Redniss Trophy Announced

At the March 2^nd Vineyard Race Kick-Off Party at the Stamford Yacht Club, Jay Keeshan, co-chairman of the 2019 Vineyard Race and Ove Haxthausen, chairman of the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race, announced the creation of the Redniss Trophy. The Redniss Trophy will be awarded annually to the boat with the best combined score in the Vineyard Race and the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race, both of which are sponsored by the Stamford Yacht Club.

Jay Keeshen, co-chairman of the Vineyard and Ove Haxthausen, chairman of the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race, displaying the new Redniss Trophy.

The new trophy recognizes the contributions that Ray Redniss has made to both events. He has participated in the Vineyard Race as a sailor for over twenty-five years and as the Principal Race Officer for almost as long. Redniss’ involvement with the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race is equally impressive as a competitor and race official.

Having grown up in Stamford in a sailing family, Redniss was a fixture on his father’s Rhodes 41 “Alibi IV”. While in Boston in the early 70’s, he would motorcycle to Stamford to participate in the Tuesday night races and, after pizza with the crew, would travel back in time for work the next day. After a 1991 injury while campaigning his J-29, “Scars and Gripes”, he gave up racing and turned to race management. Redniss currently holds the position of Regional Race Officer as certified by the US Sailing Association.

The 2019 Vineyard Race will start on August 30 and the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race is scheduled for Sunday, September 8. Registration for both events is through the website http://www.yachtscoring.com

A record-breaking year for the Vineyard Race

Records are meant to be broken and this year was no exception in the 83rd running of the Vineyard Race, hosted by the Stamford YC over Labor Day weekend.

Six boats beat the elapsed time record of 20 hours, 20 minutes held by Bob and Farley Towse’s Blue Yankee since 2007.

Fujin is the new Vineyard Race record holder. Shown at the start on Sept. 1. (Photo by Charles Barthold)

Fujin, the Bieker 53 cat sailed by Greg Slyngstad out of Seattle Yacht Club, completed the 238-mile course in 15:06:50 and now owns the course record. Warrior, the modified Volvo 70 sailed by the Stephen Murray Jr., and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, now owns the monohull record after finishing in 17:42:09. (Warrior also won the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy for her performance in several long distance races this past summer.)

The four other boats to beat Blue Yankee’s record were Spookie (Steve and Heidi Benjamin’s TP 52), Prospector (the Mills 68 sailed by the Shelter Island YC Transatlantic Team), Nala (Jim Voss’s HH 66) and Tribe (Greg Gigliotti’s Gunboat 62.)

“The Vineyard Race has always been one of the East Coast’s premier events and this year was no exception with 118 entries and a new course record,” said Jonathan Asch, Vineyard Race chairman.

Spookie, sailing out of Noroton Yacht Club, won the Vineyard Lightship trophy for best corrected time for IRC boats.

Gemini, a Hanse 375 sailed by James Coffman of Cedar Point Yacht Club, won the Dotty Lorentzen trophy for best corrected time for boats racing under PHRF. Gemini also won the New England Lighthouse Series, which is the cumulative results of a number of distance races sailed over the entire season.

Full results and details: www.stamfordyc.com

 

Vineyard Race Kick Off Party and Buzzards Society Initiation Event

On March 4, 2017 the Stamford Yacht Club hosted the Vineyard Race Kick Off Party and Buzzards Society Initiation Event. Over 110 sailors converged on the club to toast the Vineyard Race and welcome 14 new Buzzards into the Buzzards Society. The 2017 class of buzzards brings the membership in the society to 217. The Buzzard Society is in its 9th year and was established to recognize those sailors who have participated in the Vineyard Race 10 or more times. If you feel you qualify, contact the buzzard keeper at buzzards@stamfordyc.com

The $25 entrance fee included beverages from four of the races sponsors, Mount Gay Rum, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Regatta Ginger Beer and Half Full Brewery. The Stamford Yacht Club’s chef supplied the group with a make your own taco salad and chili station.

Put March 3, 2018 on your calendar so you don’t miss out on this fun event.

Race on Bombardino or Magic in the Vineyard Race

Virtual Sailing Returns to the Vineyard Race

Bombardino and Magic are not looking for additional crew for the 2015 Vineyard Race but you can still race on your choice of either of these Santa Cruz 52s. Sailonline.org announced that it is partnering with the Stamford Yacht Club to bring the 81st Vineyard Race right to your fingertips (or mouse!).

Stamford Yacht Club has again partnered with Sailonline.org to offer an armchair version of the Vineyard Race.

The free virtual Vineyard Race on Sailonline will run at the same time as the real Race allowing armchair sailors to sail against the actual boats in the Race.

Originally created in the Naval Architecture Department of KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden –  Sailonline.org today is probably the most realistic sailing navigation simulator game on the internet, providing a realistic, entertaining and educational platform for those who love the sea and sailing, wherever they may be around the globe.

As a strategy simulator for ocean navigation, Sailonline is free to play and yet challenges both the novice and the expert, letting you sail your boat over oceans around the globe easier than you can imagine. But, as in real life, in order to sail fast and to ultimately win races, it requires full dedication, extensive practice, knowledge and working skills.   There is a full and complete manual on how to sail on Sailonline to guide you, and its community of SOLers (one who sails on Sailonline.org) are always willing to advise and offer assistance.

Bombardino, one of two SC52’s in the Vineyard Race, is being used by sailonline.org in the virtual race.

