2011 Block Island Race Week

[MLovett]

June 19, 2011

Block Island Race Week Presented by Rolex
Block Island, RI, USA


An Island Anniversary, A Sailing Celebration

The smallest town in the smallest state of the union — Block Island, Rhode Island — is celebrating the 350th anniversary of its settlement, and as if by design, thousands of sailors landed here yesterday on what was officially Founders Day to begin preparing for one of its most popular, traditional events: the Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. The 24th edition of this biennial regatta, which starts tomorrow, will be a festive one indeed for both Block Island residents and visitors when 133 boats add a rainbow of color to the stunning ocean vistas that were secured ten thousand years ago, when glaciers pushed their way down the East Coast and left behind the rocks and soil that was to form this little paradise.

As the Chamber of Commerce literature declares, “Because of the particular forces of nature that went to work on Block Island, no other place on earth shares its geography, nor its balance of species,” and it can certainly be said that Block Island Race Week is as different in its own profile than any other sailing event in the country. With five full days of around-the-buoys racing, one day is devoted to an around-the-island race that keeps competitors humbled by the awesome juxtaposition of man and nature. Then there is the top flight race management of the Storm Trysail Club to consider and the hardware to be fought for: trophies for the IRC and J/109 East Coast Championships and the J/122 Nationals (with these one-designs sailing as a subset of PHRF), along with traditional class trophies (and sub-class trophies for Farr 40, Farr 30, J/111, J/29 and Farr 395) and the ultimate prize of the week: a stainless steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece, one each to be awarded to the IRC winner of the around-the-island race and the respective yachts with the best corrected speeds from the Red racing circle and combined White/Blue circles.

“This is one of the last true race weeks to be enjoyed,” said STC Vice Commodore and Event Chair Nick Langone. “The reason we keep coming back as a club is because Block Island still has its innocent nature, and that, combined with the wonderful attitude of the people, is what makes the partnership successful.”

Teams will be sailing in either IRC (four handicap classes for 39 boats), PHRF (six handicap classes for 48 boats) or one-design (four classes—Swan 42, J/44, J/109 and J/105--for 46 boats).

Among the high profile sailors here are 2006 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith (Marblehead,Mass), sailing the Taylor 44 Africa in IRC 2, against, among others, Steve and Heidi Benjamin (Norwalk, Conn.) on their Custom 41 High Noon. In IRC 1, David and Sandra Askew (Annapolis, Md.), aboard the IRC 52 Flying Jenny 7, have added Gary Jobson (also Annapolis) as navigator since they won their class at the recent New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta. Many of the boats they will sail against here are the same as were in the Annual Regatta, including Richard Oland’s (St. John, New Brunswick, CAN) Southern Cross 52 Vela Veloce, which won Key West Race Week (overall and in class) and the RORC Caribbean 600 (in class) and has Canadian helmsman and Olympic hopeful Richard Clarke aboard.

“The 52s are the sweet spot of IRC racing,” says Oland, who won the Annual Regatta’s around-the-island race but then succumbed to the Askews in buoy racing. As for the Askews, they feel good about their prospects here among yet another five 52s that will make for exciting, closely matched racing in that class. “The boat is new to us,” said David Askew, explaining that he bought the boat in the spring from the King (Juan Carlos) of Spain after it had been hit in competition. “We bought it, hole and all, and we are doing fine with it, but there is a lot of learning going on.” The Askew’s are not new to Race Week, having finished second in 2009 aboard their J/122 and won it four years ago in their J/120.

There are also many teams, including several with multiple family members, who return year after year to Race Week. “Seven of our crew are in their teens or 20s,” said Geoff Pryor (Middletown, R.I.), a crew member aboard Tom Rich’s (also Middletown) Peterson 42 Settler in IRC 4. “It includes my son Brendan on the bow and Tom’s daughter Laurie in the pit. We are serious about the racing, and we won our class here two times ago, but this is my holiday. It’s great fun.”

Racing headquarters for the 2011 Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex are located at The Oar Restaurant, while evening festivities and award ceremonies are held next door in the event tent. A Rolex watch will be raffled off at the end of the event along with a trip to the Bitter End Yacht Club to benefit the Block Island Rescue Squad, Block Island Maritime Institute and the Block Island Early Learning Center.

Compliments of Rolex, daily video shows of each day’s racing will be produced by Annapolis-based T2Productions and will be broadcast on-line each night by 9pm. The videos will be shown daily under the “Big Top” tent where all of Race Week’s sponsors will have a presence.

