Readying for the off

Newport-Bermuda Race gets going this Friday

With just days and hours until the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race starts the 2nd century of racing to Bermuda, boats are going full tilt on last minute preparations. June 20th and the thrash to the Onion Patch is right around the corner and there is no time to spare.

While many crews are busy stowing groceries and gear for the 635-mile ocean crossing, including the favorite for line honors, Alex Jackson's new 99ft super maxi Speedboat, some found weaknesses the hard way in the New York Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta presented by Rolex last weekend. Brisk winds and lumpy seas stressed crew and gear in Sunday’s races.

Steven Sherwin, a doctor from Bermuda, was pushing his Corby 41.5, Nasty Medicine, around the course on Sunday and doing well. He had a 5,2 on Saturday. But big daddy Neptune decided to give him an ugly Father’s Day present. He was racing well, in the top three and bam! The clew of his main ripped out. He had to go back to town for a replacement.

“It was very disappointing for us,” Sherwin said. “Shortly after the start of the third race in the NYYC Regatta, the clew of our new mainsail blew out leaving us with no alternative but to return to the dock. We changed back to the old main as rapidly as possible and returned to the racecourse only to find the fourth and final race was in its closing stages. We spent the rest of the day tuning the boat and will be contacting our sail maker for an explanation of the sail failure. Needless to say it was not the best way to finish what we felt was an improving performance across the weekend. “

Maybe it is good karma for Sherwin to get his troubles behind him. He bought the boat this spring, previously named Wahoo, to replace an older design he had been racing. Sailing the upgraded Nasty Medicine is all-new to the Bermuda crew.

Conspiracy, a NYYC Swan 42 owned by the Cahoots syndicate, was holed in the starboard aft quarter in a collision on Saturday. They made midnight repairs and came back on the course Sunday. In the wind on that day they were off the pace, maybe a little gun shy from the previous day’s adventure.

Race day, June 20th, should see more than 200 boats on the line just off of Castle Hill Lighthouse between Narragansett Bay and the Rhode Island Sound. The first start is at 1300hrs EDT.

