Photo Album: click here.
Saturday, June 30: Final report
Our five great days of weather were sandwiched between two foggy days. Those venturing home on Saturday morning found that they could barely see both sides of the cut coming out of Old Harbor. Once outside it got no better. A GPS and a fog horn were indispensible and one could only hope that the Block Island Ferry had good radar. The fog turned to haze inside Narragansett Bay and once ashore it was Hazy, Hot, and Humid.
Here are a couple of tidbits that may be of interest. First, the finishing positions of the previous winners at Block Island:
Second, the sails used by the top competitors:
All the sails were 2001 or 2000 sails, taking full advantage of the sail purchase restrictions.
Friday, June 29: Sixth report
I guess you are reading this across the country and even overseas. Thank you
Bill, Rick, Dorin, Bill, Gary, Joerg, Roger, Bob, Tim, Dan, Jim, Lars, Dimitris, and others
for letting me know.
The weather was beautiful, and the weather for the week was five for five on race days.
The forecast
was for partly cloudy with 10-15 kt winds from the NE switching SW. At the start the
winds were light and the RC set up to the SW of 1BI at the North end of the Island for
the NE wind and the clockwise course. It was the first time in at least seven years that the
race did not follow the more common counterclockwise format.
There was a short delay while the wind filled in and three circles all
started their classes in reverse order. The 105's avoided their customary general
recall, but three boats were called over early. ECLIPSE went back and started four
minutes late only to discover that their number was never called. The boats that went
to the right toward Block Island caught the right shift that gave them a leg up on
reaching the weather mark. The boats that went left away from Block, wound up lifting
and lifting and thinking that they were going to go around the Island on starboard.
The winning strategy was to keep going east at the top of the Island on port instead
of tacking to starboard to the south along the east side of Block. According to the
eventual winners on SYNERGY, they only tacked out from the island a couple of times,
while many in the fleet made a dozen or more tacks out from the shore where the winds
were fluky and light. The SYNERGY team, consisting of three owners -- David Spence,
Perry Moy, and Henrik Pedersen said "Our strategy was to follow PLUM CRAZY, and
when we got out ahead of them, we really didn't know what to do next." They finished
in the middle for the week, but were elated at their big win in the Round the Island Race.
FLAME was second and DRAGONFLY third.
The consistency (weeklong) prizes went to PFM2, FLAME, and PLUM. PFM2 had nothing worse than
an 8, three wins, and threw out their DSQ. FLAME had nothing worse than a 9, two
wins, and threw a 10, PLUM CRAZY had nothing worse than a 10, one win and threw a
13. The Storm Trysail Club does not present their weekly awards at the regatta, but
has a formal banquet in the Fall.
All the owners found the Block Island Race Week to be a great "big fleet" learning experience.
Owner and Fleet 14 measurer, John Eielson found starting to be a great challenge. "If you're not
in the first row at the start, a giant curtain comes down. We were only a couple of boat
lengths from
the line with a minute and a half to go and we were stopped dead in our tracks by the
boats in the first row and then took forever to get up to speed and cross the line." As for yours truly aboard
KIMA, I've got to stop dispensing advice and start taking it. As Pam Morris from
YIKES! (30th to KIMA's 29th today) said, "Exactly what part of 'wind shifting to the south' did we
not understand." All 30 of the boats finished the week with no major incidents or damage.
It was a VERY good week. Mark your calendars for next year!
Photos to follow next week.
Thursday, June 28: Fifth report
Is anybody reading this stuff? If so, then send me an e-mail. Otherwise, I might bag Friday's report.Everybody in the fleet was anticipating the "Round the Island Race" today. But they decided to get in two sure races to bring the total to seven. It was another beautiful day on Block Island. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing 10-12 from 265 magnetic with whitecaps at the start of the first race at 11 a.m. The first race went off without a hitch. The RC set a 6 leg windward-leeward at 1.25 miles. Plenty of sets and takedowns and close crosses. PFM2 prevailed with her third bullet, with PLUM second and REVELATION third. By the time the second race rolled around (after the RC had taken care of two medical emergencies from other fleets) the wind had died and shifted left to 240 magnetic (the sea breeze overtaking the prevailing westerlies). The RC set a four leg course at 1.0 miles. The first start was a general recall. The second start was held under a "Z" flag and resulted in a second general recall with one-third of the fleet incurring a 20% penalty. The third start was under the "black flag" and this time the fleet held back in the current that was pushing them across the line. The race was shortened to three legs, and on the last leg the wind shifted left with a vengance and velocity. The winner was Dougherty's REVELATION with PLUM second, and John Eielson's NORDIC EXPRESS winning their first silver of the regatta at third. I'm not sure who is winning the regatta, but the Wednesday leader HEADHUNTER had two bad races. With seven races, we have a throwout, so PFM2, FLAME, PLUM, HEADHUNTER, and REVELATION are all in the hunt. It is a VERY close regatta.
