Roton Point Sailing Association
Norwalk, CT
Over the weekend of September 14-15, the USF18 Eastern Area fleet headed south for the 54th edition of the Roton Point Annual Regatta hosted by the Roton Point Sailing Association. Having been unable to attend the regatta the last two years due to conflicts with major events, the Eastern Area fleet was eager to return to this beautiful club on the shore of Long Island Sound, especially after RPSA overcame damage inflicted by superstorm Sandy. A strong fleet of 11 F18s attended the event, in addition to 11 Hobie 16s, and an extremely diverse 13 boat open class that consisted of everything from a Hobie Getaway to an ARC 22.
Saturday morning dawned unseasonably cool, but the promise of breeze added a sense of excitement and anticipation to everyone in the boat park. Once on the water, the fleet was faced with a race course tucked up against the shore, and an offshore breeze that ranged from 2-15+ knots. The first three races of the day were three quick laps of a short, shifty course, placing a premium on getting off the starting line, keeping eyes out of the boat, and efficiently handling maneuvers. With 30+ boats in the course area at once, the racing was fast paced, exciting, and more than a little tough on the crews! After a brief break to lengthen the course, two more races were sailed in steadier breeze of 10-15 knots to close out an excellent day of racing.
Back in the boat together for just the second time this summer, Mike Easton and Tripp Burd picked up right where they left off last season, taking race one in dominating fashion, and never looking back. Sitting in second place after day one were John and Peter Giuliano, with Brooks Reed and Jeff Dusek sitting an additional three points back in third. Also showing great speed on the day were Ken and Bastian Madsen with the inaugural outing of their Infusion with some great looking orange sails, and Jan Majer and Karl Funk on the Kwyjiboat.
Following racing, sailors gathered to enjoy a ‘Gansett while watching the America’s Cup and discussing the days racing. The incredible volunteers from RPSA cooked up a fantastic steak dinner, and several rounds of boat racing were enjoyed by the F18 fleet before everyone retired to their tents on the club lawn, overlooking Long Island Sound and the lights of New York City.
Despite a dire forecast, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day with much steadier winds building to around 12 knots as the day progressed. Mike and Tripp again won the day, but Bob Merrick and Tyler Burd were able to take a race win away from them, winning race 7 in commanding fashion. With a broken halyard on Saturday keeping Bob and Tyler out of podium contention, the battle for second was between the Giuliano brothers, and Reed/Dusek. Brooks and Jeff had the better day, taking second two points ahead of the Giulianos. Todd Riccardi and Brendon Scanlon also had a great day on Sunday, sailing fast and securing 5th place for the weekend.
The USF18 Eastern Area fleet would like to thank the RPSA and PRO Mike Levesque for a fantastic weekend of racing. We look forward to returning next year for the 55th anniversary of the Roton Point Regatta.