by John Greifzu Jr., Class President
In a year of regatta cancellations, the Long Island Sound J/109 Fleet kept October 17-18 on the calendar with the hopes that they could finally do some one-design racing in 2020. For eight dedicated crews, the Stamford Yacht Club delivered an excellent event for the second annual Fleet 10 Fall Classic!
Start Line with Eight J/109s
Saturday’s racing was in a shifty northwest breeze of 10-18 knots. All day, the game was to connect the puffs and minimize the damage when a shift did not go your way, or you were hit with an auto-tack (or auto-gybe).
JR Rechtschaffer’s Emoticon leveraged its local knowledge from a summer of sailing in Stamford and started strong with a 1,1 in the first two races. With four races in the books, Emoticon held the Day 1 lead with Bud Rogers’ Big Boat and Trevor Roach’s Incendiary right behind. After racing, the warmer weather permitted the fleet to have a socially distanced lawn party, a rarity for 2020.
On Sunday, the wind shifted to the east, then southeast. The Race Committee kept the fleet on time and completed another three races in 8-14 knots of breeze. What was forecast to be a consistent breeze turned out to have huge oscillations that kept the fleet on its toes. Several boats went from hero-to-zero, or zero-to-hero, in a matter of minutes. Emoticon worked hard to overcome a missed shift (or two) and pulled out a 1,2,3 on the day, and with 14 total points, won the regatta. Big Boat and Incendiary tied with 16 total points, and Big Boat won the tiebreaker for Second Place. (Full results below).
The Fleet 10 Fall Classic was started in 2019 to provide an opportunity for J/109s to sail in Long Island Sound’s best breeze and maximize the number of races in one weekend (because no other classes are on the course). The regatta draws crews that regularly race one-design events and those looking to practice making the J/109 go fast!
J 109 (One Design – 8 Boats)
1. Emoticon, J 109, Jonathan Rechtschaffer , Montclair, NJ, USA, 1 – 1 – 3 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 3 ; 14
2. Big Boat, J 109, William Rogers , Sag Harbor, NY, USA, 2 – 3 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 1 ; 16
3. Incendiary, J 109, Trevor Roach , Darien, CT, USA, 3 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 4 – 1 – 2 ; 16
4. Growth Spurt, J 109, John Greifzu, Jr. , Darien, CT, USA, 5 – 4 – 1 – 4 – 3 – 6 – 6 ; 29
5. Joyride, J 109, Greg Imbruce , New Canaan, CT, USA, 8 – 7 – 5 – 5 – 7 – 5 – 4 ; 41
6. Strider, J 109, Daniel Corcoran , Huntington, NY, USA, 6 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 5 – 4 – 5 ; 41
7. Zuma, J 109, Steve Chronert , Riverside, CT, USA, 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 6 – 7 – 8 ; 43
8. Aviato, J-109, John Wurch , Rumson, NJ, USA, 7 – 8 – 8 – 6 – 8 – 8 – 7 ; 52
Emoticon 1st Place
Big Boat – 2nd Place
Incendiary – 3rd Place
Photos by Rick Bannerot. Copyright 2020, Ontheflyphoto.net