Entries by length

Yacht	Yacht Type	Division	Skipper
SPEEDBOAT	JuanK 98	Open	Jackson, Alex
RAMBLER	CTM 90	GHL	David, George
HEXE	Frers 80	SDL	Plambeck, Norbert
NIRVANA	80' Maxi	SDL	Kiefer, Charles
SHOCKWAVE 5 (BONBON)	R/P 80	SDL	Short, Andrew
DONNYBROOK	Smith/Lee 73	SDL	Muldoon, James P.
VO 70	VO 70	Open	Read, Ken
BELLA MENTE	RP 69	GHL	Myles, Robert
GRACIE	McC&R 69	SDL	Frank, Steve & Simon
BLACK WATCH	CTM 68	SDL	Breeden, Richard C.
CHIPPEWA	Swan 68	SDL	Deutsch, Clayton
BLUE YANKEE	RP66	GHL	Towse, Bob & Farley
NUMBERS	IRC 66	GHL	Barnitt, John
DEFIANCE	J/V 66	SDL	USMMA, Riker/Rego
ZARAFFA	RP 66	SDL	USNA, Hamlet
TUCANA	Vindo 65	CD	Murli, Joe
MONEYPENNY	RP 65	GHL	Swartz, Jim
ROSEBUD/TEAM DYT	STP 65	GHL	Slaughter, Jimmy
BRAND NEW DAY	J 65	SDL	Madden, James
EDEN	Swan 65	SDL	Fan, Allen
MISCHIEVOUS	CTM 65	SDL	Fitzgibbons, Albert J
MOONRACER	LH 60	CD	Hudner, Michael
AQUARIUS	Swan 601CR	GHL	Fleet, Sam
CAPTIVITY	CM60	GHL	Byrne, Samuel T
HOUND	CTM 60	SDL	Eberhart, Frank
SERENGETI	Tripp 60	SDL	Weiss, Chad
BLUE WHALE	Cape Fear 60	UNK	Mitchell, Kent
CETACEA	Hinckley SW 59	CD	Culver, Christopher J.
PILGRIM	CTM Able 58	CD	Wakeman, Andrew L.
CHARISMA	SS 57	SDL	Perez-Calzada, Alejandro
MENSAE	Swan 56	CD	Kristiansen, Erling
NOVA	Swan 56	CD	Distefano, Mark
CLOVER III	Swan 56	SDL	Finnegan, Neal F
FLYING GOOSE	Derecktor Ctm 56	SDL	Van Starrenburg, Daniel C.
FIRST LIGHT	Baltic 55 WK	SDL	Laus, Andre A.
RIMA2	RP 55	SDL	Brim, John G.
ATALANTA	LH 54	CD	Volkwein, James F.
SCARAMOUCHE	CTM 54	SDL	Bauerschmidt, Fred
SKY	Swan 53	CD	Reiher, Jim
BACCI	Swan 53	SDL	Vascotto, lorenzo
ISOLA	Baltic 52	CD	Eisenberg, Howard M
MAGIC	Santa Cruz 52	GHL	Laudon, Kenneth C.
ABIGAIL	CTM 52	SDL	Buck, Robert W
BOMBARDINO	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	Sykes, James and Macrae
HOKAHEY	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	Bailey, George
TWILIGHT	Cook 51	CD	Kiley, Robert
ALIDA	Alden 50	CD	Ratteray, Derek F. P.
AM3	Apogee 50	CD	Glenn, J. Lee
EIDER DOWN	Apogee 50	CD	Robinson, Bruce E.
TENHO	Farr 50 Pilothouse	CD	Howells, William D
SNOW LION	Ker 50	GHL	Huntington, Lawrence S.
SWEET LORRAINE	J 145 C	GHL	Hansen, Mark D
GRYPHON SOLO	Open Class 50	Open	Harris, Joseph S.
PRIVATEER	Cookson 50	Open	Henderson, Ian A
BUENA RACHA	J 145	SDL	Rooney, Francis
CADENCE	Apogee 50	SDL	Warters, R. David
SOLUTION	CTM 50	SDL	Bacon, Jr., Carter S.
THISTLE	Hinckley 48	CD	Middleton, John T
TIGER TOO	CTM 48	CD	Ritter, Toby G
WHISPER	Hinckley 48	CD	Vander Salm, Thomas J.
BARRA	Morris 48	SDL	Macneil, Bruce M.
CARINA	CTM 48	SDL	Potts, Rives
FURY	Baltic 48 DP	SDL	Gincavage, Ray J.
WESTER TILL	CTM A&R 48	SDL	Atkins, Fred J
WHISPER	Canning 48	SDL	Brotman, Sheldon
BANDANA	Swan 47	SDL	Benson, Charles F
GREY MATTER	470E	SDL	van Breems, Martinus
REINDEER	Morris 47	SDL	Santry, Parker, Driscoll
YOYO!	First 47.7	SDL	Whitworth, Spencer
BREEZING UP	J 46	CD	Willauer, W. Bradford