Current Sponsors are Rolex, Toyota, Caithness Energy, Mount Gay Rum, Vineyard Vines, ING Clarion, Gill, Gowrie Group, UKHalsey Sailmakers, Bitter End Yacht Club, New England Ropes, Hall Spars, Fiji Waters, West Marine, Yellow Tail, Heineken, Sailing World, and WindCheck.

For more information, visit www.blockislandraceweek.com

[MLovett]

June 20, 2011

First Day Worth the Wait

The wind didn’t know what to do this morning, and there wasn’t much to push it, so the Race Committee postponed ashore until 12:30 at the Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex. It was the first of five racing days, so the 1200 or more sailors on 134 boats were anxious to get started. In the end, 14 classes on three racing circles completed one race each in a late afternoon southwesterly that ranged from 9-14 knots.

Despite the slow start, the J/44s got off to a rousing regatta beginning, with Jeff Willis’s (Huntington, N.Y.) Challenge IV, the defending champion from 2009, winning today’s race. “We got a jump at the start at the committee boat end and were full speed,” said Challenge IV’s tactician David Willis (Huntington). “We were able to cover, extend our lead and find a nice controlling position, but there’s no doubt that in this class anyone can come back at you at any time.”
His sentiments were echoed by Tom Hering, a crew member aboard Resolute, owned by Don and Rick Rave (also Huntington), which finished fourth today. “All the boats here race against each other every week on Long Island Sound; on any given day any boat can win.” Hering explained the advantage of the class owning the sails rather than each owner investing separately in new suits of sails at will. “The class keeps track of the hours on the sails, and we rotate them among the boats, so it evens the playing field.”

In the PHRF Farr OD class, the Farr 40 Tsunami, owned by Preben Ostberg/Todd Olds/Bud Daily (Rockville, Md.) won, but nipping at its heels tomorrow will be Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass.), who finished second today aboard his Farr 30 Barking Mad. Andy Green, the starting helmsman from Great Britain’s 2003 America’s Cup campaign is calling tactics and trimming main aboard Barking Mad and is experiencing Block Island and sailing with Richardson both for the first time. “It’s all proper New England clam chowder, white-washed clapboard houses...I love it here,” said Green with a huge smile. “And Jim has won so much (also with his Farr 40 of the same name) and runs an amazing program, so it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

With Race Week serving as the 2011 IRC East Coast Championship, four classes are hosting a total of 39 IRC boats in contention for the title (to be determined by the best corrected speed among the winners of these classes). Of note in the IRC 1 class packed with IRC 52s is today’s winner Vesper (formerly Quantum Racing), an ex-Audi MedCup boat owned by Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah), who has made his name with a string of successful race boats sporting names with James Bond themes. Newer to the game, but a threat all the same with his commitment to success is Peter Cunningham (George Town, Grand Cayman) with another newly acquired MedCup boat PowerPlay (formerly Synergy), which finished third to Flying Jenny 7’s (David and Sandra Askew, Annapolis, Md.) second today.

“Today was a great opener for the class,” said Tony Rey (Middletown, R.I.), PowerPlay’s crew manager and member of its afterguard. “It illustrated to all of us how great the racing will be boat-for-boat here. Nobody is fast enough to let the boat get them out of trouble; we couldn’t be more excited about this.”

Three J/122s are competing for their 2011 National class title as well as for class victory over 13 total boats competing in IRC 3 class. If the rest of the week goes as well for the J/122 Plum Crazy II, which won today, the boat’s owner Andrew Skibo (Ocean City, N.J.) may just accomplish both goals.

Fifteen J/109s are competing for their East Coast Championship, and Jim Vos’s (New Canaan, Conn.) Scoot is the early leader there, while in J/105s, with 13 boats, Damian Emery’s (Shoreham, N.Y.) Eclipse leads.

Others at the top of the scoreboard: in Swan 42s, Chris Culver’s (New York, N.Y.) Blazer; in PHRF Cruising Non-spinnaker, Alan Krulisch’s (Arlington, Va.) Crackerjack; In IRC 2, Lawrence Dickie’s (Greenwich, Conn.) Ptarmigan; in IRC 4, Tom Rich’s (Middletown, R.I.) Settler; in PHRF 1, 2, 3, 4, Tom Lee’s (Essex, Conn.) Jammy Beggar, Brad Porter’s (Westbrook, Conn.) XLR8, John & Tony Esposito’s (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) Hustler, and John Storck Jr.’s (Huntington, N.Y.) Rumor, respectively.

