J/Teams collect silverware at 55th Figawi Race to Nantucket

J/Teams collect silverware at 55th FIGAWI Race to Nantucket © J/Boats

An annual right of spring for sailors in New England, the fun-loving pursuit race called "the FIGAWI" has always been popular with J/Boats teams throughout the northeast.

It is serious fun, great camaraderie, and sometimes good sailing! It's springtime after all, so no one has unrealistic expectations of a sunny sleigh ride in warm temperatures wearing just shorts & shades!

This year, the fleet of 119 sailboats took off on the Saturday morning pursuit-style start, with the seventeen J/Boats teams in hot pursuit. This year's relatively fast 23.5nm reach (~155 deg heading) across Vineyard Sound to the finish line at the picturesque lighthouse at the opening of Nantucket Harbor produced finish times around 1400 hours. J/Teams fared well in most divisions.

PHRF 1 Division
Sailing in this seven-boat fleet were a trio of J/Teams. They finished in the following order: fourth- Robert Littleton's J/111 SHE'S NO LADY, fifth- Matt Sexton's J/130 CHAMELEON, and sixth- Jim Coggeshall's J/121 CEILIDH.

PHRF 2 Division
There were four J/Crews sailing in this ten-boat fleet. Top banana was Ryan Scudder's new J/36 PEREGRINE, taking the silver medal, followed by Bruce Turner's J/112E TASHIMA, taking the bronze medal to round out the podium.

PHRF 3 Division
Racing in this eleven-boat fleet were five J/Crews. Top dog in this fleet was Rich Waiser's J/35 JESSIE LEIGH, taking the bronze medal. They were followed by Matt & Lisa Schmitt's J/105 HARDTACK in fifth place.

PHRF 4 Division
In this eleven-boat fleet were three J/Teams. The winner was not surprising, since they've won so many times before! Taking fleet honors was none other than Ira Perry's J/29 SEEFEST, adding yet another gold medal to their two-dozen-plus-year haul of lots of other gold medals! Fourth place went to Andrew Meincke's J/97 ADRENALINE.

PHRF 5 Division
This eight-boat fleet features two J/Boats classics. Taking home the bronze medal was Garry Blank's J/30 MOJO, while Brooke Willke's J/24 HOOLIGAN ended up in fifth place.

PHRF 6 Non-Spin Division
In this eight-boat fleet were two J/teams. Enjoying a good outing in their first major offshore race was Drew Piominski & Bonnie Heipie's J/40 ARTEMISIA, garnering a silver medal for their efforts. Meanwhile, David Follett's J/120 GLORY finished in fifth place.

For FIGAWI Race scoring information: www.yachtscoring.com/emenu/50615
For more FIGAWI Race sailing information: www.figawi.com