It was another wild and windy, overcast Thursday-evening race to finish off the July series on the 30th. Most of the 14 boats were reefed as the west-southwest wind gusts were as strong as 25 miles per hour, and sailors of the smaller boats got a good soaking. The spanking breeze made for a swift race around the harbor, however, with the fastest elapsed time at 31 minutes, the longest 53. For the June/July series, Tyche and Masquerade hold their leads and secure the cup for this year.
In the A Division, Artful Dodger, a Tartan 3500, was first, sailed by Mike Powers. Second was Michael Loberg’s Masquerade, a Morris 36. Undine, another Morris 36, skippered by Ed Cerullo, came in third.
In the B Division, Avanti, a Cape Dory sailed by David Lott, took first, and Isabella, a Gannon & Benjamin Bella, sailed by John and Lisa Stout, was second. Third place was taken by Bow and Katie Van Riper aboard Tyche, a Vineyard 15.
Sunday, August 2, was a classic summer day with a gentle WSW wind in the morning, building to 12 mph for the 2 pm race. Just a few decorative clouds on the horizon. The 10 am race was two circles around the harbor on a rising tide.
The spritely Gloria, a C&C 24 skippered by Roger Becker, took the top spot in the B division, with Isabella two minutes behind in second. Jerry Goodale sailing Stormalong, a Pearson 31, came in third. For the A Division in the morning, Phil Hale’s Tango, a J/100, was first. Tom and Laurie Welch aboard another J/100, Escape, secured a second, and Masquerade was third. A total of 12 boats participated.
Again 12 member boats showed up at 2 pm, along with a guest catboat named Catfish, sailed by Gordon Litwin. The race this time involved going halfway across Vineyard Sound, back to West Chop, over to East Chop and home. By this time the tide was falling, so compensations had to be made for being pushed west. In the B Division, last week’s winner, Julia Lee, a catboat sailed by Woody Bowman, won the coffee Cup, and Avanti was second. Isabella took the third spot. There were just three boats in the A Division, so everyone scored: Escape was first, with Tango less than a minute behind on corrected time, although almost five minutes faster in elapsed time. In third was the J/70 Truckin’, sailed by Charlie Felder and Zander Meleny. The speed of the winning boat was 4.6 knots.
Holmes Hole changed its name to Vineyard Haven in 1871. One account holds that the reason for the change was that as the citizens of Holmes Hole prospered and traveled abroad, they were embarrassed to hail from a town with “hole” as part of its name. Evidently residents of Woods Hole did not harbor those same reservations. Today Holmes Hole sailors claim the name with pride.
HHSA races are held on Thursdays and Sundays. All are welcome. For further information, visit holmeshole.org.
