Sunday, September 18, 2016

Long Island Sound Championship Preview

J/105s sailing upwind (Riverside, CT)- The Storm Trysail Club and Riverside YC are hosting the 2016 Long Island Championships for IRC/ PHRF and one-design classes like J/70s, J/88s, J/105s and J/109s this coming weekend from September 17th to 18th in western Long Island Sound

The J/105 fleet will feature nine teams that are all practicing for the upcoming J/105 North Americans in Larchmont, New York.  Top teams include LOULOU (Paul Beaudin from Harlem YC in New York, NY), George & Alex Wilbanks’ REVELATION from Cedar Point YC from Westport, CT, and Mark Masur’s TWO FEATHERS from Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX.

J/88 one-design sailing upwindAlso practicing hard for their upcoming J/88 North American at American YC in New York are a half-dozen J/88’s.  Based on recent developments within this fleet, it’s incredibly difficult to “handicap” the top boats as virtually every team has either won or hopped onto the podium in this summer’s larger regattas.  The teams include Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from Huguenot YC in New Rochelle, NY; Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE from Riverside YC in Riverside, CT; Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY from Noroton YC in Darien, CT; John Pearson’s RED SKY from Setauket YC in Setauket NY; Mike Bruno’s WINGS from American YC in Rye, NY; and Doug Newhouse’s YONDER from New York YC in Newport, RI.  Between this assemblage of crews are the winners of the J/88 Midwinters in Key West, Charleston Race Week, New York YC Race Week, J/Fest Regatta, Sail Newport Regatta and Cedar Point One-Design Regatta!

The J/109 class will feature top crews like Chris Ercole’s SWEET CAROLINE from Hempstead Harbour YC and Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY from Larchmont YC (a recent top boat in the Stamford Vineyard Race).

The J/70 teams will include the Quantum Winter Series Overall Champions, John & Molly Baxter’s VINEYARD VINES from Riverside YC.  Finally, in PHRF Class 2 are a mix of J/crews, including Bill Maher & Reuven Latovitzki’s J/29 RIFT from LHYC in Huntington, NY; Mark Parry’s J/35 BLUE MOUSE from Riverside YC; and Jaso Viseltear’s J/80 UPSETTER from Huguenot YC.  Sailing photo credits- John Lincourt. For more Long Island Sound Championship sailing information