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
Numbers Wins Storm Trysail Club's
2006 IRC East Coast Championship
ANNAPOLIS, MD (Nov. 6, 2006) -- The second-ever IRC East Coast Championship,
hosted November 3-5 by the Storm Trysail Club – Chesapeake Station,
yielded a familiar victor from the big-boat racing arena. Dan Meyers (Boston,
Mass.) and his Farr 60 Numbers rallied to win both a distance race held
on Friday in 15-20 knot winds and the second of two short windward/leeward
races that were squeezed into Sunday afternoon in barely-there breezes
of 5-7 knots. Up to seven races had been planned, but Saturday's action,
unfortunately, consisted only of abandonment of racing shortly after a
start, then bobbing and waiting for breeze, which never materialized,
in unseasonable temperatures that never rose above 50 degrees. Meyers
and his team became the overall IRC East Coast Champions when the Race
Committee deemed them to have the best cumulative average corrected time
over the three races completed. A total of 33 boats, divided into four
classes, competed in the regatta.
“It was so cold it could have been called the Icicle Regatta,"
said Meyers about the testing conditions, "but my hat's really off
to the Race Committee. They laid out a really nice 45-mile tour of the
Chesapeake on Friday (smaller boats ran a 28-mile course). Then on Sunday,
after Saturday's cancellation, they held out until the breeze filled in,
late in the afternoon. They were way more patient than I think the fleet
wanted them to be, but they knew it wouldn't constitute a regatta if we
didn't get some racing in."
A first-time event for Meyers, the IRC East Coast Championship worked
well to help the Numbers crew shake off the cobwebs after a 2 1/2 month
hiatus from competition. "We were more concerned about what we were
doing wrong than what others were doing right," said Meyers, who
added that Numbers, like several other regatta entrants, would soon be
sailing to Florida for winter competitions in Palm Beach, Key West and
Miami. "It was a terrific stop before heading south, and I hope that
next year even more boats will take advantage of the event's timing and
venue."
Meyers also took top honors in the IRC 1 class, while Peter and Debbie
Gibbons-Neff (Rosemont, Penn.) topped IRC 2 class with their Farr 395
Upgrade. The IRC 3 class – the largest with 12 entries – was
won by Curt Schwab (Washington, D.C.) aboard his Beneteau 36.7 Volition.
One-design trophies also were awarded in this class, with Volition topping
the fleet again even after the distance race had been omitted from scoring.
Taking second and third, respectively, were Chip Devine (North Potomac,
Md.) with Dreamboat Annie and Garth Hichens (Annapolis) on Seahorse. The
two teams switched positions, however, when scored for the IRC championship.
Winning IRC 4 class was Bill Sweetser (McLean, Va.) aboard his J/109 Rush
"Next year this event becomes the last race in the U.S.-IRC Gulf
Stream series, which starts in Key West and ends in Annapolis," said
Race Chair Bill Kardash. "We are trying to gain traction on the Chesapeake
for IRC racing, and there is growing interest as IRC gets a foothold in
this country." Kardash explained that this event became the IRC East
Coast Championship in 2005, having been known for four years prior as
the IMS Mid-Atlantic Championship. The 2006 regatta was open to any IRC
boat that met the requirements of the IRC Rules and had an IRC Certificate
with a rating for 2006 of 1.025 or higher.
The 2006 IRC East Coast Championship was sailed on Chesapeake Bay with
shore side activitiesat Annapolis Yacht Club. It was sponsored by Annapolis
Yacht Sales with support from Beneteau USA and Lewmar. It also served
as a warm-up to the Rolex U.S. IRC Nationals, which will be sailed as
part of the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week XXII presented
by Rolex on June 17-22, 2007.
Video, produced by T2P TV, can be viewed at www.t2p.tv.
Online race administration and scoring by Yacht Scoring (www.yachtscoring.com).
For more information about the 2006 IRC East Coast Championship, including
results and photos, go to www.stormtrysail.org or contact Bill Kardash,
Regatta Chairman, 410-268-8881, bkardash@columbiadirect.net.
(end)
(Top-Three Results Follow)
Results--2006 IRC East Coast Championship
Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner's Name, Hometown, Finish Positions, Total
Points
IRC 1 (IRC - 5 Boats)
1. Numbers, Farr 60, Daniel Meyers, Boston, MA, USA - 1.5, 4, 1; 6.5
2. Wahoo, Corby 41.5, Augustus Fretz, Stevensville, MD, USA - 3, 1, 5;
9
3. Badfish, Melges 32, Tom & Steve Ripley, Annapolis, MD, USA - 6,
3, 2; 11
IRC 2 (IRC - 10 Boats)
1. Upgrade, Farr 395, Peter & Debbie Gibbons-Neff, Rosemont, PA, USA
- 1.5, 1, 6; 8.5
2. Dame Blanche, Beneteau 40.7, Othmar von Blumencrom, Great Falls, VA,
USA - 4.5, 2, 5; 11.5
3. Down Time, Beneteau 40.7, Ed & Molly Freitag, Annapolis, MD, USA
- 6, 3, 3; 12
IRC 3 (IRC - 12 Boats)
1. Volition, Beneteau 36.7, Curt Schwab, Washington, DC, USA - 4.5, 1,
2; 7.5
2. Seahorse, Beneteau 36.7, Garth Hichens, Annapolis, MD, USA - 1.5, 3,
8; 12.5
3. Dreamboat Annie, Beneteau 36.7, Chip Devine, North Potomac, MD, USA
- 6, 5, 3; 14
IRC 4 (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Rush, J/109, Bill Sweetser, McLean, VA, USA - 3, 1, 1; 5
2. Horseweed, Beneteau First 10R, Bobby Oberg, Annapolis, MD, USA - 1.5,
2, 7/DNF; 10.5
3. Moon Racer, Beneteau First 10R, Ken Comerford, Annapolis, MD, USA -
4.5, 3, 3; 10.5
For More information and results, go to: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=106
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