US-IRC News

Vesper wins first-to-finish the 2011 Wirth M. Munroe Memorial Yacht Race

05-Dec-2011

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, December 2, 2011 – Jim Swartz’s IRC-class Vesper won first-tofinish honors in The Sailfish Club of Florida/Cruising Club of America’s 2011 Wirth M. Munroe Memorial Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach Yacht Race, held 2 December 2011, with an elapsed time of 3h 42m 11s over the 50nm course. Carinthia, skippered by owner Frank Kern, won first on corrected time in the PHRF classes. Race conditions were challenging, with 20+ knot ENE winds gusting to 30 knots and sea conditions considered “sporty” as the northbound Gulf Stream built waves to 8’. Several
competitors abandoned racing and arrived at the Lake Worth Inlet under power, although no one reported injuries or damage.

IRC entrants included two IRC 52’s: Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Interlodge and Peter Cunningham’s PowerPlay; two TP 52’s: Hap Fauth’s TeamOrigin 1851/Team Bella Mente and Swartz’s Vesper; Michael D’Amelio’s Ker 55 Denali; as well as Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 52 Privateer, Russell Dunn’s Beneteau 36 Rim Shot, and James Bishop’s J44 White Gold.

Award winners amongst the 26 entrants were:
First to Finish - Vesper (Jim Swartz)
First CCA yacht to finish - White Gold (James D. Bishop)
First Sailfish Club yacht to finish - White Gold (James D. Bishop)
First Sailfish Club yacht, corrected time - Ringle (John Brim/ John Hokanson)

Wirth M. Munroe - IRC Course (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Vesper, TP 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA -- 1 / 1
2. PowerPlay, IRC 52, Peter Cunningham , George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY -- 2 / 2
3. Privateer, Cookson 50, Ron O'Hanley , Newport, RI, USA -- 3 / 3
4. Interlodge, IRC 52, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , Newport, RI, USA -- 4 / 4
5. Denali, KER 55, Michael D'Amelio , Longshot, MS, USA -- 5 / 5
6. White Gold, J 44, James D. Bishop , Jamestown, RI, USA -- 6 / 6
7. Rim Shot, Beneteau First 36.7, Russell Dunn , Hollywood, FL, USA -- 7 / 7
8. TeamOrigin 1851 / Team Bella Mente, TP 52, Hap Fauth , Minneapolis, MN, USA -- DNS

PHRF- Multihull (PHRF - 2 Boats)
1. 56 THIRD TRI, Corsair Sprint 750, Lawrence Geller , Lighthouse Point, FL, USA -- 1 / 1
2. USA 64 Flight Simulator, Corsair 28R, Tom Reese , Youngstown, NY, USA -- DNS

PHRF A (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. USA 25497 Carinthia, J 120, Frank Kern , Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA -- 1 / 1
2. USA 42725 Bandana, Oyster 48, David Wallace , Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA -- 2 / 2
3. USA 50803 Loki, J 105, David Bond , Miami, FL, USA -- 3 / 4

PHRF B (PHRF - 9 Boats)
1. USA 40344 Santarella, Doug Peterson, James P. Scalise , Indian Harbor Beach, FL, USA -- 1 / 3
2. USA 53944 Ragtime, Tartan 3500, Robert Gebbia , North Palm Beach, FL, USA -- 2 / 6
3. H 42 Sempre Amantes, Hunter Passage 42, Colin Whittaker , Margate, FL, USA -- 3 / 7

About the Wirth M. Munroe Memorial Yacht Race
The Wirth M. Munroe Memorial Yacht Race has been held each of the last 55 years on the first Friday in December, co-sponsored by The Sailfish Club of Florida and the Cruising Club of America. First raced in 1957, the invitational competition was organized by Richard Bertram to remember Miami-based yacht designer Wirth M. Munroe, whose renowned craft included Comanche, the Columbia 33, and the 30’ Sea Sailer class. Originally contested from Miami north to Palm Beach as a warmup to the SORC, the course has now been shortened to start from Fort Lauderdale. Over the years winners of the race have included Ted Turner, Llywd Ecclestone Jr., Bevin Koeppel, Joe Dockery, and Al Van Metre.

