Racing at The Block - Wrap-up Report

June 29, 2009

Acknowledging its wondrous scenic offerings, Native Americans called it "Manisses" - God's Little Island - and each Groundhog Day its 900 or so year-'round inhabitants have to sign in at the local pub if they want their heads to be counted in the local government's census. Yet for all its natural beauty and provincial quaintness, Block Island becomes quite worldly for five days every other June, when the Storm Trysail Club holds its Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. For its 23rd biennial running this year, from June 22-26, over 1500 sailors made their way to Block Island to compete on 153 boats. This, added to thousands of summer tourists who also find their way there, transforms "the Block" -- 10 square miles of Atlantic real estate that lie 13 miles from the southern coast of Rhode Island -- into a welcome beehive of activity.

Sailors donned their foulies for the first day of competition, anticipating 15-20 knots of breeze with gusts up to 40 and seas of 4-6 feet. The forecast had prompted the Race Committee to move the around-the-island race up from its traditional mid-week schedule.

Usually it's the sailors who get an eyeful of majestic scenery while racing around the island but on that day, spectators ashore "oohed and aahed" at the magnificent site of the fleet trying to hold it together in raging winds. The spectacle was best viewed from Southeast Lighthouse, perched on a 150-foot cliff at the island's southern-most tip. A mass of colorful spinnakers paralleled the shore -- some of them flailing wildly during broaches and a few becoming unwanted anchors when waves rose like jaws to snag them.

The Solent-like conditions (surely a nod from Neptune to Race Week's origins as a take-off on Cowes Week) led to several mishaps, including a man overboard (safely recovered) on one boat and some hull damage (fixed overnight) on another when it collided with one of its competitors.

Ramrod, the Farr 40 owned by Rodrick Jabin (Annapolis, Md.) and eventually named the Farr 40 One-Design class winner, caught a four-foot sand shark on its keel, which might have seemed the most unusual happening save for the fact that several other boats experienced the same thing. "We were going 12-16 knots downwind, then all of a sudden we were doing 11-13; we had to back down to shake him free," said Ramrod's mast man Matt Weimer (Annapolis, Md.).

When Austin Fragomen (Portsmouth, R.I.), skipper of the NYYC Swan 42 Interlodge, was asked about others in his class who may have had trouble keeping upright on the downwind leg, which stretched for more than a third of the 23-mile course, he laughed," I was too busy trying to not wipe out to notice anyone else!"

While some teams have been coming to Block Island Race Week for years, even decades, Fragomen and others, such as Roger Sturgeon (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), with his STP65 Rosebud/Team DYT in IRC Zero class, are here for their first time.

"High wind? This isn't high wind," joked Sturgeon, although he admitted he didn't want to blink or he'd miss the beauty Block Island had to offer those rounding it that day. "No, really, it was exciting. There are a lot of good boats, a lot of good sailors here. I finally had to come."

Rosebud/Team DYT finished the race in one hour and 43 minutes and was not only first-to-finish but also top-performing IRC boat overall, which won her the special prize of a Rolex Submariner watch. This is not Sturgeon's first Rolex, which is a coveted prize at some of the world's most prestigious sailing competitions. He also won a Rolex in 2007 for winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Foul weather (but with lighter winds) lingered throughout the week, but it neither dampened the competitors' spirits nor much hampered the sailing in four IRC classes (33 boats total) taking part in the 2009 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series; five PHRF classes (40 boats), including a Navigator's class for non-spinnaker; and eight One-Design classes (Beneteau 36.7, NYYC Swan 42, Farr 40, J/122, J/44, Farr 30,J/109, and J/105).

In the J/122 class, which was using the event as its North American championship, Doug Shaffer's (Bayview, Texas) victory aboard Gambler was decided on the last day, which accommodated a single race. "We had three points to make up on Flying Jenny VI (skippered by David Askew of Annapolis, Md.)," said Shaffer, "and we accomplished that at the first weather mark when all the boats converged at the same time. Everybody was ducking boats.we were in fifth place and jibed out to the left and picked up three boats (to finish second). That was the regatta right there. Flying Jenny had to take more boats at that mark (and finished eighth for second overall)." Shaffer, who has owned a number of different J boats over the years, says this is the first time he has won a regatta on a national level and gave credit to his crew, which included co-helmsman Eric Olving (Long Branch, N.J.) and tactician Jay Lutz (Seabrook, Texas).

In IRC 40B class, the Farr 395 Avalanche, skippered by Craig Albrecht (Sea Cliff, N.Y.), started his series with a DNS (did not start) due to a leaking rudder gasket but proceeded to win five of eight races and secure victory on the final day. "It was a dismal start, but we were focused on winning," said Albrecht. "When you have a core group that has been sailing together 15-20 years, it really starts to show when it gets tough out there."

