Strong J/Fleet Ready for Stamford Yacht Club’s Vineyard Race
(Stamford, CT)- Stamford Yacht Club has hosted the Vineyard Race since 1932, and the event typically attracts over 100 boats of all sizes from all over the American northeast coastline. The 238-mile course stretches from Shippan Point in Stamford, Connecticut to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard’s Bay, and then returns to the finish in Stamford Harbor, leaving Block Island to starboard on the way out and back. Two shorter courses run 116.0 nm and 143.0 nm for those who want to be part of the event without going the entire distance.
The Vineyard Race was described in Yachting Magazine as follows: “The greatest distance races of the world have several things in common – a challenging course, competitive fleets, and an interesting array of famous yachts. By those standards, the Stamford Yacht Club’s Vineyard Race rates close to the top. Like a miniature Fastnet, the Vineyard has a combination of coastal cruising, where currents play a big role, a stretch of ocean sailing, and a mark to round – the Buzzards Bay tower – before returning.”
The race has been popular with J/teams over time, and many have won both in division and overall. Here is the breakdown of the J/fleet over the various divisions.
Vineyard Race
ORC Division
This large 27-boat fleet includes nine J/Teams. The grand old lady leading the fleet should be Lenny Sitar’s J/160 COUGAR, a very fast reaching machine. They will be chased hard by several veteran offshore teams, such as two J/133s (Steve Brownlie’s ASSARAIN IV and One Haxthausen’s RUMBA), Chris Lewis’s J/44 KENAI, David Rosow’s J/122 LOKI, two J/121s (Steve Losik’s HABIRU and Steve Levy’s EAGLE), Macrae Sykes’s J/125 GOOD NEWS, and Rick Hanson’s J/111 JUNGLELAND.
PHRF Division
This huge 28-boat fleet includes a large J/Boats contingent as well- a round dozen. A very experienced group of five J/120s are racing, some of whom have won the division and the race over time. Those teams include John Sartorius’s ALIBI, Richard West’s CHARLOTTE, Andrian Lubimov’s DUET, Brian Spears’s MADISON, and William Klein’s SPECK. Joining them are three J/109s (John Greifzu’s GROWTH SPURT, Ian Milward’s QUICKSILVER, and Marc De Souter’s VELOCITA), two J/111s (Andrew Berdon’s SUMMER STORM and Pito Chickering’s THE ROOST), Todd Aven’s J/99 THIN MAN, and Albrecht Goethe’s J/46 HAMBURG II.
PHRF Doublehanded Division
In this eight-boat fleet, there are predominately J/Boats teams- six to be precise! Odds-on betting favorite is likely Peter Becker’s J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN, a previous 3x winner of the division! They will be challenged by a formidable array of experienced doublehanded sailors, such as the two J/99s (Doug McKeige’s SAVE THE SOUND and Mike Kohler’s EVENTYR), Josh Reisberg’s J/120 ABILYN, Cary James’s J/109 SUNNY SIDE, and Denis Lafarge’s J/30 MIDNIGHT RIDER/ PMP STRATEGY.
ORC Doublehanded Division
The NEKA Sailing team will be racing their modified J/105 SLEEPER COLLEGIATE.
Seaflower Reef Race
Sailing PHRF Doublehanded will be Kevin Marks’s J/99 VELOCITY 2 from Norton Yacht Club in Darien, CT. Then, racing in the PHRF Division is Jim Farrell’s J/35 SAPPHIRE.
For the Stamford Vineyard Race results
https://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu/50775
For more Stamford YC Vineyard Race sailing information
https://www.stamfordyc.com/Sailing/Vineyard_Race_(1)