SYC Mizzen

Race Season Opens with Ynglings and an Alden

The SYC racing season got underway on Saturday with three of the fleet making the starting sequence at 2:00.  John Ingalls and Torey Pellegrini each won a race in the same Yngling, while Teal was runner-up in both races.  JAVA picked up where she left off last season, winning the season opener in a sailover.

Seven Ynglings Complete NA Tune-Up at Saturday Racing

The local Yngling fleet came out in force last Saturday for their final race tune-up prior to the beginning of the Yngling North American Championship here at SYC beginning Thursday.  Ruth Hough continued to impress, winning the day with a pair of bullets and a second; Junior Sailing Race Coach Torey Pellegrini impressed with the other win for the day and a pair of seconds.

The outnumbered Alden fleet completed a pair of races for their penultimate Saturday race day, with Bachelor Button missing a pair of victories by a split second (losing to Cutty Wow by a nose in the first race.)

A pair each of Herreshoffs and Sunfish completed a race, with Truslow's Pooh II taking the H 12 1/2 race, and the crew of Luke Ingalls and George Littlefield leading the Sunfish. 

		Aug15
		Race 1	2	3
	Ynglings
	Orion	5	3	3
	Teal	4	4	6
	Olympic Boat (Ruth Hough)	2	1	1
	Olympic Boat (Mike/Torey)	1	2	2
	Gael Force (MacDonald)	6	7	7
	Loki (Richmond)	3	6	5
	Pat Clancy and Flash	DNF	5	4
	Aldens				August Points
1	Bachelor Button	2	1		6
2	Cutty Wow	1	4		9
3	Augusta	5	5		16
4	Chiquita	6	6		19
4	Java	3	2		19
4	Old Bull	4	3		19
7	Elisha	DNS	DNS		24
8	September Song	DNS	DNS		28
	Sunfish
	Will and Kevin Gallagher	DNF
	Seamus Power / Joe Gallagher	2
	Luke Ingalls / George Littlefield	1
	Herreshoff 12 1/2
	Pooh II	1
	Sea Trout II	2

Evenly Matched Fleets Mark Record Saturday Outing

Five Ynglings, six Aldens, five Sunfish and a pair of Herreshoffs sparred Saturday, and in 8 races only 1 boat notched more than one first place.  Loki, with Bill and Cooper Richmond, and Cobb Ingalls, bested the Yngling fleet in the first two of their races, but fell all the way to fourth in the third with Ruth Hough taking the win.  In the Alden fleet, Bachelor Button and Cutty Wow split the fleet's pair of races (JAVA's usual staff was asea in the Bermuda Triangle).  As a result of the very even racing in both fleets, the winner of August honors is still very much in doubt after half the month has passed.

A pair of Herreshoffs and 5 sunfish rounded out a very busy afternoon last Saturday, with Pooh II losing a nail-biter to Sea Trout II, and Rex Littlefield and Holly Taylor splitting the wins in the pair of Sunfish races sailed.

August results so far:

		8/1	8/1	8/1	8/8	8/8	8/8
	Race #	1	2	3	1	2	3
Ynglings
	Orion	3	2	3	4	2	3
	Teal	5	4	2	2	4	2
	Olympic Boat (Ruth Hough)	1	1	1	3	3	1
	Ouroboros (Flash Power)	6	6	5
	Gael Force (W/A MacDonald)	2	5	DNS
	Gael Force (Jenny H./Flash)				5	5	DNS
	Loki	4	3	4	1	1	4
Aldens									Pts.
1	Cutty Wow	2	4		3	1			10
2	Chiquita	3	2		4	3			12
3	Bachelor Button	4	6		1	2			13
4	Java	1	1		DNS	DNS			16
5	Augusta	7	7		2	4			20
5	Old Bull	5	3		DNF	6			20
7	Elisha	6	5		5	5			21
8	September Song	DNS	DNS		DNS	DNS			30
	Cutty Wow	7	7		2	4		20
	Chiquita	4	6		1	2		13
	Bachelor Button	3	2		4	3		12
	Java	2	4		3	1		10
	Augusta	6	5		5	5		21
	Old Bull	1	1		7	7		16
	Elisha	5	3		6	6		20
	September Song	8	8		7	7		30
Sunfish
	Scott Humphrey	2
	Jim of Barrington YC	1
	Rex Littlefield				1	3
	Nate Taylor				2	2
	Margot Littlefield				3	4
	Holly Taylor				4	1
	Sophie DenUyl				5	5
Herreshoff 12 1/2
	Pooh II	1			2
	Sea Trout II	2			1