Loki, the S2-9.1 skippered by Richard Correll (Huntington, N.Y.) in PHRF 4 class, also rose to the top on the last day to claim class victory.

For Rick Lyall (Wilton, Conn.), winning skipper of Storm in the J/109 class, sailing "clean and competitively" was the key to securing his Block Island victory and the 2009 J/109 East Coast Championship title. "The boat was prepared and performing tremendously," he said. "We were spot on with our navigation and tactics, and we're just thrilled with the victory."

An early leader that expanded its gains by sailing consistently was Ken Colburn's (Dover, Mass.) Apparition in NYYC Swan 42 class, which is preparing for its North Americans in July. After pointing out that the team never finished worst than fourth, Apparition's tactician Jack Slattery (Marblehead, Mass.) said, "It's hard to maintain that kind of consistency in a talented one-design fleet. It's only the second year for the class, so everybody is very much still learning the boat, and we are trying new things constantly." Slattery was pleased that the boat used nearly every sail in its inventory, since the winds ran from zero to 30 knots over the course of the event. "We had good days in all conditions: light, moderate, and heavy."

On the last day, all eyes were on the IRC 40A class to see if Cool Breeze, the Mills 43, skippered by John Cooper (Springfield, MO), could maintain its slim lead over the contentious King 40 Act One, owned by Bill Titus/Allan Stern/Charlie Milligan/Tom Roche (Newport, R.I.). It did, as the breeze shifted hard right and the fog rolled in. "It was a mystery to find the weather mark," said Cooper, "but the navigator (John Crutcher) made the right calls, and we were out in front fortunately." Cool Breeze won the race with Act One taking fourth to secure its second overall. Cooper has done Block Island a half dozen times but this is his first victory.

In the biggest class here, for 20 J/105 one-designs, Bruce Stone and Scott DeWeese (San Francisco, Calif.) drove Power Play to overall victory after nip-and-tuck battles all week with second-place Savasana, skippered by Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.). Stone said his biggest drama this week, however, was that his team sailed Saturday and Sunday in San Francisco and still made it here for Monday's start. "We traveled by plane, taxi and sportsfishing boat to get to our borrowed boat here with seconds to spare." Stone, originally from Providence, R.I., says he loves Block Island Race Week, where the race management is superb and the venue is beautiful. "Ours was a tough class," he added.

Paul Pakos' (Sudbury, Mass.) Swan 44 Xenophon, sailed entirely by retired Coast Guard Captains and Admirals, won Navigator's class for non-spinnaker sailing. Pakos said the class is nothing close to what the term "cruising canvas" (a traditional name for such a class) suggests. "Some of us have carbon spars and Kevlar sails, and it's still very competitive," he said, explaining that the class sails longer courses, between eight and 17 miles, while the others are short-course buoy racing. "Our crew gets together only once a year and it's to sail on Block Island."

In PHRF 1, XLR8, an Evelyn 32, skippered by Brad Porter (Westbrook, Conn.), won, while in IRC 35 class, Mort Weintraub's (Larchmont, N.Y.) Express 37 Troubador turned in an untouchable score line that included six first-place finishes over eight races. (Driving was Jamie Anderson of Larchmont, Conn.)

In the end, Rosebud/Team DYT prevailed in IRC Zero over Vanquish, owned by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and steered by Ralf Steitz (Kings Point, N.Y.)

Other winners were: Tom Peelen's (So. Dartmouth, Mass.) Quokka in Beneteau 36.7 class; John and Tony Esposito's (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) J/29 Hustler in PHRF 2 class; John Storck, Jr.'s (Huntington, N.Y.) J/80 Rumor, which was steered by his daughter Katie in PHRF 3 class; Jeffery Willis' (Huntington, N.Y.) Challenge IV in J/44 class; and Bruce Lockwood's (Groton Long Point, Conn.) Farr 30 One MoreTime in the Farr 30 class.

For best overall performance on their respective race circles, the skippers of Hustler, Troubador and Power Play each received a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece.

Avalanche's skipper, Craig Albrecht, won the drawing among class winners to participate in the Bitter End Yacht Club's Pro Am Regatta on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands this Fall.

Winner of the Storm Trysail Club's raffle of a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece to benefit the Block Island Rescue Squad and North Light Restoration was to Kris Werner (Rochester, N.Y.), who finished in third place in the IRC40B class aboard his Beneteau 40.7 Mullet.

