Inaugural C&C 30 One Design Regatta overall

by Kristan McClintock on 11 Jun 2015 A nine-boat line-up will head to the starting line in the inaugural C&C 30 One Design regatta this weekend. As one of the fleets participating in the prestigious 161st New York YC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, the C&C 30 ODs will sail the Around the Island Race on Friday, June 12, with the official one-design racing taking place Saturday and Sunday.

Eight of the boats will be helmed by their owners, with teams from Michigan, California, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island competing.

The team with the most time in the boat is the Bristol-based Angus Davis and his Nyabinghi crew, who competed at Sperry Charleston Race Week in April, as well as the Figawi Race in May. Even though he has some racing under his belt (under PHRF), Davis doesn’t feel that this experience gives him an advantage. “I’ve never sailed a planing keelboat before, so this is a whole different animal for me. The fastest I’ve gone prior to this is around seven knots and change. Downwind during the Figawi we hit a high of 16.8 knots.”

Clay Deustch of Newport and owner of Just a Friend (who raced for the first time in last weekend’s Leukemia Cup), agrees that no one has a clear advantage going into the one-design racing. “We’re all learning how these boats work,” he says. “It’s going to be wild!”

The two newest members of the fleet are Jim Madden of Newport Beach, CA (Stark Raving Mad VIII) and Paul Strauch of Douglaston, NY (Andiamo). This will be their first regatta. Rounding out the field are Walt Thirion of Annapolis (Themis), Dominick Cannavo, MD of New York (Little Big Man), Dan Cheresh of Saugatuck, MI (Extreme 2), and Max Buerman of Newport (Salt), who is sailing with several members of the USWatercraft team (USWatercraft is the builder of the C&C 30 One Design).

Joining the fleet for the NYYC event is a local women’s team skippered by Kate Wilson, through a special charter arrangement with USWatercraft. “It’s important to USWatercraft that we take every opportunity to promote the sport of sailing,” says Randy Borges, president of USWatercraft. “The support and enthusiasm for women’s sailing during the Newport Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race was terrific, and we saw an opportunity to continue that momentum. We’re excited for Kate and her team to race hull number one in the inaugural one-design event.”

The C&C 30 One Designs will be docked at the Newport Shipyard during the event. Anyone interested in the class is invited to stop by after racing and talk to the owners. Look for the C&C flags.