Spring has sprung on Long Island Sound

The first weekend of the 2021 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta on April 24-25 had over 50 boats entered in the One Design, PHRF, and ORC classes to compete in Rye, NY.

Racing began with a light, variable wind on day one, but the breeze built significantly as the day progressed. The Race Committee was able to complete 4 races for the Short Course ORC and J/44 classes, and one distance race for the Coastal Racing course, which included PHRF, Doublehanded, and Mixed Doublehanded classes.

Elizabeth and Robert Alexander on their Sunfast 3300 Byte won the Coastal ORC Mixed Doublehanded distance race and saw a stronger breeze than other parts of the courses on their sailing round different parts of Long Island Sound.

Day two began with a wet and chilly morning, but the rain tapered off just in time for the start of the first race. The day proved to be somewhat more challenging for everyone, with 50-degree wind shifts combined with dramatic changes in wind velocity and direction.

All the races were conducted by Principal Race Officers John (“Tinker”) Myles on the East Course, and Commodore Nicholas Everett on the South Course, along with their respective Race Committee teams.

The second half of the AYC Spring Regatta will be April 30-May 2, though racing on day one has been reserved for the Melges IC37 class only, as the first day of the Melges IC37 East Coast Championship.

Race details – Results

Results – Top 3 in each class

East Course Racing
J/44 (One Design – 5 boats)
1. Maxine, William Ketcham, USA – 3, 1, 4, 1, 1, 3 [9]
2. Resolute, Don and Rick Rave, USA – 1, 3, 2, 2, 2, 4 [10]
3. Breakaway, Thomas Blackwell, USA – 2, 4, 1, 4, 3, 1 [4]

ORC Division (ORC Short Course – 14 boats)
1. Zammermoos, David Fass – 2, 2, 7, 1, 2, 5 [12]
2. Peacemaker, Leo Vasiliev – 3, 1, 4, 7, 3, 2 [13]
3. Members Only, Jay Cross – 1, 5, 1, 3, 9, 8 [18]

Coastal ORC (Doublehanded – 5 boats)
1. Groupe 5 YCC, Vlad Shoblinsky and Will McKiege – 1, 2 [3]
2. Lora Ann, Richard du Moulin – 3, 1 [4]
3. Byte, Robert & Libby Alexander – 2, 4 [6]

Coastal ORC (Mixed Doublehanded – 2 boats)
1. byte, Elizabeth and Robert Alexander – 1
2. Thin Man, Todd Aven and Barbara Karpinska – 2

PHRF Division (Coastal PHRF – 10 boats)
1. Nodlys, Robert Schwarts – 1, 2 [3]
2. Freedom, Cory Eaves – 3, 1 [4]
3. Eagle, Steven Levy – 2, 4 [6]

South Course Racing
J/88 (One Design Division – 5 boats)
1. Deviation, Iris Vogel – 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1 [6]
2. One Too Many, Lawrence Cutler and Andrew Weiss – 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3 [10]
3. Albondigas, Justin Scagnelli and Tim Price – 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2 [11]

J/105 (One Design Division – 7 boats)
1. loulou, Paul Beaudin – 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4 [8]
2. Solution, David Willis – 2, 1, 4, 3, 3, 1 [10]
3. Echo, Greth Lester – 1, 5, 2, 5, 2, 2 [12]

J/70 (One Design Division – 4 boats)
1. Pen Segal, Jean marc Papin – 5/DNC, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 [5]
2. No Name – YCC, Benjamin Hunt – 1, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 [10]
3. Half Mine II, Gibbons Sinclair – 2, 2, 2, 3, 5/DNC, 5/DNC [14]

Source: AYC