It was truly a tale of two race days on Day 3 at Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex.
The one-design sailors launched early, snuck in a race in the remnants of a morning northerly breeze, waited patiently for the sea breeze to fill in and cranked out a few more races. It was the definition of a long grinding day.
With their start delayed until no earlier than 12:30 pm, the crews on the remainder of the 91 boats were able to sleep in—maybe enjoy a leisurely breakfast—before leaving the dock and waiting for an additional hour before the sea breeze filled. The reward was ideal wind conditions for a 19-mile lap of Conanicut Island that played out like one long windward-leeward race.
But regardless of how the day went, this much is true for all competitors: Saturday is the final day of Race Week. By 4 pm tomorrow afternoon, it’ll be all over but the crying.
New Wave – 2022 Race Week – photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster
Sailing on the offshore course, the 24-boat IC37 enjoyed the best conditions of anyone on Day 3. The first race was in light winds—squishy, as they say—but then the southerly filled in quickly and the race committee took full advantage by running three more races. The parity of this fleet, which features some of the strictest one-design controls in big-boat sailing, was on full display. After scoring nothing lower than a second in the first four races, Peter Wagner’s Skeleton Key stumbled a bit with a 11-8-10-11 today. Despite that, however, the Skeleton Key team will start the final day of the class’s national championship regatta in the pole position, three points clear of second, primarily because no one else that started the day within reach of the lead was able to put together a good day. Second through fifth is a hornet’s nest, and even boats as far back as Rod Jabin’s Ramrod in eighth remain in striking distance of the podium, especially with the potential for three more races tomorrow.
In Race Week’s other big one-design fleet, the VX Ones, the situation is similar with three points separating Day 3 leader Doug Clark’s Sideshow from Phip Hallowell’s Chuck Wagon in third. Kevin Northrup’s Arrested Development is fifth, nine points off the lead.
Tink – 2022 Race Week – photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster
Of course, the battle for first isn’t quite as open-ended across the nine other classes competing in Race Week. Jack LeFort’s Tink has dominated PHRF 1, winning all five races. LeFort and his team will start Day 4 of the regatta with a 12-point lead over second.
The highly anticipated three-boat Maxi72 showdown in ORC A has unfortunately fizzled. Proteus has to withdraw before racing starts with mast issues and then Vesper declined to take the starting line today. That leaves Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente with an unassailable 7-point lead.
After missing the first three races, Gladiator has no hope of winning ORC B, but Tony Langley’s 52-footer has done a nice job of mucking up the works for Fox and Vesper by placing second in yesterday lone buoy race and today’s lap of Jamestowen. Victor Wild’s Fox leads the class by 3 points over David Team’s Vesper.
Foreign Affair – 2022 Race Week © Rolex / Daniel Forster
Thing’s are a bit more comfortable for the other half of the Team family sailing dynasty. Robin Team’s Teamwork has a 7-point lead in ORC D, the most competitive of the handicap classes. But with 12 boats on the line, points can add up quickly, so the overall title is very much still in play.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for more light breeze. Just the sort of wind that makes all leaders nervous and gives hope to those further down the standings. The 13th Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex will conclude with the sold-out Rolex Awards Banquet at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court.
Results after Day 3:
Classics (CRF MkII – 4 Boats)
1. Dorade, S&S 52, Matt Brooks, Fremont, CA, USA – 1 -1 -1; 3pts
2. NEITH (NS), Herreshoff 53, Van Brown, Newport, RI, USA – 2 -2 -2; 6pts
3. Cavalino, W Class 37, Donald Tofias, Newport, MA, USA – 5 -5 -3; 13pts
4. Angelita, 8 Metre, S Skelsey/Croll, Greenwich, CT, USA – 5 -5 -5; 15pts
