Postcard Perfect Bermuda Sailing!

J/24s and J/105s Revel in Race Week
(Hamilton, Bermuda)- This years edition of the Bermuda International Invitational Race Week, powered by Bacardi Rums, proved yet again why crews love to get invited to sail in Bermuda.  What's wrong with this picture?  Get invited.  Go sail.  Go party.  Get picked up and delivered at the airport.  And, enjoy wonderful times with your gracious host!  For those who've experienced the extraordinary Bermudian hospitality, many simply say, "we've died and gone to sailing heaven".

The first day of racing for 83rd Bermuda International Invitational Race week started with beautiful sunny weather and winds out of the North between 15-20knots.   Day two of Race week was very exciting. Winds were 20-22 with gust to 30, the end result is the IODs had a little bit of damage.  Racing resumed day 4 (Wednesday) after racing was cancelled on Tuesday because of high winds 35-40.  Because of this the Tuesday night "Dock on the Dock" party was quiet because the racing was close for all classes. The rest of the week was both benign and beautiful.

The J/24 class in Bermuda threw down the red carpet and welcome mat again for their breathless guests.  This year there were teams from England (2), Canada (1) and USA (1).  Adorned with Bermuda shorts and polo-shirts, ready to tickle their toes in the famous pink sand beaches, and enjoying their first libations of Bacardi Rum drinks with umbrellas in them, it didn't take long for the visiting dignitaries to take on the sybaritic trappings of "island life" (where manana is manana-- e.g. tomorrow is tomorrow).  While being great and wonderful hosts, it did not mean the Bermudians were offering to duck everyone while on starboard or letting everyone "walk politely through the gate door first" and have room at the mark!  Au contraire!  The racing was fun but competitive.  And, having learned the ropes fast, young Trevor Boyce from Bermuda grabbed the "Wetty Gripper Trophy" for first overall.  The British team of Roger Morris managed to snag second and the Canadian team of Sean McDermott placed fourth.  Pete Ramsdale from Bermuda was third.

In the J/24 class there was some excitement on the first day.  Local boy, Trevor Boyce and his son decided to go swimming in the third race of the day getting a fourth in the that race after getting two bullets.  Lots of broaches in the J/24s, should be even more exciting tomorrow with higher winds.  At the end of the day, Trevor Boyce sailed very well and was first overall, and which was fairly certain before Friday's racing.  The major contest was for second, third and fourth place. The racing for those places was also decided right at the finish line with Peter Ramsdale just beating Sean McDermott by a nose and Roger Morris just beating Pete.  So Trevor was first with 17 points, Roger Morris from the UK was second with 25 points, Pete Ramsdale was third with 28 points and Sean McDermott from Canada was fourth with 30 points.  Talking with Trevor he said it was great racing all week and the competition was very close.

The J/105s have continued to grow as a fleet in Bermuda, taking advantage of the fact that you can buy great used J/105s in the USA and import them for less than half of what it cost to do new a dozen or so years ago.  This year, it is believed that it was the first time anyone had won a BIIRW Bacardi with nearly straight firsts!  Congratulations to Chuck Millican and Dave Brining for this remarkable feat.  Second was Jim McDonald and third was Ed Faries.

There was plenty of discussion at the Royal Bermuda YC bar about this year's race week and the weather.  What is interesting, since 1958, RBYC have never had a race week with the wind from the south!? And, that's despite the fact the prevailing wind in Bermuda is from the south!     Video of J/105s Sailing in Bermuda.      Video of J/24s Sailing in Bermuda.    For more Bermuda International Race Week sailing information.

  

Bermuda Race True Confessions #1- Ken Read

Multiple J/24 World Champion and native of Rhode Island chats about his first offshore racing experiences just before taking off on PUMA for the Newport-Bermuda Race:  “I did my first Bermuda race when I was seventeen, so I think that puts my count up to 12 of these races (?!?).