Other Trophy Winners

Everett B. Morris Memorial Trophy for Best Overall Performance: Power Play

Isbrandtsen Overall Perpetual Trophy for the second best performance: Troubador

Justin Wasley Memorial Trophy for the overall winner of the one-design class with the largest number of entries: Power Play

U.S. IRC Trophy for the IRC boat that triumphs in the most competitive IRC class: Troubador

Island Sailing Club of Cowes Perpetual Trophy for the first overall IRC rated boat in the Around the Island Race (also won a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece): Rosebud/Team DYT

Vintage Yacht Trophy for the yacht 15 years or older with the best performance of the week: XLR8

John Alden Reed Perpetual Trophy for the best performance by a Service Academy Yacht: Swift (USNA)

Governors Perpetual Trophy for the foreign yacht with the best performance of the week: Nasty Medicine

Shelter Island Team Trophy: Storm Trysail Club White (Rumor, Lora Ann, Challenge VI)

Compliments of Rolex, T2p.tv coverage is online at www.t2p.tv. Sponsors of Race Week are Rolex, Caithness Energy, Mount Gay, Lewmar, Bitter End Yacht Club, Gill, Gowrie Group, Hall Spars & Rigging, Heineken, ING Real Estate, Sailing World magazine, Summit Yachts, UKHalsey Sailmakers, WindCheck magazine, Yellow Tail, and Vineyard Vines. Race administration and scoring is by Yachtscoring.com.

For full results and daily reports, visit www.blockislandraceweek.com.

About Rolex Watch U.S.A. Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including elite athlete preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women's events.

Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex is part of the Rolex Yachting Portfolio that includes over 20 world-class sailing events that take place around the world including the Rolex Miami OCR, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex US-IRC National Championship, Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship, Rolex Osprey Cup and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

About Storm Trysail Club Reflecting in its name the sail to which sailors must shorten when facing adverse conditions, the Storm Trysail Club is one of the world's most respected sailing clubs, with its membership comprised strictly of skilled blue water and ocean racing sailors. www.stormtrysail.org.



Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week XXIII presented by Rolex
June 22-26, 2009
Final Top-Three Results

Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points

Beneteau 36.7 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Quokka, Beneteau First 36.7, Tom Peelen, So. Dartmouth, MA, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, ; 12
2. Crossbow, Beneteau First 36.7, Roy Halvorsen, Tenafly, NY, USA - 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 3, 1, ; 13
3. Whirlwind, Beneteau First 36.7, William Purdy, New York, NY, USA - 4, 4, 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, ; 23

PHRF 1 (PHRF - 10 Boats)
1. XLR8, Evelyn 32, Brad Porter, Westbrook, CT, USA - 1, 5, 2, 3, 1, 2, 4, ; 18
2. Swift, Navy 44, Kenneth Endicott, Annapolis, MD, USA - 3, 3, 1, 2, 5, 5, 1, ; 20
3. Freightrain, Frers 36, Dick Hyde, Belmont, MA, USA - 5, 1, 4, 1, 4, 4, 3, ; 22

PHRF 2 - J-29 (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. Hustler, J 29, John & Tony Esposito, Mohegan Lake, NY, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 8
2. Showdown, J 29, Bijan Rasadi, Groton, CT, USA - 3, 4, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2, ; 20
3. Mighty Puffin, J 29, Steve Thurston, Bristol, RI, USA - 2, 3, 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, ; 21

PHRF 3 (PHRF - 9 Boats)
1. Rumor, J 80, John Storck, Jr, Huntington, NY, USA - 1, 2, 2, 5, 3, 2, 2, ; 17
2. Lunatic Fringe, LS-10/SOCA 33, Robert & Bill Lehnert, Cutchogue, NY, USA - 3, 3, 1, 1, 5, 6, 4, ; 23
3. Cymothoe, Sabre 36, David Alldian, Brick, NJ, USA - 2, 1, 3, 4, 10/DSQ, 4, 1, ; 25

PHRF 4 (PHRF - 8 Boats)
1. Loki III, S2-9.1, Richard Correll, Huntington, NY, USA - 2, 4, 7, 1, 1, 1, 4, ; 20
2. Alohomora, J 24, Kyle Fast, Noank, CT, USA - 1, 5, 2, 4, 4, 3, 1, ; 20
3. Boondoggle, Frers 30, Scott Kirkpatrick, Wellesley, MA, USA - 3, 1, 3, 2, 3, 2, 7, ; 21

Navigator Class (PHRF - 8 Boats)
1. Xenophon, Swan 44, Paul Pakos, Sudbury, MA, USA - 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, ; 9
2. Sweet Rocket, Frers 36, Joseph Ney, Portsmouth , RI, USA - 8, 1, 1, 2, 2, ; 14
3. Club Car, S2 7.9, Barry bessette, South Chatham, MA, USA - 2, 2, 2, 4, 4/TLE, ; 14

IRC ZERO (IRC - 2 Boats)
1. Rosebud/Team DYT, STP65, Roger Sturgeon, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 9
2. Vanquish, STP65, Ralf Steitz, Kings Point, NY, USA - 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 15

