O Y S TER NEWS
On Saturday, the fl eet set out to race from Newport to Cuttyhunk in the Elizabeth Islands off southern Massachusetts. Using a rally start, the boats waited their turns as dictated by handicap, then strove to overtake the boats ahead of them. T e wind was light in the morning and blowing directly up Narragansett Bay’s East Passage so everyone started at the windward end of the line and tacked slowly but steadily out the Bay.
I got to sail with Doug and Jean Renfi eld Miller and their crew Jeff McCooey aboard their Oyster 46 Thales. We got a good start off the line, found a nice slant of wind out of Narragansett Bay and by the time we turned around buoy R2A off Brenton Reef, we were in the lead. T e 46 handled very well and was able to generate a nice turn of speed in the light breeze. As we rounded R2A, with the asymmetrical chute pulling nicely, Thales got the bit in her teeth and seemed to trot away from the rest of the fl eet some of whom were struggling to get their chutes set and some who chose to run off without one. By mid- aſt ernoon as we neared Cuttyhunk, only one boat was threatening us from astern – the Oyster 72 Magrathea – and she would eventually beat us across the line by less than 10 minutes. But not before both boats disappeared into a fog bank that rolled in off the ocean and reduced visibility to 30 feet.
Sailing on instruments, we navigated in close to the little island and watched, via AIS on the chartplotter, as Magrathea swept over the fi nish line. With the chute still pulling and the wind beginning to pipe, we hardened up a bit and Jeff steered us into the open roadstead off Cuttyhunk Harbor where we picked up a mooring for the night. One by one the rest of the fog bound fl eet crossed the fi nish line and motored into the roadstead to pick up moorings near us until all were home safely. And, of course, as soon as the fl eet was safely moored, the fog rolled out again leaving us with a lovely clear evening.
Saturday evening, the Oyster crowd gathered on Cuttyhunk at the charming hilltop home of Oyster owners Pat and Alan Symonds for a traditional New England clambake – a feast of clam chowder, half shell oysters, lobster, steamed clams, little necks, fresh corn and chouriço. Aſt er a day of sailing, there were more stories to tell and the Thales crew had some explaining to do regarding the boat’s stellar performance.
T e Sunday race up Vineyard Sound to Edgartown went off in haze and fog and with very little wind. I was fortunate enough to sail with Chris and Susan Shea and their crew Nick and Sarah aboard their magnifi cent Oyster 72 Magrathea. We got the big asymmetrical chute up as we
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