This is an ocean racing classic,” said the PUMA skipper. “I remember the good old days where I used to be a bit nervous heading out into the ocean and the great unknown.” After sailing around the world, the Bermuda Race is still a great adventure, but a little different now. “This is really just a bit more than a day race for us”, said Read. “The boat is fast and we’re pushing to get down to the finish as quick as possible.”

For PUMA, the Bermuda Race is a great opportunity to test the crew, boat, sails and all the little parts and pieces. “We still have il mostro and we’re going to get as much as we can out of the old girl. Our team has a schedule throughout the summer that includes everything we want to work on.”

Kenny went on to explain, “Putting ourselves in a racing situation is key. Simply testing the boat has a whole different mentality- there is a lack of tension onboard, but when you’re race-testing it’s just a whole different feeling onboard. Even though this isn’t a high pressure event for us, racing brings out different reactions, adds the element of intensity, and make the crew push the boat a bit harder. I’m a big promoter of doing as much race-testing as we can.”

Unlike the NYYC Regatta this past weekend, when PUMA was sailing under IRC handicap rules, the team expects to be a bit more competitive during the Bermuda Race. “In this race, we’re sailing under the ORR handicap system so the fact that we’re not racing against any other Volvo 70’s really is not a huge factor. What that means is that all the boats with canting keels (all three of us) are in the same division. We’ll be calling ourselves the bizarre and abnormal division.”

In addition to PUMA, this division includes the 100 foot Speedboat and 90 foot Genuine Risk. Kenny has also pin pointed a few similar sized boat, like Rambler and Bella Mente, and will treat them as if they were head to head battles. “It’s not the same as the typical racing we do, but we’ll try to create as much pressure as we can.”  Interviewed by Craig Leweck/ Scuttlebutt.
  

Rochester J/24 Sailor- Scott Snyder Interview

Scott Snyder- Winner of the J/24 Class at Bermuda Race Week- has an interesting interview about sailing his first regatta in Bermuda: "Being invited to Bermuda International Invitational Race Week is a tremendous honor as the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club truly knows how to organize a world class international event.  What we've learned from previous visits as both crew and captain is that the week-long regatta guarantees to dish up a wide range of conditions, competition and unfamiliar water that will challenge the metal of even the most seasoned team.  With that in mind, we approached this year's invitation by assembling a team that would first be lots of fun to sail with, and second, included crew with great versatility and experience.  I wanted to put together a team that was unselfish on the water, and fun off the water.

Having discussed this regatta for some time with my good friend and world-class sailing Photographer, Tim Wilkes of Rochester, NY, together we put a team together that consisted of Brian Simkins of Long Island, NY, Michael Dannecker of Denver, CO and Greg Schertz of Denver, CO.  Interestingly enough, all five team members are great drivers in their own right.

Despite our attempts to get a practice regatta in a month prior to the regatta, knee surgery for Brian Simkins kept him on crutches until just a week before the regatta.  It's also cementing his role as driver for the week as we had originally planned to co-helm the regatta.  It's a decision that paid off immediately as everyone on the crew really focused on their role for the week.  Even our practice day before the regatta was blown out due to winds in excess of 40 knots.  We dedicated a few hours the evening before the regatta to verbally review roles and team work process verbally before heading out to the course on the first day of the regatta without ever taking a single tack together as a team.

I've never been a part of such an unselfish team before.  The entire week was full of great communication, clear lines of decision-making, proactive crew work, and great fun.  As our victory was such a great team effort, we've decided to participate in this interview as a team as well."    Read more about their team's sailing experience here.  

Bermuda Race Week- High School J/24 Team

* Lance Fraser - Bermuda J/24 sailor, aspiring 16 year old racer still in high school, wrote an entertaining blog during Bermuda Race Week (note to Ken Read- he wants to race on PUMA!):

"We went into the week with a goal of top 3, but after the first day, we realized we could win the J/24 fleet.  Everything had fallen into place leading up to Race Week and we couldn’t wait to start sailing Sunday morning.