2011 IRC Mid-Atlantics - Annapolis, MD

01-Nov-2011

In a brisk breeze the first race of the 2011 IRC Mid-Atlantics, a distance race, started at 1000 hrs, Friday October 21. Even though the regatta had light attendance with 17 registrants, the participants had a fabulous day on the Chesapeake under sunny skies and wind - 10-15 from the west that continued to build to near 20 knots. All classes had clean starts. The four big boats in IRC class 1 had an exciting start. IRC 2 was the largest class with eight and IRC 3 with four, had 2 of the new Dave Pedrick, TPI Navy 44s skippered by Midshipmen Colin Nevins and Jim Chesson. IRC 1 was given a longer course (44.5 nm) than the other two classes (30 nm) and all finished between 1400 and 1500 except Ptarmigan finishing first at 1340. An unexpected result in IRC 1 was that David & Sandra Askew’s Flying Jenny 7, a TP 52 edged out Dan Meyers’ JV 66 Numbers by about 4-minutes on corrected time for the 1.5 weighted lead.

Saturday and Sunday was windward-leeward short course racing. Saturday dawned chilly and overcast with almost no breeze. By the scheduled start, there was enough to sail a race that briefly filled in to about 10 knots. The second race started and sustained a 40° shift, went light and was abandoned, as was racing for the day. Regatta Chair Dick Neville and his wife Barbara hosted an impromptu and greatly appreciated social at their Innovative Properties office parking lot within the confines of the Maritime Republic of Eastport.

Sunday had a cold start but the wind filled as did the temperature to get off three races that kept the race committee on its toes changing the course to the weather mark in each race. There were lots of hard calls with the shifting wind and changing current. The second race also had a 40° shift and shift back going really light between shifts. PRO Wayne Bretsch attempting to make the best of the conditions gave the mark boats only a few minutes warning to set their marks. The effort went smoothly as the STC Race Committee is a well-oiled machine and was greatly appreciated by the competitors.

The post-race awards party was held at Annapolis Yacht Club. Chairman Neville presented truly beautiful trophies quite worthy of a championship regatta during an early taco buffet dinner.

IRC 1

1. USA 60292 Flying Jenny 7 TP 52 David & Sandra Askew   1.5, 3, 3, 1, 2   10.5
2. USA 38008 Anema & Core JV 52 Ennio Staffini          6, 2, 1, 2, 1     12.0
3. USA 119 Numbers JV 66 Daniel Meyers                  3, 1, 4, 3, 3     14.0
4. USA 50009 Privateer Cookson 50 Ron O'Hanley          4.5, 4, 2, 4, 4   18.5

IRC 2

1. USA 52919 Catapult J 122 Marc Glimcher                3, 3, 2, 1, 1    10.0
2. ,USA 79 ,Ptarmigan ,Ker 43 Lawrence Dickie               1.5, 1, 3, 4, 2 11.5
3. USA 12204 Christopher Dragon J 122 Andrew Weiss       4.5, 4, 1, 7, 4 20.5
4. USA 60432 Cool Breeze Mills 43 Custom John Cooper     7.5, 2, 5, 5, 3 22.5

IRC 3

1. USA 51 Rush J 109 Bill Sweetser                       1.5, 1, 1, 1, 1 5.5
2. USA 266 Vento Solare J 109 Paul Milo                  3, 2, 2, 2, 2    11.0
3. NA 23 Defiance NA-44 Colin Nevins                     4.5, 3, 4, 3, 3 17.5
4. NA 22 Integrity NA-44 James Chesson                   6, 4, 3, 4, 4    21.0

Quantum Key West Race Week 2012 - 25th Anniversary!!

31-Oct-2011

Key West, Fla. - North America's premiere annual big-boat regatta, Key West Race Week, has much to celebrate. A new Title Sponsor, early one design class and sponsor commitments, and exciting grand prix news are just some of the reasons that the 25th anniversary will be a memorable gathering.

Key West Race Week welcomes Quantum Sail Design Group as the Title Sponsor for 2012. Its support will enable Premiere Racing to produce another quality event in January, while working toward the goal of long-term viability for this renowned, international regatta.

Race dates for the week-long sailing event are January 16 – 20, 2012.

"We recognize that Key West Race Week is the flagship regatta in this country and has been for well over two decades," said Quantum President Ed Reynolds. "This has been reinforced by many people we’ve spoken with both here and abroad. Even with the smaller fleet sizes of recent years, this midwinter, big-boat regatta is very important to North American and international sailboat racing. We would like to see it continue and are committed to supporting the regatta during this transition period."

