Block Island Race Week
2011 Block Island Race Week News
Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com
W E D N E S D AY • J U N E 2 2 , 2 0 1 1
I’m not talkin’ ‘bout pleasure boatin’ or day sailin.’ I’m talkin’ ‘bout workin’ for a livin.’ As on Monday, sailors who rose early for the second day of Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex were greeted by a cool breeze, but this fleeting zephyr faded as crews arrived at boats. Once again, the Race Committee raised the AP flag at 0900. To the delight of racers, it remained up only until 1100. During the harbor start postponement, the J/44 One-Design class decided – by unanimous vote – that when referring to Jim Bishop, the owner of Gold Digger (Jamestown, RI) in discussions related to 44s, he is to be called Jim “Pope”…because he is. According to roving reporter Clete Vanger, “Godfather” is also acceptable. Expectations were running high as the fleet motored out of the Great Salt Pond, but by 1200 there wasn’t a puff to be found for love or money. Some sailors used the day’s second postponement to sleep off the effects of Monday night’s revelry, while others cooled off in Block Island Sound. One crewman performed a backflip off the bow of Tom Rich’s Settler (Middletown, RI). More impressive yet was the alacrity with which he climbed back aboard over the vintage Peterson 42’s sharp-angled transom…despite the lack of a boarding ladder. By 1330, the mainland was sufficiently warmed for a seabreeze to fill, and
starting sequences commenced forthwith. There was plenty of action in the first start for the J/109s. David Frizell’s Ceol na Mara (Metuchen, NJ) was squeezed out and forced to tack away at the RC boat end of the line, just missing the swim platform. Bill Sweetser’s Rush (Annapolis, MD) notched two bullets and leads the 15boat J/109 class by 8 points. “We had a really good day, and there were two photo finishes,” exclaimed the ebullient Kristen Robinson, who is handling foredeck (and PR!) duties on Don Filippelli’s J/109 Caminos (Amagansett, NY; currently third in class). “Our crew is a bunch of J/80 sailors who used to race against one another. Everyone’s doing a great job from the front of the boat to the back, including helmsman Brian Dempsey and tactician Connor Hayes, who’s doing an amazing job of finding fast lanes. Kudos to Rush – they’re just running away.” With a win in Race 3, Jim Goldman’s C&C 36 Patience (West Hartford, CT) has moved from third place and is tied for first in the Cruising Non-Spinnaker class with Alan Krulisch’s Cambria 40 Crackerjack (Arlington, VA), the winner of Race 2…and a strong contender for “Best Battle Flag of the Week.”