Thanks to RBYC, RHADC and BJCA our entry fee was covered as we are a group of students, all 16 years of age. Trevor Boyce (New Wave) lent us some sails and Jorge Chiapparro helped us get spoRHADiC race- ready.

Day one started with a bang. Erin (Tim Lynch) had an amazing first upwind leg and took a huge lead around the first mark. We passed them on the next upwind leg and continued to duke it out right until the finish with only a couple of feet between us, with Erin coming out on top. It was a tough loss for us.

The second race was also very close as we finished in second just ahead of Erin. We ended the day tied for 1st place with 4 points.

Monday was tougher and we ended the day with a 2nd, 3rd, and a 7th leaving us in second place. In the last race we had our only horrible start and could not recover. This is evidence of the top-rate competition we faced throughout the week; one mistake and you’re out of it. Our crew work and chemistry was great - when we were doing well; but when we got 7th there were a lot of unhappy people onboard, including myself.  It was a long sail back to the club.

One tends to forget about Trevor Boyce, Bermuda’s top J/24 sailor, when he’s not dominant. When I was asked how Trevor did on the second day, I responded, “not that good. He didn’t have a good day, again.’ Well, looking at the results, he got a 1st, 3rd, and 4th. I would happily have traded my results with his that day! And day three he returned with 3 bullets! He was unbeatable and I have to give him and his crew credit for working very hard and going incredibly fast in the heavier wind. We just couldn’t keep up. A 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, were good enough to keep us in the hunt going into the lay day.

On Wednesday we had to go to school and there were a lot of people rubbing it in our faces Tuesday night at the party.

Thursday we came back rested and ready to go. The first race we took 2nd to Trevor, which was not quite what we wanted. We were also protested by the Canadian boat. Thanks to the advice received from seasoned Bermudians in other fleets and the fact that we were right, we came out of the protest victorious and kept the 2nd. The second race of the day was the biggest eye sore of our entire week. We went around the first leeward mark in first, and the next mark in last! I had tried to cover the entire fleet and of course, it didn’t work. I got caught in the middle and watched everyone sail by me. I was not at all happy with myself when we finished in 7th and I had only myself to blame. We rebounded in the next race with a convincing bullet, our first of race week, which provided a big boost for us mentally. We had led four of the first five races at one point or another and until now had not yet finished first.

That put us tied for second, 3 points out of first. With Trevor 3 points ahead of us, and the wind blowing about 15 knots, it was not easy to come back. Unfortunately, Tim Lynch (Erin) was unable to skipper the final day and was replaced by Rickki Hornet. I knew I had to put a boat between us and Trevor in both of the last two races to win the regatta. In the first race I had Trevor beaten, but there was no other boat between us. I also couldn’t let Erin pass us.  I gambled and let Trevor go to the right, and myself to the ‘Lucky Left.’  Not so lucky this time.  Trevor passed us and we settled for a third in the race and second in the regatta.

Going into the final race, we had 1 point on Erin, and New Wave had deservedly won the regatta. We had a little fun on the downwind with Erin, securing 2nd place in the regatta, a finish with which we were extremely pleased.

There are so many people to thank for putting this regatta together. Jay Hooper and his team ran a fabulous regatta on the water. Of all the race committee’s I’ve seen locally and internationally, Jay runs the best; Race Week was no different.

In addition to those already mentioned, I wish to thank our coach Luis Chiapparro, who sadly is no longer on the island, for teaching us how to sail and race. He was the biggest and best role model for me, and there’s no way I would be where I am today without him.  Also, full credit is due my crew, James Anfossi, Jason and Jordan Saints and Catalina Sposato.

Whoever picked up our spinnaker pole out of the water in the last race, THANK YOU, too!"  Read more about Bermuda Race Week events.  

Bermuda Race Week Blustery & Fun!

