If you meandered down State Beach Road this weekend’s windy Saturday, then you probably rubbernecked to see a collage of colorful sails maneuvering far off the coast. It was Edgartown’s 88th annual ’Round-the-Island Race Weekend that was tacking and jibing the attention of drivers cruising the Island’s favorite squall-ridden road.
Edgartown Race Weekend is a competitive sailing regatta hosted in Edgartown annually by the Edgartown Yacht Club. As one of the oldest sail races in the nation, the event features the iconic ’Round-the-Island Race, attracting sailors from around the country and internationally of varying skill sets.
On Saturday, the M32 Multihull Yonder was on route to set a new race record until a large wind hole near the end of mile 55 put a decisive end to the possibility. Yonder still won in the Multihull class and took the honor of crossing the finish line first, finishing the course in just under 5 hours and 54 minutes.
“The wind was light from the southwest at the 8 am start, but then clocked to the northwest before the last four [of the seven] racing classes started,” said co-chair Cindy Alten-DeLotto. “It continued all over the map in direction and strength throughout the race, but the sailors took that on as a challenge and were so grateful and thankful to be here.”
The first monohull to finish the race was the J/V Temptation-Oakcliff, which finished fifth in Class One of the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF), with a time of 6 hours and 24 minutes; but it was the Farr 400 Corbeau that won the class overall, with Rick Egan from Osterville, Mass., at the helm.
The 400 Corbeau stole the show further by posting the best corrected time of all Spinnaker Division boats to win the coveted Venona Trophy.
Egan said the Corbeau was new for him, but he is the second of three generations in his family to have sailed the event: On his crew this year were his son and two nephews.
“It was the perfect day,” said Egan after the race. “A couple soft spots, but we had just the right current and wind with us all the way around.
“There were some very fast boats in our class out ahead of us, but we figured as long as we could see them, we’d be okay [to win on corrected time],” he added. “We are happy as clams at how everything went, and kudos to the race committee and the Edgartown Yacht Club. We look forward to this event every year; it’s one of our highlights.”
Another boat racers kept their eyes on was Chip Dawkins and his crew of his wife, son, and daughter from Barrington, R.I., aboard the C&C 41 Caneel. The crew secured three different trophies, one for winning PHRF non-spinnaker Class Seven, another for turning in the best corrected time in the non-spinnaker division to take the UPBEAT Cup, and their third was the Incognito Award, given to the crew that exhibits passion, perseverance, and commitment to the sport of sailing during the race weekend.
“We, too, had ups and downs on wind velocity and all different conditions,” said Hawkins, who has sailed this event 9 or 10 times. “Off Wasque Point, we actually put our bow under water twice, because of the confused sea state. It was like a washing machine.
“We’ve been fortunate to have good results over the years,” Hawkins continued. “One of the trophies at the club has our name on it five times, but getting the Incognito Award … I was shocked by that. That’s not winning something, that’s getting voted to receive something by the race committee, and that’s really special. Even my family went, ‘Wow!’”
Results of Edgartown Race Weekend.
Class 1 PHRF Spinnaker A (PHRF –– 5 Boats)
- Corbeau, Farr 400, Richard Egan, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Pugilist, R/P Marten 49, Dudley Johnson, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Crazy Horse, Baltic, CBC Youth Offshore Team, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 2 PHRF Spinnaker B (PHRF – 5 Boats)
- Apres, J/120, Stephen Besse, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Orion, J/122, Greg Morse, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Hamburglar, Mills MAT 1180, James E Barnes, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 3 PHRF Spinnaker C (PHRF – 5 Boats)
- Gut Feeling, J 109, Ted Herlihy, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Lyric, J/109, Bart Massucco, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Campana, Pogo 30, Eric Widra, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 4 PHRF Spinnaker D (PHRF – 5 Boats)
- Virgo, Salona 33, Dan Rabin, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Hardtack, J 105, Matthew & Lisa Schmitt, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Zebra, W Class 46, Frank Sutula, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 5 PHRF Spinnaker E (PHRF – 5 Boats)
- Shannon, Cal 33, william brossi, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Artful Dodger, Tartan 3500, Michael Powers, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- EAGLE, Najad 380, Vivjan Myrto, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 6 PHRF Spinnaker Double-handed (PHRF – 2 Boats)
- Ruse, Beneteau First 36, William Marsh, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Good Night Moon, Southwester 42, Brien O’Brien, United States of America, 2 ; 2
Class 7 PHRF Non-spinnaker (PHRF – 5 Boats)
- Caneel, C&C 41, Chip Hawkins, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Saylavee, Beneteau 311, Peter Soule, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Jayhawk, J/130 SD, Nathan W Ray, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 8 Multi-hull (ToT – 3 Boats)
- Yonder, M32, Doug Newhouse, United States of America, 1 ; 1
- Midtown Racing, M32, Sam Hallowell, United States of America, 2 ; 2
- Daffodil, Corsair F31R, Alex Watson, United States of America, 3 ; 3
Class 9 Schooner – Exhibition (PHRF – 1 Boats)
- Arabella, Schooner, Michael Fortenbaugh, United States of America, 2/RET
