Sun sets on Long Island Sound

The American Yacht Club Fall Series concluded with the second of two stages held October 5-6 in Rye, NY. Strong attendance in keelboat one designs and PHRF fleets competed on buoy courses while Adam Loory’s Goetz 40 Soulmates won the largest fleet, a 14-boat Performance Cruising Class, which had government mark races. Details.

Update from American Yacht Club:
The 2019 Fall Regatta at American Yacht Club concluded on Sunday after two weekends of beautiful weather, fierce competition and great sailing conditions!

Competitors visited AYC from across the East Coast and beyond to compete in a regatta that has become popular amongst IRC, PHRF, and One-Design classes. This year, the regatta hosted nine separate classes with the two largest being the J/105 and J/109. Once again, the AYC Race Committee did a fantastic job throughout, as 12 races were held over the two weekends.

“Long Island Sound sailing conditions were spectacular! Everyone, including sailors, Race Committee, and support boats worked hard,” said AYC Sailing Director Kevin Broome. “Our wind ended up being a little stronger than the forecast each day. Warm weather, wind, and some waves were enjoyed by everyone, and it was a great weekend all the way around!”

John Sommi’s Cloud9 highlighted the J/88 class with a sensational two weekends of racing, posting seven bullets in a row to start the first weekend of racing and 10 bullets overall to finish first in the division.

“We had Cloud9 prepped for North Americans next week. The boat setup was fast, and the crew’s work was flawless. The scores don’t reflect the competitiveness of the fleet, the starts were contested and there were many close crossings,” said Sommi. “We got a few breaks to finish many races just a boat length or two ahead or behind the nearest boat.”

Peacemaker YCC (PHRF) helmed by Leo Vasiliev posted 5 bullets during the first weekend and followed up with two more in the final weekend to finish atop the PHRF class.

Close finishes and tight scoring highlighted the J/44 fleet with only four points separating first and fourth place heading into the final weekend. Vamp posted a 1,2,2 during the final three races to finish tied for first with Resolute. Close behind, Maxine and Breakaway tied for second in the division and finished only one point out of first.

After finishing first in the AYC Spring Series this May, Loki, helmed by David Rosow, returned to take first again in the J/109 division after posting five straight bullets in the second and third day of racing.

The IRC Division saw two boats trading spots nearly every race throughout, which made for some really thrilling competition. Pterodactyl (R/P 45 Custom) finished with four straight bullets during the final weekend to take first place with M.A.T. 1180 YCC finishing a close second in the division.

John Gochberg’s USA 551 had an impressive two weekends of sailing in the J/70 class, posting eight bullets in 12 races to take first place. Finishing second in the division was Yogi, helmed by Nick Custer and a new crew sailing the Coast Guard’s J/70 that included recent AYC JAYC grad Richard O’Leary, Merrill Cline, Greg Gaskel, and Dan Peveler.

“It was great to see so many young sailors mixed into the adult racing,” said Broome. “We are looking forward to a great final weekend of racing!”