Cold weather, warm shots

If you’re in the Northeast or any other wintery spot we have a way to cheer you up. Our friends at Scuttlebutt have just posted some of the winners of last year’s photo contest. Click here.

If you want to see the full collection, click here.

Welcome to the new Buzzards

Buzzards members at the 2011 gathering at Stamford Yacht Club.

On March 10 we will be welcoming a new group to our fast-growing flock. The Buzzards Society, formed four years ago, will have 165 members after our 2012 dinner at Stamford Yacht Club.

The Buzzards Society was formed to honor those who have raced in 10 Vineyards or more. The group meets once a year to welcome new members and tell a story or two.

If you would like to be a part of the festivities, Buzzard or not, email: buzzards@stamfordyc.com.

Our 2012 inductees:

Peter Boyd (10)

Stuart Caplan (22)

Fred Cosandey (11)

James Cummiskey (12)

Joe Dockery (10)

Larry Fox (15)

Peter Gould (10)

Wayne Hubbard (11)

Peter Kelly (12)

Ed Lenihan (25)

Michael Mahan (11)

Chris Malloy (16)

Lawrence McGrath (10)

Mike  Millard (12)

David Otterbein (12)

Randy Tankoos (20)

Ed Tiano (11)

Jon Turner (10)

Andrew Weiss (12)

Tom Whidden (10)

Dave White (10)

John  Winder (18)

For a full list of Buzzards, click here.

Nice summary of the Vineyard Race

Sailing World recently published its IRC yearbook and included a nice summary of the Vineyard Race. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, click here.

One design starts

One of our goals this year is to do the best we can to make sure all offshore one design fleets make the Vineyard one of their stops. Towards that end, we will provide a start and trophies for any offshore one design fleet that can gather five boats. For more info: vineyardrace@stamfordyc.com.

NOR is now posted for the 2012 Vineyard

Happy New Year from Stamford Yacht Club and the Vineyard Race Committee.

Summer may be a ways off but we’ve already started planning for the 78th running of the Vineyard Race and wanted to keep you updated on a few things.

First, we’ve just posted the Notice of Race and opened entries for this year’s race, scheduled to start August 31 off Stamford Harbor. Click here to access.

Many of the additions we’ve made over the years remain including race tracking, our big Sunday night arrivals party, virtual race, photo contest and much more.

For this year look for details on our youth challenge which is being designed to include more younger sailors. We’ve also kept the three courses: the traditional Vineyard course; the Cornfield Point course and the Seaflower course. The latter two are ideal for cruisers and families who want to participate in the event but stay within Long Island Sound.

Second, the Buzzards are coming back. Our annual midwinter dinner to honor those who have competed in 10 or more Vineyards is scheduled for March 10 at Stamford Yacht Club. We have many new members who are being inducted into the society so please join us for the festivities and story telling. Email buzzards@stamfordyc.com for more information.

Third, we are reaching out to all one design fleets this year to encourage involvement. If you are a member of a one design fleet and want to participate let us know and we will do all we can to help. Contact us at vineyardrace@stamfordyc.com

Finally, Bruce Nelson will be joining us this year. Bruce is a Vineyard veteran and is the winner of the 2011 virtual race run by Sailonline.org. He will be joining us for our Thursday night skipper’s meeting at Stamford Yacht Club where he will share his knowledge and experience.

We will have many more updates for you in the coming months. Meanwhile, block out Labor Day weekend for another spectacular Vineyard Race weekend.

To stay up to date:

vineyardrace.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/vineyardrace

Round Martha’s Vineyard Race now part of New England Lighthouse Series

The Edgartown Yacht Club (EYC) and Stamford Yacht Club jointly announced today that the annual Round Martha’s Vineyard Island Race (RTI) organized by the Edgartown Yacht Club for PHRF and IRC sailboats will now be part of the New England Lighthouse Series (NELS). In addition the race date is being moved to later in the month, to July 28, 2012, to obtain stronger wind velocities. 49 boats entered last year’s race.

