The Corinthians "Lobster Run"

THE FIRST “LOBSTER RUN”
BY DAVE WILDER


Shortly after 9AM on July 27, 2008, race founder Tom Lane’s 44-foot Rally Point headed for the starting line, off Stonington, Connecticut, leading a 14-boat fleet to the first-ever running of The Corinthians Stonington to Boothbay Harbor Race.
With a line of thunderstorms having passed through earlier, another yellow-and-red mass showed on the radar, due sometime after the 11AM start of the first of three classes. The wind was south-southwest at around five knots.
Who would have guessed that the race, already affectionately known as “The Lobster Run,” would be won by a yacht whose navigation instruments had been knocked out by a lightning strike, and used a hand-held GPS to navigate to first-to-finish and class victories. The victor, Ben Blake’s 53-foot J/160 Atlantic, also won a trophy for being the boat with the most family members as crew (six out of nine).
The original fleet of 21 registered yachts had been hit hard by attrition, much of it due to damages incurred in the Newport-Bermuda Race. Then, just to prove that no ocean race is a lark, only five hours after the 14 starters were racing they were hit by two squalls as a cold front passed. The damage: Ray Peterson’s Swan 46 Cygne, retired with its mainsail blown out in gusts over 45 knots; Peter Ross’s Ohlsen 37 Tynage, retired after experiencing 50-knot winds; and Corinthians Master Bob Ebin’s Jon Meri 40 Noord Hinder, slowed by a ripped mainsail that had to be double-reefed to the finish. (The weather made sure the racers experienced every condition: two boats, Bob Fleno’s Thai Hot, and Tom Lane’s Rally Point, were becalmed and forced to turn on their engines just to make the post-race party!)
By 1PM the fleet was spread along the course, clearly divided into those sailing north or south of Block Island. The 10-boat northern group, led by Walter Kress’ Syzygy at a comfortable 6.4 knots, with Ray Peterson’s Swan 46 Cygne tearing along at 7.7 knots on the most northerly course, were followed by Corinthian Bob Osborn’s Saga 43 Pandora, Jim Feeney’s 72-foot yawl Kathleen, and Stonington Harbor Yacht Club member Peter Guille’s Sterling, Peter Ross (self-professed candidate for an “ancient mariner” award) skippering his Ohlson 37 Tynaje, the Hinckley 35 Strummer, sailed by Louis Meyer of Stonington, Corinthian Master Bob Ebin’s Jon Meri 40 Noord Hinder, the Tom Lane’s Lafitte 44 Rally Point, with a family crew aboard, and Bob Fleno on his Island Packet 40 Thai Hot, trailing the group at this point.
The southern group of four yachts had their bows pointed right at the west coast of Block at this juncture. The most southerly, and leading boat, was the 53-foot J/160 Atlantic, sailed by the very experienced Ben Blake of SHYC. With speeds of only around 4.5 knots, this group was not looking so good at the moment, sailing “low and slow.” Just to the north of Atlantic, three boats were tightly bunched: Corinthian Geoff Beringer’s C&C 38 Gadzooks; Bugs Baer (several-time-winner of the Corinthians Ocean Racing Trophy) and Eric Camiel on the chartered 39-foot Revelation; and Corinthian Peter Vieira, who brought his Alden 43 Cadence up from Philadelphia, and is one of several entrants will join the Corinthians Maine Race/Cruise the week after the race.
By 3PM it looked like even the last-place northern boat was ahead of the four to the south, who were now closing the southwest point of the island with only around three knots of boat speed, with Gadzooks veering further south to get on Atlantic’s hip – their view of the wind-blocker Plover Hill must have been daunting. Only time would tell whose route would ultimately pay off, but in the south-southeast breeze, it was looking like a rhumb-line race.
By 3PM the entire fleet was becoming enmeshed in a large area of heavy rain and thunderstorms. Who would have predicted, six months ago, a race in late July with a serious cold front coming through?
Speeds dropped, with Syzygy still holding the lead, Sterling hot on their tail, followed by Cygne, who’d dropped south to close the fleet, and Pandora. Rally Point began easing south toward the rhumbline; Strummer was veering north. Obviously some very serious thinking by the navigators and tacticians was happening on these presumably very wet yachts.
To the South, the 53-foot Atlantic squirted out in front of the other three, with Gadzooks now opting to stay inshore to edge up to the rhumb-line to their north.
Around 4PM, after a squall-line packing 40-knot winds passed though, Cygne dropped out with a blown-out mainsail and headed towards Newport. Meanwhile, the 37-foot Tynaje also decided to retire, with a non-too-young, exhausted crew, and returned to Stonington. A great disappointment, no doubt, for octogenarian Corinthian skipper Peter Ross, who’d won his class in the Marblehead-Halifax Race last year, as well as The Corinthians Ocean Racing Trophy. Attrition had hit the original 21-boat fleet hard. Many were stymied by problems stemming from the Newport-Bermuda Race, and the very rough return passage, that prevented them from making the start in fit condition.
By 4:30PM the 72-foot Kathleen had pulled ahead of Syzygy for the overall lead, five and a half hours into the race, with speeds up to nine knots. Syzygy, Pandora, and Sterling were still moving fast, but the boats behind them were falling into a hole. The southern group now had much more speed, too.
A check at 6PM saw the three leaders, Kathleen, Syzygy, and Sterling all diving southeast of the course line. The southern group had split, with Bugs Baer taking Revelation the furthest south of all, Gadzooks going right north to the rhumb-line, Atlantic and Cadence in between.