"We are very thankful to Quantum for stepping up to fill the important role of title sponsor. It's gratifying to know its fundamental reason for doing so is the continuation of Key West Race Week," said Premiere Racing’s Event Director Peter Craig. "As we work to develop a sustainable business model for the event, Quantum has solved a critical short-term need by serving as a bridge to the future."

IRC Racing

IRC Racing last January and again next year will be presented in the form of a Mini Maxi, TP52 (modified) class and a group of smaller boats in the 36' - 43' range. There are a number of new 52 owners in the U.S. this year, with many already expressing their intent to compete in Key West. The result will be a bigger 52 class next January. Jim Schwartz hopes to join the fray with his Botin Carkeek designed Vesper (former Audi Med Cup winner Quantum).

TP52 Class (modified)

Design debuts are a Key West hallmark. 2012 will undoubtedly feature more eye openers - big and small. Irvine Laidlaw has his new R/P 52 building at McConaghy in Zhuhai, China. First stop for Highland Fling XII will be Key West, Florida. "What better place to debut than Key West?" remarked Laidlaw a long time Key West competitor. "There is a resurgence of activity with both new construction and converted TP52s in the U.S. and there are likely to be 8-10 on the starting line next January."

Mini Maxi Class

Dan Meyers' J/V 66 Numbers prevailed in the big boat Mini Maxi class last January. "The racing was incredibly close with only two points separating the four boats in a 10-race series," Meyers commented. "Current World Champion RAN has already committed to Key West Race Week 2012 so the competitive bar has been raised another notch. Top flight competition, reliable breeze and professional race management – we can't wait." At this early date, Numbers, RAN and Shockwave have already committed to the 2012 event.

				IRC Classes Only - Preliminary Scratch Sheet - as of 31/Oct/2012
			Sail Number	Yacht Name	Owner/Skipper	Yacht Club	Home Port	Yacht Type
Racing Area: Key West Race Week
	Division: IRC
		Mini Maxi (IRC 1)
		1	USA 119	Numbers	Daniel Meyers	Yacht Club de Monaco	Boston, MA, USA	JV 66
		2	GBR 7236R	Rán	Niklas Zennstrom	Royal Southern YC	Southampton, Hampshire, UK	JV 72
		3	USA 60272	Shockwave	George Sakellaris	NYYC	Framingham, MA, USA	Reichel/Pugh

		IRC 52 (IRC 2)
		1	USA 38008	Anema & Core	Ennio Staffini	NASS	Annapolis, MD, USA	JV 52
		2	888	Highland Fling XII	Irvine Laidlaw	YCCS	Monaco, Monaco	IRC 52
		3	USA 5210	Interlodge	Austin and Gwen Fragomen	New York YC	Newport, RI, USA	IRC 52
		4	CAY 52	PowerPlay	Peter Cunningham	Cayman Islands Sailing Club	George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY	IRC 52
		5	GBR 1851N	TeamOrigin 1851/ Team Bella Mente	Hap Fauth	New York Yacht Club	Minneapolis, MN, USA	TP 52
		6	USA 52007	Vesper	Jim Swartz	Edgartown	Park City, UT, USA	TP 52

		IRC 3
		1	GBR 46N	Antilope	Willem Wester		Breskens, Zeeland, NED	Grand Soleil 46
		2	USA 60432	Cool Breeze	John Cooper	Lake Stockton Yacht Club	Cane Hill, MO, USA	Mills 43 Custom
		3	USA 52439	Kalevala II	Tapio Saavalainen	Annapolis Yacht Club	Washington, DC, USA	Grand Soleil 37 B&C

2011 Rolex Big Boat Series - The Final Play

11-Sep-2011

(September 11, 2011) - After enduring yesterday’s high wind survival conditions, the hundreds of sailors on 81 teams at the 47^th annual Rolex Big Boat Series would no doubt agree that handling today’s 14-17 knots on San Francisco Bay was a piece of cake. And rich was the cake’s icing: sunshine unobstructed by fog, with temperatures that had warmed by double digits to 68 degrees. A single “Bay Tour” distance race showed seven classes (IRC A, B, C, D J/105, J/120, Express 37) the four corners of San Francisco Bay, visually anchored by the Golden Gate Bridge to the west, Alacatraz Island in the middle, and Treasure Island and Bay Bridge to the East, while an eighth class (Farr 30) topped off its world championship with four feisty races on the “North Course” that was their racing home for the regatta’s entire four days.

