Summer Racing Results on the US East Coast

SANTANA

Sail Martha’s Vineyard Regatta, July 13 – 15, 2017

SANTANA and MAH JONG, fresh from stunning refits, mixed it up with seasoned classics SONNY and GENTIAN. Over the three days of competition S&S Designs proved stalwart and speedy through the extremely variable weather which saw waterspouts, gusty conditions, and even multiple dismastings!! When all was said and done, the omnipresent Wendy Schmidt came away victorious in SANTANA, and SONNY and GENTIAN filled out the podium.

Camden Classics Cup, July 27-29, 2017

S&S designs fared well at the Camden Classics Cup at the end of July. MERMAID placed 1st in the Classic Division, while ORIOLE placed 2nd the the Spirit of Tradition Division.

Eggemoggin Reach Regatta & Feeder Races, August 3-5, 2017

The Eggemoggin Reach Regatta was the culmination of the Maine Wooden Boat Series. The overall winner for the series was SIREN who out performed all of her S&S sisters over three events. Sailing on a characteristically foggy Saturday, the 2017 ERR boasted tight competition between over 100 boats of all designs and styles, and was capped off by a warm celebration at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, ME.

Nantucket Race Week & Opera House Cup, August 12 – 20, 2017

Nantucket Race Week was a barn burner for Sparkman & Stephens teams, with classic and modern designs showing their speed over 3 days of tight racing in Nantucket Sound. First up were two days of Windward Leeward racing in fresh to frightening conditions which saw S&S teams on top of the podium with 4 races completed. 12 Metre COLUMBIA won the 12 Metre/Classics A fleet while NY32 SIREN continued her winning ways after sweeping the Maine classic regatta series to take the win in this event for Classics B, while SONNY and SANTANA rounded out the podium. Sailed by a crew of 3, but flying her spinnaker unperturbed in gusts of 25 on Friday and 20 on Saturday, ORIOLE missed first in the PHRF class by 2 seconds in a winner-take-all match with her rival in the last race of the regatta.

Showing fine form going into the “big dance” for the Opera House Cup, S&S teams once again showed that they are the ones to beat. 12 Metre VALIANT was the big winner here, winning the Day Racers division of the Opera House Cup while other S&S designs BRILLIANT and SIREN showed the way home in the schooner and vintage Corinthian divisions.

Recognizing his hard work in winning his class in the Opera House Cup, Peter Cassidy and SIREN won the Overall Panerai Performance Award, while 12M COLUMBIA took home the newly inaugurated S&S Performance Award for the best combined overall performance by an S&S design over Nantucket Race Week and The Opera House Cup.

Panerai Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta & Panerai Newport Classic Yacht Regatta, August 25-26, 2017

S&S designs were rewarded for a season of tight sailing capped off on Narragansett Bay in the 38th Annual Panerai Newport Classic Yacht Regatta. Overall winners of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Official North American Challenge were SONNY (recently sold by the S&S brokerage team) who placed first in the Vintage Division, while the 12 Metre VALIANT took first place in the Grand Prix Division.

Report of the 2017 Association AGM and Meeting, Lymington

In the attached PDF you may read about the successful events of the 2017 AGM and Meeting in Lymington, UK earlier this summer.

An Epitaph for the S&S NY32 Sirius hull no. 19

SIRIUS

In May last year I reported the tragic loss of two lives aboard the NY32 Sirius while transiting on April 29th from Cannes to Mallorca or Barcelona. Sirius was also lost without trace or the subsequent sighting of any wreckage. In this article we commemorate the detailed history of Siriusfrom 1936 to the present and hypothesise as to what might have happenned. During her career Sirius had had prior experience of heavy weather.

Inkeri Winner of the 2017 Sparkman & Stephens Global Challenge Cup

This year the challenge cup was awarded for an overnight race. The winner was the S&S 6.6 INKERI Skippered by Olli Martio.

2017 Classic Channel Regatta

The programme has just been announced. Smaller yachts will pay a reduced fee. S&S yachts are of course very welcome.

About the Classic Channel Regatta

The Classic Channel Regatta is a unique event with its own distinctive blend of racing, passage making and informal parties. Calling at three of the finest ports in the English Channel it brings together a great collection of classic yachts and their crews to share and celebrate the joy of classic sailing.

The regatta is biennial – the next one will be in 2017 and will run from Saturday July 8 to Saturday July 14. Because the times of high water during the regatta are later in the day than in past years, we are changing the format a bit in 2017 to allow for the later lock opening times at Paimpol. The main changes are that the Classic Channel Race will be in two legs, stopping over in Guernsey on the way to Paimpol; on Thursday night the fleet will be in Lezardrieux; and the regatta will finish in Paimpol on Friday evening.

The regatta will start with two days of racing at Dartmouth Classics Weekend as usual. Then the Classic Channel Race will start from Dartmouth on Monday afternoon with the first leg finishing at St Peter Port during Tuesday – where there will be a party in Guernsey Yacht Club in the evening. The second leg of the Classic Channel Race will set off from there on Wednesday morning and arrive in Paimpol in the evening.

Thursday will be, as usual, the day of the Round Île de Bréhat Race. Boats will lock out of Paimpol in the morning and the race will be followed by a late picnic lunch anchored off Île de Bréhat. Then follows the very popular Danse des Classiques (a new innovation introduced in 2015) in the afternoon before the fleet sails up the Trieux River to Lezardrieux for the night. The town is laying on a supper on the quay for as many crews as they can accommodate and there will be coaches for those wishing to go back to Paimpol (which is only 3km by road) for the evening.

On Friday morning the fleet will sail round to Paimpol where a Grand Parade-of-Sail will enter the harbour as a central part of the town’s July 14th Bastille Day celebrations. The fleet will remain in port during the afternoon and in the evening the regatta will finish with a prizegiving, crew supper and soirée in the town’s Salle des Fêtes followed by the town’s fireworks display.

Saturday will provide an opportunity for those crews not rushing away to wind down and enjoy the charms of Paimpol – and there will be various excursions laid on to nearby attractions.

Throughout the regatta, as well as the racing, there will be a full programme of suppers, parties and receptions in each port. The accent is very much on informality (you can definitely leave the No1 yachting kit at home!) and the regatta prides itself on its relaxed Westcountry and Breton ambiance.

We describe the racing as ‘gentleman’s racing’ and you can be as competitive or relaxed as you like. The handicap system used is the JCH Classic Handicap which is free and it is simple to get a handicap online. Full information on the handicap page.

Most yachts designed before the end of 1968, approved designs from 1969 to the end of 1974, and later designs in classic style are eligible to take part. Full information is on the eligibility page.

Most yachts do the whole regatta, but there are options to do just sectors if time is limited. The regatta is a truly international event with past regattas attracting entries from Britain, France, Ireland, Belgium, Holland and Germany – and we look forward to more countries joining the list for 2017.

The regatta is run by Classic Channel Regatta Ltd for The CRAB (Classic Regattas Anglo-Breton) Association whose members are the regatta entrants and crews – so it is truly democratic with the participants owning the regatta and deciding how they would like it run. Read more on the CRAB association.

The regatta is also part of the Challenge Classique Manche-Atlantique (CCMA) series of races run by the Yacht Club Classique in France.