Living up to reputation

Block Island Race Week underway

Federally-designated as one of the country’s 'Last Great Places', Block Island today became the best great place for racing sailors. On a sunny opening day of the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex, over 2000 sailors competed on four racing circles, with all but one of 17 classes completing three races each. The 190-boat fleet is enjoying IRC, PHRF and one-design racing for five days, with around-the-buoy races planned for all days but tomorrow (Tuesday), when an around-the-island race is scheduled. Today’s atypical easterly winds gradually clocked to the south, remaining in the 12-knot range for most of the day and picking up slightly in the late afternoon.

"By our third race, it was blowing 18 before the start, but it knocked back down to 15," said Paul Seamon, a crewman aboard Loki, which wound up fifth in PHRF class 4. "We were contemplating a #2 jib but stayed with our #1. There was plenty of wind, but it was very shifty, especially at the leeward mark set near shore. We were happy about the three races, of course. I mean why not, with the day being so nice?"

Three boats had perfect scores today to lead their classes. They were Moon Racer in the Beneteau 40.7 class, M&M’s, in the Beneteau 36.7 class, Chinook in PHRF class 4, and Big Time in PHRF class 5. In PHRF non-spinnaker class, which sailed one longer course around government marks, Rascal won.

In the Farr 40 class, Warpath leads, while Titan XII and High Noon lead in their respective IRC Super Zero and Zero classes. Titan won two of her races today with Numbers and Hissar falling in line behind her in overall scoring. The two latter boats, along with Rima are Farr 60s, which adds a one-on-one dimension to the racing in this class.

"It’s quite close with all of us," said Hissar’s main trimmer Mike Toppa. "We’re not trying to match race. We’re trying to race the fleet, but when you have three 60-footers, you’re closer, and there’s a lot more tacking on each other. Titan has a nice advantage in that they are usually out in front with clear air."

Block Island Race Week’s best overall performer from 2003, Pretty Sketchy is in an early lead in his J/105 class, the largest at the regatta with 21 entrants, while Challenge IV currently leads in J/44 class.

"Our finishes today (1-1-3)," said Willis, "came from making good starts and hitting the right side of the course. Our crew work was unbelievable. Our jibes were spot-on all day. But it’s a long week, and things can really change, and this is a very competitive class - Gold Digger had consistently strong finishes today (2-2-2)."

Tomorrow’s breezes are expected to be stronger, which should set the stage for high-quality racing around the island. The wild card, however, is a strong current that befuddles many. Things get especially interesting on the island's lee side, where the wind spreads out in cats' paws and rocky shallows test the draft and integrity of keels.

Results Day 1

Red 1-IRC Super Zero
1. Titan, Hill, 1-2-1, 4
2. Numbers, Meyers, 4-1-2
3. Hissar, Cato, 2-3-5, 10

Red 2-IRC Zero
1. High Noon, Collins/Benjamin, 2-1-2, 5
2. Bandit, Fisher, 1-2-4, 7
3. Better Than, Rojek, 4-4-1, 9

Red 3-Farr 40
1. Warpath, Howe, 1-3-2, 6
2. Groovederci, Demourkas, 2-4-3, 9
3. Le Renard, Phillips, 5-1-4, 10

Red 4-IRC One
1. Rum Funny, Suiter, 5
2. Christopher Dragon, Weiss, 4-1-5, 10
3. Settler, Rich, 3-3-6, 12

Red 5-IRC Two
1. Lora Ann, du Moulin, 2-1-5, 8
2. Troubador, Weintraub, 1-5-3, 9
3. Cabady, Baldwin, 4-7-2, 13

White 1-Farr 395
1. Avalanche, Albrecht, 3-3-1, 7
2. Tsunami, Ostberg/DA, 2-1-6, 9
3. Fearless, Durlach, 5-2-2, 9

White 2-J/44
1. Challenge IV, Willis, 1-1-3, 5
2. Gold Digger, Bishop, 2-2-2, 6
3. Maxine, Ketcham, 4-6-1, 11

White 3-Beneteau 40.7
1. Moon Racer, Comerford, 1-1-1, 3
2. Resolute, Arndt, 5-2-2, 9
3. Down Time, Freiteg, 3-3-4, 10

White 4-J/120
1. Ricochet, Lee, 1-3-1, 5
2. Euro Trash Girl, Weaver, 2-4-3
3. Sarah Beth, Bertekap, 3-2-4, 9

White 5-J/109
1.TBD, O’Dowd, 13-16-16, 45
2. Gut Feeling, Herlily, 1-2-2, 5
3. Electra, Crossley, 2-1-4, 7

White 6-J/105
1. Pretty Sketchy, Enright, 2-4-1, 7
2. Indefatigable, Lotz, 1-5-7, 13
3. Eclipse, Emery, 10-1-3

Blue 1-Beneteau 36.7
1. M&M’s, Ploch, 1-1-1, 3
2. Jublilee, Huge, 2-2-3, 7
3. Quokka, Peelen, 3-3-2, 8

Blue 2-PHRF
1. Remedy, Fries, 2-1-1, 4
2. Freightrain, Hyde, 5-3-3, 11
3. XLR8, Porter, 1-2-10, 13

Blue 3-PHRF
1. Cooch, Maxwell, 2-1-1, 4
2. Exhilaration, Hubbard, 1-3-3, 7.50
3. Showdown, Rasadi, 4-2-2, 8

Blue 4-PHRF
1. Chinook, Austin, 1-1-1, 3
2. Pirate, Baxter, 3-3-5, 11
3. Lunatic Fringe, Lehnert, 7-2-3, 12

Blue 5-PHRF
1. Big Time, Rajacich, 1-1-1, 3
2. Hocus Pocus, Suter, 2-4-3, 9
3. Air Express, Fesenmeyer, 3-5-2, 10

Green 1-PHRF Non-Spinnaker
1. Rascal, Weber, 1, 1
2. Rogue, St. Coeur, 2, 1
3. Xenophon, Pakos, 3, 3