Team Racing Draws Enthusiastic Competition -- and Garbage Bags

Six crews of Sakonnet sailors showed up early Sunday morning to team race Ynglings in a light to medium easterly breeze -- perfect for the dodging, ducking and agility which are part of good team racing.  After six races, the Glad Bags beat the Glad Rags 5 races to one in closely fought broadside combat.

The Glad Bags, so named for the boom-mounted streamers which distinguished them from their less flamboyant competitors, comprised all-in-the-family teams of Bill and Cooper Richmond in Loki, Steve and Dan O'Connor in Orion, and (for most of the races) brothers Patrick and Seamus Power in Gosling.  The Glad Rags were led by Team Race Event Organizer Cush Anderson with Will Shore in Ouroboros; Noel Ingalls, Jack Littlefield and cousin Matt Romano in Teal; and Bart Littlefield, new SYC member Rob, and Patrick Gallagher in Gael Force.

Racing was fast and furious over the brilliant windward-leeward course set by Race Committee operative Rachel Hough, requiring boats to round the marks leaving them to starboard -- inviting infinite port-starboard opportunities on the approach to the windward mark.  Part way through the racing, fleet captain Anderson decreed that the first boat to any mark had to loop around it completely, not merely pass it by, thus creating more melee, and leveling the fleet a bit.  Loki, usually the first upwind, got some good practice looping the marks.  The leeward leg saw a lot of action as the teams tried to stomp on opposing boats ahead of them, or slowing others to allow teammates to pass, with the team captains barking orders to their teammates and directing their moves.

Many thanks to Cush Anderson for organizing the event and rustling up the boats.  Race results below:

Race 1		Race 2		Race 3		Race 4		Race 5		Race 6
Glad Bags
Loki	1	Loki	1	Orion	1	Orion	2	Loki	2	Loki	1
Gael Force	2	Orion	2	Loki	2	Loki	3	Orion	3	Orion	3
Orion	3	GF	5	Gos	6	Gos	4	Gos	6	Gos	6
WIN	6	WIN	8	WIN	9	WIN	9		11	WIN	10
Glad Rags
Orobouros	4	Teal	3	Oro	3	GF	1	Teal	1	GF	2
Teal	5	Oro	4	GF	4	Oro	5	Oro	4	Teal	4
Gosling	6	Gos	6	Teal	5	Teal	6	GF	5	Oro	5
	15		13		12		12	WIN	10		11

Racing Boats Set Record in August Opener

Seven Aldens and nearly as many Ynglings, plus a pair each of Sunfish and Herreshoff 12 1/2s showed up on Saturday to start the August session of Sakonnet's Saturday racing.  Ruth Hough led the 6-boat Yngling fleet winning all three races.  Bill Richmond had Loki in the water for his first racing this season, as did Whit and Asher MacDonald, in Gael Force. 

The Woodhouse's piloted JAVA to a pair of firsts in the fierce Alden competition, where photo finishes prevailed.  The Truslow's took the Herreshoff season opener, and Scott Humphrey finally failed to win a Sunfish race this year, following his friend Jim from Barrington over the finish line.

A huge percentage of the floating personnel on Saturday were SYC junior sailors; a baker's dozen teenagers made the noon wake-up call to crew and skipper the Sakonnet fleet.  What reader remembers more sailing competition, or more kids participating, on a Saturday in Sakonnet?