So what keeps those in the "bottom half" coming back year after year? Let me count the ways. The good fellowship of the owners. The 6 a.m bike rides with the birds, the deer, the panoramic views, the smells of honeysuckle. The gentle breezes (while the mainland swelters at 90 plus degrees). The family crews. The marriages. The children. The mudslides at the Oar. And the hope that next year, with new sails and another year of experience, your crew will move you into the top ten.
The amendment was posted for starting an hour early tomorrow so we get in the traditional "Round the Island Race". If anybody is reading this, I'll have a report tomorrow. My e-mail address is nhw@sei.cmu.edu.
Wednesday, June 28: Fourth report
Lots of racing today. And on time. There was 8-12 knots for most of the day and
the RC set two courses at 265. The first was a four legger with 1.0 mile legs.
The second was a five legger with 1.5 mile legs. It was all a muddle for someone
in the middle of the pack, but unlike the first two days, the side of the course
did not seem to matter as much as staying clear of the middle of the course. In
the first race Jim Doane's FLAME picked up their first win and followed it with a
second in the second race. Bryan Dougherty in REVELATION and Joerg Esdorn in KINCSEM
were second and third. Andy Skibo picked up his first win in the second race
and Bill Riggs got some silver for his third aboard RIGADOON. See the BI site for
the complete scores.
But the highlight of the day came as Glen Hunter, bowman on WET LEOPARD, was
betrothed to Kelly just before the owner's party. The reception for Glen and his
new bride was made ever so much more special by the presence of 30 J/105 owners
and their crews. Thanks to Jim Sorensen for hosting the bash! I'll post some
photos after I get back.
Tuesday, June 27: Third report
Well maybe "glorious" does not apply for a sailor when the wind is not up to snuff.
But today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday. The sun shone and there was enough
wind to start the races, although a bit late. After about a one hour delay they gave
the J/105 class two starts which were both aborted. The first because of a RC reset
and the second because of a general recall. After another delay waiting for the wind
to build and stabilize, the RC decided to run the two PHRF classes before the J/105s
to the great delight of the PHRF classes. They again set a weather mark at 1.0 nm at
240 and called for four legs. The boats to leeward finally squirted out without a
general recall and the left paid big dividends. Brian Tedeschi took IT WASN'T ME far
to the left and rounded the weather mark first. On the downwind leg, KIMA passed him
and rounded the port mark and went right with FLAME. No go. The five boats that went
left showed up at the weather mark before those that went right. John Hourihan's PFM2
got his second win in two tries, followed by Bob Leaver's HEADHUNTER and Andy Skibo's PLUM CRAZY.
After another short break, the RC set another 1.0 mile 4 legger at 230. They started in
about 4 knots. Just when everybody was thinking that going left always pays, the formula
changed. The boats starting at the right end of the line were launched and the boats that
went left found themselves in the dust. After shortening the last two legs to .6 nm and
shortening the race to three legs, the RC took numbers. Taking maximum advantage of the
new found success strategy
was Bob Leaver's HEADHUNTER, Billy Baldwin's CYAN, and Tom Coates in MASQUERADE. HEADHUNTER
moved into first after a DSQ for PFM2. See http://blockislandraceweek.com/ for full results.
Monday, June 25: Second report
It was a glorious day on Block Island Sound. The sun was shining and there was a very
gentle breeze. No fog. The fleet got its harbor start at 9 a.m. and 210 boats made
their way out the narrow cut to the three racing circles. Due to lack of wind the start
was postponed for an hour. When the wind filled to about 8-10 knots, the course was set
as a four legger
at one mile at a bearing of 240 degrees. The RC decided that the
J/105 class would be moved from third to first in the starting sequence so they could
have a longer line that the rest of the classes. With a strong current pushing the
boats over the starting line, and with a pin favor the fleet assembled at the pin end
for the first start which resulted in a general recall. The second attempt resulted
in a second general recall. Next the RC started both class 1 and class 2 without any
boats being over. Then they tried the J/105 class a third time. The RC was particularly
chatty, telling the boats at the leeward end that they were getting too close to the line
as much as a minute before the start. They their chattiness stopped when it came to calling
the boats that were OCS in the third start. Two OCS boats never heard their numbers.
