STORM TRYSAIL CLUB
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barby MacGowan, Media Pro Int’l, 401-849-0220, barby.macgowan@mediapronewport.com
or Marcy Trenholm, Storm Trysail Club, 914-834-8857, stormtry@aol.com
Storm Trysail Club Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta
College Dinghy Sailors Get Their Turn on Big Boats
Larchmont, N.Y. (Oct. 15, 2008) -- Just when it seemed the annual Intercollegiate
Offshore Regatta couldn’t get any bigger, it breezed into Larchmont
Yacht Club on Columbus Day Weekend to increase its participants from last
year’s count of 235 college sailors to a whopping 318 and its borrowed-boat
fleet from 31 to 36. In fact, the regatta has grown so much, with 29 different
colleges and universities competing this year, that long-time host Larchmont
Yacht Club officially joined forces with the event’s organizer,
the Storm Trysail Club (STC), to run what has become the largest college
sailing regatta in the country.
And bigger definitely meant better when the owners again sailed on board
the borrowed boats as coaches. Not only did they help introduce college
sailors to the challenges and teamwork of big boat racing but also they
had a good deal of fun themselves. Eric Irwin of the J/105 Dark
‘N Stormy said, “Thanks for the opportunity
and a very rewarding experience. I walked away with much more knowledge
of what it takes for our boat to do well. We will try to include the event
in next year’s schedule.” This was the first year Dark ‘N
Stormy participated, and the team from Cornell that sailed on the boat
won the 11-boat J/105 class.
Another first-time owner summarized, “I had a great time; I liked
all the kids on my team. There were some good sailors, but they were all
skippers and had never raced together as a team.” His team did not
do so well, but that is all part of the learning experience. Big boats
are not Lasers; crews need to come together as a team.
The crews also enjoyed themselves. Jesse Fielding, a University of Rhode
Island Sailing Team member said, “The opportunity for college sailors
to experience a different perspective on the sport is invaluable. The
responsibility of looking after a boat, a crew and an owner are skills
that lifelong sailors need to have. It is inspiring to know that the regatta
is growing every year. And we are already looking forward to coming back
next year.”
Fielding was one of two URI team members who sailed the 2008 TransPac
Race as part of Roy Disney’s Morning Light campaign
(which spawned the recently-released Disney movie of the same name). He
and fellow Morning Light sailor Robbie Kane
joined additional URI team members on Richard du Moulin’s Express
37 Lora Ann.
Du Moulin was very impressed by the team’s leadership and sailing
skills. “I gave them some tips on how to sail upwind faster, but
I sat back and took lessons watching them sail my asymmetrical rig downwind,”
he said. “The Morning Light experience
gave these kids incredible downwind steering technique, which is why we
won four out of five races.”
Johnson and Wales University has been sailing in the event for over five
years on Bob Behringer’s Express 37 Draco.
After the regatta, the team’s coach Alan Penney wrote, “Another
well run event! Thank you very much for all your hard work putting this
event together for all the collegiate sailors. It’s hard to believe,
but each year this event gets better. The JWU students all had a great
time, thank you!”
The boats were divided into four one-design classes and one PHRF division.
The largest division was the tight PHRF class that had 12 boats rating
between 72 and 87, of which 8 boats rated 72. The second largest class
was the 11-boat J/105 class. The five class winners were: The United States
Coast Guard Academy in the J/44 class; Georgetown University in the J/122
class; Massachusetts Maritime in the J/109 class; University of Rhode
Island in the PHRF class, and Cornell in the J/105 class.
The overall winner (based on the best winning percentage) of the five-race
regatta was Mass. Maritime, sailing Rick Lyall’s J/109 Storm.
Mass. Maritime is the first winner of the Paul Hoffmann Trophy, a perpetual
trophy that was donated this year by the family of Paul Hoffmann, Jr.,
in memory of Paul’s father, a past Commodore of the STC and a long-time
member of the Larchmont Yacht Club. Lyall was the first-time winner of
the Edward du Moulin Trophy, another new perpetual that is awarded to
the winning boat’s owner. Richard du Moulin donated the trophy in
memory of his father, a long-time STC member and a founding member of
the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.
The race management, headed by Race Committee PRO Butch Ulmer, could
have been used as a clinic on how to run the perfect multi-class regatta.
Five races were sailed over two days in shifty light easterlies that died
as the days went on. All the courses were windward-leeward twice around
and the windward mark was moved each race for the second beat because
of the shifty breeze. Frequently, there were classes starting to the left
of the committee boat as others were finishing on the right of the boat.
Getting the races off quickly was the key to completing three races on
Sunday, because the wind shut off just as the last race was finishing.
Schools that participated in the 2008 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta
were: American University, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colgate University,
Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Drexel University, Fordham University,
Georgetown University, Hamilton College, Johnson & Wales University,
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Miami University, Middlebury College,
Northeastern University, Old Dominion University, St. Mary’s College,
SUNY Maritime, Tufts University, Webb Institute, Western Michigan University,
University of Massachusetts-Boston, University of Michigan, University
of Rhode Island, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy,
U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and Williams College.
Sponsors of the event were Prestige Toyota, Vineyard Vines, Rolex Watch
U.S.A., UK Halsey Sailmakers, Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, J Boats,
Gill, Dax Laboratories and Heineken.
For complete race results, photos and more information, visit http://stormtrysail.org/Pages/2008-Intercollegiate-Regatta/2008-Intercollegiate-Regatta.html
About the Storm Trysail Club
The Storm Trysail Club (STC), reflecting in its name the sail to which
sailors must shorten when facing severe adverse conditions, is one of
the world’s most respected sailing clubs, with its membership comprised
strictly of skilled blue water and ocean racing sailors. In addition to
the Intercollegiate Regatta, STC holds various prestigious offshore racing
events (among them the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race, Pineapple Cup
Montego Bay Race, Block Island Race, and in odd-numbered years Block Island
Race Week presented by Rolex) and annual junior safety-at-sea seminars.
It also has developed, in conjunction with the Transpacific Yacht Club,
the Storm Trysail Transpac 65 and the Box Rule that governs its design.
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