(Newport, RI)- With all the regattas that populate the summer sailing
schedule in Newport, RI, it’s a surprise to find there’s any kind of a
hole between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In fact, however, the odd years
had little competition for larger, handicap yachts after the New York
Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex in early June. Therefore,
the New York Yacht Club’s Sailing Committee decided to fill the gap with
a mid-season IRC regatta. Both four-day events were run out of the New
York Yacht Club at Harbour Court and finished up on Sunday with all
fleets sneaking a single race into a day marred by a very persistent fog
bank.Despite being a last-minute addition to the schedule, the 2015 IRC East Coast Championships proved its worth by pulling in 26 boats from 30 to 55 feet. Equally as impressive was the variety of designs and ages of the yachts that competed in the event, from NYYC Rear Commodore Bill Ketcham’s J/44 MAXINE (build in 1989) to the brand new IRC/HPR custom machines.
"I
think the biggest success was the participation we had," said event
chairman Art Santry. "We had 26 boats and we did not have much time to
get it organized and get the word out. I think the second biggest
success was if you looked at the types of boats that did well, it was
pretty varied. That's a testament to PRO Sam Wakeman, who put together
the courses. It wasn’t strictly windward-leeward, it was a lot of
different stuff that worked out for everybody."The IRC 2 class saw spirited competition for the top three slots. It wasn’t until the final two races that the top three was determined. Finishing just three pts from first, NYYC Rear Commodore Bill Ketcham’s J/44 MAXINE from Greenwich, CT took third place and even collected two 1sts and two 2nds along the way and, in fact, had by far the best last five races in their fleet- averaging a 2nd place!
In IRC 3 class, the J/122 AUGUST WEST, skippered by Jamey Shachoy, was as dominant as the TP52 Vesper, winning four races, finishing second in four others and winning the division by 10 points. Just twelve pts back and only 2 pts out of second was Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION from Leesburg, VA. While they could not match the consistency of AUGUST WEST, they still won two races on their way to a third place in class. For more IRC East Coast Championship sailing information
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