Minis in America

Ryan Finn wins first north American Mini race in the Bermuda 1-2

The inaugural Mini Transat 650 Race in North America was won by Ryan Finn Ocean Racing. In the first singlehanded leg of the Bermuda 1-2, Ryan Finn dominated the field of seven with a blistering final two days, setting a record time of 86 hours and 31 minutes or a little over three and a half days.

On the doublehanded return leg, starting on June 22, Ryan and co-skipper, Clark Thompson, were swept off course and staged a come from behind finish to win by a mere one hour and six minutes over ER Tape, skippered by Jan Brandt and Frank Gazioch. Team RFOR established a Mini course record on the doublehanded return leg of 5 days, 2 hours and 9 minutes.

This year was the first time that the 21ft Minis were invited to compete in the Bermuda 1-2. The Minis proved their ocean going pedigree, by beating many larger boats, with Team RFOR finishing 5th in the fleet of 41 on elapsed time.

The second leg saw a competitive start inside St. Georges, Bermuda Harbour, followed by tight racing among the lead four boats in lumpy upwind conditions. After 50 miles of sailing, the four leaders were separated by less than a mile. Team RFOR led the group, Team ER Tape staying close in touch, and WAFI and Reality opting to foot to the east for speed. The two lead boats had not lost sight of each other as they approached the southern wall of the Gulf Stream. At that time, a low descended over the fleet, and extremely light air conditions prevailed. ER Tape proved to be the better boat in the light air, and left RFOR in her wake. At this time ER Tape led the way west, and RFOR split for the east, a blunder that nearly cost them the race.

Upon entering the Gulf Stream, the wind died completely while the strong current swept the race leaders towards the east, away from the finish line. After a full day of slatting sails in the hot sun, a light breeze filled in the late evening, and RFOR was able to escape the foul current.

The weather forecast called for building conditions from the west, and RFOR made the gamble to sail the extra distance to the west side of the course to be the first to the new breeze, and in a position to benefit from a favorable wind angle. As the breeze began to build, the tension was palpable onboard, as Team RFOR knew that ER Tape had a sizeable lead. Over the next 30 hours, RFOR piled on sail area, stacked gear inside the boat as ballast, and filled water tanks for added power. Towards the end of the race, the wind was gusting to over 16 knots, and Team RFOR was sustaining average speeds of 10 knots and more. The GPS logged a peak speed of 15.3 knots in thrilling surfing conditions.

On approach to Newport, no one was sure if RFOR or ER Tape was in the lead. It was not until Ryan Finn phoned Team Manager, Katie Triplett, to say they were two miles from the finish line, that Team RFOR realised they were in the lead and swept the first ever Mini Class event in North American history!

Team RFOR would like to thank the Newport Yacht Club and the St. George’s Dinghy Club for putting on a stellar event. We also wish to extend a heartfelt thank you and share the congratulations with our friends and family and the following partners who made this victory possible:

America’s Wetlands
Billy Black
Cat 5 Composites
Dimension Polyant
GF Marine
Gulf Yachting Association
New Orleans Yacht Club
Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina
Newport Shipyard
Ronstan
Samson Rope
Ullman Sails Gulf Coast
White Cap Video
2H Media