WindCheck Magazine
Daily Coverage
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 With a four-hour delay on shore today, 1500
sailors got to enjoy some fun and games
before heading out for a fourth day of
competition at the Storm Trysail Club’s Block
Island Race Week XXIII presented by Rolex.
For the first time since Monday, when the five
day event started, the damp air rolled itself
back by mid-morning and revealed a hint of
blue sky, but it had taken the wind in payment.
Lauded for precision and wise decisions, the
Race Committee issued constant updates
while sailors socialized on the docks (at three
different marinas within walking distanc
each other and accommodating 153 boats) or
indulged in wiffle ball and other lawn games best played in bare feet. At the end of the day, two
race circles had completed a single race, while a third (with five classes) had tried but failed.
 Heidi Benjamin was wearing a “lucky” Storm
Trysail Club bandana on her head yesterday
when High Noon, the Tripp 41 she owns with
her husband Steve, posted two wins in IRC
40Aclass, so she wore it again today. As
tactician, she made calls heavily dependent
on current, and finished second in today’s
race. “We have a shot at winning tomorrow if
we have two races,” she said, noting only five
points between her team (currently in third
overall) and Cool Breeze, the Mills 43
skippered by John Cooper (Springfield, MO)
that took over first-place today. The
Benjamins bought High Noon in early 2000 (it was built in 1994) and have modified
it over the years to be a competitive IRC boat. “It is light-air optimized for Long Island Sound,”
she said, adding that it says a lot for the IRC rule that an older boat can be in the hunt at a
major race week like this.
 In PHRF 1 (one of the classes that did not race
today), XLR8, an Evelyn 32, skippered by Brad
Porter (Westbrook, Conn.), will start fresh
tomorrow on the merit of scores posted
yesterday. Pitman Erik Eisensmith (Lyme,
Conn.) described Monday’s windy around-the
island race, which XLR8 won, as “absolutely
great,” but quickly added that breakdowns on
Tuesday were disheartening. “In one race we
were over early, broke our pole and ripped a
spinnaker, so we spent the rest of the day
getting it all sorted out and our heads back into it. We finished the day upbeat, and yesterday
finished 1-2.” There is a two-point spread between XLR8 and second-place Beneteau 34
L’Outrage, owned by Bruce Gardner (Annapolis, Md.).
Mort Weintraub’s (Larchmont, N.Y.) Express 37 Troubador has one of the better score lines
here, with six victories over the last seven races in IRC 35 class, but Weintraub says he has
nothing to do with it. “I only provide the lunches and the beer and pay the bills,” he laughed.
Jamie Anderson (Larchmont), who has been sailing with Weintraub since he was 13 and now
works on Wall Street, steers and organizes the crew of “mostly people who are in New York for
their first jobs out of college.”
 The two biggest boats in the regatta – the
STP65 Rosebud/Team DYT, owned by Roger
Sturgeon (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and
Vanquish, owned by the U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy (USMMA) -- are sailing alone in IRC
Zero class, but neither team seems to mind
too much. “Rosebud/Team DYT is getting
ready for their Europe trip (to compete in the
Rolex Fastnet Race in August), so this is good
for them,” said Ralf Steitz (Kings Point, N.Y.),
who runs the USMMA Sailing Foundation,
“and for us, we can all learn from these guys.” Steitz explained that Rosebud/Team DYT has
exhibited extraordinary sportsmanship over seven races, of which only one has Vanquish’s
winning name on it. “Two days ago, we snagged the Race Committee boat at the start, and
they waited for us to line up again with them so we could begin our race evenly,” said Steitz.
“As well, Roger donated many of Rosebud’s older sails to us – that is a wonderful thing.” Steitz
explained that the foundation relies on donations, and last December when Jim Swartz donated
Vanquish (well-known as Moneypenny at the time), it was a great boon to the offshore sailing
program.
 The USMMA brought along its own
hotel/container in the form of a108’ navy yacht
patrol boat named Liberator. The midshipmen
stand anchor watch each night and navigated
the “small ship” to get here, all as part of their
training. With a full galley and rustic but
practical accommodations that include 26
bunks, it is home to the 32 midshipmen here
who are racing three boats (Vanquish, the
J/29 Renegade in PHRF 2 class, and Nimbus,
which won both races yesterday and won
again today to move from third to second in
the Farr 40 one-design class.) “It’s the perfect
race support boat. If I had the coin, I would buy this instead of a flash support boat!” said Steitz.
As for the sailing experience for the midshipmen, it can’t be duplicated. “I had never even seen
a sailboat before I got to the Academy,” said Karen Gilkey, a freshman who works the pit
aboard Nimbus. “I started out sailing a Farr 40 and I had no idea how monumental that was; it’s
almost unheard of!”
Racing concludes tomorrow with prizes awarded in four IRC classes (33 boats total) taking part
in the 2009 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series, five PHRF classes (40 boats), and eight One-Design
classes (Beneteau 36.7, NYYC Swan 42, Farr 40, J/122, J/44, Farr 30,J/109, and J/105).
Media Pro International
Barby MacGowan
PHOTOS: BLOCKISLANDRI.NET |
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