By 8PM the wind has clocked around to the west-southwest. The boats have been playing their angles in a light and shifty breeze. Syzygy again was in the lead by a bit over Kathleen. Revelation remains almost 10 miles south of the rhumb-line, sailing parallel to it, while Pandora is a good five miles north of it.
At 9PM the boats were reaching in a south-southwesterly again. Kathleen, clocking up to 10 knots, has shot ahead of Syzygy once more. In third is Sterling, being chased down by the relentless Atlantic, which was registering almost nine knots. Noord Hinder found a fast lane and was in the hunt, as was Thai Hot, who had now passed Rally Point.
The battle continued through the wet, but gradually drying, night. The cold front was right at the first rounding mark at 5AM on July 28. First light saw Kathleen still leading, just a few miles from the first mark, with Syzygy close behind, and Atlantic now in third place. The boats that drove further south the night before reaped their rewards now. But all were now sailing at slow speeds, between 2 and 4 knots.
By 11AM, Kathleen had rounded the first of the two Nantucket Shoals buoys. Syzygy and Atlantic were neck-and-neck right at the mark.
By 6PM on Monday, most of the fleet had rounded the first mark. All were struggling in winds six knots or under, in very steep three-to-four-foot chop. The top three boats’ tracks (on iBoattrack.com) were seen to cross at crazy angles as they struggled to find boatspeed. The order was Atlantic first, Syzygy (after a deep dive south) second, and Kathleen third.
At 9PM they were still struggling, now with Syzygy leading, followed by Atlantic, then Kathleen! But as they rounded the second mark of the course, the J/160 once again shot ahead, followed closely by the 46-foot Syzygy. In chase were the rest of the lead pack: Jim Feeney’s 72-foot Kathleen; Peter Guille’s Sterling, among the leaders from the start; Corinthian stalwart Geoff Beringer’s Gadzooks; and the Bugs Baer-Eric Camiel team on the 39-foot Revelation, still hunting By 5AM on Tuesday, The leaders were fast-reaching north on the third and longest leg to Boothbay Harbor. Atlantic, a little over 100 miles from the finish, was far ahead of the next boat, Kathleen, closely followed by her nemesis Syzygy, then the ever-present Sterling, and Bugs Baer’s Revelation, which had reeled in Gadzooks. Here’s where Atlantic excelled, finishing around 6PM on Tuesday, July 29, taking line honors and winning PHRF Division B. Kathleen won ORR Division A. Syzygy crossed the finish line third, taking Division C and overall PHRF honors.
The event had started in fine style with a Dark ‘n’ Stormy party at the wonderfully-appointed facilities of enthusiastic host club Stonington Harbor YC, provided by beverage sponsor Gosling’s Rums. It ended similarly on the grounds of the Maine host club, the Boothbay Harbor YC, beautifully situated and warmly welcoming. “The support of these two clubs is a large part of the reason for this great beginning,” said Jay Kiszkiel, Operations Chair. “The SHYC and BHYC race committees both did stellar jobs – especially the finish line RC, which staffed the line and the communications center for more than three days.”
The awards ceremony at the Boothbay Harbor YC was attended by a large crowd of racers and BHYC supporters, with Ben Blake and his family crew being presented with the first awarding of The Nantucket Lightship Trophy, a beautifully detailed model of an American maritime icon, once anchored at the location of the Shoals rounding marks.
Just to add significance to the event’s nickname, each of the top three skippers was surprised with the gift of a very large, live lobster to go with his award. Co-skippers of Revelation, Corinthian ocean-racing veteran Bugs Baer (75) and Eric Camiel (65) won the Ancient Mariners Trophy.
The first awarding of a new joint trophy for best combined times in both this and the 2007 Marion-Bermuda Race, the New England Offshore Racing Trophy, went to Jim Feeney’s Kathleen.
As The Corinthians sailing association approaches its 75th anniversary, on April 18, 2009, its membership had been seeking a way to celebrate that is in keeping with its great tradition of bringing together offshore sailors and boats in a way that furthers the development of the sport of sailing. This new ocean race is the result.
“The support of our two main sponsors, Gosling’s Rums and Points East magazine, has been of inestimable value to our getting this event off the ground successfully,” said Tom Lane, the founder of the race.
A consensus of comments from the racers: “This event had everything any ocean race could offer, but at half the distance [332 nautical miles], and with much greater convenience for crews and boats – and cruising in Maine!”

RESULTS

Division A
1 – Kathleen, Jim Feeney
Cygne, Ray Peterson (Retired)
Thai Hot, Bob Fleno (Retired)

Division B
1 – Atlantic, Ben Blake
2 – Revelation, Bugs Baer & Eric Camiel
3 – Gadzooks, Geoff Beringer
4 – Sterling, Peter Guille
5 – Cadence, Peter Vieira
6 – Noord Hinder, Bob Ebin

Division C
1 – Sygyzy, Walter Kress
2 – Pandora, Bob Osborn
3 – Strummer, Louis Meyer
Rally Point, Tom Lane (Retired)
Tynaje, Peter Ross (Retired)

Perpetual Trophies:
The Corinthians Nantucket Lightship – Line Honors
Atlantic, Ben Blake

The Stonington Point Lighthouse – Best corrected overall ORR
Kathleen, James Feeney

The Burnt Island Lighthouse – Best corrected overall PHRF
Syzygy, Walter Kress

The New England Offshore Racing Trophy – Best combined times with 2007 Marion-Bermuda Race
Kathleen, James Feeney

Awards:
Ancient Mariner – Bugs Baer, Revelation
Family Award – Ben Blake, Atlantic