# 445 SOUTHERN BAY RACING NEWS YOU CAN USE

Lin Mccarthy on Tuesday May 26, 2009 09:21AM

This is MEMORIAL DAY, the day set aside to remember and thank those members of our Armed Forces who have laid down their lives for us and our freedoms.
 
60th  DOWN THE BAY RACE FOR THE VIRGINIA CRUISING CUP - great racing, great turnout, great fun!  The actual racing began in Annapolis on Friday when  co-organizing authority Storm Trysail Club, Chesapeake Station,  got the boats started and  co-organizing authority Hampton Yacht Club, began the vigil for their arrival.   Capturing line honors, Jim Muldoon's  Donnybrook crossed the finish line off Hampton / Fort Monroe at  04:23:56  on Saturday morning.  The beautiful Santa Cruz 72 was the only racer to finish during the dark hours; dawn beat everyone else to Hampton.  Registration for the event far exceeded organizers' expectations, given the 2009 event  was preceded by a 10 year hiatus.  Forty-one (41) boats actually entered 2009 DTB, with 38 making it to the starting line and 36 crossing the finish line.  The last boat to finish crossed the line in Hampton at  17:24:27 on Saturday, giving the finishing boat team more than half an hour to spiffy up and get to the awards presentation soiree set for 1800 at HYC - and they made it with time to spare!  A lovely sea breeze kicked in late to give an assist to the last half of the fleet.  One skipper declared as he crossed the finish line, "On the nose all the way except for the last 9 miles when we flew the 'chute!"  He and the crew finished smiling!  RESULTS:  PHRF A (18 Boats):  1.Donnybrook, Jim Muldoon; 2.Kahuna, Sandford Richardson; 3.Meridian 2, Sledd Shelhorse; 4.Wairere, Pete Hunter.  PHRF B (10 boats):  1.Family Tradition, Tripp Behm; 2.Callinectes, Ben Cuker; 3.Age of Reason, Stovy Brown.  PHRF C(3 boats): 1.Bowmovement, Martin Casey; 2.Schiehallion, Brad Miller.  PHRC Non-Spin (7 boats): 1.Black Widow, Leo Wardrup; 2.Coyote, Griner & Coffey; 3.Prevail, Mark Shaw.  Annapolis Race Officer:  Dick Neville, STC;  Hampton Race Officer: John McCarthy.
 
SOUTHERN BAY RACE WEEK - counting down to opening night, this Thursday.  Racing begins Friday and goes through Sunday.    Preliminary Scratch Sheet is posted at the website now.  As of today there are a total of 76 boats entered. Note that PHRF A Fleet as well as PHRF B Fleet  each will be split  to improve the quality of racing.  Watch for a special SBRW edition of SBRNYCU  for details on splits as well as event updates.  For info and entry forms: Lin McCarthy at (757) 850-4225, or email at mcbear@earthlink.net  or check out the event website at www.blacksealcup.com  or www.hamptonyc.com (click on SBRW website).  
And we think catching a crabpot is a pain!  The following is  reprinted from Scuttlebutt issue 2846 dated May 18 and tells about the re-start of the Volvo Boston to Galway leg on May 16:    FOG, COLD, AND LOBSTERS POTS  (May 17, 2009, Day 2) For the Volvo Ocean Race fleet beginning their next 2,550 mile leg from Boston to Galway on Saturday, May 16th, the start included a windward-leeward lap of Boston's inner harbor, with fog soon shielding the turning mark at the eastern end of the start course. The sudden appearance of a massive oil tanker also hampered the progress of the fleet, with Delta Lloyd getting the worst of it.    Said Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker (GBR), "It was quite bizarre losing sight of everything as visibility dropped to less than 100 metres. I suspect this will be a recurring theme of the next week as moist air from the South cools over the very cold water we will be sailing through and forms dense fog. It will mean 24 hour radar watch, (though) radar doesn't help much with lobster pots. "After zig zagging our way through we eventually hooked one on our leeward daggerboard. Five minutes later we had three of them entangling us. After backing down and clearing two of them we realized one line had sawn its way through the leading edge of the port daggerboard. We managed to raise the board and cut it free but we are left with a 250 cut in the laminate of our daggerboard. We cannot leave the board in this state or the laminate will peel away and the board will start to disintegrate. Right now the watch system is on hold and we have four teams of people working onboard."
 
Portsmouth Boat Club held their annual Merrimac Memorial Regatta on Saturday.  The five class winners are Moths - Mark Saunders; Sunfish - John Meyer, Sr;  Cat Class - Jim Basnight;   Open 1 - Steve PrattOpen 2 - Mason Leon.  For details please check out the PBC website at www.portsmouthboatclub.org.
 
MURPHY'S LAW:  Yrs Truly, the Racing Beagle,  has spent the holiday weekend  tank testing one of those new floating hot tubs - it's called a Tug Tub@.  They come in a two or four person model and include a pump and a propane fired heater.  The idea is to float it off the swim step or dock.  I'm seeing it as a perfect recovery vehicle after a day of racing at Southern Bay Race Week.  Of course, I intend to share with a close friend.  Cheers!   /S/  Murphy the Racing Beagle, the sailing spirit in us all.
 
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                                              SOUTHERN BAY RACING NEWS YOU CAN USE,  Lin McCarthy, Editor
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