Fun, Frolic, & Silver for J’s Sailing Safe Harbor Race Weekend

ByStuart Johnstone
Sailors racing on a yacht in action.


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(Newport, RI)- What began as a three-day weekend of tempered wind expectations evolved into a full-blown demonstration of skill, strategy, and spirited Newport sailing camaraderie during the fifth annual Safe Harbor Race Weekend held Friday, August 8, through Sunday, August 10. Despite early forecasts calling for barely-there breezes, Newport’s signature afternoon southwesterly arrived just in time each day to transform the racecourse into a dynamic proving ground for a record-breaking fleet of 72 teams in 10 classes.

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ORC C Division
Racing in ORC C, which was the largest offshore fleet (10 boats), could go down in Safe Harbor Race Weekend history as one of the closest racing finales. In overall scoring, three boats shared a three-way tie on 18 pts, including David Rosow’s (Fairfield, Conn.) J/122 LOKI and Tom Sutton’s (Houston, Texas) J/122 LEADING EDGE. On the tiebreaker, LOKI got the silver medal, while LEADING EDGE took the bronze medal.

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PHRF D Division- J/SWEEP!
Joe Brito’s (Bristol, R.I.) J/121 INCOGNITO turned in a stellar performance in PHRF D Division. INCOGNITO had three bullets in its five-race scoreline. They led a sweep of the fleet, with John Greifzu’s J/109 GROWTH SPURT taking the silver, with Ted Herlihy’s J/109 GUT FEELING taking the bronze medal.

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PHRF E Division
Sailing fast and in contention all weekend for the top of the leaderboard was Kevin Dakan’s J/110 MEMORY. Starting by winning the first race, they closed the regatta with four 2nds to take the silver. Third place was Chris Tate’s J/105 BLITZ, fourth was Ned Joyce & Andy Reservitz’s J/105 DARK’N’STORMY, and fifth went to EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT.

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PHRF NAV B Division
“We were expecting much lighter air, and we ended up with fair wind (stronger on Sunday than on Friday and Saturday), cool, dry weather, and blue skies,†said Brian Nelson (Shrewsbury, NJ), skipper of J/112E HONEY BADGER, which won the PHRF Nav B (Performance Cruising) class. “What more could you ask for?â€

Though it was Nelson and his New Jersey team’s first season sailing HONEY BADGER, they turned in a consistent performance of 3-1-1-3 in a series that included a short-distance race around Prudence Island on Friday, followed on Saturday and Sunday by three races around government marks, race buoys, and islands in Narragansett Bay.

Taking the third step on the podium was Jim Phyfe’s J/44 DIGGER, with Mark Nannini’s J/120 SALACIA in fourth place and Doug Curtiss’s J/111 WICKED 2.0 in sixth place.

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PHRF NAV C Division
After sailing to a very consistent two 2nds and two 3rds, Brooke Mastriorio’s J/109 URSA ended up tied for 2nd place, but lost the tiebreaker to settle for the bronze medal.

All J/sailors enjoyed the social events of the weekend, which included Friday night’s Coastal New England Dinner Presented by Citizens on The Point at Safe Harbor New England Boatworks and Saturday night’s “Talk of the Town†Crew Party, with delicious bites and live music, presented by Mount Gay Rum at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in the heart of downtown Newport.

“The effort that Safe Harbor puts into the social events is phenomenal,†said one sailor. “I’ve said it before: ‘this is the event of the summer.’ It’s the crescendo of the racing season, and everyone wants to be here in Newport with their crews and families.â€

Sailing photo credits- Stephen Cloutier- “Block Island Steve”
https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-kgP5qq

For Safe Harbor Regatta sailing results
https://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative/17003

For more Safe Harbor Regatta sailing information
https://shmarinas.com/safe-harbor-race-weekend/