Speed in Solitude keys Around-the-Island Race victory at 164th NYYC Annual Regatta

164th Annual Regatta 2018 © Daniel Forster

One frequent path to overall honors in a multi-division short-distance race is by sailing in a pack of similar boats. The proximity of close competition provides a real-time speed gauge and persistent incentive to stayed focused, spurring the group toward the podium. For today's Around-the-Island Race, which is a fixture for the opening day of the New York Yacht Club's Annual Regatta, however, there was speed to be found in sailing alone. The overall winners in IRC, PHRF and the Classics division all spent much of the 19-mile race sailing without nearby competitors against which they could measure their performance.

"We try and sail the boat fast and pass boats as we go up the course," says Michael D'Amelio, who won PHRF overall on his TP52 Denali. "When you can't sail level with other boats, that's what you have to do, sail the boat as fast as you can."

The Annual Regatta is North America's oldest annual sailing event. It was first run in 1845 on the Hudson River and has been sailed out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, in Newport, R.I., since 1988. The 164th edition will include an around-the-island race on Friday, June 8, and then buoy or navigator-course racing for one-designs and yachts sailing under IRC, ORR, CRF and PHRF handicapping systems on Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10. The 164th Annual Regatta is sponsored by AIG Private Client Group.

164th Annual Regatta 2018 - photo © Stuart Streuli / NYYC

To win the overall PHRF trophy, D'Amelio and his crew had to beat a field of 25 boats. But Denali is one of the fastest boats in the field, and started with just two other boats long after the other 22 had been sent on their way. After a beat to the south tip of Conanicut Island, the fleet turned north and set spinnakers for a long run down the West Passage of Narragansett Bay. With the fleet of more than a hundred yachts stretched out in front of them, D'Amelio and his longtime crew went to work, using the TP52's downwind performance to reel in the slower boats.

"We thought that our downwind performance was reasonably good today," says D'Amelio. "We did a good job on the reach legs, and I think the other place we probably picked up some distance was on the last beat. We short-tacked the (Jamestown shore) to stay out of the current. Then we headed back to the Jamestown shore after (passing under) the Newport Bridge and stayed there as long as we could until we had to come out (and head to the finish off Fort Adams)."

Working the Jamestown shore also proved pivotal for George Sakellaris' team on the Maxi72 Proteus (top photo). As the fastest monohull to start the race, Proteus raced against the clock all the way around the island, finishing the race in 1h:52m:38s and beating the second-placed boat on corrected time by more than four minutes.

"Once we came around the (north) point of the island, first we went on the left side," says Sakellaris, "then we saw we would get (a favorable shift) if we came back to the right and sure enough when we came back to the right that gave us a very good lane as we went under the bridge, and I think we gained a lot."

While the bulk of his racing is done in Europe, Sakellaris, of Framingham, Mass., is no stranger to the Annual Regatta having last sailed here with his fellow Maxi72s in 2016.

"We have tried to win (this race) before, but we came a little bit short. It was a very good day. The winds were in our favor."

After a winter of work on his 1935 S&S yacht Sonny, Craig Venter was ecstatic with his overall win in the Classics.

164th Annual Regatta 2018 - photo © Stuart Streuli / NYYC

"We didn't see too many boats around us the whole race," he says. "This is Sonny's first race of the season. We did some work on it over the winter, so I couldn't be more delighted to start off this new season with a win.

"I think we constantly made time on the (second-placed) Blackfish that was a little bit in front of us. That's a newer boat. We felt we sailed really well. It's just a phenomenal crew. These early boats need a lot of TLC and a crew that really knows how to sail them."

The weekend portion of the 164th Annual Regatta starts tomorrow with buoy racing for IRC and one-design fleets and navigator-course racing for ORR, PHRF and Classics. On Saturday evening more than 700 sailors, family and friends will gather at Harbour Court for the season's biggest sailing social event, the Annual Regatta Dinner.

Around-the-Island Race Results: (top three in each class)

Classics 1 - Spinnaker (CRF MkII - 6 Boats)

1. Sonny, S&S 53, Craig Venter, La Jolla, CA, USA - 1; 1
2. Blackfish, Jim Taylor 49 Custom Sloop, Ron Zarrella, Nantucket, MA, USA - 2; 2
3. Fortune (NS), Schooner 50, john taft, Newport, RI, USA - 3; 3

Classics 2 - Spinnaker (CRF MkII - 3 Boats)

1. Gamecock, R Class 39, Peter McClennen, Newport, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Alana, 6mR 36, Thomas Rodes, Cambridge, MA, USA - 2; 2
3. Seva, Lake One Design 34, Andrew Tyska, Bristol, RI, USA - 5; 5