The left (Block Island) side seemed to be favored for all four legs of the course and the
consensus after the race seemed to be that it was greater pressure rather than differences
in current. John Hourihan's PFM2
got off the line cleanly and led at every mark, extending to a 57 second victory over
Bob Leaver's HEADHUNTER. Andy Skibo's PLUM CRAZY came from deep to finish third another
35 seconds behind HEADHUNTER, closely followed by Bryan Dougherty's REVELATION and
Damian Emery's ECLIPSE. By the time that classes 4 and 5 finished their 3 leg courses
upwind, it was nearly 3 p.m. and the RC decided that the light wind did not justify another
race. The fleet headed back into the harbor, hoping for more wind on Tuesday.
Sunday, June 24: First report
As the sun was setting on Saturday night, Damian Emery's ECLIPSE became the eleventh boat on the Boat Basin dock after his eight hour delivery from Manhasset, NY. More arrived today. Crews weighed in after a false start with a finicky scale (there were complaints from the Farr 40s that they were 50 pounds under true weight allowing the boats to take extra crew). After the committee got the scale properly calibrated and leveled the weigh ins proceeded without further ado. The 105 crews gathered and applied their bow sticker, picked up their registrations, and worked some of the kinks out of their boats. Six boats went through a spot check by the measurers. Sunday proved to be a marginal practice day. The wind was decent, but the fog that was hovering over New Harbor became impossible once the boats negotiated the channel into Block Island Sound. Nearly everyone was accounted for and saw some practice time. The competitive juices were flowing and thirty boats were ready to rumble come Monday morning. Registrations showed that the J/105's were by far the largest one-design class (none of the other four classes fielded more than 11 boats).
2001 Block Island Race Entries as of 6/22/01
Tom Coates, MASQUERADE, #17, Fleets #14 & #1
David Spence, SYNERGY, #39, Fleet #10
Damian Emery, ECLIPSE, #50, Fleet #6
Hugh/Ken McLean, ALL RIGHT, #56, Fleet #14
Bryan Dougherty, REVELATION, #64, Fleet #6
John/Bobbi Coffey, TERN, #73, Fleet #6
Andy Skibo, PLUM CRAZY, #90, Fleet #10
Bob Leaver, HEADHUNTER, #130, Fleet #2
Harvey Howalt, IF ONLY, #165, Fleet #14
Paul Strauch, ANDIAMO, #176, Fleet #6
Ken Colburn, WITCH, #200, Fleet #2
John Peterson, LAST TANGO, #212, Fleet #6
Billy Baldwin, CYAN, #239, Fleet #6
Marv Pozevski, PEEKABOO, #240, Fleet #6
Linc Mossup, THE CAT CAME BACK, #256, Fleet #14
Jim Doane, FLAME, #281, Fleet #19
Nelson Weiderman, KIMA, #300, Fleet #14
Jim Sorensen, WET LEOPARD, #307, Fleet #14
Joerg Esdorn, KINCSEM, #324, Fleet #6
John Eielson, NORDIC EXPRESS, #317, Fleet #14
John Hourihan, PFM2, #315, Fleet #6
Bruce Lages, SUGAR FREE, #323, Fleet #6
Skip Young, DRAGON FLY, #333, Fleet #14
Don Priestly, WET PAINT, #334, Fleet #14
Bill Riggs, RIGADOON, #350, Fleet #14
Bill/Steve Purdy, 40 WHACKS, #354, Fleet #14
Richard Van Leeuwen, DREAM MACHINE, #399, Fleet #6
Robert Salk, PICANTE, #413, Fleet #14
Steve Small, YIKES!, #457, Fleet #14
Brian Tedeschi, IT WASN'T ME, #479, Fleet #2
2001 Block Island Race Week J/105 Fleet Format
National Rules will be observed for Block Island Race Week. There will be no local exceptions. The following are reminders and administrative procedures for enforcing the National Rules.
-- Nelson Weiderman, for Fleet #14 and Fleet #6, 3/31/2001