Light winds for Wirth M. Munroe Race

Twenty-eight boats ranging from grand prix racers to racer-cruisers to multihulls battled light and variable conditions at the 65th annual Wirth M. Munroe Ocean Race on December 3. As the second event of the 2021-22 SORC Island in the Stream Series, big boats dominated the upwind grind, with several well-known offshore racing programs playing the shifts and optimizing the Gulf Stream along the South Florida coast.

The Wirth M. Munroe Race was last held in 2019 as the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns in South Florida. In its place, the SORC held a substitute distance race used for scoring in the series.

On the 2021 Wirth M. Munroe 60-mile Classic course from Miami to Palm Beach, class winners include:

ORC 1 – FOX, Victor Wild’s Botin TP52
ORC 2 – Incognito, Joe Brito’s J/121
ORC 3 – Senara, the Farr 395 owned by Eamonn deLisser, James Bill and Horst Baier
ORC 4 – Relentless III, Oscar Valdes’ and Carlos Santiago’s Italia 9.98
Multihull – Mach Schnell, Kent Haeger’s Gunboat 62

Mach Schnell also won line honors, with FOX close behind, completing the course in just over six hours. Senara won the first place overall perpetual award which is awarded to the boat that won her class and, in the judgement of the Officers and Race Committee, had the best overall performance.

CORRECTION: The report previously had Relentless III as the winner of the first place overall perpetual award.

Several boats in some ORC classes failed to finish within the time limit due to the light conditions.

On the 40-mile Sprint course from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach, 2021 class winners include:

• Double Down, a Henderson 30, won fastest elapsed time. The program is run by Sail Last, a Florida foundation that offers keelboat racing opportunities for junior and college sailors.
• Osprey, Joe Smith’s Ranger 33, brought home the fastest corrected time award.

“We were thrilled to see such a strong turnout of boats across a broad spectrum after the cancelation of last year’s race,” said Sailfish Club of Florida Race Committee Chair Tom Bowler. “Feedback from competitors tells us everyone was happy to back on the racecourse and enjoying the Sailfish Club of Florida’s legendary seafood buffet dinner.”

The Classic course will be scored as part of the SORC’s Islands in the Stream series; the Sprint Course will not.

The Organizing Authority for the race consists of The Sailfish Club of Florida, the Storm Trysail Club and the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. The SORC, Storm Trysail Club, and the Sailfish Club of Florida oversee race management.

Series information – Race details – Facebook