The New York YC Annual Regatta has been the club’s signature event since 1845, making it the longest-running North American sailing regatta. Dorade doesn’t miss this event if at all possible, and this year was no exception.
Over three days of sailing, the conditions were generally windy, kicked off on Friday, June 14, by the Around-the-Island Race, which is an 18.1-mile circumnavigation of Conanicut Island, just west of Newport where Jamestown is located. Whitecaps were in abundance, as Dorade and five other classic yachts chased each other around the course in the Classics 1 division.
Dorade finished fourth of six, but was part of a magnificent peloton of 50- and 60-foot sloops and yawls that crossed the finish line with three and a half minutes separating them. On corrected time, the spread was even closer, with Dorade 2:18 behind Sonny, Craig Venter’s S&S 53, which took first place, and nipping at the heels of David Ray’s Hinckley 65 Nirvana and Wendy Schmidt’s S&S 55 Santana, in second and third, respectively.
Shorter around-the-buoys races were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and Team Dorade put together a strong series of four seconds and one third place. Santana showed her prowess by sailing an uninterrupted string of firsts, while Sonny finished with four thirds and one second. The weekend provided an excellent shakedown for the season ahead and gave clear notice that Dorade‘s rivals, Santana and Sonny, would be strong competitors in the coming months.
