block island race stamford yacht club

BLOCK ISLAND RACE 2009

With “Snow Lion” not racing this season, Rich DuMoulin invited me to sail aboard “Laura-Ann” his Express 37. One of the smallest boats I have ever sailed. . A very pleasant boat to sail, with tiller steering. The 2009 Block Island Race re-united me with Rich and Chris Reyling with whom I last sailed aboard “Charisma” during the 1972 trans-atlantic race to Spain.

The race started earlier than usual in a SW breeze. We got to the Race at About 10:30pm, the wind died, and we were sucked through backwards, a first. 1BI at 5:30 am; back through the Sluce in an easterly breeze, which held to the finish, for us about 5:30 pm saturday.

We were 1st in class and 2nd overall, losing to the new Titan 2.

2006 Stamford-Vineyard Race

This race, in stark contrast to the Bermuda race earlier in the year, has become a legend of sorts. 35 knots at the start; 53 boats entered, three boats finished in a race that saw the wind build to 60 plus knots. The wind direction was very steady out of the East, Making the course a windward-leeward race. We hit 26 knots with a storm jib and two reefs.

We finished second to Blue Yankee, our confidence in the boat having received an enormous boost after this thrashing.

the photo shows the crew stacked aft behind Jack Cummiskey, as we surf downwind.