Spectators, too, were treated to the true beauty, emotion and power of sail when, before racing, all boats paraded in honor of 9/11 victims, and for the finish, a colorful lineup of spinnakers roared past the stretch of land closest to Crissy Field, triggering cannon fire from the uppermost decks of nearby St. Francis Yacht Club where later six perpetual trophies as well as Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel Submariners would be awarded to winners in six of the classes.

Atlantic Perpetual Trophy – Farr 30: With a world championship at stake, 12 Farr 30s had been sailing their own regatta within the regatta with unmatched intensity. Until today, Scott Easom’s (San Rafael, Calif.) Eight Ball had held at bay two fierce competitors—Jim Richardson’s (Boston, Mass.) Barking Mad and Deneen Demourkas’s (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Groovederci--throughout seven extremely windy races where wild wipeouts and sail blowouts were becoming commonplace. Yesterday, with only one race completed due to uber extreme (read gear-busting) conditions, Easom knew his foes would recharge, re-circle and move in for an attack today when the wind settled a bit.

Sure enough, Richardson moved into first after winning today’s first race and maintained his lead until the third race when, on the last leg, he fouled Rhonda Tolar’s (Corona Del Mar) Wild Thing after jibing too close and touching its spinnaker with his.

“It was an unforced error; we shouldn’t have been there,” said Richardson matter of-factly. “

The ensuing penalty turn cost him dearly. He finished 11^th and fell to third, opening the door for Demourkas to take the overall lead and then secure it in the last race. Demourkas won after posting finish positions of 5-2-2-4 today, while Easom finished third overall, behind Richardson, on merit of his 8-4-4-7 today.

“Coming into today, I knew winning was a possibility, but we would need all four races,” said Demourkas. “In the first race, we were leading and hit the weather mark, so that wasn’t so good, but we did our penalty turn and managed to hold it all together. This is my ninth world championship in this boat; I’ve been a bride’s maid a few times, so I’ve paid my dues.” Demourkas, who is also the president of the Farr 30 class, explained that while a 30 footer might be considered small for the Rolex Big Boat Series, the St. Francis Yacht Club was “kind enough” to integrate them. “It shows their commitment to yachting to have us here and gave us a chance to show what the boat can do.” Demourkas said the boats are capable of performing in high winds but many of the owners here have not had precious time in the boat like she has had. “It was a little more nerve wracking,” she said of the high winds and her own constant jockeying for position, “but damn good racing!”

St. Francis Perpetual Trophy – IRC A: Jim Swartz’s (Park City, Utah) IRC 52 Vesper breezed to a seemingly easy overall victory here if you went by the fact it won five out of its seven races, including today’s. But Swartz credited it mostly to a well-oiled team that simply knew how to tame the boat no matter how high the winds. His tactician Gavin Brady (Annapolis, Md.), an America’s Cup veteran, made the comment that San Francisco is the best venue in the world for sailing. “It’s like there are ginormous [sic] fans at the Golden Gate Bridge; it’s a man-made arena where the wind comes in at 11 am and you can start on time every day,” said Brady. “For the next America’s Cup here you can just put the AP flag in a glass case and it will never be flown.”

With Vesper having pretty much blocked for overall victory, the battle was for second today, and Peter Cunningham’s (George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY) PowerPlay prevailed over Ashley Wolfe’s (Calgary, AB, CAN) Mayhem in the end. Both boats were IRC 52s and were among five competing in this class along with two other larger boats and one smaller.

“This has been more fun than other races,” said Cunningham. “It was so close for us with Mayhem and the others, and these 52s make the Bay look small.” The class sailed 30 miles today and Cunningham said there were some “interesting choices” on where to go. “We were first to Blossom Rock when the wind totally died with a 2-3 knot current and the whole fleet condensed,” said Cunningham. “We were ahead of Vesper and Mayhem, and I had déjà vu all over again: if you get caught in that current...it was classic San Francisco, everything can change so easily.” PowerPlay finished second today and posted 15 points to Vesper’s 10 in overall scoring. (Mayhem posted 18.)

