HYANNIS, MA, JULY 29-31, 2011: The weekend of saw 24 F18s gather at the Hyannis Yacht Club on beautiful Cape Cod for the Hyannis Regatta and the F18 Eastern Area Championships. Hyannis Yacht Club will play host to the F18 North American Championships in September, so the weekend provided the fleet valuable experience on the championship waters, and with the same race committee that will be running the main event. Twenty four boats represented the biggest fleet of the Eastern Area Summer Circuit to date, and promised extremely close racing throughout the weekend.
Friday’s first start was scheduled for 1 pm, and an approaching front promised strong southerly breeze for the day’s racing. Just as the forecast predicted, the fleet was greeted with wind in the high teens for Friday’s races, combined with short, steep waves that made the downwind legs a considerable challenge. Continuing their outstanding form from previous weeks, the team of Mike Easton and Tripp Burd on the Nacra MKII Ronstan Racing machine won all three races on Friday, sending a clear message that they are hungry for a North American title. Bob Merrick applied pressure all around the course, taking three seconds, with Chris Titcomb claiming the final podium spot in each race. The conditions challenged the entire fleet, with many teams finding, and often exceeding, the limits of both boats and crews. Following the day’s racing, a large portion of the fleet enjoy Narragansett Beer and gathered for dinner and tales of wipeouts and great sailing at the Steakhouse and Sports Bar in downtown Hyannis.
In spite of a dire forecast for dying breeze, Saturday provided chamber of commerce weather for five great races in a northwest breeze and flat water. The addition of several boats that had to work on Friday brought the fleet to full strength, and placed additional importance on getting off the line cleanly and in the first row. The Easton/Burd team continued their winning ways, but more moderate breeze provided very close racing throughout the entire fleet, with crowded roundings and overlapped finishes the norm. The Giuliano brothers, coming off a solid effort at the US Multihull championships, proved consistent across the varying conditions, moving into a solid third place at the end of the second day. Visiting from Florida, Jeremy Herrin proved the younger generation of catamaran sailing is a force to be reckoned with, pushing the leaders all around the course and showing excellent downwind speed.
Saturday afternoon demonstrated that the Eastern Area fleet is not just about racing, with three boats staying in the water after racing to take eager 420, laser and opti sailors for blasts on the trapeze around Hyannis Harbor and Lewis Bay. Common reactions from the youth sailors were: “How fast does this go?!” “I want your boat!” and my personal favorite, “This thing is AWESOME!” Once again fleet camaraderie was on display Saturday night after the ‘Gansett social hour, as nearly 30 F18 sailors took over Sam Diego’s for dinner and excellent company.
After a lengthy morning delay waiting for wind, Sunday provided two beautiful races in a moderate 10-12 knot south west sea breeze. Chris Titcomb was in top form, taking a 1-4 for the day and moving into 6th overall for the event, despite missing two races to a broken spinnaker pole. The team of Reed/Dusek enjoyed the moderate breeze, finally getting off the line and recording to top five finishes. At the end of the day, it was Easton/Burd dominating the event to add the 2011 Eastern Area Championship to their already crowded trophy case. Bob Merrick finished a close second, with the Giuliano’s holding on to third.
The F18 fleet would like to thank the Hyannis Yacht Club for a fantastic event, with excellent hospitality and ten great races over three days. Judging by the great conditions for the Hyannis Regatta, the 2011 F18 North Americans will be a truly memorable event. If you haven’t registered, don’t miss out on what will be one of the best events of the year!
PICTURES by HYC
more pictures comings soon.
Part of the Narragansett Beer Eastern Area F18 Summer Series:
