113th Race Week Features New Classes, New Event
July 16-24, 2011
Larchmont, NY
Race Week may be getting older, but it’s constantly reinventing itself. The 113th edition featured the first ever Long Island Sound Challenge Cup Team Race, with six yacht clubs from around the country team racing in Ideal 18s, which was won by the host club. Sailors competed in 20 classes aboard 630 boats over the course of eight days, while copious amounts of Ben and Jerry’s and Mt. Gay Rum kept sailors cool during a nasty heatwave that made 2011 Race Week largely a light air affair.
The team racing for the Long Island Sound Challenge Cup was
tightly contested. Photo by Howie McMichael
Long Island Sound Challenge Cup
A new event in 2011 was the rededication of an old International One Design class trophy, the Long Island Sound Challenge Cup. Six yacht clubs: Larchmont, American, New York, Seawanhaka Corinthian, Southern, and St. Francis fought for the sterling silver trophy in three on three team racing in Ideal 18s. LYC defeated St. Francis YC from San Francisco in the semifinals 2-1, and met New York YC in the finals, which had beaten Southern YC to advance. LYC took all three races in the finals versus New York to win the title. Ned Roseberry, Danny Pletsch, Cardwell Potts, David Meleney and Molly Baxter sailed for Team LYC.
Round Robin Results
Larchmont 9-1
Southern 8-2
New York 5-5
St. Francis 5-5
American 3-7
Seawanhaka 0-10
Team LYC, winners of the rededicated Long Island Sound
Challenge Cup
Senior Race Week - Racer/Cruiser
Weekend one saw the better breeze in 2011, allowing for 4 races for most of the 53 cruising yachts entered -- a 28-boat improvement from 2010. Weekend 2 saw temperatures over 100 degrees, with light air on Saturday and no wind on Sunday. Paul Beaudin from Harlem YC dominated the J/105 division aboard LouLou, winning the Charles Vanderlaan Trophy for top performance among cruising boats. Jamie Anderson and his youthful team aboard Troubador finished second in the IRC class behind Adam Loory’s Soulmates, but dominated landside activities and were well represented at all social events, the former being noteworthy enough to win the Vincent Monte-Sano Memorial Trophy for top performance by an LYC boat in the cruising class. Commodore Carl Olsson won the Jan Brassem Trophy for the top combined performance in the Edlu Race and Race Week by an LYC boat with his J/105 Morning Glory. The J/80 class had a one-design start for the first time ever at Race Week, with American YC’s Gary Corwin winning the title on Rosie. Paul Strauch’s brand new J/111 Andiamo from Manhasset Bay YC won the 10-boat PHRF class, perpetual champion Art Karpf of Huguenot YC won the non-spinnaker division in Snow Goose and Samuel Croll’s stunning 8 meter yacht Angelita won the 13-boat classics division.
Classics division winner Angelita approaches the starting line
on Saturday. Photo by Maureen Koeppel
Senior One-Designs, Ideal 18s and Vanguard 15s
The light air kept the racing close for the senior one designs, with positions changing constantly on each leg. H.L. DeVore overcame a 10th in the first race to win the 13-boat Shields class and with it, the Anne Kathleen Cullen Trophy, which is awarded to the one-design yacht with the best performance in Race Week, as well as the Thomas Fitzsimons Trophy.
The Viper 640s made their Race Week debut in 2011, with Joe Healey of Noroton YC edging out Peter Beardsley and David Owen of LYC by a point to take the title in the 9-boat division. The Joseph Weed Trophy for winning the five-boat IOD class went to Jim Bishop Jr. on Nefarious. Jeff Whittle from Horseshoe Harbor YC won the eight-boat S Boat Class and Past Commodore David Smalley bested the Etchells fleet.
DeVore and his crew on Mermaid had the top overall performance
among senior one designs
The first weekend of Race Week had the Vanguard 15s and the Ideal 18s racing as well. In the 27-boat Vanguard 15 fleet, former collegiate All Americans took each of the top six spots, with Danny Pletsch/Becca Liggins edging out Jay Rhame/Katie Murphy and Cardwell Potts/Jennifer Watkins. Tommy Leicht won the 15-boat Ideal 18 class.
Results for Senior One Designs and Cruising Boats
Junior Race Week
278 boats competed for the three days of Junior Race Week, which was marked by light but sailable conditions all three days. Russell Clarida and Sophie Kay from Pequot YC won the 95-boat Club 420 class and with it, the Commodore’s Trophy for top overall performance at Junior Race Week and the William S. Luckett Memorial trophy, for top performance in junior high performance, while crew Kay was awarded the Crew Prize for top performance by a crew. Thomas McHugh from Black Rock YC won the 82-boat Laser Radial division and the George Hill Trophy for top overall Laser performance. Chris Browne from Black Rock YC won the Windjammer Trophy for outstanding seamanship and sportsmanship, Clara Robertson from American YC won the O’Donnell Trophy for the female junior sailor exemplifying sportsmanship and seamanship, and Will Gallagher and Tucker Leicht of Larchmont YC won the 50-boat Pixel class and the Al Bamberger Trophy.
Finding clear air in the 420 fleet is no easy task on the run.
Photo by Howie McMichael
Opti Day
198 Optimists raced on Thursday in Opti Day, and solid breezes allowed them to complete four races in each division. Will Gallagher from Larchmont YC won the Le Boutillier Trophy for his three first-place and one second-place finishes in his 50-boat division.
Special thanks to sponsors Mt. Gay Rum, Ben & Jerry’s and Good Humor for keeping competitors cool throughout all of Race Week.