City of San Francisco Trophy – IRC B: Brad Copper (Pt. Richmond, Calif.), skipper of the Tripp 43 TNT , said he was “totally jazzed” to win his second Rolex watch here after his second-place finish today sewed up the series for him. “We stuck to the same game plan: focus on the basics, do a good job,” he said, noting that his first Rolex Big Boat Series win was in 2008 and he has sailed in four of the events total. Before today’s race he had a three-point lead over Sy Kleinman’s (Saratoga, Calif.) 54’ sloop Swiftsure II, and at day’s end it had narrowed to two points. Kleinman, who turned 90 this summer, has sailed in 30 Rolex Big Boat Series to date, and although he no longer steers, he still contributes to the afterguard on the boat he has sailed here for 16 years. “They make me walk the plank,” he said before racing today, using his cane to steady himself as he walked a short, wide board made especially for his traversing the distance between the dock and the boat. “Thank God for big wind,” he said when asked about his feelings over the past few days. “This one’s blowing in our favor; this boat needs a lot of wind.”

Richard Rheem Perpetual Trophy – IRC C: Andy Costello’s (Pt. Richmond, Calif.) J/125 Double Trouble was the only boat in the series to turn in a perfect score, which meant it won all seven races in the eight-boat sport boat class for “fast forties.” It also was among four J/125s competing in that class, and indeed it was these models, which more typically sail in their own one-design class, that filled the top four spots on the scoreboard. Dee Smith’s new Farr 400 Team Premier was decidedly fast, but with a new crew and little time to prepare, it fell shore of keeping pace with the veteran teams aboard the J/125s and finished fifth overall.

Keefe-Kilborn Perpetual Trophy – IRC D: Last year, Donald Payan (Hillsborough, Calif.), won the J/120 class skippering Dayenu, but this year he took the same boat and entered IRC, wondering how it would go. The performance of both his boat and team proved the gamble paid off, though Payan called the days before today punishing due to the physical demands made by the conditions. In the end, he deduced that his decision had been very gratifying. “One-design sailing is more of a chess board situation,” said Payan, “whereas IRC is more like a rally—you are competing against yourself.”

Commodore’s Cup – J/105: Even after a collision rendered it unable to race yesterday’s two races, Scooter Simmons’ (Belvedere, Calif.) Blackhawk looked solid going into today with a full 12 points (helped by granted redress of second-place for yesterday’s two missed opportunities) over Jason Woodley/Scott Whitney’s (Tiburon, Calif.) Risk, which stood in second. The lead wasn’t too comforting, however, when Blackhawk jumped the start gun and had to restart. “We had to make up 12 boats, and then we chose to go to shore for relief from the current and that was the wrong decision,” said Simmons. “The wind clocked right, and by the time we got to the city front, we were so deep it was the most discouraging thing in the world. Then we knew we had to rope in 10 boats. My crew is just so good that we were able to do it, but it’s not the way you want to win a regatta.” After a tenth today in the 21-boat fleet, the largest here, Blackhawk’s lead over Risk was seven points. Simmons said that since his first Rolex Big Boat Series (he has sailed six of them in three different boats), his goal has been to win a Rolex watch. “It is the epitomy, the trophy we all want.”

Express 37: Defending champion Kame Richards, skipper of Golden Moon (Alameda, Calif.), said his crew had the skill set to deal with high winds, and it tested especially true yesterday when Richards took a commanding lead in overall point scoring yesterday. “We didn’t have to do anything spectacular to win overall today,” said Richards, who finished second in today’s race to Michael Shlens’ (Palos Verdes Est., Calif.) Blade Runner. “We could have finished ninth (out of nine boats) and still won on a tie-breaker.” Richards added that Blade Runner was only one boat length ahead of him at the finish today, after all those miles, and that was typical of the “two-boat problem” he had all regatta. “They are just so good, and so fun, and it made this the most enjoyable Rolex Big Boat Regatta ever for me.”

J/120: Mathematically, Barry Lewis’s (Atherton, Calif.) Chance only had to finish today clean (i.e. with no letters such as DSQ or DNF in their score) to win, but they finished fourth for good measure. Crew member Matt Dingo (Portland, Maine) explained how his team decided not to play “the cone” at Alcatraz, which was the right decision over reaching across to the city front early, but it put them on the outside of some shifts. “It was a little flukier on the side we chose, so we had to step on the gas,” he said, “but that’s what makes the Bay Tour legendary: it’s about what’s going on all over; you’re not retracing any of your steps during 24 miles; it’s only at the Rolex Big Boat Series, and it can be a make it or break it race for a lot of teams.”

