Barely settled at 505 North Americans

Newport, RI (October 1, 2021) – Code flag Alpha flew at Sail Newport this morning, sending the 2021 505 North Americans fleet out to Rhode Island Sound for day two.

Regatta race five started in a soft northerly that had crews off the wire for the first time in this series. Eventually, things got worse and PRO Sue Reilly wisely decided to fly the N flag and give things time to settle down.

If by “settle down” you guessed “change direction 180° and send the crews back out on the wire” you’d be correct. Pathfinder boat Ethan Bixby and Chris Brady extended their lead the whole race to win, with the rest of the pack all nearly overlapped with each other at the end of the affair.

Race 6 brought firmer conditions a bit more left, and regatta leaders Mike Martin and Adam Lowry, seventh in the previous race, played pathfinder. By the end of the first run, the breeze was softening with ominous holes. Matt Barry and JB Turney, victims of rudder hardware failure on day one, made the good call to go right on the second beat and sealed it on the wisely (mercifully?) shortened 3 leg course.

If by “settle down” you thought the breeze would do another near-full 180° shift and build to the best strength of the day, your streak is intact. Nic Baird and Eric Anderson rose to the challenge to take their second race win and jump to second in the series.

After seven races, Martin/Lowry remain in first, with Baird/Anderson in second, followed by Mike Holt/Carl Smit, Mike Zani/Peter Alarie, and Luke Ingalls/John Ingalls. The forecast for tomorrow is ideal for 505 sailing with southwest breeze in the mid teens and up to four races on tap, likely once again out on Course Alpha.

Racing is planned for September 30 to October 3.

Event information – Race details – Results

Day Two Results (Top 10 of 29; 7 races, 1 discard)

Source: David Kirkpatrick