12 Metre (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. Columbia (T), 12 Metre, Kevin Hegarty Alain Hanover, Newport, RI, USA – 1 -1; 2pts
2. Courageous (M), 12 Metre, Gary Jobson, Annapolis, Md, USA – 2 -2; 4pts
3. Weatherly (T), 12 Metre, Steven Eddleston, Bristol, RI, USA – 7 -7; 14pts
4. Onawa, 12 Metre, Mark Watson, Portsmouth, Ri, USA – 7 -7; 14pts
5. Nefertiti (T), 12 Metre, Jack Klinck, Concord, MA, USA – 7 -7; 14pts
12 Metre Traditional – Sub Scoring (One Design – 4 Boats)
1. Columbia, 12 Metre, Kevin Hegarty Alain Hanover, USA – 1 -1; 2pts
2. Weatherly, 12 Metre, Steven Eddelston, USA – 3 -2; 5pts
3. Nefertiti, 12 Metre, Jack Klinck, USA – 2 -3; 5pts
4. American Eagle, 12 Metre, Paul and Lisa Cheek, USA – 4 -4; 8pts
ORC A (ORC – 2 Boats)
1. Bella Mente, Maxi 72, Hap Fauth, Naples, FL, USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 5pts
2. Vesper, IRC 72, Jim Swartz, Forked River, CA, USA – 2 -2 -2 -3 -3; 12pts
ORC B (ORC – 3 Boats)
1. FOX, Botin 52, Victor Wild, San Diego, CA, USA – 1 -1 -1 -3 -1; 7pts
2. Vesper, TP52, David Team, Newport Beach, CA, USA – 2 -2 -2 -1 -3; 10pts
3. Gladiator, TP52, Tony Langley, Retford, Nottinghamshire, GBR – 4 -4 -4 -2 -2; 16pts
ORC C (ORC – 6 Boats)
1. The Edge, Dunning 44, John Bacon, Sydney, NSW, AUS – 2 -3 -1 -1 -1; 8pts
2. Interlodge IV, Botin 44, Austin and Gwen Fragomen, Newport, RI, USA – 1 -1 -3 -2 -2; 9pts
3. Stark Raving Mad IX, Carkeek 47, Jim Madden, Newport Beach, CA, USA – 3 -2 -2 -4 -4; 15pts
4. Pterodactyl, R/P 45, Scott Weisman, White Plains, NY, USA – 4 -4 -4 -5 -5; 22pts
5. Rikki, R/P 42, Bruce Chafee, Boston, MA, USA – 6 -5 -5 -3 -6; 25pts
ORC D (ORC – 12 Boats)
1. Teamwork, J 122, Team Syndicate, Lexington, NC, USA – 4 -1 -1 -1 -2; 9pts
2. Summer Storm, J/111, Andrew Berdon, Hartsdale, NY, USA – 5 -2 -2 -3 -4; 16pts
3. Impetuous, Swan 42, Paul Zabetakis, Jamestown, RI, USA – 1 -3 -3 -4 -6; 17pts
4. Orion, J 122, Paul Milo, Leesburg, VA, USA – 3 -6 -4 -5 -1; 19pts
5. Rima98, Italia 11.98, John Brim, Palm Beach, FL, USA – 2 -7 -13 -2 -3; 27pts
PHRF 1 (PHRF – 3 Boats)
1. Laura, Westerly Marine RP 60, Francis Curren / William Titus, Newport, RI, USA – 1 -2 -1 -1; 5pts
2. PUGILIST, Marten 49, Dudley Johnson, Westerly, RI, USA – 2 -1 -2 -2; 7pts
3. Odyssey, X-50, David Brodsky / Alfred Van Liew, Middletown, RI, USA – 3 -3 -4 -3; 13pts
PHRF 2 (PHRF – 9 Boats)
1. Tink, Eggemoggin 47, Jack LeFort, Jamestown, RI, USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 5pts
2. Leading Edge, J 109, Tom Sutton, Houston, TX, USA – 3 -5 -5 -2 -2; 17pts
3. Arkana, sunfast 3300, Oivind Lorentzen, stamford, CT, USA – 4 -3 -4 -4 -4; 19pts
4. Vento Solare, J 109, Bill Kneller, Newport, RI, USA – 7 -4 -3 -3 -3; 20pts
5. Twist & Shout, C&C 30 One Design, Wesley Bright, Newport, RI, USA – 2 -2 -2 -10 -5; 21pts
VX One (One Design – 16 Boats)
1. Sideshow, VX One, Doug Clark, Mystic, CT, USA – 13 -1 -2 -4 -1 -1; 22pts
2. Far Side, VX One, John Porter, Savannah, GA, USA – 4 -2 -8 -1 -5 -4; 24pts
3. Chuck Wagon, VX One, Phip Hallowell, Middletown, RI, USA – 1 -3 -5 -8 -2 -6; 25pts
4. TurboVX, VX One, Peter Vessella, Newport, RI, USA – 6 -4 -4 -7 -3 -5; 29pts
5. Arrested Development, VX One, Kevin Northrop, Fairhope, AL, USA – 5 -6 -3 -3 -6 -8; 31pts
Persico 69F – Overall Standings (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. OKALYS YOUTH PROJECT, Persico 69F, Arnaud GRANGE, Geneva, Geneva, SUI – 1; 1pt
2. Katana, Persico Persico 69F, Alexander de Weck, Chene-Bougeries, Geneva, SUI – 2; 2pts
3. Helvetia by Normandy Elite Team, Persico 69F, Clement Michel, La Rochelle, FRANCE, FRA – 3; 3pts
4. Clean Sailors Youth Racing Team, Persico 69F, CJ Perez, Honolulu, HI, USA – 4; 4pts
5. Team ID Voile, Persico 69F, Luc Guimbertaud, La Rochelle, Nouvelle Aquitaine, FRA – 5; 5pts
IC37 (One Design – 24 Boats)
1. Skeleton Key, IC37, Peter Wagner, Portola Valley, CA, USA – 2 -1 -2 -2 -11 -8 -10 -11; 47pts
2. New Wave, IC37, Steve Liebel, Tampa, FL, USA – 1 -2 -9 -7 -6 -1 -20 -4; 50pts
3. MO, IC37, Benjamin/Hannah Kinney/Swett, New York, NY, USA – 7 -5 -13 -3 -3 -15 -6 -2; 54pts
4. Yonder, IC37, Douglas Newhouse, Newport, RI, USA – 10 -10 -5 -8 -5 -7 -4 -7; 56pts
5. Gamecock, IC37, Peter McClennen, Newport, RI, USA – 4 -4 -14 -19 -10 -5 -1 -1; 58pts
by New York Yacht Club