Results from Saturday, August 1:

	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Points
Ynglings
Ruth Hough	1	1	1	3
Orion	3	2	3	8
Teal	5	4	2	11
Loki	4	3	4	11
Gael Force	2	5	DNS	13
Flash Power	6	6	5	17
Aldens
Java	1	1		2
Chiquita	3	2		5
Cutty Wow	2	4		6
Old Bull	5	3		8
Bachelor Button	4	6		10
Elisha	6	5		11
Augusta	7	7		14
September Song	DNS	DNS		16
Herreshoffs
Pooh II	1			1
Sea Trout II	2			2
Sunfish
Jim of Barrington	1
Scott Humphrey	2

Ynglings Tuned Up for North Americans in July Racing

Sakonnet's Ynglings used the five Saturday July race season to tune up for the Yngling North American Championships coming to SYC August 20-23.  Club sailors John Ingalls, Ellie Field, Bruce Chafee, Ruth Hough and many junior sailors were joined by Salve college students Torey Pellegrini and teammates in a fleet that included some boats which competed in the Beijing Olympics and some brand new ones.

Consistency and showing up paid off for Ellie Field in Teal.  On days when they showed up in new boats, Ruth Hough, Mike and Torey, and John Ingalls proved to be very fast as well, with Ruth and Mike/Torey sharing second place for the 12-race July series behind Ellie.

	Race:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts.
1	Teal	2	1	1	2	2	3			2	3	3	2	28
2	New Boat (Ruth Hough)						1	1	2	1	2	2	4	32
3	New Boat (Mike/Torey)						2	2		3	1	1	1	32
4	Orion			2	3	3	4	3		4	4	4	3	41
5	New Boat (John Ingalls)				1	1			1					44
6	Sleipnir	1	2											47
7	Big Blue	3	3											50
8	Ouroboros (Flash P.)									5				51

Defenders Beat Patriots in August SYC Challenge

(By Cushing Anderson) 

First - thanks very much to Eric and Ian for a great race course and rapid fire starts.

We had a great morning of team racing on Sunday, August 5th, with the Patriots (identified by their star spangled backstays) matched against the Defenders.

I will leave it to other chroniclers to describe their moments of glory or ignominy - Suffice it to say, I expect the Patriots to boast long and loud about their come-from-behind 1-2-3 finish in the final race - with several legitimate moves that confounded the Defenders (well done Teal).

Defenders

Teal (D) Tom, Jack L., Preston

Sleipner (D) Bruce, Sonia S.

Oraborous (D) Cushing, GB

Patriots

Gael Force (P) Ruth, Ted

Orion (P) Steve, Jon

Gosling (P) Bart, Mimi, Will

Ultimately the Defenders won the day -- winning four races to the Patriots' two -- but sparks of team racing brilliance on both sides foreshadows continued excitement as we take to the waters again.

Race 1			Race 4
Teal (D)	1		Teal (D)	1
Gael Force (P)	2		Slepnier (D)	2
Slepnier (D)	3		Gael Force (P)	3
Orion (P)	4		Orion (P)	4
Oraborus (D)	5		Gosling (P)	5
Gosling (P)	6		Oraborus (D)	6
Winner: Defenders (9 points)			Winner: Defenders (9 points)
Race 2			Race 5
Teal (D)	1		Slepnier (D)	1
Orion (P)	2		Teal (P)	2
Gael Force (P)	3		Oraborus (D)	3
Gosling (P)	4		Gael Force (D)	4
Slepnier (D)	5		Orion (P)	5
Oraborus (D)	6		Gosling (P)	6
Winner: Patriots (9 points)			Winner: Defenders (8 points)
Race 3			Race 6
Teal (D)	1		Orion (P)	1
Slepnier (D)	2		Gosling (P)	2
Orion (P)	3		Teal (P)	3
Gael Force (P)	4		Slepnier (D)	4
Oraborus (D)	5		Gael Force (D)	5
Gosling (P)	6		Oraborus (D)	6
Winner: Defenders (8 points)			Winner: Patriots (6 points)