Sonar Long Island Sound Champs, Day 2 Recap

Day two of the Sonar Long Island Championships started out with more typical Long Island Sound conditions (read: no wind). The race committee at Noroton Yacht Club decided it was best to postpone the fleet on shore for half an hour. Once the AP went down we headed out to the sound only to find drifter conditions and another postponement. As we sat around, telling jokes, complaining that the coach didn’t have a wakeboard, and other tomfoolery the breeze started to fill in from the south.

The start line for race 3 of the regatta, race one of the day, was slightly skewed towards the boat end side. Russ and Harrison both started down at this end with Harrison being called over early. Harrison and the boats around him being over the line helped Russ to get a great lane out to the right side of the course as Harrison restarted and also headed out right. Russ rounded the mark in 3^rd place with Harrison in the middle of the 28 boat fleet. On the downwind leg, Russ and Harrison passed boats, Russ passing one to move into second and Harrison passing 4 or 5 boats to get into the top half of the fleet. On the second upwind, Russ extended on the fleet and Harrison made a big charge back into the top 10 of the fleet. On the last downwind, the boat in 1^st place jibed away at the top mark which allowed Russ to sail right past him into the lead. Russ finished the race strong and took the bullet. Great job Russ. Harrison found a nice lane of pressure on the downwind and moved into 7^th place for the race.

After the first race the race committee announced that they were getting set to do another race but because it was getting later into the day, Team St.FYC decided it was time to head in and de-rig the boats. Russ was sitting in 1^st place overall when we left the course and Harrison was around 6^th or 7^th overall. It was a good thing that we decided to call it early as we heard there was a large shift on the last race and a nice squall to greet the sailors as we pulled out of the parking lot and they pulled into the dock.

It was a great event despite the lack of breeze and we hope to do more in the future. Thanks to St.FYC for allowing us to do the event. Big thanks go out to John Craig for setting up our coaching and setting up the charter of the boats. And also a big thanks to the Lotz’s from NYYC for letting us stay at their great house in New Canaan.

Sailing for Team St.FYC on Sonar 753 was Russ Silvestri with crew John Collins, Holt Condon, and local sailor Cathy Hoyt. Sailing on Sonar 752 was Harrison Turner with crew Matt Gregory, Chris Smith, and Peter Scott.

Stay tuned for photos from the event!

St. Francis Team Racing