Today was Caithness Energy Race Day, and after competing under relentlessly sunny skies, sailors enjoyed more fun ashore, including sailing radio controlled sailboats and socializing at the Gill and WindCheck Party under the iconic “Big Top” Race Week tent, where nightly awards and daily highlight videos by T2p.tv are enjoyed. (The daily highlights are also broadcast on-line at www.blockislandraceweek.com each night by 9pm)

Race headquarters for the 2011 Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex are located at The Oar Restaurant. Sponsors are Rolex, Toyota, Caithness Energy, Mount Gay Rum, Vineyard Vines, ING Clarion, Gill, Gowrie Group, UK-Halsey Sailmakers, Bitter End Yacht Club, New England Ropes, Hall Spars, Fiji Waters, West Marine, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Heineken, Sailing World, and WindCheck.

A Rolex watch will be raffled off at the end of the event along with a trip to the Bitter End Yacht Club to benefit the Block Island Rescue Squad, Block Island Maritime Institute and the Block Island Early Learning Center. In 2009, this Race Week Raffle raised more than $16,000 for Block Island charities.

For more information, visit www.blockislandraceweek.com where WindCheck magazine’s Daily Race Week News can be read online. Follow us on facebook and twitter @BIRWXXIV.

About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America’s Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including elite athlete preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events.

Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex joins other prestigious Rolex-sponsored events in 2011 including the Rolex Miami OCR, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, Rolex Osprey Cup and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

About Storm Trysail Club
Reflecting in its name the sail to which sailors must shorten when facing adverse conditions, the Storm Trysail Club is one of the world’s most respected sailing clubs, with its membership comprised strictly of skilled blue water and ocean racing sailors. www.stormtrysail.org.

[MLovett]

June 21, 2011


AWESOME SAILING, LAID-BACK FUN

The Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) biennial Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex is underway for its 24th time since it was first held in 1965, and by all indications, it hasn’t lost one bit of charm or competitive appeal in a history that spans more than four and a half decades. In fact, the five-day competition, originally patterned after Cowes Week, is one of the last true Race Weeks remaining in America, with a dominant theme of hard racing and fine competition supported by a subtext of daily camaraderie in complete informality. The event is hosting 134 boats sailing in IRC (four classes), PHRF (five classes) and One-Design (Farr, NYYC Swan 42, J/44, J/109 and J/122) and is serving as the 2011 IRC East Coast Championship, the J/122 National Championship (with the contenders sailing in IRC 3), and the J/109 East Coast Championship.

For a second day, light wind caused a delay ashore, but just as in yesterday’s opener, the fleet was rewarded for its patience in the late afternoon when the breeze generated enough horsepower for 13 of 14 classes to complete two races each. (PHRF Cruising Non-spinnaker completed one.)

In J/109 class, the largest here with 15 boats, it was Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, Md.) who got the most bang for his buck today by winning both races with his crew aboard Rush. Combined with yesterday’s second, the performance gave him four points to the 12 posted by Skip Young’s (Guilford, Conn.) Dragonfly, in second.

“Today, we had reasonably comfortable leads with no last-minute scrambling to try to finish first,” said Sweetser, “as opposed to yesterday, when we had several boats on our heels, and when we finished we were asking ourselves ‘did we come in second, third or fourth?’” Sweetser added that he has to watch all the boats, not just one or two. “There are a lot of newer boats here that we haven’t had the occasion to sail against. It’s exciting and almost a record for these boats in one place for one regatta.” Sweetser, who bought his J/109 in 2003, remembers the 2005 BIock Island Race Week as the time when the class rules were first put together, and he hasn’t missed a Race Week since.

John Hele (Toronto, CAN/Newport, R.I.) on Daring dealt with the full-on effects of tight racing when he had to constantly fend off 12 other NYYC Swan 42s in his class. “I’d call that pretty close racing,” said Hele after posting a 2-3 today and reviewing the top four boat’s scores, which were within one point of each other. “It was pretty much all of us trading places both upwind and downwind. Plus, it was very busy on the race course with other boats from other classes.” He recounted that Vesper (from IRC 1) stole some of his air at the finish of race two, which was sailed in a breeze that had built from 6-10 knots (in race one) to 12-15. Hele, with his team here, will represent the Royal Canadian Yacht Club at this year’s New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, and says the NYYC 42 competition is benefitting from several U.S. teams who are vying for a berth to represent the New York Yacht Club there.

