QYC July Saturday Series Wrap Up2016 July Saturday Series S Class

By TED BURT

It’s hard to believe, but the summer is almost half over.  In a blur of activity we are in the final week of July and soon will be rushing through August.  But let’s enjoy what we have.  The last race of QYC’s Saturday series (7-23) was really one to savor, with south-southwest winds freshening to 12-18 knots and veering into the southwest, Herreshoff S-Class and H-Class fleets shouldered through the chop of Buzzards Bay vying for top spots in the July Series.

For the H-Class, there was only one race, but it was a long one.  The first leg was up to a mark off Woods Hole’s Stony Beach, followed by a run past the Quissett Entrance buoy to Racing beach, a second beat to Penzance Point, and then a last spinnaker run to the finish off Quissett.  A wind shift decided the race early on.  As the majority of the fleet headed inshore on starboard tack looking for the usual smoother water and perhaps a header to tack on, Chez Nous and Buttercup found a new slant of wind by tacking offshore.  This wind shift and increased strength put them both well in front of the inshore crowd at the first mark, a lead which they easily held through the rest of the course.  Brothers Andy and Brett Buckingham, up from their homes in Texas, had borrowed Chez Nous for the afternoon, a boat that had enjoyed notable success for years under the command of Dr. Robert Driscoll, but which had languished for a number of years following his untimely passing.  Apparently the old Karma still held, and these two Texans took the Cape Codders to school despite valiant charges by Found It and Tag Along.  Those two boats, incidentally, were crewed by no less than four Burts, Jon and Katy alternating at the helm of Tag Along, and sons Ethan and Alden crewing for the old master, Mort Saunders.

The S-Class had been asking for a change in race format on Saturdays to allow them two shorter races instead of a single longer one.  The results were an interesting flip-flop.  Commodore Alan Haigh maintained 2nd place in both races, but Olive and Aeolus each had a 1st and a last place.  It has been great to have Jeff Whittle back on the course this summer aboard his beautiful Aeolus.  Josh Bernstein was away with family on his cruising boat, so he loaned Olive to George Walters, who showed great speed and promise of a bright future in the S-Class fleet.  We’ll be watching in August.

Race Committee: Ted Burt, Wendy Martyna, Sarah Meigs, Noah Garfield, Mike Garfield, Sr.

July Saturday Series H Class Race #6 (7-23)

 1. Chez Nous Andy & Brett Buckingham 1:46:49
 2. Buttercup Mike Fenlon & MacKenzie McRae 1:47:52
 3. Found It Mort Saunders, Ethan & Alden Burt 1:48:45
 4. Tag Along Jon & Katy Burt 1:50:40
 5. Handoah Hannah & Ben Garfield 1:51:56
 6. Swizzle Ted Grayson & Erik Egleston 1:52:14
 7. Tigger Langley and Max Steinert 1:52:45
 8. Moxie Tom Jr., Tom Sr. Tullius, D. Zheng, B. Christie 1:53:51
 9. Olivia Tom and Tim First DNF
 10. Phoenix Mike and Ben Garfield DNF

July Saturday H Class Series Standings

 1. Fount It Mort Saunders
 2. Phoenix Mike Garfield, Jr.
 3. Swizzle Ted Grayson
 4. Olivia Tom First
 5. Tag Along Jon and Katy Bur

 

July Saturday Series S Class Race #5 and #6 (7-23)

 1. Olive George Walters, Doug Cooper & Jacob Barnes 52:00
 2. Teaticket Alan Haigh, Alison Smith, and Sam Ward 55:20
 3. Aeolus Jeff Whittle and Thomasz Dvorak 55:45

 

 1. Aeolus Jeff Whittle and Thomasz Dvorak 46:53
 2. Teaticket Alan Haigh, Alison Smith, and Sam Ward 47:38
 3. Olive George Walters, Doug Cooper & Jacob Barnes 47:44