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
Block Island Race Helps New England Sailors
Launch 2007 Sailing Season
LARCHMONT, NY (May 17, 2007) – Sailors from the northeast have
emerged from hibernation and targeted next week's Block Island Race as
a major tune-up for the '07 season. The spring classic, hosted by the
Storm Trysail Club and in its 62nd running, is a distance race of 185
nautical miles from Stamford, Conn., down Long Island Sound, to Block
Island, R.I., and back. Last year's event hosted over 100 boats, and this
year's fleet -- comprised of IRC, PHRF and doublehanded boats -- is shaping
up to be impressive when it sets out at 1700 on Friday, May 25. Currently,
the smallest boat entered is the Olson 30 Wave Dancer, skippered by Benoit
Ansart (Old Greenwich, Conn.), while the largest is the Reichel/Pugh 81
Bon Bon, skippered by Stephan Reith (Hamburg, Germany). The larger boats
generally finish on Saturday afternoon, with the majority of the fleet
finishing between midnight Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.
"We are certainly looking for a whole lot more wind than last year,"
said Race Chairman Ray Redniss. "Not as much as last year's Vineyard
Race, however…but something in between would be just fine! There's
always the eye on breaking Boomerang's record in 2002 of 16 hours, 20
minutes and 50 seconds, but the event also serves many different purposes
for different players."
Redniss explained that while Long Island sailors started their season
at the end of April, other regional sailors have only just commissioned
their boats. Some will use the Block Island Race as a shakedown for the
Storm Trysail Club's quickly approaching Block Island Race Week XXII presented
by Rolex, a popular biennial event that takes place June 17-22 and will
serve as the first-ever Rolex US-IRC National Championship. In addition,
the Block Island Race is part of the Gulf Stream Series Trophy for IRC
boats while also being a qualifier for the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy
(IRC) and the New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF). Specifically for Long
Island Sound sailors, the Block Island Race is a qualifier for the Caper,
Sagola and Windigo trophies awarded by the Yacht Racing Association of
Long Island Sound and the “Tuna Trophy” for the best IRC combined
scores in the Block Island Race (weighted 60%) and Larchmont Yacht Club’s
EDLU Race (weighted 40%).
Registration for the Block Island Race, open through Wednesday May 23,
is on-line at www.stormtrysail.org, or for more information, contact Ray
Redniss, rredniss@optonline.net, or the STC office at 914-834-8857.
About the Storm Trysail Club
The Storm Trysail Club, reflecting in its name the sail to which sailors
must shorten when facing 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 hosting Block
Island Race Week presented by Rolex in odd-numbered years, the club holds
various prestigious offshore racing events (among them the annual Fort
Lauderdale to Key West Race and the Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race); annual
junior safety-at-sea seminars; and a regatta for college sailors using
big boats.
(end)
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