60th Annual Ram Island YC Around Island Regatta
SeTherin - First Place Sunday 8-28-05
Race 2 of the Island Cup
Crew: Brian, Seth, Kim & RW
Current: flood 1240 Napatree Point
Wind: SE 5-14 kts.
Start: 1015 hours. ¼ m/W Groton Long Point
Course: counter clockwise around Fishers, finish at Ram Island 1353 Distance: 14.4 nm
Ram Island Yacht Club's Annual ˜Around Island Race" is one of the premier races of Eastern Long Island Sound and one of three annual races around Fishers Island (this coming Saturday is the last). In a twelve boat class made up of most of the boats from Wednesday nights? Class 3, plus a few more, we had a so-so start in about eight knots breeze mid-line then shortly tacked to port. Soon the faster boats (all of them) pulled away and left us in clear air all the way to Race Point. For some odd reason the boat would not point with the fleet on port, so we bit the bullet doing our best to keep the boat going fast as possible a couple degrees farther off the wind. Past North Hill it got gusty (10 to 14) and we got things cooking with Brian working the flattening reef-boomvang combo as Kim & Seth constantly moved back and forth across the boat in gusts while also trimming the genoa.
The wind diminished as we approached Silver Eel and the pointing problem became an issue as Premium (Soverel 30) over taking to our lee forced us into a short tack towards shore. Back on starbard it became obvious we would not be able to point high enough to round near the Race Point nun. Early on Seth noticed most of the larger faster boats ahead of us had gone in towards the airport after rounding Race Point but were going nowhere (no wind). Rather than tack and lose momentum in the notorious chop of the Race, we continued on out on port in the very light air till we had a visual on the far end of the island. Talking with Cosmic Debris later, Andy mentioned at one point they were completely flipped around by the chop.
And as we often find, it is a whole new race after rounding Race Point. All of our competition was still in sight. At one point Salud (Pearson 30) crossed just in front of us on their way out from shore. When they tacked back to starboard we were ahead (briefly), another first and probably a last as Seth observed. Down the island's seven mile back side two more tacks out on port were necessary. On the last we went out a bit beyond the layline, thinking to overstand rather than chance having to beat out against the predicted flood at Lord's Passage. We set the spinnaker (a bearaway) at Lord's MOA for the reach to the Stonington Gong. Piper Too (Tartan 34, non-spinnaker) rounded directly behind and passed to our windward. We then reached up above them and passed as we would never have gotten by in their lee. Following the jibe at the Gong, we had a great reach under spinnaker to the finish as the wind built to near fourteen knots. For once the tide and current conditions were just right for us in that we had no adverse current at any time. It will be different story next Saturday at the Fishers Island YC race. A lot of fun was had by all. This one was for Bob.
Ram Island 2005 Regatta Results
Link to Ram Island 2005 Regatta Chart
All this as Katrina was about to wreck havoc and devastation on our old Gulf Coast!