J/Teams Win Four Divisions in Edgartown ’Round-the-Island Race

(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, MA)- After a four-year run in June, Edgartown Yacht Club’s ’Round-the-Island Race (’RTI) returned to its traditional July dates, starting at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 25. Now in its 89th year, the ’RTI is one of the nation’s oldest and most celebrated distance races, drawing sailors from across the Northeast for a challenging 55-nautical-mile circumnavigation of Martha’s Vineyard.

A fleet of 47 boats competed in eight keelboat classes. J/Teams dominated the standings, winning 4 of the 8 divisions! Here’s how it all went down by each division.

PHRF B Division
It was a full-on J/Boats sweep of this division! A perennial contender for the last few years has been Joe Brito’s J/121 INCOGNITO from Bristol, RI. They didn’t fail to live up to their own expectations, taking the win by a mere 1 min over Doug Curtiss’s J/111 WICKED 2.0 from New Bedford YC (also a past winner of the race!). Rounding out the podium to take the bronze medal was another J/121- Jim Coggeshall’s CEILIDH from Mattapoisett YC.

PHRF C Division
In the “luxury cruiser” division, it was Bill Jacobson’s J/46 VANISH that took home the gold medal by a massive 45-minute margin on corrected handicap time!

PHRF D Division
The seven-boat fleet saw yet another J/team sweep of the top four! Winning was Stephen Beese’s J/120 APRES, followed by Bart Massucco’s J/109 LYRIC, Jim Mega’s J/99 FALCON, and Bruce Turner’s J/112E TASHIMA.

PHRF E Division
This five-boat fleet saw J/105 take the class honors. Winning was Ned Joyce & Andy Reservitz’s DARK’N’STORMY, followed by Matt & Lisa’Schmitt’s HARDTACK taking the silver medal.

PHRF Doublehanded
Greg Morse sailed his J/109 MONSTER doublehanded and took the bronze medal home for their hard-won efforts.

For more Edgartown Round the Island Race sailing information
https://www.edgartownyc.org/about-the-regatta