Regarded by sailors as one of the world’s premier sailboat racing events, the Rolex Big Boat Series 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; New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport and Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race, both presented by Rolex; and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

For race reports and full results, go to www.rolexbigboatseries.com, where daily highlight shows by T2p.tv are also posted for viewing. Also, join in facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Francis-Yacht-Club-Racing/106175099461351

FINAL RESULTS
Rolex Big Boat Series
Sept. 8-11, 2011

IRC A (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Vesper, TP 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA - 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 10
2. PowerPlay, TP 52, Peter Cunningham , George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY - 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 2, 2, ; 15
3. Mayhem, TP 52, Ashley Wolfe , Calgary, AB, CAN - 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 3, 3, ; 18

IRC B (IRC - 9 Boats)
1. TNT, Custom Tripp 43, Brad Copper , Pt. Richmond, CA, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, ; 11
2. Swiftsure ll, Sloop 54, Sy Kleinman , Saratoga, CA, USA - 2, 1, 5, 2, 1, 1, 1/RDG, ; 13
3. BustinLoose, Sydney 38, Jeff Pulford , Salinas, Ca, USA - 3, 4, 2, 4, 3, 3, 4, ; 23

IRC C (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Double Trouble, J 125, Andy Costello , Pt Richmond, CA, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 7
2. Resolute, J 125, Tim Fuller , Murrieta, CA, USA - 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 17
3. August Ice, J 125, Richard Ferris , Tahoe City, CA, USA - 2, 4, 5, 4, 5, 3, 3, ; 26

IRC D (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Dayenu, J 120, Donald Payan , Hillsborough, CA, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, ; 9
2. Tupelo Honey, Elan 40, Gerard Sheridan , San Francisco, CA, USA - 3, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 9/SCP, ; 25
3. Mirthmaker, Archambault A35, Douglas Holm / Kirk Denebeim , Corte Madera, CA, USA - 2, 2, 1, 2, 9/DSQ, 4, 6, ; 26

J 105 (One Design - 21 Boats)
1. Blackhawk, J 105, Scooter Simmons , Belvedere, CA, USA - 4, 1, 2, 1, 2/RDG, 2/RDG, 10, ; 22
2. Risk, J 105, Jason Woodley / Scott Whitney , Tiburon, CA, USA - 7, 3, 8, 2, 3, 1, 5, ; 29
3. Donkey Jack, J 105, Edward Conrads / Kaiser / Ryan , San Francisco, CA, USA - 1, 4, 6, 10, 4, 8, 1, ; 34

J 120 (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. Chance, J 12, Barry Lewis , Atherton, CA, USA - 3, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4, ; 14
2. Mr. Magoo, J 120, Stephen Madeira , Menlo Park, CA, USA - 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, ; 17
3. Peregrine, J 120, David Halliwill , New York, NY, USA - 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, ; 19

Express 37 (One Design - 9 Boats)
1. Golden Moon, Express 37, Kame Richards , Alameda, CA, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, ; 10
2. Blade Runner, Express 37, Michael Shlens , Palos Verdes Est., CA, USA - 4, 3, 4, 2, 2, 1, 1, ; 17
3. Expeditious, Express 37, Bartz Schneider , Crystal Bay, NV, USA - 2, 1, 3, 3, 10/DNF, 10/DNF, 4, ; 33

Farr 30 (One Design - 12 Boats)
1. Groovederci, Farr 30, Deneen Demourkas , Santa Barbara, CA, USA - 7, 8, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 5, 2, 1, 4, ; 34
2. Barking Mad, Farr 30, James Richardson , Boston, MA, USA - 3, 1, 5, 3, 4, 2, 3, 1, 3, 10, 3, ; 38
3. Eight Ball, Farr 30, Scott Easom , San Rafael, CA, USA - 2, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 2, 8, 4, 3, 7, ; 41

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2011 Rolex Big Boat Series - Wind Puts the

10-Sep-2011

(September 10, 2011) - Sailors at the Rolex Big Boat Series sensed it was going to be a difficult day when they showed up at the St. Francis Yacht Club this morning and it was already blowing a hooley. For the last two days it had taken at least until an early fog lifted for the wind to reach its peaks in the 20s, but this morning it blew 20-25 right out of the box, with gusts nearing 28 even before the first race start at 11 a.m. The result of it never letting up was a good amount of carnage on the race course and some losers as well as winners in the battle between man and Mother Nature.

