New England Championship

Beverly, MA, July 21-22, 2018 Report by Art Rousmaniere Bowers claims umpteenth New England Championship title The 2018 edition of the New England Championship featured Jim Bowers and Julia Rabin besting 23 teams in light and lumpy but cloudless conditions in Salem Harbor Massachusetts on July 20-23, edging out the international team of Edgar Diminich (Equador) and Sophie Taylor (Scotland) by 2 points, followed closely by the always-competitive Carol Cronin and Kim Couranz duo. Unfortunately, hope on the third and final day for the battle of the titans was washed away when Sunday's races had to be called off on-shore due to a front that had high winds and thunderstorms being forecasted. ...

New England Championship Image

Beverly, MA, July 21-22, 2018

Report by Art Rousmaniere

Bowers claims umpteenth New England Championship title

The 2018 edition of the New England Championship featured Jim Bowers and Julia Rabin besting 23 teams in light and lumpy but cloudless conditions in Salem Harbor Massachusetts on July 20-23, edging out the international team of Edgar Diminich (Equador) and Sophie Taylor (Scotland) by 2 points, followed closely by the always-competitive Carol Cronin and Kim Couranz duo. Unfortunately, hope on the third and final day for the battle of the titans was washed away when Sunday’s races had to be called off on-shore due to a front that had high winds and thunderstorms being forecasted.

 

Every regatta has its side story, and this one could be that over 1/3 of the skippers were brand new or relatively new to Snipes (most were under 30 years of age) – a handful of which were sailing a Snipe for the first time. This could not have been accomplished without the relentless encouragement of these new sailors led by Shan, Kathleen Tocke and others and the generosity of the boat owners who loaned their boats. And you could see the telltale signs of the character of the sailors and class with countless sightings of veterans helping the “newbies” with Snipe advice around the keg, boat-side in the parking lot or on the water. In one race, I had front-row seats to a setting where Edgar trailed directly close behind Hobart college junior Kyle Easton late in the race – Edgar hailed/advised Kyle to pull his traveler in as he had inadvertently let it down. It’s micro-scenes like these that make me smile.

Regatta co-chairs Shan McAdoo (his 10th as chair) and Paul Earl along with Shan’s pillars-of-strength sisters Kathy and Beth and the masses of dedicated and cheerful Jubilee YC support team made this one of those regattas to remember both on and off the water: the sailing was tight, the oysters and haddock dinners were to die for, and the silent auction included fabulous loot that had everyone eagerly bidding for. All were in agreement with Jim Bower’s declaration that he is already putting next year’s regatta on his calendar – all we need is a date.

2018_New_Englands_final_results.pdf

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