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DATES FOR UPCOMING SORC RACES:
Pineapple Cup / Montego Bay Race– February 8, 2013
Nassau Cup Ocean Race - November 7, 2013
Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race - January, 2014
Photo courtesy of johnpaynephoto.comFebruary 18, 2013
Shockwave Makes “Clean Sweep”
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA – After a relatively mellow light-air start, George Sakellaris’s (Framingham, Mass.) 72’ Reichel Pugh Shockwave eventually enjoyed double-digit reaching conditions to become first-to-finish, first in IRC division and first overall at the 31st biennial Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race Presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum. The annual ocean race of 811 nautical miles started on Friday, February 8 at Florida’s Port Everglades, sending the “MoBay” fleet of ten boats--sailing in IRC and PHRF divisions--on a challenging all-points-of-sail course to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Shockwave crossed the finish line on Sunday, February 10 with an elapsed time of two days, 11 hours, 23 minutes and two seconds, just short of the current race record that was set in 2005 by Titan 12. Due to the favorable conditions, all of the boats had crossed the finish line by Tuesday evening, February 12, three days earlier than expected.“This was a true team effort for the Shockwave crew that George Sakellaris and his captain Reggie Cole have spent two years assembling,” said Shockwave’s tactician Robbie Doyle (Marblehead, Mass.), adding that regular crew members Scot Gregory, Jason Carr, Peter Kingsbury and Reid Fleming deserved a great deal of credit. “Despite fresh and often changing conditions, sail handling went without a hitch, and the damage report was almost nil.”
Doyle said there were two different theories regarding the expected weather for the race. “One was that it would be light at the start but very solid the rest of the way to Jamaica,” said Doyle. “Knowing Shockwave’s capabilities, we definitely were thinking that beating the record set by Titan was a possibility. The other forecast was for a light and variable breeze to carry on for the first 12 hours of the race, and that proved to be the case. Nevertheless, we were able to recover from that and still had a good shot at the record but fell 58 minutes short.”Doyle added that a conservative start on starboard tack at the pin end allowed them some southerly distance before jumping into the northerly heading Gulf Stream. They sailed until they ran out of counter current and jibed to cross the stream to leeward of all but IceFire, the well regarded TP 52 entered by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation. “We had a nice lead, but we still had 800 miles to go!”
It was one long match race for IceFire and another TP 52, Bryon Ehrhart’s (Chicago, Ill.) Lucky, butIceFire prevailed, beating Lucky by a little over two hours and taking second place on corrected time in IRC Division. (Lucky wound up in fourth place behind Stephen Murray’s Carkeek 40 Decision.)
“We were close to Lucky the entire time and it was great sailing because we were perfectly matched,” said IceFire crew member Jesse Fielding (Wickford, R.I.), adding that histeam, headed by Ralf Steiz (Kings Point, N.Y.), president of the USMMA Sailing Foundation, was promoting All American Ocean Racing, a new program that prepares sailors, age 30 and under, for offshore racing. “We had a phenomenal young American crew that included Taylor Canfield, Mark Towill, Charlie Enright, Chris Welch and Chris Branning. After passing Cuba, we were faced with some gear failure, but we rallied, kept pushing and never stopped.”
Doyle also mentioned Cuba as a memorable waypoint for Shockwave. “Once around the tip, we set our largest, heavy air spinnaker. After a handful of rain squalls, the northeasterly breeze filled in nicely and we were off running at high speed. With former English Laser Champion Nick Bonner driving, we hit a high of 26.5 knots!”
Doyle added with a smile that while the ride on deck was exhilarating and very Caribbean (complete with a few flying fish joining them on deck), below decks was “more like Niagara Falls, and the competition was for one of the few remaining dry bunks.”
In PHRF division, Glenn Gault’s (League City, Texas) J/120 Rebecca won on corrected time. Tom Slade’s (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) Santa Cruz 52 Renegade took second, while Michael Hennessy’s (New York, N.Y.) Class 40 Dragon finished third.
“This was a good race with calms, good breeze for much of the race and a personable sea state,” said Renegade crew member Dudley Baringer. “Events such as this weave a richness and fullness into the fabric of our lives. Recollections of these times will put a smile on this old man’s face for many years to come, God willing.”
The Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is endorsed by the Jamaican Tourist Board and managed by the SORC. Sponsors include the Montego Bay Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, and Lauderdale Yacht Club. Immediately after the start, racers cross the Gulf Stream for the Northwest Providence Channel. The middle of the race offers a fetch down the eastern side of the Bahamas Island Chain toward the tip of Cuba. The final stretch is a sailor’s dream: a 240-mile downwind sleigh ride from Cuba’s eastern tip, known as the Windward Passage, to the finish at Montego Bay. After this year’s finish, sailors were treated to a week of fun with cocktail parties every night, steel bands, limbo dancing and other memorable displays and competitions, ending with a dinner, dance and prize giving ceremony on Friday, February 15.
For more information, visit http://www.montegobayrace.com/ or contact Pineapple Cup Race Coordinator Evelyn Harrington at 876-979-8469. Visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/sorcsailingJanuary 22, 2013
Jamaica Mon
SORC is proud to bring our bi-annual event for this season’s offshore racing. We are only two weeks away from the start of the 2013 Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race. There are 10 very competitive boats entered in this race (see the post below). Come out and enjoy the competition and fun of racing through the Bahamas to Montego Bay. The deadline for registration is February 1, sign up here to come out and join the fun.January 16, 2013
High Profile Competitors Prepare for the Ocean Racing Classic
The 31st biennial Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race Presented by Appleton Estate Rum is living up to its reputation as one of the marquee offshore sailboat races in the world by, once again, welcoming a fleet of high profile boats, both newcomers and veterans, to compete. Starting on February 8, just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Port Everglades, this ocean racing classic will take competitors on a challenging all-points-of-sail course, stretching 811 nautical miles to the legendary destination of Montego Bay, Jamaica.“This has been called the most interesting race because you are almost never out of sight of land the whole time,” said Race Chairman Ken Batzer (Lighthouse Point, Fla.), adding that the iconic race was established in 1961 and has been running either annually or biennially ever since. The current race record was set in 2005 by Titan 12 with an impressive elapsed time of 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds. “We have a real quality fleet once again this year and are hoping to have good weather.” Read more...
January 18, 2013
It’s Official
The 38th Annual Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race official results are in! A determined Osita crossed the finish line at 7:15 am. The race started in 10+ knots of SE breeze, then lightened up and got shifty. Finally, for the second half of the fleet, a cold front rolled through with 30+ knot out of the N seen by several of the competitors. Thirty two boats started the race, while twenty six sailed to the finish. Bella Mente, Hap Fauth’s Mini Maxi was first across the line for an IRC class win and sailed only 160.9nm on a 160nm course, which earned them the “Best Overall Performance” Award as well. See all the final race results here.
Photo courtesy of johnpaynephoto.comSPOT tracking is officially part of all SORC events. It allows the friends and family to keep track of the race with real time position updates. Click here to watch the tracking replay from the start of this race.
There is one more SORC event this season: the 2013 Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race starting February 8, 2013.
Want to be a sponsor? Levels of sponsorship are available. Contact sponsorship@sorcsailing.org for more info.
The SORC is a Florida non-profit organization driven by a select group of volunteers that bring professional event management, sailing , racing and other skills to the organization. The SORC mission is to lead the expansion of offshore competitive sailing in South Florida by providing the highest level of race organization, management and promotions for those that enjoy the sport of ocean sailing.
December 3, 2012
Key West Deadline Extended.
The $100.00 early entrant discount for the 2013 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race has been extended from December 14th to December 21st. We are doing this because this year’s tee shirt design will list all boats entered and paid by December 21st and will also indicate which of those are past race winners. To simplify accounting we have extended the early entry discount date to coincide with the boat name cutoff date. If you have already entered but have not paid, get your payment in, and if you have not yet entered, do it now to be sure to have your boat listed on the official apparel.The Competition is Mounting as Boats Register for the Pineapple Cup
Brian Torreson of Torreson Marine in Michigan has entered Peerless (Melges 30): first monohull to finish the 165 mile Harvest Moon Regatta, beating a Santa Cruz 50 across the line. Marc Glimcher entered Catapult (Ker 40): first to finish and won the IRC Class Overall in the 2012 Ida Lewis distance race. Bryon Ehrhart entered Lucky (TP52): they raced Europe in 2010 and won the Rolex Middle Sea Race with First Overall. Add to that Stephen Murray’s Decision: the overall winner in the 2012 Onion Patch Series and Stuart Hebb’s Aerodyne 38 Thin Ice which holds the corrected time record from the 2005 Pineapple Cup and we have a great competition in the works. Join in the completion and the party in Montego Bay in February 2013.November 26, 2012
Sail On...
God Bless Arthur J. "Tuna" Wullschleger
A true friend of every sailor that ever raced.
