Recap of 1st Annual Boston Harbor Islands Regatta
October 1, 2005

On a beautifully clear Saturday morning, after a very special Pre-Race Dinner at the Boston Harbor Hotel with wonderful water views from the Pavilion and Wharf Room…..85 boats from 22 to 45 feet in length participated in this inaugural 12 mile “figure-eight” pursuit race around the islands. The weather was a balmy 5-10 knots from the Southwest under clear skies. The Race Committee started the event at 1100 hours between GC “1” and the RC boat near Georges Island. The first leg was NE downwind through The Narrows then on a broad reach past Lovell Island (see what the fleet looked like at this point in the title photo above) through Hyprocrite Passage and around Outer Brewster and Boston Light, returning upwind against an ebb tide to round Rainsford to port then downwind to the finish. Thanks to the strategic location of Sea\\Tow Rescue No. 1, off Quarantine Rocks with flashing blue light as a unique mark of the course, no competitors reported hitting bottom. The fleet anchored off Georges Island to enjoy a relaxed barbecue with the upbeat sounds of Dave Ehle’s Swing Dixie Quintet. An outstanding group of host sponsors had everyone in a good mood with their smiling servers and outstanding offerings. These included Redbones, Harpoon Brewery, Starbucks, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Silver Platters and Whole Foods. A host of some 40 enthusiastic volunteers from the Island Alliance welcomed the fleet. Launches ferried the crews back to boats at 5PM for the sunset cruise home, to end a perfect day amongst the islands.

Some Interesting BHIR Regatta Facts from 2005

• 34% of the boats were “Modern Classics” built more than 25 years ago. Only 6 were built since 2000, two of which finished in the top 10. There was one “Classic Yacht” built in 1936, the bright-varnished New York 32, GUACHO, restored by Sandra Clavelo.
• 25% of the boats represented Boston Area sailing clubs (Courageous, Piers Park, Boston Sailing and Boston Harbor).
• More than half (54%) of the boats don’t have PHRF-NE certificates.
• 46% sailed without spinnakers. Only 10 of these 39 boats had PHRF ratings.
• Fastest boat around the course, calculated from its starting-time to time-of-finish, was Dave Millet’s red Aerodyne 43 TANGO, the 10th place finisher, which sailed “nonspinnaker”.
• TANGO’s elapsed time was 2:03:09 hours, averaging 5.85 knots which was 1 ½ minutes faster around the course than the winning 36 ft. SUPERSTITION (with spinnaker), which averaged 5.77 knots.

Yacht Clubs participating with 4 or more boats (applause here from the organizers) were:

• Constitution Yacht Club 11
  
• Hull Yacht Club 7
  
• Savin Hill Yacht Club 6
  
• Hingham Yacht Club 4 (plus another 2 from Hingham PHRF)
  
• Cottage Park Yacht Club 4
  
• There were 9 Female and 6 Master skippers.
  
• 6 Family crews participated.
  
• 4 novice skippers were sailing their first race ever. A Novice Trophy will be offered in 2006.
  

15 entries were competing for One-Design trophies in the J/22, Sonar and Thunderbird Classes. 210s and J/105s have expressed interest in joining the regatta in 2006.

Had the remaining 70 boats (other than one-designs) been split into 4 approximately-equal-sized Divisions by ratings (similar to the plan for 2006), the breakdown and winners would have been:

Class A PHRF to 130 21 Boats (1st – SUPERSTITION, 2nd – BLACK SEAL, 3rd – BOADICEA)
Class B PHRF 131-160 18 Boats (1st – RUFFIAN, 2nd – SAILSMAN, 3rd – AGORA)
Class C PHRF 161-200 19 Boats (1st – BLAT NA MANA, 2nd – DEGAGE, 3rd – DEEP TRANCE)
Class D PHRF 201 up 15 Boats (1st – CAYUGA, 2nd – AKEEPAH, 3rd – CHIARA)


Detailed Race Results
You can download PDF files of the Excel spreadsheet showing competitors, their clubs, types of boats, finish times, scoring, elapsed time around the course and trophy winners by clicking on the links below:

Race results posted 10 PM October 1
List of trophy winners October 1

Race Day Photography
Andrew Sims and his Wavelength Studio photo boat captured 700 stunning shots of the race and individual boats. Congratulations to the winner, Christopher Zibailo’s and his J/109 SUPERSTITION, shown below. Photos can be reviewed and purchased by following this link. 2005 regatta photos at wavelengthstudios.com

Post-Race Competitor Survey Results
“Thank you for a fantastic event!” This is just one of the comments from 39% of the competitors who responded to the Regatta Directors survey which asked:

1. What did you particularly like about the event?
2. If you were Regatta Director, what would you do differently in 2006?
3. Are you planning to participate again in 2006?
4. Is Saturday, September 30 as good a date as any?
5. Do you have any suggestions on how to better get the word out to sailors?
6. Did this event change your perception of the Island Alliance and its mission…or your willingness to support its goals?