DIVA	Morris 46	CD	Fischer, MD, Edwin G.
GRYF II	US 46 Yawl	CD	Kaminski, Krzysztof R.
SISTER ROSE	Swan 46	DH	Milyasevich, Joseph
ABRACADABRA	J 46	SDL	Knowles, Jonathan D.
BABE	Swan 46	SDL	Couper, Dr. Colin E
CYGNE	Swan 46 CB	SDL	Peterson, Raymond S
GALADRIEL	Swan 46	SDL	Santa, John S.
NATALIE J	N/M 46 C/R	SDL	O'Niel III, Philip D
TABASCO	J 46	SDL	Levinson, John
TICKET TO RIDE	Swan 46	SDL	Whitmore, Edward
BLUEBIRD	Migrant 45	CD	Bird, Harry
FREEDOM	Sabre 452	CD	Thomson, Cary W.
LAURA B	Island Packet 45	CD	Triggs Jr., Joseph R.
TEMPTRESS	IMX 45	CD	Kits Van Heyningen, Robert W
SIRENSONG	J 133	GHL	Carroll, Thomas J
SJAMBOK	RP 45	GHL	Brennan, Michael J
BACCHANAL	J 133	SDL	Smeets, Jan K.
CRAZY HORSE	Frers Comp 45	SDL	Weiss, Ron
CYBELE	IMX 45	SDL	Burnes, Jr, Richard M
DEVOCEAN	Swan 45	SDL	de Voe, Stephen
PLENTY	Swan 45	SDL	Roepers, Alexander J.
WHIMSICAL OF WIGHT	Malo 45	SDL	Childs, Robert S
BONSPIEL	Nordic 44	CD	Richter, James J.
CHECKMATE	Alden 44	CD	Flores, Jr, Frank J
NOSTOS	Alden 44	CD	Weisman, Lorenzo D.
PILGRIM	Alden 44	CD	Rice, Mark
FREEBIRD	Swan 44	DH	Asche, Philip M
AKUBRA	J 44	SDL	Goodday, Dr. Reginald H B
CHALLENGE IV	J 44	SDL	Willis, Jeffrey W.
CHARLIE V	J 44	SDL	Schulman, MD, Norman H.
CHASSEUR	Swan 44	SDL	Keyworth, Michael
CILISTA	J 130	SDL	Eberle, Jeffrey L
CRESCENDO	Swan 44 Mk11	SDL	Jacobson, Martin
CYGNETTE	Swan 441	SDL	Mayer, William J.
DEFIANCE	Navy 44 MKII	SDL	USNA, Arnest
DELONG SHADOW	J 44	SDL	Hoffmann, Charles
EMILY	Nielsen CTM 44	SDL	Gaynor, Edwin S
GLORY	J 44	SDL	Neades, Jack
GOLD DIGGER	J 44	SDL	Bishop, James D.
HONAHLEE	J 44	SDL	Devore, H.L.
MAXINE	J 44	SDL	Ketcham, William P.
MOONDANCE	Swan 44	SDL	Crowley, Cliff and Nick
RESOLUTE	J 44	SDL	Rave,Jr./Rave, Donald T./Richard T.
RESOLUTE	J 44-WK	SDL	Madeira, Fred
RUNAWAY	J 44	SDL	Glenn, Lawrence R.
SAGITTA	J 44	SDL	Somes, Jon M.
SLIDE RULE	First 44.7	SDL	Bearse, Scott F
STAMPEDE	J 44	SDL	Sundstrom, Jimmie l
SWIFT	Navy 44 MKI	SDL	USNA, Poulin
VAMP	J 44	SDL	Sitar, Leonard J.
XENOPHON	Swan 44 MKII	SDL	Rabuffo MD, Jeffrey V.
AVALON	Baltic 43	CD	Feldman, Barry J
BERMUDA OYSTER	Oyster 435	CD	Hubbard, Paul. B.
CONVERGENCE	Jeanneau 43	CD	Linsley, James
SHEARWATER	Mason 43	CD	Biemesderfer, Daniel R.
OCEAN WANDERER1	Montevideo 43	DH	Wanderer, Erwin
BANGALORE	Rhodes CTM 43	SDL	Tefft, Carvel B
HIRO MARU	Swan 43 Classic	SDL	Nakajima, Hiroshi
MOJOE	Serendipity 43	SDL	Naroski, Joseph M
TANGO	Aerodyne 43	SDL	Millet, David F
ANJANEYA	Ben First 42	CD	Schwartz-Leeper, David A.
ATTITUDE	Beneteau 423	CD	Dahlen, Shawn
POESKE	Ben First 42	CD	Donn, MD, Richard
SHEILA R	Valiant 42	CD	Flaherty, III, James J
AFFINITY	J 42	SDL	Iacono, Anthony M .
BARLEYCORN	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Brownyard, Brendan J.
CABADY	Taylor 42	SDL	Baldwin, Mathew M
CATAPULT	J 122	SDL	Glimcher, Marc C
CELERITAS	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Gefter, Malcolm
