The 49th annual running of the George Moffett Race unfolded on Saturday under a clear blue September sky. The Moffett has always been a celebratory cap-off to Holmes Hole’s summer season, and is an opportunity for sailors from all over the Island and beyond, in sailboats of different classes and sizes, to race one another around Vineyard Sound. This year’s fleet was made up of 23 boats, ranging from Joy, a Rhodes 19, to the iconic 65-foot Gannon and Benjamin–built schooner Juno. Eight mainland boats made the trip across to join in on the action.
The racing kicked off in a gentle east-southeasterly breeze around eight knots. Though the wind proved to be an improvement from the forecast, it didn’t shift south as early as predicted, which left the course lacking a true upwind leg. The upwind leg, or beat, typically separates the fleet the most. Instead, the roughly 11-mile course was largely made up of reaches and downwind legs.
“The current was the story,” remarked Roger Becker, race officer for the Moffett and the skipper of Gloria, of his 39th Moffett. The tide was flowing east through the early part of the race before beginning to turn west after 1 pm. This became particularly important as the fleet approached West Chop. The course called for a short beat from the red navigational buoy R2 toward Nun 4, and by the time the middle of the fleet arrived, the current was ripping westward. In the light air, there simply wasn’t enough wind to overcome it, especially for those toward the back of the fleet.
Karena Hammarlund, who skippered an all-female crew aboard her Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25 Maitland, said the easterly current early in the race was easily compensated for. By the time they reached Nun 4, however, the situation had changed considerably. “We made it around N4 with just two tacks,” she recalled. “The current at that point was ripping westerly at a clip, and we managed to make it by, but just.”
The boats farther back in the fleet didn’t find themselves so lucky. Some struggled to make it around as the westward current continued to build, and several were unable to finish the race.
Leading the fleet was Après, a J/120 owned and raced by Steve Besse, completing the course in under two hours with the fastest elapsed time of the day. However, in this multi-class racing system, the first boat across the finish line doesn’t necessarily win the race. Besse is used to being the quickest one around the course without taking home the hardware to show for it.
Under the association’s handicap system, boats give or receive time from one another based on a number of factors, allowing boats of varying sizes and designs to compete on relatively even footing. Once handicaps were assessed, Zebra, the sleek black 46-foot W Class, won the day with a corrected time of 2:14:07. Gloria followed less than two minutes behind in second, with Artful Dodger, Maitland, and Penelope rounding out the top five, separated by mere minutes. The results were another good example of the variety that makes up the Moffett fleet. Après, the fastest boat around the course, finished seventh on corrected time after handicaps were applied. For a fleet that includes everything from a 19-foot Rhodes to a schooner over three times her length, that is what makes the racing so compelling.
Strong currents are nothing new for the Moffett. September tides can run particularly hard in Vineyard Sound, reaching more than four knots in places. Becker recalled the 2003 running of the race, when roughly half of a 60-boat fleet became caught in a westward current near the Woods Hole Bell 26 and were unable to finish.
This year’s race offered a smaller version of the same lesson. For those who made it around, the Moffett was a beautiful final day on the water and a fitting conclusion to the Holmes Hole summer season. For those caught in the current, it was a reminder that when racing in the Sound, the water beneath the boat’s hull can sometimes play just as much of a factor as the wind above it.
Congratulations to the crew of Zebra on taking home this year’s prize! Readers interested in learning more about the race, its history, and the Holmes Hole Sailing Association can visit holmeshole.org/moffett-race. With next year marking the 50th annual running of the Moffett, all sailors are encouraged to join for what promises to be a special golden anniversary race.
Rawson Clough is fleet captain for Holmes Hole.
