Racing

By Donovan McSorley The Gearbuster, hosted by Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT and first sailed in October of 1956, has become one of the premier fall sailing events on Long Island Sound, and this year featured 57 entries from over 20 clubs. Gearbuster sailors normally compete on one of two courses, the 46.5-nautical mile Stratford Shoal Course, which includes five spinnaker divisions, and the 19nm Eatons Neck Course, which includes two non-spinnaker divisions. Originally sailed as…

  “Long Island Sound sailing conditions were spectacular!” said AYC Sailing Director Kevin Broome. “Everyone, including sailors, Race Committee, and support boats worked hard. 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 (Darien, CT) highlighted the 11-boat J/88 class with a sensational two weekends of racing, posting seven bullets in a row…

By Stuart Streuli They won the first race and the last race, and the inaugural Melges IC37 National Championship, which was hosted by the New York Yacht Club at their Harbour Court clubhouse in Newport, RI September 27 – 29. But it was far from a routine regatta victory for the crew of the Members Only syndicate, which is led by NYYC members Jay Cross, Ben Kinney and Hannah Swett. Of course, nothing good ever comes easy…

Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT hosted the 2019 Kirby Cup Team Race on the weekend of October 5 & 6. With champagne conditions and many of the top team racers in the country doing battle in Sonars, the regatta was an amazing boat handing skills, attacks, defenses and general mayhem, with hardly a clatter of fiberglass and nothing busted in two days of playing chicken on Long Island Sound. After a perfect southerly that built to…

Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, CT hosted US Sailing’s 45th Annual Championship of Champions on October 4 – 6. The regatta, for which competitors must qualify by winning a National or North American one-design class championship, was sailed in Ideal 18s in three days of big wind (gusts over 30) on Long Island Sound. RS Aero North American Champion Dalton Bergan and crew Ben Glass (both hailing from Seattle, WA) established a dominant lead early on, winning…

By David Dellenbaugh “Why didn’t you cover?” is often the first question you hear when you were doing well in a race but got passed by one or more boats from behind. This is a great question, but it doesn’t always have a straightforward answer. “Covering” usually means staying between the next mark and one or more boats that are behind you. The goal of this tactic is simply to reduce your risk if the wind shifts…

By Jon Bawabe The Mystic River Mudhead Sailing Association’s 12th annual Mudnite Madness Overnite race, on Friday August 9, featured a picturesque night of sailing – a beautiful sunset, moonlit skies, and meteor showers throughout the night. The race started with twelve boats competing in two classes. Prior to the race, Mudnite T-shirts were provided free to all participants. The race started at 6 PM with moderate winds around 10 knots. From Horseshoe Reef in Fishers Island…

By Guy Gurney The 91st Atlantic National Championship was held at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT from August 15 to 17. Clear winners in the fleet of 27 boats were David Peck, Tom Peck, Diane Peck Rothman and Bill Healy from Niantic Bay Yacht Club, aboard Miss April. They won four of the six races, throwing out a fifth! Second was Steve Benjamin in Cassidy, a constant threat as always, and in third was Rodrigo Meireles…

By Diane Kropfl & Eileen Campbell, Ms. Race Co-Chairs The Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club on the beautiful Sandy Hook Bay in Atlantic Highlands, NJ hosted their 15th annual Ms. Race on Saturday, August 17. This race is hosted by and for women sailors, with the support of the entire club and local community. This all-women event supports the local charity, 180 Turning Lives Around, that is dedicated to protecting, advocating and supporting victims of domestic violence and…

After an estimated 76,000 combined hours of fabrication and finishing work by the production and shore teams of New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger’s first AC75 racing boat was officially named and launched at the team’s base in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Saturday morning, September 14.   Named Defiant, the cutting-edge foiling monohull is the first America’s Cup class boat built to represent the New York Yacht Club in more than 16 years. The boat underwent initial testing on Narragansett Bay earlier in the week. Defiant was constructed at a dedicated…