moritz Hilf , New York, NY, USA - 3 ; 3

PHRF 2 (PHRF_ToT - 6 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. Audacious, Frers 33, Robert Farnum , Oxford, CT, USA - 3 ; 3

PHRF 3 (PHRF_ToT - 11 Boats)
1. Young American, J 105, AYC Jr. Big Boat Team - Becker , Rye, NY, USA - 1 ; 1
2. That's Ridiculous, Beneteau First 36.7, Francis Nilsen , Sound Beach, NY, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Milky Way, Dufour 40, Alexander Natanzon , Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA - 3 ; 3

PHRF 4 (PHRF_ToT - 2 Boats)
1. Sundari, Farr 400, Barry Gold / Scott Florio , Mamaroneck, NY, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Brigand, Custom 50, Sean Saslo , Branford, CT, USA - 2 ; 2

Multihull (NEMA) (ToT - 3 Boats)
1. Tribe, Gunboat 62, Greg Gigliotti , Stamford, CT, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Fault Tolerant, GB 60, Robert Alexander , Rye, NY, USA - 2 ; 2
3. Infidel, Dragonfly 32, Daniel Galyon , Binghamton, NY, USA - 3 ; 3

Overall Trophies

George Lauder Trophy - Best performance by a Vintage boat (25 years old +): Kincsem, Joerg Esdorn
Commodore's Grail Trophy - Best corrected time by a Multihull: Tribe,Greg Gigliotti
Governor’s Race West Trophy - Best elapsed time in the IRC Fleet: Comanche, Jim Clark/Kristy Hinze Clark
William Tripp, Jr Memorial Trophy- Best corrected time in the IRC Fleet: Comanche, Jim Clark/Kristy Hinze Clark

Terrapin Trophy - Best corrected time in PHRF: Young American, AYC Jr. Big Boat Team

Governor’s Race East Trophy - Best elapsed time – PHRF: Sundari, Barry Gold

Gerold Abels - Best Performance Double-Handed: Mireille, Hewitt Gaynor

Roddie Williams Team Race Trophy: Storm Trysail White, Carina/Sundari/Talisman

Tuna Trophy - Best IRC combined scores in the Edlu (40%) and the BI Race (60%): Christopher Dragon, Andrew and Linda Weiss

Commodore's Trophy - To the boat that has won a handicap class by the smallest margin of time over the second and third place boats: Carina, Rives Potts

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: Comanche, Jim Clark/ Kristy Hinze Clark

For more information on the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race, please visit website or contact The Storm Trysail Club (914) 834-8857.
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeB&G Zeus SR AUSZhik 2024 December

Related Articles

America's Cup entries open on Sunday
A Cup in turmoil - has Grant Dalton dodged a bullet with the new Cup organisation? Updated story: America's Cup got underway in Rome on Monday, with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton appears to have dodged a bullet with the formation of of new AC organising body.
Posted today at 4:19 am
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta day 1
Ideal conditions for starting the Southern Wind RendezVous and Trophy The 2025 edition of the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, organised by the YCCS with the support of title sponsor Giorgio Armani, got under way right on time today, 28 May 2025 at 11.30 a.m. on the waters off Porto Cervo.
Posted on 28 May
America's Cup Power Plays
And Growing Sailing Through Learning There's always so much speculation and intrigue in-between each edition of the America's Cup. Everyone wants to know what is happening behind closed doors, inside the teams, and when the Challengers meet with the Defender.
Posted on 28 May
2025 is going to be a huge season for IMOCA
Antoine Mermod talks about the season ahead Over the next four years the most exciting monohull class in world offshore ocean racing will take on no less than 17 races, covering tens of thousands of miles of the world's oceans.
Posted on 28 May
America's Cup enthusiastically received in Naples
The Castel dell'Ovo, was the venue for the arrival of the America's Cup in Napes The Castel dell'Ovo, set on the tuft peninsula of Megaride was the outstanding setting for the Official Host Venue Presentation of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup.
Posted on 28 May
Increased Crowds and Unrivalled Showcase
At 2025 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show The 36th annual Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) has once again cemented its status as the Southern Hemisphere's premier marine event, drawing an impressive 45,865 visitors over four spectacular days from 22-25 May 2025.
Posted on 28 May
CYCA team to take best shot at the Admiral's Cup
The Australian flag will fly proud on Zen and Back 2 Black The Australian flag will fly proud on Zen and Back 2 Black during the Admiral's Cup to be held in Cowes from the Isle of Wight from 17 July - 1 August.
Posted on 28 May
Doyle Sails: Ragtime blends retro and modern
Launched in 1966, Infidel now Ragtime Sailing, has celebrated her 60th year with a refit Tina Roberts has beautifully restored Ragtime Sailing in honour of her late partner's wishes, choosing Doyle Sails not only for the world-class sails but for the depth of experience, personal commitment, and collaborative support that define the team.
Posted on 28 May
The Ocean's Logbook amplifies global voices
A digital survey that looks beyond cold statistics to capture real stories A powerful new campaign designed to capture the world's emotional connection to the ocean is being launched today ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France in June.
Posted on 27 May
SP80 kiteboat reaches a top speed of over 58 knots
100 km/h barrier is smashed in Leucate The SP80 kiteboat has reached a top speed of over 58 knots, or 108 km/h. This new personal best makes SP80 the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Vestas Sailrocket II and its 68.01-knot top speed.
Posted on 27 May