Tom Lee (Essex, Conn.), sailing Jammy Beggar, a Melges 32 sport boat, beat out four newly introduced J/111s in PHRF 1 to top his seven- boat fleet. “There is very good talent on those boats, and they all have plenty of experience at Block Island Race Week,” he said, noting that David and MaryEllen’s (Fairfield, Conn.) J/111 Partnership is only one point behind, with two other J/111s falling in right behind them on the scoreboard. “They seem to be quicker upwind and we are quicker downwind,” said Lee, who has won here several times and at least twice on a J/120, “but they are always very close and our ratings are fairly close.”

As for the overall experience to be had here, Andrew Skibow (Ocean City, N.J.), who fell to fifth today after leading in IRC 3 yesterday aboard Plum Crazy, said, “This is the biggest regatta we do now; it’s serious sailing but a family atmosphere—I’ve brought my whole family and we are staying in two houses. I like the whole mix of serious sailing with the laid back let’s-have-fun mentality. I don’t’ know if it’s the island or just the history of the event itself but it has always been that way; you can come to have fun or to see if you’re the best IRC boat out there.”

Mark Ploch (City Island, N.Y.), who is a world and North American champion in several different classes and is sailing aboard the NYYC Swan 42 Vitesse, added, “The reason they can get away with a full week is that half the people here are on vacation. If my kids were out of school I’d have them here, too, because it’s a great destination and Block Island wants us here. It’s easy to get to, and the diversity of the crowd is much greater and more interesting than at any other regatta; there is more old-style fun mixed in with high end serious racing.”

Today was Vineyard Vines Race Day, and Clarion Partner hosted the post-racing party under the “Big Top” Race Week tent, where nightly awards and daily highlight videos by T2p.tv are enjoyed. (The daily highlights are also broadcast on-line at www.blockislandraceweek.com each night by 9pm)

Race headquarters for the 2011 Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex are located at The Oar Restaurant. Sponsors are Rolex, Toyota, Caithness Energy, Mount Gay Rum, Vineyard Vines, ING Clarion, Gill, Gowrie Group, UK-Halsey Sailmakers, Bitter End Yacht Club, New England Ropes, Hall Spars, Fiji Waters, West Marine, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Heineken, Sailing World, and WindCheck.

A Rolex timepiece will be raffled off at the end of the event along with a trip to the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda to benefit the Block Island Rescue Squad, Block Island Maritime Institute and the Block Island Early Learning Center. (In 2009, this Race Week Raffle raised more than $16,000 for Block Island charities.) As well, a bid to the 25th Anniversary Pro Am Regatta at Bitter End Yacht Club will be won by one lucky Race Week class winner drawn from among all class winners on closing night.

For more information, visit www.blockislandraceweek.com

[MLovett]

June 22, 2011

RACE DAY LOST, DAY OFF GAINED

It didn’t matter that the sun wasn’t out, just that there was a slight promise the wind would blow on this third day of the Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) biennial Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex. The Race Committee sent the event’s fleet of 134 boats off to sail in 14 classes on Block Island Sound, but when the wind failed to deliver, it returned the competitors to wait ashore for further instructions and at 1:00 decided it best to cancel racing altogether for the day.

“Between the lack of wind and a squall getting ready to roll over the island, it was the prudent thing to do,” said Principal Race Officer Dave Brennan, noting that light air also caused postponements ashore on Monday and Tuesday but allowed for racing in the afternoons nevertheless. Unfortunately, the front passing today would have only rain to offer and nothing behind it wind-wise.

“It is what it is,” said Kevin Burnham (Coconut Grove, Fla.), a Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and 470 Men’s Olympic Gold Medalist sailing in IRC 2 aboard Jack Lefort’s (Stuart, Fla.) After Midnight. “We’re here for fun, not for sailing in the rain, so they made the right decision.”

That might have been easy to say back on shore, but action on the water in this class has been painting a fiercely competitive picture. After Midnight is a Tripp 41 chartered by LeFort and owned by Steve and Heidi Benjamin (Norwalk, Conn.), who are sailing their Custom 41 High Noon in the same class. (Burnham playfully pointed out that the respective sail numbers, US 1201 and US 1200, are a play off the two boat names.) Both teams are champion material, but they are in eighth and fifth, respectively, and Lawrence Dickie’s (Greenwich, Conn.) Ker 43 Ptarmigan is seemingly unstoppable, leading with three bullets in as many races.

