Day 3 of the ORC World Championship at the New York Yacht Club – Ideal Inshore Racing Conditions
by Offshore Racing Congress 2 Oct 19:59 PDT
September 27 – October 5, 2024
Three inshore races were held today in perfect conditions, with more scheduled for tomorrow.
Weather took center stage on Day Three of the 2024 ORC World Championship at the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court. A somewhat dismal forecast predicting 6- to 8-knot easterly winds surprisingly improved to 10 to 12 knots, yielding what many locals deemed ideal conditions of the season. These favorable conditions led Principal Race Officer Tom Duggan to organize three Windward-Leeward races for all classes in areas set outside of Narragansett Bay, east of Brenton Reef.
While the current leaders—Victor Wild’s TP52 FOX 2.0 in Class 0, Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Botin 44 INTERLODGE IV in Class A, and Poland’s Marcin Sutkowski’s Grand Soleil 44P WIND WHISPER 44—may appear to have had an easy time on the race course, FOX’s tactician Andy Horton dispelled that notion.
“We approached today with a focus on sticking to the fundamentals and avoiding any trouble,” he stated. “For the most part, we accomplished this, but we needed every ounce of effort to secure our winning margins. This is the result of extensive hard work we invested this season to maximize every aspect: set up, sails, trimming, teamwork and positioning.
“This has essentially been a four-year goal. Victor envisaged this boat for participation in the Worlds set for here four years ago, which was canceled due to Covid, so we indeed have a long-term perspective. Luckily, everything came together today for a fantastic day on the water.”
Even though the INTERLODGE team is leading Class A results, runner-up Paul Zabetakis on his Club Swan 42 IMPETUOUS noted a straightforward reason for their dominance: they are the fastest-rated boat in the class.
“It’s a bit challenging for us, as we’re battling with several similarly sized competitors more intensely than they are,” he explained, “and the differences between the rest of us are minimal, just seconds apart.”
For example, in Race 4, after nearly an hour of racing, IMPETUOUS lost third place to Oivind Lorentzen’s Botin 43 JAX by a mere 15 seconds in corrected time. Holding third could have placed them one point ahead of the current tie with Don Thinschmidt’s Ker 43 ABRACADABRA, with both just one point ahead of Henry Brauer’s Club Swan 42 TIO LOCO.
Class B witnesses a similar advantage for WIND WHISPER 44, but the points and corrected time margins are much tighter: in the first race of the day, the top four positions were determined within just 10 seconds in corrected time after an hour of competition. Offshore race victor John Brim on his Italia 11.98 RIMA98 and Andrew and Linda Weiss’s sistership CHRISTOPHER DRAGON XII actually tied in corrected time in this race, finishing only 7 seconds behind the Polish leader, while Bill and Jackie Baxter’s J 111 FIREBALL finished just 3 seconds back in fourth.
In the Maxi racing category, Jim Swartz’s Maxi 72 VESPER dominated with a series of first-place finishes, but those victories were tight as well, with winning margins of only 17, 20, and 33 seconds in the day’s three races.
Racing for the 2024 ORC World Championship and Maxi North American Championship is set to continue tomorrow with additional Windward-Leeward races for all classes.
Class 0: (6 boats)
1. FOX 2.0, Botin 52, Victor Wild, 2-1-1-1, 5pts
2. FINAL FINAL, PAC 52, Jon Desmond, 4-5-2-2, 13pts
3. WIZARD, Botin 52, Peter Askew, 1-4-4-5, 14pts
4. SUMMER STORM, TP52, Andrew Berdon, 5-3-3-3, 14pts
5. VESPER, TP52, David Team, 6-2-5-4, 17pts
Class A (19 boats)
1. INTERLODGE 44, Botin 44, Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 2-1-1-1, 5pts
2. IMPETUOUS, Swan 42, Paul Zabetakis, 5-7-2-4, 18pts
3. ABRACADABRA, Ker 43, Don Thinschmidt, 4-3-3-8, 18pts
4. TIO LOCO, Swan 42, Henry Brauer, 6-4-4-5, 19pts
5. ZAMMERMOOS, Swan 42, David Fass, 1-2-13-7, 23pts
Class B (14 boats)
1. WIND WHISPER 44, Grand Soleil 44, Marc Sutkowski, 5-1-2-1, 9pts
2. RIMA98, Italia 11.98, John Brim, 1-2.5-1-6, 10.5pts
3. CHRISTOPHER DRAGON XII, Italia 11.98, Linda & Andrew Weiss, 25:44::37pts
4. FIREBALL, J 111, Bill & Jackie Baxter, 6-4-6-2, 18pts
5. THE ROCC, J/112, Al Minella, 4-8-3-5, 20pts
Maxi North American Championship:
1. VESPER, Maxi 72, Jim Swartz, 2-1-1-1-1, 6pts
2. BELLA MENTE, Maxi 72, Hap Fauth, 1-2-2-3-2, 10pts
3. TEMPTATION, J/V 66, Art Santry Oakcliff, 3-3-3-2-3, 14pts
Full results can be found here.
Race standings can be tracked on the TracTrac system here.
For more info, visit nyyc.org/2024-orc-world-championship.
