Stage set for thrilling final day at Newport’s Race Week

Newport, R.I.: It was a tale of two race days on Day 3 of Newport’s Race Week presented by Rolex, as the one-design boats launched early, held one race in the remnants of a morning northerly breeze, waited patiently for the sea breeze to fill in and cranked out a few more races, while the rest waited patiently and a lone Australian boat closed the day in first place.

This was the definition of a long grinding day, as the start for the remaining classes was delayed until no earlier than 12:30 pm. It meant the crews on the remaining 91 boats were able to sleep in or enjoy a leisurely breakfast before leaving the dock and waiting for an additional hour before the sea breeze filled.

The reward was ideal wind conditions for a 19-mile lap of Conanicut Island that played out like one long windward-leeward race.

Regardless of how the day went, this much is true for all competitors: Saturday is the final day of Race Week. By 4 pm tomorrow afternoon, it’ll be all over.

Sailing on the offshore course, the 24-boat IC37 enjoyed the best conditions of anyone. The first race was held in light winds, but then the southerly filled in quickly and the race committee took full advantage by running three more races.

The parity of this fleet, which features some of the strictest one-design controls in big-boat sailing, was on full display. After scoring nothing lower than a second in the first four races, Peter Wagner’s Skeleton Key stumbled a bit with a 11-8-10-11.

However, the Skeleton Key team will start the final day of the national championship in pole position, three points clear of second, because no one else that started the day within reach of the lead was able to put together a good day.

Second through to fifth is a hornet’s nest, and even boats as far back as Rod Jabin’s Ramrod in eighth, remain in striking distance of the podium, especially with the potential for three more races tomorrow.

In Race Week’s other big one-design class, the VX One fleet, the situation is similar with three points separating Day 3 leader Doug Clark’s Sideshow from Phip Hallowell’s Chuck Wagon in third. Kevin Northrup’s Arrested Development is fifth, nine points off the lead.

Of course, the battle for first isn’t quite as open-ended across the nine other classes competing in Race Week. Jack LeFort’s Tink has dominated PHRF 1, winning all five races. LeFort and his team will start Day 4 of the regatta with a 12-point lead over second.

The highly anticipated three-boat Maxi72 showdown in ORC A has unfortunately fizzled. Proteus had to withdraw before racing started with mast issues and Vesper declined to take the starting line today. That leaves Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente with an unassailable seven-point lead.

After missing the first three races, Gladiator has no hope of winning ORC B, but Tony Langley’s 52-footer has done a nice job of mucking up the works for Fox and Vesper by placing second in yesterday lone buoy race and today’s lap of Jamestown. Victor Wild’s Fox leads the class by three points over David Team’s Vesper.

In ORC C, the only Australian yacht in the fleet, John Bacon’s Dunning 44, The Edge, has the edge over Interlodge IV, the Botin 44 owned by Austin and Gwen Fragomen. Just one point separates the two with a gap to the rest.

Things are more comfortable for the other half of the Team family sailing dynasty. Robin Team’s Teamwork holds a seven-point lead in ORC D, the most competitive of the handicap classes. But with 12 boats on the line, points can add up quickly, so the overall title is very much still in play.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for lighter breeze. Just the sort of wind that makes all leaders nervous and gives hope to those further down the standings. The 13th Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex will conclude with the sold-out Rolex Awards Banquet at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court.

Classics (CRF MkII – 4 Boats)

1. Dorade, S&S 52, Matt Brooks, USA – 1 -1 -1; 3
2. Neith (NS), Herreshoff 53, Van Brown USA – 2 -2 -2; 6
3. Cavalino, W Class 37, Donald Tofias, USA – 5 -5 -3; 13
4. Angelita, 8 Metre, S Skelsey/Croll, USA – 5 -5 -5; 15

12 Metre (One Design – 6 Boats)

1. Columbia (T), 12 Metre, Kevin Hegarty Alain USA – 1 -1; 2
2. Courageous (M), 12 Metre, Gary Jobson, USA – 2 -2; 4
3. Weatherly (T), 12 Metre, Steven Eddleston, USA – 7 -7; 14
4. Onawa, 12 Metre, Mark Watson, USA – 7 -7; 14
5. Nefertiti (T), 12 Metre, Jack Klinck, USA – 7 -7; 14

12 Metre Traditional – Sub Scoring (One Design – 4 Boats)

1. Columbia, 12 Metre, Kevin Hegarty USA – 1 -1; 2
2. Weatherly, 12 Metre, Steven Eddelston, USA – 3 -2; 5
3. Nefertiti, 12 Metre, Jack Klinck, USA – 2 -3; 5
4. American Eagle, 12 Metre, Paul and Lisa Cheek, USA – 4 -4; 8

