Rambler takes Block Island Race

Navigator Wouter Verbraak reports on a first victory for George David's new Ken Read-driven maxi

With fast reaching followed by light fickle winds and ripping tides, this year's Block Island Race presented the fleet with its usual challenging conditions. South shore, north shore, or middle channel, at the start of the race - there was no clear favourite side.

With Bon Bon, Alchemy, Blue Yankee and Rambler entered in the Super Zero IRC class, maxi yacht sailing is clearly on the up on the east coast. One of the new faces was the Rambler (ex-90ft Alfa Romeo). After a big refit over winter the crew, under skipper Ken Read, were keen to test their new weapon. Blasting out of the Long Island sound at 18 knots with the Code 3 spinnaker up the boat immediately showed its potential.

"The forecast was for a sea-breeze enhancing the SW gradient to a healthy 15 knots in the afternoon," commented Wouter Verbraak navigator on Rambler. “It was tempting to just send it, but we did a good job restraining ourselves. We went slightly lower than the majority of the fleet to set-up for the lighter and lifted winds in the evening. This paid off when a few hours into the race we found ourselves gibing downwind in 6-8 knots of wind."

The next obstacle in the course was The Race. With 4 knots of currents roaring through the entry of the Long Island Sound, the teams had to get their timing right. For the maxi’s making the tidal gate was something of a lottery with big gains or losses to be had.

Wouter Verbraak: "We managed to get through The Race on the last bit of tide, and we let out a big sigh of relief. This was a crucial part of the race. Setting up the northern option early in the Race certainly helped us."

The course then took the fleet around Block Island and back through the Race to enter into the sound again the early morning. Rambler was leading the fleet by a large margin at this stage, but things were taking a turn for the worse.

"These were some of the most twisted conditions I have ever seen. The windshear was just unbelievable. For more than an hour we were sailed upwind with the top part of the sails completely inverted. On starboard tack the instruments at the top of the rig were indicating wind from port. How do you trim for that?" explained Chris Nicholson, watch captain on the Rambler.

With the Rambler battling light and flucky winds inside the sound, Blue Yankee and Bon Bon were taking big bites out of her lead. In the late morning finally the northwesterly wind that was lingering overhead mixed down to the surface and a little after midday Rambler crossed the finishing line at Stamford. Three hours later Blue Yankee claimed second on handicap finishing just behind Bon Bon, but too far behind Rambler, which took first place.

Skipper Ken Read was thrilled with this first performance of the Rambler: "The guys have done an impressive job in the last months to get the boat to were it is today. To go out and push a machine like this to its limits in it’s very first race is exceptional. It is a great feeling and now the owner can’t wait to see it out on the ocean."

The Rambler will race in next months HSH Nordbank race from Newport to Hamburg and will then proceed to participate in the Fastnet Race and Maxi Worlds.

Full results here