Blue Yankee wins Rolex US-IRC National Championship

by Talbot Wilson on 29 Jun 2007
Blue Yankee, Bob and Farley Towse's (Stamford, Conn.) Reichel/Pugh 66 sailed in the six-boat Super Zero class to take the inaugural Rolex US-IRC National Championship at the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week XXII presented by Rolex sailed June 18th-22nd.

IRC racing prevailed in 7 of the 18 classes. The turnout was impressive with 103 out of 183 boats sailing under the IRC, the main international rating rule now being used in the U.S. and worldwide.

Cabady, a Taylor 42 sailed by Randall and Matt Baldwin (Ridgefield, CT) won the perpetual US-IRC Trophy for the best overall IRC performance at the regatta, as judged by the race committee.

'Our performance shows that a good older boat can come into IRC and compete with the custom-built IRC boats,' said Matt Baldwin, explaining that Cabady, the old Numbers, was built in 1991. 'It shows that the IRC rating is fair.'

The Blue Yankee team secured its victory after finishing second in the last day's race and posting four victories and a second prior to that. The mathematical formula for determining Blue Yankee as champion was based on fleet performance, using corrected boat speed, and class competitiveness.

'Obviously there were some big gaps between us and the rest of the class,' said Farley Towse, referring to the pace of Blue Yankee, which at times put it a leg ahead of the others. 'But that being said, it doesn't matter how far ahead or behind you are because anything can happen, and with one of the variables for the national championship being a comparison between classes, you're always sailing against time.'

Blue Yankee, purpose built for IRC racing, matched up well in the national championship battle against other IRC designs, such as Colm Barrington's (Dublin, Ireland) Ker 50 Magic Glove (winner of IRC Zero class), as well as
older boats, such as Randall and Matt Baldwin's older Cabady, winner of the last day's race and best of14 boats in IRC class 5.

Going into the last day, Cabady was nipping at Blue Yankee’s transom for the national title, but it was Hunt Lawrence's (New York, N.Y.) Ker 11.3 Cracker in the 10-boat IRC class that snatched second in the national championship ranking, with Cabady settling for third.

As the first winner of the Rolex US-IRC National Championship, the Towses’ Blue Yankee received a Rolex steel and platinum Yacht-Master. The team was the top IRC finisher in the event's around-the-island race to take home yet another Rolex, this time an Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece. Blue Yankee also won the Island Sailing Club of Cowes Perpetual Trophy, first awarded in 1965 and commemorating the link to Britain's Cowes Week, after which Block Island Race Week was patterned.

Other IRC trophy winners

Everett B. Morris Memorial Trophy for Best Overall Performance: Magic Glove

Isbrandtsen Overall Perpetual Trophy for the second best performance: Cracker

Vintage Yacht Trophy for the yacht 15 years or older with the best performance of the week: Cabady

John Alden Reed Perpetual Trophy for the best performance by a Service Academy Yacht: Tomcat, USNA

Governors Perpetual Trophy for the foreign yacht with the best performance of the week: Magic Glove

Shelter Island Team Trophy: 1. Storm Trysail Club Red (Rumor, Lora Ann, Challenge V); 2. New York Yacht Club (Arethusa, Troubador, Blue Yankee); 3. Cedar Point Yacht Club (Rascal, Storm, One Up)

For more information, visit www.blockislandraceweek.com

Final IRC Class Top-Three Results
Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week XXII presented by Rolex

