“In 1965, we had 175 boats come to Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week, and 30 years later we are still going strong with 177 boats,” noted Race Chair Andrew Weiss of this year’s edition presented by Margaritaville. “It has been a fantastic week of racing, parties, and fun – so here’s to 30 more.” And what a regatta number 30 was. The week started off strong with three races completed on both Monday and Tuesday under sunny skies and consistent easterly winds. Wednesday provided perfect conditions for the Regatta Craft Mixers Round the Island race with one of the fastest laps in history. Thursday became a welcome and well-deserved lay day for the fleet. With 25-knot morning winds and grey skies creating a lay day made for napping followed by a laughter-filled Mount Gay Rum Day party to kick off an evening of food and community camaraderie across the island. Friday started off slow with a one-hour delay onshore as the Race Committee waited for the northerly breeze to die and the southeasterly gradient to fill in. After sending the fleets out, the wind didn’t want to cooperate for the Guardian Jet Blue Fleet and McMichael White Fleet as it never filled. Luckily, the GMT Composites Performance Cruising Green Fleet did get a race off as there was a breeze closer to the shore.
Top Three J/88:
- Gaucho, USA16, Dave Tufts – 3 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 ; 11
- Deviation, USA24, Iris Vogel – 1 -2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 ; 17
- Piranha, USA05, Dave Dennison – 4 -6 -4 -3 -2 -1 -3 ; 23
For complete results, visit https://yachtscoring.com/event_scratch_sheet.cfm?eID=15440.