Ida Lewis Distance Race - High Noon start for 36 boats

by Barby MacGowan on 20 Aug 2010 At high noon tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 20), the sixth annual Ida Lewis Distance Race will see 36 IRC, PHRF and Doublehanded boats on the line for what organizers expect to be a 150 nm course out to Block Island and back.

With winds forecasted at 6-12 knots, the Race Committee has banked on the smallest boat finishing before 1800 on Saturday night, just before a full-on Finish Line party—for competitors and club members—commences at the Ida Lewis Yacht Club to top off the event. The event has come a long way in six years, with subtle tweaks aimed at attracting a bigger field, and it seems to have worked.

'It's at a time of year where it seems a lot of things are going on, but it's actually a weekend where you are looking for something,' said John Fryer (New York, N.Y.), who will sail on Rick Oricchio's (Fairfield, Conn.) J/120 Rocket Science in the five-boat IRC class with such boats as George David's (Hartford, Conn.) 90-foot Reichel/Pugh Rambler and Ron O'Hanley's (Bosotn, Mass.) Cookson 50 Privateer. Fryer alluded to the fact that many of the boats are 'between regattas,' with this being good practice for the upcoming Vineyard Race. 'It's like a long buoy race, with the weather mark being 40 miles away.'

Rocket Science did the Bermuda Race, which Fryer called a 'drag race to the Gulf Stream and then a drag race to Bermuda.' This event he describes as crocheting back and forth across Block Island Sound for some intriguing navigational challenges. The race features a signature champagne finish inside Newport Harbor and was named one of Sailing World magazine's '14 great events' in its guide for 'The Ultimate Summer.' (It is also a qualifier for the 2010 New England Lighthouse Series; Northern and Double-Handed Ocean Racing Trophies; and the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.)

For the newly inaugurated Youth Challenge, six boats have turned out. One of those is Phip Hallowell's Quest 32 Jest. Hallowell's son Sam Hallowell, Dylan Scott and Casey Brown are no amateurs, as they are flying in today from a bid at the Sears Cup and will join 14-year-old Hugh McGillivray (three years their junior) to comprise the necessary 40-percent youth component on the team. 'These guys are all old hands,' said the elder Hallowell about his 'kids.' 'Sam and Dylan will drive and Anson Stookey (the other adult onboard) and I will do the bow.' Hallowell also said a dream of the young crew is to someday do the Volvo Ocean Race, 'but they haven't smartened up enough to know that's really hard work!'

As for the ever-growing doublehanded class, new entrants William Marsh (Chatham, Mass.) and crew Bill Riley (also Chatham) know they have their work cut out for them aboard the Swan 44 Ruse. 'It was a thought that we turned into a goal,' said Marsh about their first-ever attempt at double-handing, with Riley adding, 'We have a powerful rig, and the boat is very seaworthy over a distance, going well to weather, but perhaps on the downwind legs where we are setting and dousing, we might lose time by taking our time.'

For the first time ever, fans can follow real-time race tracking through Kattack LIVE.

KVH Industries (which made possible the follow- through on the tracking initiative and a new trophy for the Youth Challenge) is the lead Finish Line Sponsor while ATC Tech has joined veteran Starting Line sponsors North Sails and New England Boatworks. Contributing sponsors are Dockwise Yacht Transport, Gosling's Rum, Mac Designs, Narragansett Beer, Newport Shipyard, Newport Tent Company, Rig Pro Southern Spars, Sea Gear Uniforms, and Z Blok.

The 2010 Ida Lewis Distance Race includes divisions for IRC (five boats), PHRF (23 boats in two divisions) and Double-Handed boats (8 boats).

For more information, visit www.ildistancerace.org and its Facebook Page

2010 Ida Lewis Distance Race

Bow Sail Number Yacht Name Owner/Skipper Yacht Club Home Port Yacht Type Length Rating

Racing Area: Ida Lewis Distance Race
Division: IRC

Class 1 - IRC
1. USA 4224 Barleycorn Brendan Brownyard NYYC/Shelter I. YC Bay Shore, NY, USA NYYC Swan 42 42.5 1.178
2. USA 39537 Fearless Shaun Ensor East haven, CT, USA Farr 395 39.4 1.110
3. USA 50009 Privateer Ron O'Hanley New York Yacht Club Boston, MA, USA Cookson 50 50 1.374
4. USA 25555 Rambler George David New York Yacht Club Hartford, CT, USA RP 90 W B 90 1.677
5. USA 51512 Rocket Science Rick Oricchio Black Rock Fairfield, CT, USA J 120 40 1.087

