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11/Feb/2009
Ida Lewis Distance Race Set for Friday, August 21
CONTACT: Barby MacGowan, Media Pro Int’l, 401-849-0220, barby.macgowan@mediapronewport.com Two Courses to Satisfy Distance Appetites  NEWPORT, RI (February 11, 2009) -- The 2009 edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race will feature a 177nm and a 150nm race course over some of the most storied and beautiful sailing grounds in the world. With a spectacular start off Newport, R.I., the race includes turning marks at Castle Hill, Brenton Reef, Block Island, Montauk Point, Martha's Vineyard and Buzzards Tower on its way to a signature champagne finish off the historic Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport Harbor.
The race's fifth edition is scheduled to begin Friday, August 21 at 1500, with classes for IRC, PHRF, One-Design (including Club Swan 42) and Double-Handed sailors. It is a qualifier for the 2009 New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF); the Northern and Double-Handed Ocean Racing Trophies (IRC); and the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.
"We have everything from family crews to grand prix teams that compete," said Chairman Dirk Johnson, noting that George David's (Hartford, Conn.) Rambler, a 90-footer that has won countless international races, is one of the high-profile boats expected to join the fleet this year. "And we are especially encouraging a cruising spinnaker class, since the short course provides a perfect opportunity for less competitive skippers and crews to experience an overnight race--some, perhaps, for their first time. It's a good distance, but not so long as to be overwhelming."
At last year's race, Hap Fauth's (Newport, R.I.) 69-footer Bella Mente won the IRC division of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, finishing the race in just over 24 hours. Bill Jurgensen's (Stamford, Conn.) 50-foot Falcon won PHRF division, while Jason Richter's (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) 35-foot Paladin won the Double-Handed crown.
The 2009 race will accommodate One-Design divisions for classes such as the Club Swan 42, which will be gearing up for a first-time world event--the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup-- in September.
Double-handed boats are also expecting a boost in entries. "The Bermuda 1-2 starts from Newport in June and the New England Solo/Twin follows in July," says Bjorn Johnson (Redbank, N.J.), chairman of the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race who finished second in the Ida Lewis Race's Double-Handed division last year, "so the Ida Lewis Distance Race is a nice follow-up to those events before everyone heads to Long Island Sound for the traditional Labor Day Weekend races there. Most sailors really like sailing in New England waters, and this is a really great race--good wind, a fun crowd."
Each boat is greeted at their finish by a crew of volunteers from Ida Lewis Yacht Club, powering alongside in one of the club's committee boats and bearing a congratulatory bottle of champagne. Since the finish line is sighted off the deck of the clubhouse, the boats that finish before midnight make an impressive show for families and friends of the sailors enjoying that night's Lobster Fest. It was from the yacht club's home on Lime Rock that the heroine Ida Lewis, the female keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse in the early 1800s, famously rowed her lifeboat to wherever a sailor was in need. Legend has it that, in daring rescues, she saved 18 lives, each represented by a single star on the Ida Lewis Yacht Club burgee.
For more information, contact Dirk Johnson, info@ildistancerace.org, or go to www.ildistancerace.org for the Notice of Race and online entry (deadline is August 7, 2009).
Interested in using IRC?
Owners and Organizing Authorities wishing to adopt IRC for their events should contact US-IRC Executive Director Luiz E. Kahl for help with the process luiz@us-irc.org.
The US SAILING Offshore office administers the IRC rule in the US. Yacht owners should contact Eric Baittinger at irc@ussailing.org for help with certificate application or with rating questions.
For all US-IRC latest news, events and seminars check out the US-IRC web site at www.us-irc.org and go racing with us.
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