2015 Round the Bay Race

By Steve Chalmers

Sometimes the Buzzards Bay marine forecast is right on the money and sometimes it is not. On Saturday September 12, for the Quissett Yacht Club’s 63rd annual running of the Round the Bay Race it was unfortunately accurate. It called for a north wind shifting into the east.

The Race Committee could only trust the forecast and so set the the shortest course possible, 16 nautical miles, Centerboard Shoal buoy off Marion, then the Nye Ledge buoy off Mattapoisett, hoping the promised easterly would arrive in time to provide a beat to the finish.

The gentle northerly breeze at the noon start of the race, often described as a dying northerly, did indeed die out entirely about halfway through the start. Boats of different sizes race together on a handicap basis. The Round the Bay race is a pursuit race, with the boats starting in descending order of their handicaps. The faster boats then pursue them. For an early starter to do well it must make as much progress as possible before the faster boats start. That became very difficult as the wind dropped, leaving the early starters a short way from the start. That sort of start can try the crews’ souls. The forecast left out what happened next. A southwest breeze came in, reaching the later starters first, bunching the boats up and making a mockery of the handicaps. Finally what had been a beat became a run followed by a reach to Nye Ledge and then a brisk beat home.

It came very close to a case of the last becoming first. The eleventh starter won and the first starter finished second to last.

The Race Committee was astonished and gratified that all 14 boats appeared for the race, all the boats made the best of the miserable starting conditions, and all 14 boats finished, which happens rarely.

You may notice a Massachusetts Maritime Academy boat with an unusual name: Joululahja. It is pronounced Yo-you-lie-shah, which is Finnish for Christmas present. She was designed by a Finn, Jon Meri, and was given to Mass Maritime on Christmas Eve. The person who chose the name is permanently barred from naming boats.

Results:

Quissett Yacht Club 63rd Round the Bay Race
September 12, 2015 Course W, Marks G E, 16 nm

		Boat	Sail no.	Skipper	Rating	Type of boat	Yacht Club	Finish time
1	1 R	Ursus Maritimus	52834	Jim Masiero	33	J 122	BSRA	5:23:40
2	2 R	Sterling	456	Mark Lindquist	90	J 105	Beverly	5:24:13
3	3 R	Kindred Spirits	51102	Butch Joy	51	J 120	Mattapoisett	5:25:56
4	1 C	Kinship	51333	Tom & Frank Selldorff	39	Baltic 52	New Bedford	5:29:44
5	4 R	Gut Feeling	72	Ted Herlihy	66	J 109	New Bedford	5:30:40
6	5 R	Spirit	35753	Mass Maritime	24	J 44	MMA	5:37:56
7	6 R	Good Trade	96	Mass Maritime	90	J 105	MMA	5:41:51
8	7 R	Water Wolf	227	Ed Lobo	90	J 105	Low Tide	5:42:31
9	8 R  1Q	Lola	50316	Jon & Katy Burt	30	J 130	Quissett	5:42:42
10	9 R	Ole Ole	60363	Richard Blatterman	90	Beneteau First	Plymouth	5:42:56
11	2 C	Scarlet	2323	Barry Feldman	24	Baltic 47		5:46:02
12	10 R	Joululahja	42800	Mass Maritime	72	Jon Meri 48	MMA	5:47:10
13	11 R	Shadowfax	221	Albert Williams	261	Holiday 30	Quissett	6:30:15
14	3 C	Cade	12697	David Burt	198	Pearson 33	Quissett	6:30:38

 

Awards:

Boston Yacht Club Trophy for the first boat to finish
Harbor Challenge Trophy for the first Quissett Yacht Club finisher
First three places in Racing and Cruising classes.
Racing class boats may use spinnakers.