The Tripp 41 Africa, co-owned and co-skippered by seven-time Performance Handicap Rating Fleet (PHRF) New England Series winner Bump Wilcox and 10-time world champion sailor Jud Smith of Marblehead, “made the most impressive showing” in a PHRF spinnaker A class race during the Edgartown Race Weekend, which took place from Thursday, June 23, to Sunday, June 25, according to a press release. In this spinnaker division Round-the-Island Race, Africa earned a corrected time of 12:21:26 on Saturday, winning both first place and the coveted Venoa Trophy, which has been awarded since 1938.
PHRF is a handicapping system for races based on factors such as local conditions and the racer’s experience, according to U.S. Sailing.
Edgartown Race Weekend held two types of races, Round-the-Island and Round-the-Sound, divided into multiple classes. Collectively, 88 teams competed in the races. The release stated this was the first year the race weekend was moved up from July to June, which allowed for increased availability of moorings, rental houses, and hotel rooms.
“It’s probably going to continue to be a June event for a long, long time,” principal race officer Bob Hurst said in the release.
There were numerous winners in other races. The other winners of the Round-the-Island Race were Tio Loco from Northeast Harbor, Maine, in the ORC Class One race, Twist & Shout from Newport, R.I., in the PHRF spinnaker B class race, Hafa Adai from Marblehead in the PHRF spinnaker C class race, Upbeat from Newport, R.I., in the PHRF double-handed spinnaker class race, Seefest from South Dartmouth in the PHRF spinnaker D class race, Hope from Bristol, R.I., in the PHRF spinnaker E class race, Kaos from Charleston, S.C., in the PHRF non-spinnaker A class race, Artful Dodger from Teaticket in the PHRF non-spinnaker B class race, Firebrand from Boston in the PHRF double-handed non-spinnaker class race, and Midtown Racing from Newport, R.I., in the multihull class race.
The winners of the Round-the-Sound Race were Tio Loco in the PHRF spinnaker A class race, Hope in the PHRF spinnaker B class race, and Penelope from Edgartown in the PHRF non-spinnaker class race.
