Strong line-up

Dana Paxton reviews the Annapolis to Newport Race fleet setting sail tomorrow

With the start date of the 2005 Annapolis to Newport Race quickly approaching, a wide range of competitors have gathered in Annapolis harbor for final pre-race inspections scheduled to begin at noon today. Well-known and untested yachts alike - ranging in size from 33 to 72 feet - will compete in the 28th biennial race scheduled to start on Friday, June 10, at 1200 hours.

Taking advantage of innovations in the 58-year-old race, about half the fleet, including many of the faster boats, have opted to race in the new IRC class. Six club challenge teams will compete, from host clubs Annapolis Yacht Club (two teams), Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, and New York Yacht Club, as well as Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia and the Tred Avon Yacht Club of Oxford, Md.

At 72ft, long-time Annapolis-to-Newport competitor and Chesapeake Bay-berthed Donnybrook is the largest entrant in the fleet. Jim Muldoon’s Donnybrook has been first to finish in four different Annapolis to Newport races. Sjambok, Michael Brennan’s TP 52 from Newport, RI, 2003 overall third-place finisher and holder of the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race record, also is returning. Other returning competitors include James Thompson’s Ariel, 2003 PHRF class champion, Henry Morgan’s Dolphin, the second-place class finisher in both 2001 and 2003, and Newbold Smith’s Reindeer, continuing Smith’s reign as the most frequent competitor, with 21 races completed.

Newer competitors include Ned Dunham’s Mistrall 33 Beinestar, the smallest entrant in the fleet racing for the Corinthian Yacht Club. Ken Comerford, crew aboard the 2003 overall winner, Y2K, is entering his own Beneteau 40.7, Moon Racer. Peter Scheidt, a past competitor aboard his own J/35 Maggie, is skippering Craig MacKibbon’s Beneteau Reveur. Jeff Hughes, a veteran off-shore racer in the Marblehead to Halifax and Newport to Bermuda races, is entered in his 64ft custom Amelia3. Donna Schlegel aboard and Nicole Christie aboard Eurotrash Girl are the two female skippers in the fleet.

Continuing the tradition of offshore training for the US service academies, the US Naval Academy has fielded four entries and the US Coast Guard Academy has entered one boat.

Class divisions will be announced at the skipper’s meeting on Thursday, June 9 at 1630 hours, followed by a reception for all competitors. Full fleet race tracking will be available. The Internet-based tracking program, provided through a sponsorship by T. Rowe Price Investment Services, has equipped each boat with an iBoat Track GPS transponder that is mounted on the deck. Course positions will be updated every two hours, providing position, speed, fleet and class positions during the entire length of the course.

The Annapolis to Newport Race is one of the most historic and well-known of the U.S. East Coast blue water races. Linking two seaports dating from our nation's birth, Annapolis and Newport, the race provides challenging diversity over different bodies of water, as well as convenient ports of refuge along the entire course. As a result, the race is a favorite for first-time off-shore competitors, as well as experienced blue water racers. The record time for the 58-year-old race is held by Carrera, Joseph Dockery's Farr 60 skippered by Chris Larson, which set a new course record in 2001 of 42 hours, 58 minutes, 12 seconds. The race is organized by the Annapolis Yacht Club, with assistance from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, New York Yacht Club and Ida Lewis Yacht Club.