2019 Block Island Race Week at Storm Trysail Club - Announcement

It's a Swan takeover in the IRC division so far with Ed Whitmore's Swan 45, Ticket to Ride, joining the fleet - Block Island Race Week © Storm Trysail Club

The 28th Edition of the famed Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week will take place from June 23rd to 28th, 2019.

The STC Committee expects 150 boats and the number of racing formats has been expanded to attract an even wider array of yachts; ranging from Grand Prix teams to family-friendly cruising boats. Besides the usual Windward/Leeward racing, there will be Pursuit-start and 'Solent-Style' racing formats, too.

IRC, ORC and PHRF are returning, as one might expect. In addition, an exciting, new, innovative format will be introduced "Plus+1". Plus+1 allows the crew to be one person larger than the first digit of hull-length. (30-39'= 4 crew, 4049'= 5 crew, etc.) Plus+1 fills a sweet spot between double-handing and fully crewed racing, lowering costs and the need for crew. The Plus+1 class will be sailing a windward/ leeward course in the morning and a "random-leg" race around government marks in the afternoon. They will also do the famous Around the Island Race on the day the whole fleet goes around.

A spring schedule of Plus+1 Races is coming together and the first event will be the American Yacht Club Spring Series (April 27, 28 and May 4, 5) where the group will sail courses around government marks. The second race is the Edlu Trophy (May 11), which is a short distance race that goes east 16 miles, rounds a mark and returns to the finish. The third event is the 186-mile Block Island Race (May 24) that goes from Stamford, Ct., around Block Island and the back to Stamford. The last scheduled Plus+1 regatta will be Block Island Race Week.

Seven reasons to Sail Plus+1:

1. Easier to find enough crew. Reduces the time emailing and calling.
2. Everyone on the boat has a lot of jobs to do. No bored rail meat.
3. It's safer. If someone gets hurt or goes overboard, two or more people can help.
4. Teams can sail in a broader range of events; windward/ leewards, race around government marks, and classic distance races.
5. Saves money. Fewer lunches and fewer post-race cocktails to buy. Rent a smaller house!
6. Makes your boat better for cruising. Setup to be handled by less people, better for couple cruising
7. Sail with your friends, not your friends' friend.

Over time, J/Sailors have been big supporters of their favorite summer race week on the East Coast. Starting in 1977, the J/24 sailed against the best the MORC Class had to offer and won by a significant margin. The rest, as they say, was history. Having started an "instant legacy", droves of J/24s, then J/30s, J/35s, J/29s, and J/44s up to the recent offshore sprit machines like the J/105, J/109, J/111, J/88, J/122, J/120, and the new J/121, will continue to expand on that legacy of J/Boats participation across the board.

So far, twenty-three J/Teams have signed up for PHRF, ORC, and one-design racing (J/88, J/105, J/109). Will the Everett B. Morris Memorial Trophy Winner (emblematic of the Overall Winner of BIRW)- the J/105 Good Trade (sailed by Bruce Stone, Nicole Breault, Marc Acheson, Bill Higgins, John Sahagian, and Casey Williams)- repeat their performance from 2017? You will need to go sailing to find out! Come one, come all, it's an amazing event run by crackerjack Race Committees and PRO's organized by the Storm Trysail BIRW Committee.

For more Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week sailing information, visit blockislandraceweek.com