The first boat back to the dock with damage was Scooter Simmons’ (Belvedere, Calif.) Blackhawk, which was leading the 21-boat J/105 fleet going into today; the boat was t-boned after a classic port/starboard crossing went awry. “Whisper (skippered by Marc Vayn of San Francisco) was on port and looked to be ducking us, but I guess his mainsheet got stuck or something and he couldn’t avoid hitting us,” said Simmons, nodding to the port-side gash in his hull topped by a tumble of stanchions. “Our goal is to seek redress for both of today’s races and get this fixed before tomorrow.” Redress was later granted, and Blackhawk added a 2-2 to its score, having turned in finish positions of 4-1-2-1 over the last two days. The team still sits atop the scoreboard with Jason Woodley/Scott Whitney’s (Tiburon, Calif.) Risk in second, a full 12 points behind.

Bartz Schneider’s (Crystal Bay, Nev.) team aboard Expeditious, which was four points out of first in the Express 37 class going into today, suffered a horrific spinnaker broach in race one and had to call it quits. “Golden Moon and Blade Runner both crashed in front of us,” said crew member Rhim Fleischman (Corte Madera, Calif.), “so we passed them and were in first and thought ‘if we could just hang on...’” They didn’t, and when the boom hit the water, Expeditious nearly pitch-poled. By the time the crew sorted, there was no time left to avoid going aground just yards away from the observation decks at St. Francis Yacht Club. To make matters worse, a spinnaker sheet wrapped around the propeller when the decision was make to start the engine. Golden Moon (Kame Richards, Alameda, Calif.) went on to finish 1-2 for the day and maintain its lead from yesterday while Blade Runner (Michael Shlens, Palos Verdes Est., Calif.) posted a 2-1 to move into second. Expeditious fell to third showing two races not finished.

One who didn’t find it so tough today was Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah), owner and skipper of the IRC 52 Vesper, which is sailing in IRC A class and won both races today. “It has been a fun regatta,” said Swartz. “I’m just blessed with this awesome crew, and we didn’t break anything. We talked a lot about preserving assets and taking it easy-- that was of incredible importance.” Vesper was at the top mark first in both races, which Swartz said took the edge off. His closest competitors have been two other 52s: Peter Cunningham’s (George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY) PowerPlay, which moved into second behind Vesper today on the strength of finishing 2-2, and Ashley Wolfe’s (Calgary, AB, CAN) Mayhem, which fell to third from second yesterday after finishing 4-3. “It has been like one-design racing,” said Swartz about the fact that five 52s are racing in his class. “The rating differences are very slight.”

Donald Payan (Hillsborough, Calif.) likened today’s racing to a “heavyweight boxing match.” He came out swinging and threw the last punch to finish 1-2 today in IRC D class aboard his J/120 Dayenu. “We finished 1-2 yesterday, and the first day we turned in two firsts,” said Payan, who now has a five-point lead over the fleet. “Not too bad; if we can keep it up tomorrow, we can win.” Payan won this event last year, sailing in the J/120 one-design class and decided to try his luck in IRC this year. “I wouldn’t have done it if there hadn’t been enough J/120s here to make a class without me. I’ve raced in one-design for ten years, so I thought I’d try a different fleet...for the sense of adventure if nothing else. It has been a punishing three days, but the J/120 is very stable, and when you get it in the groove going to weather in north of 16 knots, it does very well.” Payan said knock-downs are uncharacteristic for his team, but he endured some disastrous jibes today that he thought would have cost him. “I thought we were doing so badly, but then I turned around and saw that everyone else was having trouble just the same as we were.”

While riggers and sail makers had already been working serious hours over the last two days, they were sure to be burning the midnight oil this evening. Richard Courcier’s (Tahoe City, Calif.) Farr 36 Wicked came back to the dock after it lost its spinnaker sheet as well as its control in 34 knots of breeze. “We are running out of sails,” said Courcier, “but we hit 20.1 knots, a new boat speed record for us!” The crew aboard Bob Harford’s Express 37 Stewball said it was a 30+ gust that caused them to break their spinnaker pole and lose a man overboard. “We did our man overboard drill, gathered our wits about us and finished,” said crew member Pete Belghaus (Alameda, Calif.), adding that a torn main also helped force the decision to sit out the second race. Meanwhile, John Clauser’s (Walnut Creek, Calif.) ID 48 Bodacious had bailed before the start of the first race. “We simply chickened out,” said Clauser.

