By Alison Brett, American Yacht Club
Cedar Point Yacht Club's crew on Expresso rushes to catch up with their competitors during the first race Monday morning.
Leave it to the Dorade to force sailors from western Long Island Sound to be on their game.
18 boats competed at the Dorade Regatta—the annual one-day junior big boat event hosted by Stamford Yacht Club where sailors compete for a trophy donated by Rod Stephens that commemorates Dorade’s win in the 1931 Transatlantic Race—last Monday, August 13.
For boats such as Shakedown from Centerport Yacht Club, the Dorade provided an opportunity for junior sailors to apply boat handling skills learned and to take those skills to a higher level.
In their first race, at the windward mark, Shakedown adult advisor Michael Sterflinger said that three sailors on the boat could tell they had started on the wrong side of the course. Looking outside their boat and paying particular attention to boats ahead, they noticed there were lifts and better breeze on the right.
In the second race, Shakedown approached the windward mark from the right, not the left. As a result, in the next two races, they finished first, allowing them to place first overall in the PHRF 2 division. Larchmont’s Peregrina and Morning Glory came in second and third in this division, respectively.
In the PHRF 1 division, where five of the faster boats raced, Noroton’s High Noon took first, American’s Patriot took second and Pequot’s Strategery took third.
Race Committee poses for a photo in between races.
For
Shakedown, the win in the PHRF 2 division seemed to be a result of practice with boat handling as well as attention to boat speed during the race. As several boats had problems with sets and jibes during the downwind leg, team practice paid off.
“The CYC kids had the opportunity to do some drilling with the owner over days leading up to the race,” Sterflinger wrote. “They were comfortable with the boat handling and this gave them the opportunity to look outside the boat.”
Although adults were on big boats at the Dorade, it was junior sailors on the boats who ran the show.
“I think [the most memorable part] was how well the kids were working together. All of them were very much into it and paying attention,” said Sterflinger.
He added, “The kids are far better tacticians than I will ever be.”
Norwalk Yacht Club sailors on Bangarang sit on the windward side of the boat in an attempt to flatten it.
Not only did the Dorade allow junior sailors to take the reins racing big boats, but it also provided an extra day of racing experience for sailors racing in the Beach Point Overnight Regatta on Tuesday.
Winds ranged from 5 to 10 knots and shifted up to 40 degrees at times. The Race Committee ran three races for each division.
For full results, see YachtScoring.com.
Photos are in a Facebook album here.
Alison Brett is a freelance writer and photographer for several local publications in Rye, NY. She is currently a senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT, where she is an editor, writer and staff photographer for the school's newspaper, The King Street Chronicle. Alison is a former Junior American Yacht Club C420 / Laser sailor who sailed in the Dorade last year. We welcome Alison as a JibeTalk author. If you also have a story and would like to contribute, please contact us and we'll get you published on JibeTalk!