J70 USA 46, Loonatictu, recently sailed in the annual One Design Regatta at Cedar Point YC in Westport, CT. Except for its location on Saugatuck Island, at the mouth of the Saugatuck River and Long Island Sound, CPYC was both reminiscent of FBYC, and different in its sailing facilities.

The club has a nice, functional clubhouse, with bathrooms and regatta offices located on the first floor, and a great room on the second floor with kitchen facilities and “keg-er-ator,” hung with visiting burgees, and displaying trophies for numerous one design divisions including Lightnings, Flying Scots, Thistles, Lasers, and the vintage sloop, the Atlantics. Volunteer members served breakfasts, lunches and dinners in simple hearty style. Race Committee was all experienced volunteers on seaworthy club launches. All familiar stuff. Outside, the club had a huge, newly paved, relatively level one design parking lot with rows by class and painted spaces, and the best hoist I’ve ever seen, totally silent with slow start-up and acceleration. The hoist was served by a long floating dock with 420 raft-ups. Elsewhere, the larger cruiser-racers were moored at floating docks and finger piers. The floating docks were wood, with tall steel pilings and surfaced with a smooth hardwood (not salt treated). Vacant slips were provided for J70 moorings.

Many of the usual suspects were entered with 22 J70s and 5 Lightnings. Many boats in the parking lot didn’t sail. Only 5 J70s were amateurs (Corinthian) and 17 sailed with a Pro. With those odds, Loonatictu, driven by Max Bent, my usual travelling helmsman from Nantucket YC, and my other Nantucket regulars, Tristram Worth and Matt Judson, managed a First among the Corinthians. The Pro group was won by the inimitable Joel Ronning in Catapult, followed by Tim Healy in Helly Hansen. Thom Bowen in Reach Around was fourth, sailing with Marty Kullman. Allen Terhune in Dazzler was eighth after a dinghy knot in his main halyard failed and his main came sliding down in the first start, but he finished second and fifth in later races. See other results on Yacht Scoring.

Our top finish was aided by good results (13-5-10) in the few races sailed. Both days were marred by light air and heavy fog, with long postponements ashore (more FBYC reminiscences). But, the long slog up I-95 was more than justified by the wonderful hospitality of CPYC, the comradery in the boatyard, generous professional advice, and the splendid setting, not two miles from the I-95 corridor in Norwalk, CT.