But despite the chaos on the Bay, things sorted out just fine on the scoreboard for Andy Costello’s (Pt. Richmond, Calif.) Double Trouble. The team turned in another perfect 1-1 score today to continue leading the IRC C class. Scott Easom’s (San Rafael, Calif.) Eight Ball maintained its lead in the Farr 30 class with finishes of 3-2, as did Brad Copper’s (Pt. Richmond, Calif.) TNT in IRC B, with a 2-2, and Barry Lewis’s (Atherton, Calif.) Chance in J/120 class, with a 1-3.

“They definitely got more than they paid for out there today,” said Event Co-Chair and Principal Race Officer Kevin Reeds. “It was big, big wind, big waves; the Rolex BIG Boat series.”

For more information and results, go to www.rolexbigboatseries.com, where nightly shows by T2p.tv will be aired by 9 p.m. (PDT) and racing can be followed with the Kattack tracker. Also, join in facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Francis-Yacht-Club-Racing/106175099461351

RESULTS – Day 3

IRC A (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Vesper, TP 52 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA - 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, ; 9
2. PowerPlay, TP 52 52, Peter Cunningham , George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY - 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 2, ; 13
3. Mayhem, TP 52 52, Ashley Wolfe , Calgary, AB, CAN - 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 3, ; 15

IRC B (IRC - 9 Boats)
1. TNT, Custom Tripp 43 43, Brad Copper , Pt. Richmond, CA, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, ; 9
2. Swiftsure ll, Sloop 54, Sy Kleinman , Saratoga, CA, USA - 2, 1, 5, 2, 1, 1, ; 12
3. BustinLoose, Sydney 38 38'6, Jeff Pulford , Salinas, Ca, USA - 3, 4, 2, 4, 3, 3, ; 19

IRC C (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Double Trouble, J 125 41, Andy Costello , Pt Richmond, CA, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 6
2. Resolute, J 125 41, Tim Fuller , Murrieta, CA, USA - 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 15
3. Timeshaver, J 125 41, Viggo Torbensen , Laguna Beach, CA, USA - 3, 2, 4, 5, 3, 4, ; 21

IRC D (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Dayenu, J 120 40, Donald Payan , Hillsborough, CA, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, ; 8
2. Tupelo Honey, Elan 40 40, Gerard Sheridan , San Francisco, CA, USA - 3, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, ; 16
3. Mirthmaker, Archambault A35 35, Douglas Holm / Kirk Denebeim , Corte Madera, CA, USA - 2, 2, 1, 2, 9/DSQ, 4, ; 20

J 105 (One Design - 21 Boats)
1. Blackhawk, J 105 34.5, Scooter Simmons , Belvedere, CA, USA - 4, 1, 2, 1, 2/RDG, 2/RDG, ; 12
2. Risk, J 105 34.5, Jason Woodley / Scott Whitney , Tiburon, CA, USA - 7, 3, 8, 2, 3, 1, ; 24
3. Godot, J 105 34.5, Phillip Laby , San Francisco, CA, USA - 8, 6, 5, 6, 2, 4, ; 31

J 120 (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. Chance, J 120 40, Barry Lewis , Atherton, CA, USA - 3, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, ; 10
2. Mr. Magoo, J 120 40, Stephen Madeira , Menlo Park, CA, USA - 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, ; 15
3. Peregrine, J 120 40, David Halliwill , New York, NY, USA - 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 1, ; 18

Express 37 (One Design - 9 Boats)
1. Golden Moon, Express 37 37, Kame Richards , Alameda, CA, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 8
2. Blade Runner, Express 37 37, Michael Shlens , Palos Verdes Est., CA, USA - 4, 3, 4, 2, 2, 1, ; 16
3. Expeditious, Express 37 37, Bartz Schneider , Crystal Bay, NV, USA - 2, 1, 3, 3, 10/DNF, 10/DNF, ; 29

Farr 30 (One Design - 12 Boats)
1. Eight Ball, Farr 30 30, Scott Easom , San Rafael, CA, USA - 2, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 2, ; 19
2. Barking Mad, Farr 30 30, James Richardson , Boston, MA, USA - 3, 1, 5, 3, 4, 2, 3, ; 21
3. Groovederci, Farr 30 30, Deneen Demourkas , Santa Barbara, CA, USA - 7, 8, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, ; 22

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