Division: PHRF
Class 2 - PHRF Division 1
1. USA 41241 And She Was Kurt Strecker ECSA Essex, CT, USA Nelson Marek 45 45 33
2. USA 52318 Brutus Alan Eland Wickford Yacht Club North Kingstown, RI, USA J 120 40 51
3. USA 60337 Cutlass Robert MacMillan Newport, RI, USA Class 40 40 -9
4. USA 25559 Eagle Steven Levy IHYC/NYYC Greenwich, CT, USA J 120 40'
5. USA 45454 PUFFY Patrick Demarchelier New York, NY, USA Swan 45 45 -18
6. USA 52756 Sarah (Youth) Greg Manning EGYC Warwick, RI, USA X-41 40 ft 24
7. USA 55655 Shindig Arthur Burke New York Yacht Club Dartmouth, MA, USA Andrews 70 69.5 -78
8. USA 45016 Temptress Robert Kits van Heyningen Ida Lewis Yacht Club Portsmouth, RI, USA IMX-45 45 9
9. USA 38699 The Cone Of Silence Doug & Berret Mitchell Constitution Yacht Club Arlington, MA, USA Reichel-Pugh 30 24
10. USA 52936 Toothface Mike Dreese Constitution YC West Newton, MA, USA Akilaria Class 40 40 -9
11. USA 52770 Tumbleweed (Youth) George Shaw Boston Yacht Club - Marblehead Denver, CO, USA J 122 40' 36

Class 2 - PHRF Division 2
1. USA 60351 Act One (Youth) Bill Titus Ida Lewis Newort, RI, USA Summit 35 35 60
2. USA 51475 Areion George Nelson New Bedford Yact Club South Dartmouth, MA, USA Quest 33 33
3. USA 50895 Coco Ian Scott Ida Lewis Newport, RI, USA Swan 36 36 115
4. USA 40244 Dead Reckoning Ray Way Apponaug Harbor Yacht Club Warwick, RI, USA Dehler DB2 34.5 109
5. USA 42404 Different Drummer Frank Atkinson Coconut Grove Sailing Club Coconut Grove, FL, USA Cape Bay Fast 40 39.6 73
6. USA 50686 Jest (Youth) Phip Hallowell NYYC Middletown, RI, USA Quest 32 32 93
7. USA 52128 Lark Edmund Flynn Jamestown Marlborough, MA, USA Beneteau First 40.7 40 54
8. USA 1976 Mischief David Schwartz Bristol Yacht Club Smithfield, RI, USA Lyman Morse 40 85
9. USA 93082 Riptide (Youth) Gordon Fletcher Wickford North Kingstown, RI, USA Beneteau 39' 3 58
10. USA 31200 Settler (Youth) Tom Rich Ida Lewis Middletown, RI, USA Peterson 42 42 61
11. USA 266 Vento Solare Paul Milo Annapolis Yacht Club Leesburg, VA, USA J/109 35 72
12. USA 52114 Vesper Chris Terajewicz Concord, MA, USA Sabre 402 40' 90

Class 3 - PHRF - Double-Handed
1. USA 77 Dark 'n Stormy Michael Lachance Mystic River Mudheads Wolcott, CT, USA J 105 34.5 81
2. USA 54 Dragon Michael Hennessy Stonington Harbor YC New York, NY, USA Class 40 40 -9
3. USA 206 Isabella Brian Fisher NYYC Middletown, RI, USA J 42 42
4. USA 60426 Oronoco Adrian Ravenscroft Beverly Yacht Club Cohasset, MA, USA Sabre 426 42'6 93
5. USA 32575 Paladin Jason Richter Setauket Mt Sinai, NY, USA J 35 35.5 78
6. USA 52044 Ruse William Marsh Stage Harbor Yacht Club Chatham, MA, USA Swan 44 Mark II 44 84
7. USA 301 Samba Tristan Mouligne New York YC Boston, MA, USA Quest 30 30 89
8. USA 3302 Wildeyes Teri & Pete Binkley Branford Yacht Club Branford, CT, USA Quest 33 32.5' 96