We will miss your humor, help and friendship.
November 13, 2012
Final Report From Paradise
All the boats are home and in safe harbor following another unprecedented regatta in this year’s 79th Annual Nassau Cup Ocean Race. On November 8th, headed by PRO Ken Batzer and his Race Committee, the day brought sunny skies and a beautiful NW 15 knot breeze off Miami’s Government Cut where fourteen boats were off and beam-reaching across the Gulfstream, then around Great Isaacs, Great Stirrup and down for the final run to the Nassau Harbour where a long-standing record was broken by the first boat to finish, Privateer, a 50’ Cookson. Their official time, recorded by the finish boat with Race officials Paul Hutton, John Lawrence and Brent Burrows, was 13 hours 31 minutes and 30 seconds beating the previous record by nearly one hour on the 176nm course. Followed closely behind and only missing the prior record by 20 minutes, was the second boat to finish, Decision, a Carkeek 40’. Different Drummer was recorded as the first PHRF boat to finish just at sunrise, although they were short of the overall PHRF lowest finish which was won by Silhouette, a 44’ Cherubini with a corrected time of 15:33:57. All of the boats finished in due course with the last finisher, Mystiko, having been delayed by a “recovery” of their spinnaker which seemed to have mysteriously left the boat during their run from Great Isaac. Everyone cleared customs expeditiously, stowed gear and headed for hot showers and the hospitality of the Nassau Yacht Club for some well deserved cocktails and a Bahamian style buffet dinner. Read more...
Dates for next year’s race have been set for November 6-9, 2013.
November 12, 2012
And the Winners Are...
Congratulations to the winners of the fastest Nassau Cup ever:
Photo courtesy of Cai SvendsenCoral Harbour Yacht Club Trophy
First monohull boat to finish
PrivateerNassau Cup
First place corrected time in the IRC division
PrivateerArthur Bosworth Trophy
First place corrected time in the PHRF division
SilhouetteHalf Hull Perpetual
Best performance by a Bahamian boat
Ocean WarriorNovember 10, 2012
New Elapsed Time Record as All Boats Arrived in Nassau
All fifteen boats that departed Miami, bound for Nassau in the 79th Anniversary Nassau Cup Ocean Race yesterday morning, have arrived in Nassau safely and are enjoying the Bahamian hospitality. The breeze was stiff along the course and shifted from a start of NNW to N, then NE as the boats made their turns to starboard providing for a fast ride. Ron O’Hanley’s Privateer (Cookson 50) was first to finish and broke the previous elapsed time record of Boomerang with a time of 13 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. Mirage’s tracker did not function for much of the trip, worrying friends and family, but it also added the element of surprise for all of us following race tracking. Frank Atkinson’s Different Drummer (Cape Bay Fast 40) was first to finish in the PHRF class. John Lawrence, Co-chair from Nassau Yacht Club, says he has seen only smiling faces from all competitors. Customs and Immigration did a great job getting everyone cleared in and the crew is set with beer and rum on this Chamber of Commerce Day in the Bahamas!September 12, 2012
Official Weather Provider Announced
Weather Routing Inc. (WRI) is proud to be the official weather providers for three upcoming SORC events: the Nassau Cup Ocean Race (8 November 2012), the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race (16 January 2013) and the Montego Bay Pineapple Cup Race (8 February 2012). WRI will provide detailed weather information, including a synopsis of dominant weather features in place during the event, information on current weather conditions, and notification of any advisories or warnings. Meteorologists prepare detailed wind, sea, swell forecasts, sky conditions and projected currents in an easy to read area grid format. These forecasts will be provided both prior to the event as well as during the race itself, and can be viewed on the event websites.
Additionally, WRI offers an online weather information service called SeaWeather (www.seaweather.net), which supplements the aforementioned detailed weather information. Access to SeaWeather is as simple as obtaining a unique username and secure password. SeaWeather allows unlimited access to not only real-time and forecast information (in a graphical and text format) but also access to high resolution racing charts, hazards pages (graphical representations of hazardous winds, seas, and visibility, as well as tsunami and piracy activity), a low bandwidth page for slower internet connections, and much more. Participants will be able to sign up for and create their own SeaWeather accounts for use for each event.
Weather is an important factor in racing ... not only can it be the difference between victory and defeat, but it also provides peace of mind and keeps participants and their families aware of impending weather along the way. Our goal in becoming partners with SORC is to do just that, to keep committee members, participants and a broad audience alike in the know, no matter what the weather has to offer.
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