There are no known pictures to prove or disprove the yarns shared and claims made at brunch Sunday morning about the 2010 Smith Point Race, started August 21. The Race Committee can, however, confirm that vicious tides, a prestart wind shift and light air at the start brought a couple of competitors to an intimacy with the Race Committee's anchor line neither desired nor intended, but all ten boats got off safely in 4-6 knots of breeze at 2:00 in the afternoon. The forecast held, and the wind slowly but steadily built to a solid 10-12 knot southerly breeze for the sprint up the bay.

Four PHRF A boats sailed the 59 mile course east to the cut channel and up around Smith Point Light, and Four PHRF B/C boats made straight for Smith Point light after clearing Stingray and Windmill Point lights, on a 42 mile course. The lone non-spinnaker entry sailed a shorter (32 mile)course that did not take him around Smith Point light.

For the other details, we can only rely on the stories the competitors brought back. Revelers at a party at Smith Point lighthouse reportedly cheered the rounding boats around, and the partygoers' whaler, tied off to the walkway on the lighthouse well above the waterline, provided a challenge to anyone attempting a close rounding. Once around, the competitors faced a building southerly, and a long, hard, slog home in 14-20 knots (and maybe a good bit more, according to Sunday morning memory), adverse current, and a lumpy sea, under a nearly full moon.

By 1:30AM Sunday morning everybody had finished. Competiton was tight: the 4 PHRF A boats(ratings 84-108) finished within 25 minutes on a 59 mile course, and the PHRF B/C finishes were similarly close. Strother Scott and LOOSE CANNON took first in PHRF A, and Tom Lakin's SWEET LIBERTY edged out the Commodore's EXCITATION and Glen Doncaster's NANUQ for second. In PHRF B, Eric Powers' NEREID took line honors in PHRF B/C and first place in PHRF B, with Brad Miller and SCHIEHALLION claiming PHRF C and correcting out to first in PHRF B/C: SHENANIGAN and TRILOGY rounded out the B/C fleet. Frank Murphy's LAST BOAT III took first in PHRF Non-Spinnaker and the Murphy family followed their triumph by providing a stellar brunch Sunday morning for the tired fleet.

The great fun of long (and long-ish) races, is meeting the challenge of racing in varying wind, tide, and other conditions (equipment problems, anyone?) over an extended period. The stories these races spawn and the camaraderie of the sailors who can share those stories are the real prizes. By that measure, the 2010 Smith Point Race provided a good measure of fun and rewards: Buy these sailors a drink, and ask them to tell you about the 2010 Smith Point Race.