A2N: Wet and Challenging

(June 11, 2013) – At 1530 today, the last boat sailing to Newport in the 34th running of the biennial Annapolis to Newport Race was 39.4NM from the finish doing 5.9kts. The Hunter 340 Brigadoon will surely welcome the sound of the horn as they cross the line after one of the wettest and most trying Atlantic offshore races in recent memory.

Actaea had one of the most challenging races they can remember. Out of their compliment of sails onboard the Bermuda 40, with the exception of the storm canvas and the code 5, they used 13 sails during the trip – ONLY blowing out the #2 early on during their trip down the Bay. This is the 7th Annapolis-Newport Race for Actaea and the most demanding owners Michael and Connie Cone could remember both physically and intellectually. It was rough, wet and wind was unpredictable but the crew was pumped up for the race and kept their sense of humor. George Fallon was the watch captain on the helm at the finish for the 3rd consecutive time.

On its first offshore race and only the second race since its commissioning three weeks ago, the J/122 Orion owned by Paul Milo finished at 0056:25 this morning after experiencing an extended knockdown situation just south of the Patuxent River. After the first 6 hours of great sailing in heavy air, during a takedown at 2200 the chute wrapped around the head stay and the boat was knocked down and stayed on its side with the keel out of the water for close to an hour.

The Orion crew spent a good 30 minutes working out a plan as to how to proceed safely. Crew member Mary Cox, a class of 2013 graduate of the US Naval Academy, went up the rig and cut away enough of the spinnaker to allow the boat to right itself. With Mary now at the top of the rig with the boat vertical, additional sail was cut away, and with a brief trip down to the deck for a break, Mary went up one more time to release the balance of the chute still wound in to the head stay and then it was back to business as usual.

The Orion crew was safe and knuckled down to try and make up what turned out to be a drastic loss of time having been the class leader prior to the knockdown and post the incident finding themselves about 12 miles behind. They made up time and were back with their class by the time they reached the Light tunnel. Orion’s team did a great job making sure Mary was as safe as possible during the maneuver and she enjoyed the experience of driving most of the balance of the race from Block Island to Newport and over the finish line.

Preparations are being made for the All Hands Party this evening at 1800 in NYYC’s Arcadia Room and terrace outside the Sailing Office. The Awards will be handed out at 1600 at Ida Lewis Yacht Club on June 12.

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Contact: Linda Ambrose for the A2N Race Committee