(Newport, RI)- The list of registrants for the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race is growing daily. Currently, 42 teams are signed up for the event’s 13th edition, scheduled for Friday, August 18. Ida Lewis Yacht Club has been hosting and running sailboat races all summer long, but this is its signature regatta, much adored by local sailors as well as those who travel here from across the region and the continent to compete.“It’s always nice to do a short offshore race,” said John Gowell. “This one is not too intense, it’s overnight, and it covers beautiful sailing grounds. The logistics are also easy; that’s a big attraction.”
With turning marks at Castle Hill, Brenton Reef, Block Island, Montauk Point, Martha’s Vineyard and Buzzards Tower, the race course for the Ida Lewis Distance Race can be anywhere from 107 to 169 miles. The course is chosen on the day of the start and driven by the forecast conditions.
The race’s – and club’s – namesake is the heroic lighthouse keeper who saved many a life during her tenure at “Lime Rock” upon which Ida Lewis Yacht Club is famously perched in Newport Harbor. Ida Lewis often rowed a dory to rescue soldiers in peril on the water between the “rock” and the hard place of Fort Adams. Off Fort Adams is where the start is planned on Friday at 12:30, so spectators can take a lunch-hour break to catch the action. The Double-Handed Fleet starts first, followed by Multihulls at 12:45, PHRF Class at 1:00 and IRC Class at 1:15.)The finish is off the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, anywhere from 18 to 29 hours later, depending on the weather.
A total of 10 J/Boats are sailing in the event after Ida Lewis organizers reached out to participants competing in J/Fest New England, which precedes the distance race on Aug. 11-13; that’s about 25% of the 40-boat fleet.
IRC class will host an interesting mix of boats. Three J/122s – MOXIEE (Daniel Heun, Franklin, Mass.), ORION (Paul Milo, Leesburg, Virginia) and TARAHUMARA (Jack Gregg, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) – will make it interesting with their equally matched hulls.
PHRF Spinnaker Class has five J’s in the field, including two J/105s (Charles Stoddard’s FALCON 2.0 and the Young American Junior Big Boat Team on YOUNG AMERICAN), Bill Kneller’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE, Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE, and EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT.
In the PHRF Doublehanded Class, Dwight McMillan’s J/109 AVIATO will be taking on four other classmates for line and handicap honors.
The Ida Lewis Distance Race includes Youth and Collegiate Challenges and is a qualifier for the New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF) and the Northern and Double-Handed Ocean Racing Trophies (IRC). Top Trophies are The Russell L. Hoyt Memorial Trophy for best elapsed time in IRC division; The Commodore’s Trophy for best-corrected time in IRC division; The Lois J. Muessel Memorial Trophy for best elapsed time in PHRF division; and The Lime Rock Trophy for best-corrected time in PHRF division.
Gold sponsors for the 2017 Ida Lewis Distance Race are New England Boatworks and City of Newport. Silver sponsors are Bluewater Technologies, Helly Hansen, and Newport Shipyard; Bronze sponsors are North Sails, Rig Pro Southern Spars, and Stella Artois. Contributing Sponsors are DYT Yacht Transport, Flint Audio & Video, Goslings Rum, Mac Designs, Toni Mills Graphic Design, and Triton Insurance. Sailing photo credits- Cate Brown For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
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