For Henry Little (Newport, R.I.) aboard Charlie Milligan’s (also Newport) Act One, currently fifth in IRC 4, having the afternoon off wasn’t such a bad prospect, even though a few races today would have bettered the boat’s chances of catching up with class leader Settler, owned by Tom Rich (Middletown, R.I.).

“Block Island is a wonderland for things to do,” said Little, who soon began planning with David Doody (Bedford, N.Y.), a crew member off Bill Clemen’s (Riverside, Conn.) Coyote in IRC 3, to buy a clam rake for $64 dollars and a one-week clamming license for $20 in order to dig up a raw bar of Little Necks, Quahogs and Steamers. “Eighty four dollars for as much fun in the mud as you can have?,” he joked, “I’d say that’s a good deal.”

Doody said Coyote hasn’t been faring as well as his team would have wished on the race course (they are currently tenth), “but today I can say we held our own, and if we can get a couple o’ dozen littlenecks ahead of the game, we’ll be in good shape.”

Tomorrow, more rain is in the forecast for the morning, and light air is anticipated after that. Dave Brennan said that Race Week’s Around the Island Race, which is traditionally held on Wednesday, might be held on Friday. “That’s the last day with sufficient enough wind to possibly get the boats around,” he said.

Racing concludes Friday for the five-day competition, which is hosting IRC (four classes), PHRF (five classes) and One-Design (Farr, NYYC Swan 42, J/44, J/109 and J/105) racing. The event is also serving as the 2011 IRC East Coast Championship, the J/122 National Championship (with the contenders sailing in IRC 3), and the J/109 East Coast Championship.

[MLovett]

June 23, 2011

A SPECIAL RACE AROUND A SPECIAL ISLAND

After yesterday’s “no blow” for zero races, today’s 12-15 knots of breeze brought big smiles to the faces of more than 1,000 sailors competing in the Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) biennial Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex. Forecasted heavy rain did not hit until late afternoon, and that was well after the fleet of 134 boats was safely back at the docks after enjoying an 18.2 nautical mile Around-the-Island Race.

As spectators traveled to different vantage points around the tiny island of only 21 square miles, it couldn’t be denied that the biggest boats from IRC 1 and 2 were the best of show, especially as they found it advantageous to tuck in close to the beach near North Light right after they started on the west side of the island. At Southeast Lighthouse, a full array of colorful spinnakers added to the visual impact, and by then it was clear that Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s (Newport, R.I.) JV 52 Interlodge had a hold over the whole pack, and more important, was keeping its closest competitor in IRC 1, Peter Cunningham’s (George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY) 52-foot PowerPlay, well at bay. Interlodge eventually was first-to-finish in the race and in its class, and the performance brought it into a podium-position third from fourth yesterday. (Powerplay is currently second overall with Jim Swartz’s IRC 52 Vesper leading by a slim margin of two points.)

“The race was very exciting and intense,” said Austin Fragomen. “The distance between boats was very compressed, and the top four to five boats are very well sailed.“ Interlodge’s tactician Brad Read (Middletown, R.I.) explained that the team was neck-and-neck with PowerPlay after the start but got a lift and passed that boat and Vela Veloce before the first mark. After putting up its code zero, Interlodge then peeled to an asymmetrical to get a nice run on the backside of the island and “made a couple of moves” near the Southeast Lighthouse to extend. “PowerPlay is just so fast,” said Read. “If the race had been another 10 minutes longer they might have beat us boat-for-boat.”

Vesper, which until today had a perfect score line in IRC 1, fouled one of the smaller boats at the start and did a penalty turn, eventually finishing fifth. “We never recovered from that,” said owner Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah). “If we had rounded the island a second time maybe we could have.” Swartz is wishing for a couple of good races tomorrow, which is the last day of the five-day event, to defend his position at the top of the scoreboard. “It’s still anyone’s game.”

Lawrence Dickie’s (Greenwich, Conn.) Ker 43 Ptarmigan won IRC 2, adding another perfect score to three victories already posted after Monday’s opening race and two races held on Tuesday. With an eight-point lead over John Cooper’s (Springfield, MO) Mills 43 Cool Breeze, he may have the strongest position in the run for the IRC East Coast Championship. That title will be awarded at tomorrow night’s closing awards, and as well, the top performing IRC-rated boat from today’s Around-the-Island Race will be presented with a Rolex timepiece. (The event is also serving as the J/122 National Championship and the J/109 East Coast Championship.)
