Place, Boat Name, Boat Type, Skipper, Hometown, Finishes [throwout], Overall
IRC Super Zero (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Blue Yankee, Reichel Pugh 66, Bob & Farley Towse, Stamford, CT, 1-1-1-[2]-1-2-1;7
2. Moneypenny, Swan 60, Jim Swartz, Park City, UT, 4-2-2-[6]-3-1-2;14
3. Rima2, ReichelPugh/McConaghy, John Brim, New York, NY, [5]-5-4-1-4-3-4;21
IRC Zero (IRC - 7 Boats)
1. Magic Glove, Ker 50, Colm Barrington, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, Ireland, 1-1-1-1-1-1-
[8/DNS];6
2. Sjambok, Reichel/Pugh 45, Michael Brennan, Potomac, MD, 3-[4]-3-2-2-2-1;13
3. Devocean, Swan 45, Stephen De Voe, Stamford, CT, 2-3-[5]-4-3-3-3;18
IRC1/NYYC Swan 42 (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Tsunami, NYYC Swan 42, Preben Ostberg/John Aras/Bud Dailey , Rockville, MD, 3-3-1-2-
[5]-2-1;12
2. Arethusa, NYYC Swan 42, Phil Lotz, New Canaan, CT, 2-1-[6]-3-2-3-4;15
3. Bandit, NYYC Swan 42, Andrew Fisher, Greenwich, CT, 4-[6]-2-1-4-1-5;17
IRC2 (IRC - 10 Boats)
1. Cracker , Ker 11.3, Hunt Lawerence, New York, NY, [2]-1-1-1-2-1-2;8
2. Jackknife, J/133, Andrew Hall, Southport, Lancs, UK, 4-4-4-[8]-1-2-1;16
3. Yellow Jacket, Farr 40, Bulman, Scholz, D'Amato , Bethesda, MD, 3-[7]-2-4-4-7-4;24
IRC3 (IRC - 10 Boats)
1. Sarah, X-41, Gregory Manning, Warwick, RI, [7]-2-4-1-1-1-2;11
2. Avalanche, Farr 395, Craig Albrecht, Sea Cliff, NY, 1-5-1-2/RDG-[5]-5-3;17
3. Indra, Beneteau First 44.7, Thomas Linkas, South Hamilton, MA, 5-3-[7]-5-2-4-1;20
IRC4 (IRC - 14 Boats)
1. Tumbleweed III, J/122, Jim Johnstone, Newport , RI, 1-1-1-1-2-[10]-3;9
2. Christopher Dragon, J/122, Andrew Weiss, Greenwich, CT, 2-[6]-2-2-1-4-1;12
3. Shamrock Sensation, Nelson/Marek 40, Ralph Dimattia, Quincy, MA, 7-2-3-3-5-[7]-2;22
IRC5 (IRC - 14 Boats)
1. Cabady, Taylor 42, Randall/Matt Baldwin, Ridgefield, CT, 3-4-2-[5/SCP]-1-1-2;13
2. Troubador, Express 37, Schumacher, Mort Weintraub, Larchmont, NY, 2-[12/SCP]-5-4-2-
3-1;17
3. Lora Ann, Schumacher, Richard du Moulin, Larchmont, NY, 7-3-1-3-4-2-[15/DNF];20
About US-IRC

The United States-IRC Foundation, Inc. (http://www.us-irc.org/) works to
support and develop use of the IRC rule in co-operation with US SAILING
(http://www.ussailing.org/) which is the authorized body that issues IRC
certificates under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Council (RORC)
(http://www.rorcrating.com/)

The US-IRC's mission is to promote and enhance inshore and offshore yacht
racing throughout the country by expansion of the use of the rule. An IRC
certificate is, in effect, an international passport for a yacht, enabling it to travel across national and international borders using the same certificate
wherever it goes. The supporting partners for the US-IRC rule are Rolex
Watch U.S.A., Inc., New York Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club and St. Francis
Yacht Club.

The annual US-IRC Gulf Stream Series, which starts in January and finishes
in November, offers a comprehensive racing opportunity for sailors entering
the IRC events in the Caribbean and on the East Coast.

The IRC has been granted 'international' status by ISAF. It has been in
existence since 1999 (adopted in the U.S. in 2004) and is now the basis for
more than 7500 certificates issued worldwide and 625 IRC yachts active in
the U.S. The rule is used worldwide at a variety of different levels, ranging
from local club races to major offshore events.'