IRC 1 (IRC - 3 Boats)

1. Proteus, Maxi 72, George Sakellaris, Framingham, MA, USA - 1; 1
2. Young American - Gambler, R/P 63, Young American Sailing Academy, Rye, NY, USA - 2; 2

IRC 2 (IRC - 4 Boats)

1. SPOOKIE, TP52, Steve & Heidi Benjamin, Miami, FL, USA - 1; 1
2. FOX, TP52, Victor Wild, San Diego, CA, USA - 2; 2
3. Gladiator, TP52, Tony Langley, Retford, Nottinghamshire, GBR - 3; 3

IRC 3 (IRC - 8 Boats)

1. Temptation-Oakcliff (Collegiate), Ker 50, Arthur Santry, Oyster Bay, NY, USA - 1; 1
2. Black Pearl, Carkeek 47, Stefan Jentzsch, London, London, UK - 2; 2
3. Irie 2, Kerr 55, Brian Cunha, Newport, RI, USA - 3; 3

IRC 4 (IRC - 9 Boats)

1. Blazer, Swan 42, Christopher Culver, Newport, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Cool Breeze, Mills 43, John Cooper, Cane Hill, MO, USA - 2; 2
3. Entropy, Tripp 41, Patricia Young, Jamestown, RI, USA - 3; 3

IRC 5 (IRC - 10 Boats)

1. Kenai, J 44, Chris Lewis, Seabrook, TX, USA - 1; 1
2. Orion, J 122, Paul Milo, Leesburg, VA, USA - 2; 2
3. Leading Edge, J 109, Tom Sutton, Houston, TX, USA - 3; 3

12 Meter - IRC Dual Scored (IRC - 2 Boats)

1. New Zealand (GP) (IRC), 12 Metre, Gunther Buerman, Newport, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Defender (M) (IRC), 12 Metre, Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, FL, USA - 2; 2

12 Metre (One Design - 9 Boats)

1. New Zealand (GP), 12 Metre, Gunther Buerman, Newport, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Challenge 12, 12 Metre, Jack LeFort, Jamestown, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Defender (M), 12 Metre, Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, FL, USA - 3; 3

M32 (One Design - 6 Boats)

1. ChinaOne.Ningbo, M32, Craig Monk, Auckland, New Zealand - 1; 1
2. Bliksem, M32, Pieter Taselaar, Greenwich, CT, USA - 2; 2
3. Extreme2, M32, Dan Cheresh, Saugatuck, MI, USA - 3; 3

C&C 30 OD (One Design - 5 Boats)

1. Stark Raving Mad VIII, C&C 30 One Design, Jim Madden, Newport Beach, CA, USA - 2; 2
1. Just A Friend, C&C 30 One Design, Clayton Deutsch, Newport, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Flying Jenny, C&C 30 One Design, Sandra Askew, Salt Lake City, UT, USA - 3; 3

ORR - Navigator (ORR - 13 Boats)

1. Dorade, S&S 52, Pam Rorke Levy, Fremont, CA, USA - 1; 1
2. Temptress, Taylor 41, John Gowell, East Greenwich, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Grundoon, Columbia 50, Jim Grundy, Horsham, Pa., USA - 3; 3

PHRF 1 - Navigator (PHRF - 3 Boats)

1. Denali, TP52, Michael D'Amelio, Boston, MA, USA - 1; 1
2. Reef Points, Westerly Marine 60, Gurdon Wattles, Little Compton, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Simon Says, Andrews 70, Lorenzo Vascotto, New York, NY, USA - 3; 3

PHRF 2 - Navigator (PHRF - 11 Boats)

1. The Cat Came Back, Swan 42, Lincoln Mossop, Providence, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Divided Sky, Summit 35, Vincent & Kristina McAteer, East Greenwich, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Eagle, J 121, Steven Levy, Greenwich, CT, USA - 3; 3

PHRF 3 - Navigator (PHRF - 10 Boats)

1. Attractive Nuisance, Olson 30, Jonathan Nye, Old Greenwich, CT, USA - 1; 1
2. Gallop, Hanse 430, Dennis Ferreira, Holliston, MA, USA - 2; 2
3. Crazy Uncle, Tripp 37, Gordon Baird, Gloucester, MA, USA - 3; 3

PHRF NS - Navigator (PHRF - 4 Boats)

1. Flying Cloud 11, Swan 44 Mk 2, Gordon McNabb, Middletown, RI, USA - 1; 1
2. Duck Soup, C&C 40, Bill Clavin, Warwick, RI, USA - 2; 2
3. Jazz Fish, Freedom 35, Paul Koch, JR, East Greenwich, RI, USA - 3; 3