Conceived by the Stamford Yacht Club, the NELS sanctioning authority, competitors must score in two mandatory races–the SYC Stamford-Vineyard Race, and the Storm Trysail Block Island Race. Competitors must also score in one of several races of their choice of which the EYC RTI is one. Others include the Monhegan Island Race, the Ida Lewis Distance Race, and the Around Long Island Race.

Ray Redniss, Principal Race Officer, Stamford Yacht Club and Chairman of the Lighthouse Series, said, “This is another great step in revitalizing Corinthian coastal racing. Every sailor on the East Coast is aware of  the Edgartown Yacht Club and the beauty ofMartha’s Vineyardsailing waters. This exciting race challenges competitors in the sounds of Block Island, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and we are pleased to include it as an optional race in the New England Lighthouse Series.”

EYC Commodore Ned Brooks declared, “We are delighted that the Stamford Yacht Club, the sanctioning authority, found our race with five lighthouses and the only NELS race run in Massachusetts waters, to be an appealing fit for the Series. Inclusion in the Lighthouse Series is a very nice compliment to our race, our Race Committee, and our Club.”

Mount Gay® Rum will once again be the sole sponsor of the 2012 circumnavigation of  scenicMartha’s Vineyard. Synonymous with sailing regattas around the world, Mount Gay will be featured at a ‘jump up’ party and Caribbean-inspired buffet for skippers, crew and EYC members on the Friday night before the race.

To further support the event, EYC is also adding “strictly optional,” buoy races on Friday, July 27th, the day before the RTI. This will provide participants a chance to get crews out on the water, make last minute tune-ups, and take home prizes that will be awarded at the Mount Gay Jump Up Party on Friday night. A separate Notice of Race will be prepared for the buoy races, but there is no additional fee for the Friday races. Participants are the guests of the Edgartown Yacht Club and are free to use the Clubhouse facilities from Thursday night through Sunday for refreshments, dining and relaxation.

Past notable winners of this 52.8 mile race include RAMBLER, SCHERAZADE and MONEYPENNY to name but a few. The RTI is open to PHRF, both spinnaker and non-spinnaker classes, and IRC sailboats. The race is a highly-competitive and fun for all participants.

Edgartown Yacht Club held its first race around Martha’s Vineyard Island in the summer of 1938, and except for the years of the Second World War the race has been an annual event ever since. The course itself is a splendid sail. It is reminiscent of the race around the Isle of Wight in England, which was the course of the first America’s Cup.  The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is similar (only a few miles longer); both courses have views of cliffs, headlands, villages and open water; and the tidal currents and wind effects are important in both.

The course includes three sounds—Block Island, the Vineyard and Nantucket—and the possibility of sighting seven lighthouses off Cape Poge, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West Chop, East Chop and Edgartown.  In the morning the fleet sails between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday they are in the openAtlantic Oceanwith views of  Noman’s Land and the south coast of the Vineyard.  In the afternoon, rounding the gorgeous cliffs of Gay Head, the fleet sails up Vineyard Sound which was the second busiest body of water in the world during the age of sail. Prizes will be awarded for all classes Sunday morning, July 29. In addition to traditional trophies for placement within each class, Venona Trophies will be awarded to the top finishers in each class and The Commodore’s Concord Cup will be awarded for Line Honors.

Photos from the Vineyard

What better way to warm up than to think about the summer ahead. To help you we thought we would share with you some of the top entries from last year’s inaugural photo contest. Lots of great photos to get you in the mood for the 78th Vineyard, scheduled to start Aug. 31. See you off Bell 32. Click here.

Stamford YC honored for growth of Vineyard Race

Bernard Armstrong, left, president of YRA of LIS, with Diane McKeever, chairman of the 2011 and 2012 Vineyard Race.

The Stamford Yacht Club has been cited by the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound for its work in revitalizing the Vineyard Race.