ORC A (ORC – 2 Boats)

1. Bella Mente, Maxi 72, Hap Fauth, USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 5
2. Vesper, IRC 72, Jim Swartz, USA – 2 -2 -2 -3 -3; 12

ORC B (ORC – 3 Boats)

1. Fox, Botin 52, Victor Wild, USA – 1 -1 -1 -3 -1; 7
2. Vesper, TP52, David Team, USA – 2 -2 -2 -1 -3; 10
3. Gladiator, TP52, Tony Langley, GBR – 4 -4 -4 -2 -2; 16

ORC C (ORC – 6 Boats)

1. The Edge, Dunning 44, John Bacon, NSW, AUS – 2 -3 -1 -1 -1; 8
2. Interlodge IV, Botin 44, Austin and Gwen Fragomen, USA – 1 -1 -3 -2 -2; 9
3. Stark Raving Mad IX, Carkeek 47, Jim Madden, USA – 3 -2 -2 -4 -4; 15
4. Pterodactyl, R/P 45, Scott Weisman, USA – 4 -4 -4 -5 -5; 22
5. Rikki, R/P 42, Bruce Chafee, USA – 6 -5 -5 -3 -6; 25

ORC D (ORC – 12 Boats)

1. Teamwork, J 122, Team Syndicate, USA – 4 -1 -1 -1 -2; 9
2. Summer Storm, J/111, Andrew Berdon, USA – 5 -2 -2 -3 -4; 16
3. Impetuous, Swan 42, Paul Zabetakis, USA – 1 -3 -3 -4 -6; 17
4. Orion, J 122, Paul Milo, Leesburg, USA – 3 -6 -4 -5 -1; 19
5. Rima98, Italia 11.98, John Brim, USA – 2 -7 -13 -2 -3; 27

PHRF 1 (PHRF – 3 Boats)

1. Laura, Westerly Marine RP 60, Francis Curren/William Titus, USA – 1 -2 -1 -1; 5
2. Pugilist, Marten 49, Dudley Johnson, USA – 2 -1 -2 -2; 7
3. Odyssey, X-50, David Brodsky/Alfred Van Liew, USA – 3 -3 -4 -3; 13

PHRF 2 (PHRF – 9 Boats)

1. Tink, Eggemoggin 47, Jack LeFort, USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 5
2. Leading Edge, J 109, Tom Sutton, USA – 3 -5 -5 -2 -2; 17
3. Arkana, sunfast 3300, Oivind Lorentzen, USA – 4 -3 -4 -4 -4; 19
4. Vento Solare, J 109, Bill Kneller, USA – 7 -4 -3 -3 -3; 20
5. Twist & Shout, C&C 30 One Design, Wesley Bright, USA – 2 -2 -2 -10 -5; 21

VX One (One Design – 16 Boats)

1. Sideshow, VX One, Doug Clark, USA – 13 -1 -2 -4 -1 -1; 22
2. Far Side, VX One, John Porter, USA – 4 -2 -8 -1 -5 -4; 24
3. Chuck Wagon, VX One, Phip Hallowell, USA – 1 -3 -5 -8 -2 -6; 25
4. TurboVX, VX One, Peter Vessella, USA – 6 -4 -4 -7 -3 -5; 29
5. Arrested Development, VX One, Kevin Northrop, USA – 5 -6 -3 -3 -6 -8; 31

Persico 69F – Overall Standings (One Design – 6 Boats)

1. Okalys Youth Project, Persico 69F, Arnaud Grange, SUI – 1; 1
2. Katana, Persico 69F, Alexander de Weck, SUI – 2; 2
3. Helvetia by Normandy Elite Team, Persico 69F, Clement Michel, FRA – 3; 3
4. Clean Sailors Youth Racing Team, Persico 69F, CJ Perez, Honolulu, USA – 4; 4
5. Team ID Voile, Persico 69F, Luc Guimbertaud, FRA – 5; 5

IC37 (One Design – 24 Boats)

1. Skeleton Key, IC37, Peter Wagner, USA – 2 -1 -2 -2 -11 -8 -10 -11; 47
2. New Wave, IC37, Steve Liebel, USA – 1 -2 -9 -7 -6 -1 -20 -4; 50
3. MO, IC37, Benjamin/Hannah Kinney/Swett, USA – 7 -5 -13 -3 -3 -15 -6 -2; 54
4. Yonder, IC37, Douglas Newhouse, USA – 10 -10 -5 -8 -5 -7 -4 -7; 56
5. Gamecock, IC37, Peter McClennen, USA – 4 -4 -14 -19 -10 -5 -1 -1; 58

Full results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=15085