Snyder Dominates J/24s, Williams Repeats in J/105s

(April 25, 2010) - This year's Bermuda International Race Week was not without its dramas and extraordinary weather.  With enormous fronts blowing across from the North American continent, sweeping across the North Atlantic, it seems that Bermuda fortunately only gets the "tail feathers" of most of them and not the brunt of the huge Lows whistling across to their North.  Race Week this year had its fair share of light to moderate winds as well as partly cloudy, very blustery days blowing 20-30 knots plus.  In the heavier conditions, it's interesting to see how well IODs, J/24s, J/105s, Lasers and what not handle the conditions.  Some handle it better than others, some not so well.  Every try hoisting a spinnaker in 30 knots with an inexperienced crew?  Not recommended.

Enjoying, if not reveling, in the blustery conditions were the experienced crew aboard Allan Williams' J/105 NOT MINE, co-skippered with Glenn Astwood.  For the fourth consecutive year, Williams' NOT MINE won the J/105 One-Design class at Race Week.  However, for the first time Williams had a strong challenge from former Sunfish North American and World Champion Chuck Millican (back in the old days, remember?) sailing ELUSIVE into a tie-breaker with Williams' NOT MINE, but sadly losing on the tie-breaker to finish second. Jim MacDonald finished five points back from the leaders to finish third.

The J/24s had a very eventful regatta this year.  For starters, a bunch of "colonialists from America" showed up and stole the show.    Scott Snyder from Colorado was the only international winner in all five classes. He and his crew from Colorado and New York took first place in the J/24 Class to win the "Wetty Gripper Trophy".  Snyder got off to an amazing start with five firsts in the first five races. Then on Thursday he got a 2,4,3 score. He and his crew computed the possibilities of anyone beating them if they dropped two DNS 12 point scores, so they didn’t have to race on Friday to win first place. Snyder’s team had 14 points.  Trevor Boyce also had two 12-point scores from earlier races in which he retired after finishing. With his dropped scores he moved back into second place with 18 points. Peter Rich finished third one point back with 19 points.  The big event of the week was the death-roll, sinking (temporarily) of Tim Lynch's J/24 ERIN on the last leg of Race 5. ERIN was flying downwind under spinnaker in 30+ knots of wind on Bermuda’s Great Sound when she took a knockdown and stuck her mast in the water.  Within hours, ERIN was floating again, and like a "Phoenix from the ashes," was ready to race the next day, ultimately finishing sixth in the closely fought J/24 class!   For more sailing information, videos and photos of Bermuda Race Week.  

Bermuda Race Week J/105 & J/24 Update

Pink Sands & Bermuda Shorts- What's Wrong with that picture?

(April 25, 2010) - With warm trade-wind like breezes, sunny skies, puffy white clouds and pink sand beaches, those fortunate few are thrilled to have weather conditions that must be exceeding their expectations.

Scott Snyder's Team USA 194 started out by taking two bullets to lead the eleven-boat J/24 fleet. Snyder's home club, Lake Dillon Yacht Club is the nation's highest yacht club at 9,017 feet above sea level, in Summit County Colorado. The lake is still frozen solid, so this is his first time on the water this year. This is his fifth Bermuda International Invitational Race week, the third as a skipper.  By Monday, Scott Snyder continued to show his stern to the rest of the class. He got an excellent start at the committee boat in winds gusting to 26knts. Then he trailed Bermuda’s Trevor Boyce much of the race, but came back to pass him on the final downwind leg to win again. Snyder has 1-1-1 for 3 points while Boyce has 4-2-2 for 8 points. Peter Rich of the Severn Sailing association in Annapolis Maryland climbed into third place with 3-6-3 for 12 points.

The J105 class frolicked in the high winds and Glenn Astwood, skipper of NOT MINE for the day came in second but held on to the /first place slot. NOT MINE has scored 4-1-1-2 for 8 points. Chuck Millican took first today and moved into the second slot with races of 2-4-2-1 for 9 points. James MacDonald now has scores 1-2-3-4 for 10 points. With these close scores it is still anybody’s regatta to win.

For more information and great videos and photos of J/24s and J/105s sailing Bermuda Race Week.