CEOL MOR	J 42	SDL	Wilson, James C.
CHRISTOPHER DRAGON	J 122	SDL	Weiss, Andrew
CONSPIRACY	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Cahoots Syndicate, The
DOLPHIN	J 42	SDL	Morgan, Henry S.
FINESSE	J 42	SDL	Merrill, Newton P.S.
FLYING JENNY VI	J 122	SDL	Askew/Comerford, David/Ken
JACQUELINE IV	Hinckley SW 42	SDL	Forman, Bob
MARIAH	J 42	SDL	Hoffmaster, James F.
MORGAN'S GHOST	Swan 42	SDL	Hutchings, W. Preston
MUTINY	Swan 42	SDL	Madara, III, Edward S.
NIDA	LaCoste 42	SDL	Peleda, Darius
ORBIT	Swan 42	SDL	Vietor, Sandy
PATRIOT	J 122	SDL	Furnary, Stephen J.
SCHEMATIC	J 42	SDL	Fox, Bob
SCREAMING EAGLE	J 122	SDL	Chapman, John
TRUE	J 42	SDL	Hodgson, Jr., Howard B.
ZEST	Hinckley SW 42	SDL	Swiggett, Brian E.
ALIBI	J 120	DH	Grant, Jr., Gardner L.
DRAGON	J 120	DH	Van Slyke Jr., John
MIREILLE	J 120	DH	Gaynor, E. Hewitt
AURORA	Tartan 41	SDL	Kallfelz, Andrew F.
AVRA	J 120	SDL	Petrides, George
CARINTHIA	J 120	SDL	Kern, Frank
FAMILY AFFAIR	Tartan 41	SDL	McMahon, Paul M.
HIGH NOON	Tripp 41C	SDL	Markee, Joe D
PEREGRINE	J 120	SDL	Giorgio, Brian
RICOCHET	J 120	SDL	Academy, US Coast Guard
WINDBORN	J 120	SDL	Born, Richard W.
II BODACIOUS	Sabre 402	CD	Urbina, Jeffrey A
SHEARWATER	Morris 40	CD	Hall, Conrad M.
WILD GOOSE II	Jeanneau 40	CD	Walsh, Daniel J
AMHAS	Class 40	DH	Davis, MacKenzie B
DRAGON	Class 40	DH	Hennessy, Michael S
VALKYRIE	First 40.7	DH	Johnson, Bjorn R.
ACTAEA	BDA 40	SDL	Cone, Michael M
MISTY	J 40 SD	SDL	Allardyce, Fred A
NASTY MEDICINE	CTM 40	SDL	Sherwin, Dr. Stephen J.
NIGHT TRAIN	C&C 40	SDL	Moore, Paul
QUEST	Cambria 40 CB	SDL	Powers, Dennis W
SINN FEIN	Cal 40	SDL	Rebovich Sr., Peter S.
THULA	Baltic 39	DH	Little, Adrian J
FAT CITY TOO	Swan 391	SDL	Sherter, MD, Carl B
UPGRADE	Farr 395	SDL	Gibbons-Neff, Peter
GEM	Najad 380	CD	Markel, Michael
SPIRIT	Morgan 38	CD	Bogdan, Krzysztof
ESMERALDE	Sabre 386	DH	Beard, Jr., Bruce R.
PLUM CRAZY	Sabre 38 MKII	DH	Berg, Michael R.
ALEXIS	Aerodyne 38	SDL	D'Alessandro, Alfred C.
GREY GHOST	Zaal 38	SDL	Parish, Philip P
LINDY	Peterson 38	SDL	Dickerson, David G.
SELKIE	CTM 38	SDL	McCurdy, Sheila
WAZIMO	Aerodyne 38	SDL	Manchester, Robert
DAWN TREADER	Tartan 37	CD	Deichmann, Frederick W.
FIDELIS	Crealock 37	CD	Isacoff, Stephen
LORA ANN	Express 37	DH	du Moulin, Richard T
AMERICAN GIRL	X 37	SDL	Galyon, Daniel
LIVELY LADY II	Carter 37	SDL	Hubbard, III, William N
RIPPLE	J 37	SDL	Towers, John C.
SECOUDON II	CS 36	DH	Guptill, Fred
TENACIOUS	First 36.7	GHL	Dougherty, Julien
HELDELEINE	Pearson 35	CD	Culpepper, Daniel M.
OFFBEAT	J 109	DH	Hannah, Doug
PALADIN	J 35	DH	Richter, Jason, A
KILLUA	Aphrodite 101	DH	Binch, James G
SIREN	New York 32	SDL	Cassidy, Peter J
BANDERA	CTM S&S/Hinckley	CD	Watts, John
SILHOUETTE	Cherubini	CD	Caso, David M.
DOGSLED	Kaufman	SDL	Barnard, Todd F.
KODIAK	Sagamore	SDL	Ecclestone, Edwin Llwyd
PRIM	MO Owens Cutter	SDL	Gibbons-Neff, Henry
WESTRAY	Concordia Yawl	SDL	Melvin, John