Zeke Horowitz wins Viper 640 Internationals

When it was decided that the Viper 640 sports boats would travel to Bermuda during November 2016 for its major regatta, everyone was looking forward to the big winds that prevail on the Great Sound at that time of year. Unfortunately, on two of the days too much wind prevailed.

The 4-day event, the Aspen Viper 640 International Championship sponsored by EFG, was held from Wednesday to Saturday, November 16-19, in conjunction with the 2016 North American Championship. The regatta came down to only six races over two days of sailing.

As was the case on Thursday’s second day of the event when 25+ knot westerly winds with puffs well into the 30’s kept the racers ashore, the final day’s racing also had to be cancelled with winds well in excess of 25 knots with frequent rain squalls and puffs in excess of 35 knots.

Zeke Horowitz (Annapolis, MD), Brendan Healey (Greenwich, CT), and Ian Coleman (Annapolis, MD) won both the International and North American Championship trophies. Justin Scott (Darien, CT) sailing with Rob Crane (Darien, CT) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, MA) claimed second place, also winning the Governors’ Cup (top finishing skipper over 55 years of age). Geoff Fargo, Jeff Grange, and Spencer Steffen, all hailing from Santa Barbara, CA, were third and also the top placing Corinthian crew.

When asked about his winning the International and North American Championships, Horowitz was proud of his accomplishment giving the credit to his crewmates Coleman and Healy. “When I joined the Viper Class I knew I’d be more competitive if I had a regular crew,” said Horowitz, “and I was able to talk two of my best friends into joining me on the boat. It helps that Ian and Brendan are both spectacular sailors. It was really great for the three of us to be racing 40 other Vipers on the beautiful island of Bermuda.”

While the Viper 640 Class has held its North American Championship for many years, this is the first time the Class hosted an International Championship. In doing so, it was necessary to have a new perpetual trophy and a sculptor was commissioned to create a piece of art reflecting the Viper’s growing global presence.

What he came back with is a unique bronze sculpture that will definitely stand out in any yacht club’s trophy case. Below are pictures of the trophy and Horowitz’s crew holding both the International and North American trophies.

Final Results (Top 10 of 42 boats; 6 races, 1 discard)
1. Zeke Horowitz, USA – 1 -1 -[5] -3 -1 -4 ; 10
2. Justin Scott, GBR – 2 -6 -2 -1 -13 -[14] ; 24
3. Geoff Fargo, USA – 11 -2 -9 -[21] -8 -2 ; 32
4. Bruce Mattinson, AUS – 3 -10 -12 -2 -[18] -8 ; 35
5. Cardwell Potts, USA – 5 -[25] -1 -23 -6 -3 ; 38
6. Somers Kempe, BER – 8 -[18] -11 -5 -11 -6 ; 41
7.Peter Beardsley, USA – 4 -13 -[14] -7 -5 -13 ; 42
8. Rod Beurteaux, AUS – 6 -11 -6 -12 -[15] -7 ; 42
9. Brad Boston, CAN – 20 -14 -3 -10 -[27] -1 ; 48
10. Patrick Mauro, USA – 10 -[30] -10 -15 -3 -16 ; 54

Event details – Scoreboard – Facebook

Source: Edward Padin, Viper 640 Class