Luckily, too, there are autopilots installed in all boats so that you do not need to steer manually all the time but just as in reality, the more attention you pay to adjusting your course the better you will do.  You are in full sight of the entire virtual fleet, hence, Sailonline lets you race the boats you otherwise would just see from a distance or not at all.

Also, once again for the Vineyard Race, Sailonline is using the polar of a Santa Cruz 52 and will race against the SC52s ‘Bombardino’ and ‘Magic’. At the time of writing, 85 yachts had entered the race.

For the first time in a buddy-up with a major race, Sailonline will be using the high resolution WRF weather model. WRF is a state-of-the-art atmospheric modeling system that is applicable for  many meteorological simulations.

When used in conjuction with a Sailonline virtual race, it introduces the local weather elements that can influence the outcome of a yacht race such as wind shadows produced by islands and katabatic winds coming off coastal mountain slopes. This all adds to the ‘realism’ of the simulation and increases the virtual navigator’s challenge.

The virtual Vineyard Race on Sailonline.org will open for practice soon.  Between now and then Sailonline has other races scheduled and everyone is invited to come and join in so that they will gain the most fun out of the virtual Vineyard Race 2015.

To race, armchair navigators should head to www.sailonline.org

It’s all free.

Real trophies, in the form of Mount Gay Vineyard Race hats, will be awarded to the top three finishers in the virtual race. If you can’t participate in the actual Vineyard Race, consider signing up today for the virtual version.

The Vineyard Race – Not Just A Local Event

Racers Coming From Around The Country To Participate

Registrations for the Vineyard Race are coming in fast as furious in advance of the fee increase on Friday August 28 at midnight. In looking over the 85 boats currently registered for the event, it’s clear that this historic race has more than just a local draw.

While there are 29 boats from Connecticut and 38 from New York, the balance are made up of entries from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas. There’s even an international entry from Nova Scotia!

These boats will all be on the start line September 4th for the 81st running of the Vineyard Race. The Vineyard Race, sponsored by the Stamford Yacht Club, is really three courses in one. The Cornfield Point Course is only 116 NM and most boats sailing on this course are back in Stamford by late afternoon on Saturday. The Seaflower Reef course is 163 NM and stops just short of exiting Long Island Sound. The advantage to these courses is that the participants don’t need the offshore equipment required for the Vineyard Race course.

The granddaddy of the courses is the Vineyard Race Course. It is 238 NM long and takes the participants out of Long Island Sound, around Buzzards Bay Light Tower, around Block Island and then back into the Sound to finish in Stamford Harbor. The record for this course was set by Blue Yankee in 2007. Skippered by Bob and Farley Towse of Stamford it covered the course in 20 hours, 20 minutes and 15 seconds.

In addition to the three distinct courses, there are double-handed, non-spinnaker and multi-hull divisions. With all of these racing choices it’s no wonder that the race draws from as wide a community as it does.

To get more information about the race or to register, go to Yacht Scoring.

Vineyard Race Gear Ready For Ordering

Team 1 Newport Ready to Go with Vineyard Race Gear!

For the second year the Vineyard Race committee has teamed up with Team One NewportTeam One Newport to produce the attractive race gear so popular with the competitors. This year’s shirts display a unique design on the back that features a stylized picture of Spookie, the Carkeek HP 40 owned by Steve and Heidi Benjamin. The picture was provided by the folks at Photoboat. Check out the merchandise today.

Order your merchandise by August 26 and you can pick up the custom printed items during the Vineyard Race weekend. There will be an embroidery machine at the club for last minute customization.

The 81st running of this historic event starts with the first sound at noon on Friday, September 4. For more information and to register for the event go to www.YachtScoring.com

Top ten reasons to participate in the Vineyard Race!

Now that you know why you should register for the race, go to Yacht Scoring today to register!

Registration Has Begun for the 2015 Vineyard Race

Let the Registration Begin!

The Vineyard Race Committee announced yesterday, June 13, 2015, that the Yacht Scoring site was up and ready to receive entries. An email blast went out to all of the competitors in the previous three years and the results were amazing. On the first day, eight boats responded to the challenge and registered. This is stacking up to be a record setting year in terms of the number of entrants.

The Beneteau First 37.5 class looks like they might have their own trophy when a few more boats from that fleet enter. The Double-Handed fleet looks like it’s going to be popular with three of the eight boats registering for that group.

The Vineyard Race is a “bucket list” event for most competitive sailors. Sign up today, or get your skipper to sign up today, so you don’t miss the 2015 event.

The 2015 Vineyard Race will be the 81st running of this prestigious event, hosted by the Stamford Yacht Club. Traditionally the start is the Friday of Labor Day weekend, which is September 4this year. The first gun is at noon. The highlight of the weekend is the award ceremony that takes place on the SYC lawn under a huge tent on Sunday evening. The ceremony is historically attended by over 500 competitors and their families.

Sign up for the race today by going to the Yacht Scoring site. See you on the start line.

Well, that was fun

Thanks to everyone who made this past weekend’s Vineyard Race one of the best ever. Those of us who helped run the event are now going to back to our day jobs but wanted to leave you with two thoughts:

— Mark your calendar for September 4, 2015. That’s when we plan to hold the 81st running of the Vineyard.

— If you have ideas, suggestions for continuing to improve the race let us know. Email us at vineyardrace@stamfordyc.com.

Til next year …

Photos from tonight’s awards ceremony

We just posted photos of all the winners from tonight’s awards ceremony on Stamford Yacht Club. Click here. Congratulations to all the winners.