After yesterday’s “no blow” for zero races, today’s 12-15 knots of breeze brought big smiles to the faces of more than 1,000 sailors competing in the Storm Trysail Club’s (STC) biennial Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex. Forecasted heavy rain did not hit until late afternoon, and that was well after the fleet of 134 boats was safely back at the docks after enjoying an 18.2 nautical mile Around-the-Island Race.

As spectators traveled to different vantage points around the tiny island of only 21 square miles, it couldn’t be denied that the biggest boats from IRC 1 and 2 were the best of show, especially as they found it advantageous to tuck in close to the beach near North Light right after they started on the west side of the island. At Southeast Lighthouse, a full array of colorful spinnakers added to the visual impact, and by then it was clear that Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s (Newport, R.I.) JV 52 Interlodge had a hold over the whole pack, and more important, was keeping its closest competitor in IRC 1, Peter Cunningham’s (George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY) 52-foot PowerPlay, well at bay. Interlodge eventually was first-to-finish in the race and in its class, and the performance brought it into a podium-position third from fourth yesterday. (Powerplay is currently second overall with Jim Swartz’s IRC 52 Vesper leading by a slim margin of two points.)

“The race was very exciting and intense,” said Austin Fragomen. “The distance between boats was very compressed, and the top four to five boats are very well sailed.“ Interlodge’s tactician Brad Read (Middletown, R.I.) explained that the team was neck-and-neck with PowerPlay after the start but got a lift and passed that boat and Vela Veloce before the first mark. After putting up its code zero, Interlodge then peeled to an asymmetrical to get a nice run on the backside of the island and “made a couple of moves” near the Southeast Lighthouse to extend. “PowerPlay is just so fast,” said Read. “If the race had been another 10 minutes longer they might have beat us boat-for-boat.”

Vesper, which until today had a perfect score line in IRC 1, fouled one of the smaller boats at the start and did a penalty turn, eventually finishing fifth. “We never recovered from that,” said owner Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah). “If we had rounded the island a second time maybe we could have.” Swartz is wishing for a couple of good races tomorrow, which is the last day of the five-day event, to defend his position at the top of the scoreboard. “It’s still anyone’s game.”

Lawrence Dickie’s (Greenwich, Conn.) Ker 43 Ptarmigan won IRC 2, adding another perfect score to three victories already posted after Monday’s opening race and two races held on Tuesday. With an eight-point lead over John Cooper’s (Springfield, MO) Mills 43 Cool Breeze, he may have the strongest position in the run for the IRC East Coast Championship. That title will be awarded at tomorrow night’s closing awards, and as well, the top performing IRC-rated boat from today’s Around-the-Island Race will be presented with a Rolex timepiece. (The event is also serving as the J/122 National Championship and the J/109 East Coast Championship.)

Special Guests
Howie Rice, the Vice President of Block Island’s Chamber of Commerce, watched the racing from Southeast Lighthouse today after delivering 52 fourth graders to its sweeping lawn on the school bus he drives for his “other job.” He has lived on the island since 1945, and since Race Week has been re-appearing here every other year since 1965, he is friends with many of the Storm Trysail Club organizers. “We all do what we can to make this work,” he said, “and we like the publicity we get from this. People all over are tightening up their belts, but they are still coming out here, because everyone realizes that what we have on this island is special. There are 27 miles of nature trails, 47% of the island is preserved, we use reverse osmosis for our drinking water...I could go on and on.”

The pristine beauty here is exactly what brought Brian Gillen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and his classic 43-foot yacht Latitude back to the island this week after discovering it last summer. When he learned that Block Island Race Week was underway, he asked race officials if he could sign up just for the Around-the-Island Race so he could be part of the spectacle. “We’re not really racers,” he said, which might explain his last-place finish today, “but we wanted to sail around the island anyway, so we thought we might as well have a purpose. The island is stunning, and the fact that the people are as caring to the island as they are, is amazing.”

Latitude, which “starred” as Angelina in the movie Romancing the Stone, ferried Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner down New York’s Madison Avenue in the movie’s last minutes. Today it joined the PHRF Cruising Non-Spinnaker class, devoted to sailors who like navigator-type courses and more relaxed sailing. That class is currently led by Jim Goldman’s (West Hartford, Conn.) C&C 36 Patience, which won today’s Around-the-Island Race for a score line of 3-1-1 over three races so far.