 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NYRA First Citizens Cup Race Report Yep, you read it right, the NYRA First Citizens Cup. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Blackbeard’s Sailing Club was set to cancel the overnight race from Blackbeard’s to NR and back. NYRA stepped in as the Organizing Authority, and the race went off with nary a hitch. The weather started out a little ominous with thunderstorms over James City and a severe thunder storm watch for the area, but at 7:59 PM, the fist signal of the race also heralded the start of summer on the Neuse River, although recent weather would make you think that summer came early. The winds were shifting 60 degrees due to the local storms, but the race committee got the racers off on their quest, with Ken Lury aboard Critical Mass easily winning the start. Rambunctious made it to the starting line and checked in with the race committee at about 7:57 PM, well into their starting sequence. They ran the line once, then tacked back for the start, no piddling around. As the race started, winds were about 12 knots, but rapidly died down so we did a jib change from the #2 to the #1. The first mark of the course was #17, and Brown Eyed Girl led the fleet around the mark. We crossed tacks with Joel Berry’s J/92 Rambunctious as the wind was out of the SE, so a beat the whole way to Minnesott Beach. The winds were very light, and the beat to Minnesott took a little over 2 hours for the lead boats. As we rounded the point, the spinnakers came out, and for the next four hours they stayed up till we reached NR. It started out as a beam reach, and after two hours the wind moved aft, so we did a spinnaker peel to the half-ounce AP. Winds built to 10-14 knots by the time we reached NR. Brown Eyed Girl rounded NR at 2:00, which is the same time Jewt Collyer was rounding #7 at Garbacon Shoal with Bifrost. There was a single tack back to Minnesott Beach, with the winds getting progressively lighter. It was still dark as we went back by Garbacon, and we could see a couple of the cruising class boats just rounding the mark, and Rambunctious was bringing some wind with her. After rounding Minnesott, the wind was far enough aft that we set the spinnaker again, but it was very light and we were jibing from wind line to wind line, trying to work our way down. We jibed around #17 and were heading for BSC, and we only had to get by Bifrost to get line honors, but Jewt was not going to let us go over him, so we bore off and shot right by him, finishing the race in thirteen and a half hours. We could see Rambunctious rounding #17, and knew it was going to be close. Rambunctious sailed across the line and, after over 13 hours of racing, won the race by 2 minutes and 4 seconds, corrected time. Congratulations to the crews on Rambunctious and Bifrost for winning their respective divisions. It just goes to show, as long as you make it to the start line and finish the race, you can win! Full results can be seen here. |
 SAYRA  CORA  North Carolina PHRF  Hancock Yacht Club  Oriental Dinghy Club  Blackbeard Sailing Club  Pamlico Sailing Club  Fairfield Harbour Yacht Club  Carolina Currents |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