Diane McKeever, chairman of the 2011 and 2012 races, on behalf of Stamford YC, received the Arthur P. Davis Beach Point Yacht Club trophy at the association’s annual awards meeting on December 4th

The trophy is for “yachting achievement on Long Island Sound by a member club”. Stamford Yacht Club was chosen because of the tremendous strides they made in expanding and enhancing the Vineyard Race as well as the creation of the Buzzards Society. “The Vineyard Race is now the ‘must do’ event, second only to the Newport Bermuda Race,” said Bernard F. Armstrong, president of YRA LIS, at the awards meeting.

The 2011 Vineyard Race marked the 77^th year that this annual challenge was held. In the past four years participation in the event has gone from 55 boats to almost 100. When asked to what she attributed the rise in participation, McKeever said it was, “due to the small but incredibly hard working committee who brought fresh ideas to the event. In addition, the sponsorship of Thomson Reuters allowed us to change the format of the awards party from a sedate sit down luncheon to aCaribbean themed party on the lawn.”

Stamford YC was chosen over three other nominated clubs.

For a full report on the YRA LIS annual meeting and awards, click here.

Bruce Nelson to speak at skipper’s meeting

Yes, it’s only December 1 but we’re already making plans for the 78th running of the Vineyard Race. To get us started we have Bruce Nelson joining us for the skipper’s meeting August 30 at Stamford Yacht Club. Bruce is no stranger to the Vineyard Race having competed in many of them and having won the virtual race we held this year. (Click here for details of Bruce’s win.)

Winners of Vineyard Race photo contest announced

Corinna Halloran's shot of Whitehawk on port tack during the 2011 Vineyard Race. The photo won her the grand prize for this year's Vineyard photo contest.

Corinna Halloran, a crew member of the yacht Whitehawk, has been named the grand prize winner of the inaugural Stamford Yacht Club’s Vineyard Race photo contest sponsored by Iprintfromhome.com.

The contest consisted of three categories: Life Onboard, Are We Having Fun Yet?, and Sailing. The contest was open to all the sailors and their families involved with this year’s Vineyard Race, presented by Thomson Reuters. Photos taken at the skipper’s meeting all the way through the awards party were eligible.

“We created the photo contest to give the friends and family of the sailors some idea of what makes this race so special,” said Diane McKeever, chairman of the 2011 event. “In a 278-mile distance yacht race that can have as many as three or four sunrises and sunsets, depending on the winds and tides, the vast majority of the sailing is done out of our sight. We thought an on-the-water, as well as an on-the-shore component, would add further interest and insight into why this race draws some of the finest sailors and fastest boats from throughout the East Coast and theCaribbeanfor over 70 years.”

Several hundred photos were submitted for judging from nine different photographers, of which 45 of the best images were then sent to Sara Campos Saak and her team of photography experts at Iprintfromhome.com, a leading Internet photography printing company inTonawanda,NY. Prize-winning submissions ranged from picture-taking smart phones to expensive SLR digital cameras.

In addition to winning the overall prize in the category of “Sailing”, Corinna Halloran, from Middletown, R.I., also captured first place in the Life Onboard category. Mary Frances Mueller of Arabesque andSt. Clair Shores,Mich., won first place for Are We Having Fun Yet?

Also winning gift certificates from Iprintfromhome.com were: Steve Levy of Eagle and Greenwich, Conn; David Otterbein of Breakaway and Stony Point, N.Y,;  Mark Aiston of Pendragon and Port Washington, N.Y.; and Patty McKee of Star and Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Alden Winder of Aurora.

Corinna’s photo of Whitehawk racing along on port tack at sunrise will be turned into a beautiful 20 x 30 canvas giclee print and will hang in a place of honor at Stamford Yacht Club until next year’s race.

If you want to view all the top photos from this year’s contest visit The Vineyard Race’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/vineyardrace or www.flickr.com/photos/vineyardrace.