IRC 40A (IRC - 11 Boats)
1. Cool Breeze, Mills 43, John Cooper, Springfield, MO, USA - 2, 4, 2, 4, 3, 3, 4, 1, ; 23
2. Act One, King 40, B. Titus / A. Stern / C. Milligan / T. Roche, Newport, RI, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 8, 6.5, 4, ; 27.5
3. High Noon , Tripp 41, Steve & Heidi Benjamin , Norwalk , CT, USA - 7, 6, 7, 3, 1, 1, 2, 5, ; 32

IRC 40B (IRC - 10 Boats)
1. Avalanche, Farr 395, Craig Albrecht, Sea Cliff, NY, USA - 11/DNS, 3, 6, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 25
2. Katabatic, IMX 40, Gordon Hall, Marblehead, MA, USA - 3, 1, 3, 8, 2, 3, 2, 5, ; 27
3. Mullet, Beneteau First 40.7, Kris & Kiki Werner, Rochester, NY, USA - 1, 4, 2, 2, 7, 4, 3, 6, ; 29

IRC 35 (IRC - 12 Boats)
1. Troubador, Express 37, Mort Weintraub, Larchmont, NY, USA - 4, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, ; 13
2. Lora Ann, Express 37, Richard du Moulin, Larchmont, NY, USA - 2, 4, 6, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, ; 25
3. Bluto, Evelyn 32, Ben Hall / Bill Berges, Tiverton, RI, USA - 3, 2, 9, 5, 2, 5, 2, 1, ; 29

NYYC Swan 42 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Apparition, NYYC Swan 42, Ken Colburn, Dover, MA, USA - 4, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, ; 26
2. Tsunami, NYYC Swan 42, Preben Ostberg / Bud Dailey Jr. , Rockville, MD, USA - 1, 5, 6, 14, 5, 8, 1, 6, ; 46
3. Arethusa, NYYC Swan 42, Philip Lotz, New Canaan, CT, USA - 3, 3, 4, 6, 13, 10, 2, 5, ; 46

Farr 40 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Ramrod, Farr 40, Rodrick Jabin, Annapolis, MD, USA - 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, ; 15
2. Yellow Jacket, Farr 40, Larry Bulman / Jeff Scholz , Bethesda, MD, USA - 3, 1, 5, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, ; 22
3. Nimbus, Farr 40, Midn. Chris Branning / Midn. Mike Wagoner, Kings Point, NY, USA - 5, 4, 3, 4, 1, 1, 1, 5, ; 24

J-122 (One Design - 10 Boats)
1. Gambler, J 122, Doug Shaffer, Bayview, TX, USA - 3, 3, 6, 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, ; 21
2. Flying Jenny VI, J 122, David Askew, Annapolis, MD, USA - 2, 2, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 8, ; 24
3. Otra Vez, J 122, William Coates, Bellaire, TX, USA - 6, 1, 1, 5, 2, 4, 5, 7, ; 31

J-44 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Challenge IV (9), J 44, Jeffery Willis, Huntington, NY, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 5, ; 16
2. Gold Digger (11), J 44, James D. Bishop, New York, NY, USA - 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, ; 16
3. Resolute (14), J 44, Don and Rick Rave, Huntington Bay, NY, USA - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 6, 4, ; 26

Farr 30 (One Design - 5 Boats)
1. One More Time, Farr 30, Bruce Lockwood, Groton Long Point, CT, USA - 3, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, ; 15
2. Kaizen, Farr 30, Scott Baker / Moise Soloman, Chester, CT, USA - 5, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 19
3. Mummbles, Farr 30, Team Mummbles, Annapolis, MD, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 5, 5, 5, 3, ; 23

J-109 (One Design - 13 Boats)
1. Storm, J 109, Rick Lyall, Wilton, CT, USA - 2, 3, 1, 4, 1, 2.3/RDG, 3, 1, ; 17.3
2. Caminos, J 109, Donald Filippelli, Amagansett, NY, USA - 4, 2, 7, 2, 2, 1, 4, 5, ; 27
3. Gut Feeling, J 109, Ted Herlihy, South Dartmouth, MA, USA - 7, 1, 4, 1, 5, 5, 9, 6, ; 38

J-105 (One Design - 20 Boats)
1. Power Play, J 105, Bruce J. Stone / Scott DeWeese, San Francisco, CA, USA - 2, 2, 4, 4, 5, 2, 3, 3, ; 25
2. Savasana, J 105, Brian Keane, Weston, MA, USA - 1, 3, 1, 1, 6, 1, 13, 2, ; 28
3. Kincsem, J 10, Joerg Esdorn Duncan Hennes, Katonah, NY, USA - 3, 1, 2, 2, 3, 13, 4, 5, ; 33

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