Several highlights: Everyone said they’d be back for the 2nd Annual BHIR in 2006 with few conditions, such as, “assuming I can get a boat”

Saturday, September 30, 2006 is fine for 88% of this year’s sailors. Several people suggested an earlier date in September and 1 suggested moving it to the longer days in June, so the party on the island could last longer. The 2006 BHIR Notice of Race will be posted on this website soon…please save as one of your “favorites” for future reference.

2/3’s the respondents suggested some way to spread the trophies and winners through the fleet:

1. Divide the fleet into 4-5 Classes
2. Have non-spinnaker boats sail a different course than spinnaker boats
3. Let the slower boats finish after the first 8 mile loop so they could spend more time at the cookout
4. Ask entrants to enroll for just one special trophy, e.g. female, family, master, modern classic, novice etc. so one boat wouldn’t win 2-3
5. Give non-spinnaker boats an additional 10% rating credit to be competitive with spinnaker boats
6. Start the race an hour earlier to finish everyone by 2PM so more time can be spent at the Georges Island cookout, etc. Be assured that the Regatta Committee has its priorities straight and will take all of these suggestions into consideration, implementing those most likely to bring the competitors the most enjoyment, such as having everyone finish by 2:30 PM to make the cookout ashore.

Sponsorship of the Island Alliance
It is clear from sailors who sponsored the regatta as well as from the post-regatta survey that this event helped increase awareness of the Island Alliance and its mission to preserve the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. Your support is greatly appreciated and a continuing partnership with the Island Alliance will make a valuable contribution the joy of sailing in the Boston area. As one contestant commented, “I’m impressed with what the Island Alliance has done. This reorients my sailing perimeter back to Boston from a Maine/Marblehead/Newport focus.”

The Local Maritime Support Program
To spend an overnight on an Island Mooring in the national park ($35 overnight, paid direct to operator), or to dock downtown. The Boston Harbor Hotel (617-425-7518) and Constitution Marina (617-241-9640) don’t forget to mention your participation in the regatta.

And many thanks to the BHIR maritime support team including the Boston Harbor Police, Sea\\Tow, Boston Water Taxi, the Piers Park Launch, Island Mooring/Constitution Marina and others who contributed to the success of the event. Spectators’ Commanding View of the Race Course from Fort Warren The entire race course was visible by spectators from the elevated ramparts of Fort Warren on Georges Island. The farthest points on either end of the course, Outer Brewster and the Quarantine Rocks, are only 2 miles away. This commanding panorama was the obvious reason for building the historic fort in that spot. It defends Boston’s Inner Harbor by covering all possible passages. While putting themselves back in history…and enjoying some up-to-date burgers and veggie wraps…spectators had a close-up view at the start (11am-12noon), half-way round (1-2pm) and at the finish (2-4pm).

Two Social Events and Family Activities on Georges Island
Captain's Meeting, Friday, September 30 at Boston Harbor Hotel Approximately 100 people attended the Captain’s Meeting in the Rowe’s Wharf Pavilion with a spectacular view of the harbor, followed by a light fare dinner for all crew, family and sponsors in the hotel’s large waterfront dining room. This dinner included beer and wine, a salad station, fresh roasted turkey and pasta station with the Red Sox game prominently displayed on TV (volume off). A great time was had by all. Post-Race Cookout on Georges Island, Saturday, October 1 Crews, families and friends enjoyed an early Post-Race Cookout on Georges Island for the Awards Ceremony, featuring a full barbeque dinner donated by Redbones, plus offerings by Whole Foods, Cape Cod Potato Chips, and Silver Platters, and beverages provided by Harpoon Brewery and Starbucks. Hamburgers, veggie rolls and hotdogs were served at noon with the cookout starting at 2:30. Awards were handed out a 4:15 PM with departure from the island as scheduled at 5:00 PM.

Family Activities
Fishing 101 with the Fishing Academy - Fish or cut Bait: Kids took rod and reel lessons and cast their lines in Boston Harbor.

Nautical Flag making - Kids colored their own international code or signal flags or create a new flag design of their own.

Boston Harbor Island Twister - Right hand on Georges Island, left foot on Spectacle Island. Kids twisted and tumbled as they learned the geography and history of the Park.

Catch the Wind - The sled kites flew high as the sailboats raced around the harbor islands.

Junior Fort Warren Tours - Kids took a guided tour of historic fort Warren to hear the legend of the 'Lady in Black' a ghost rumored to haunt the dark corridors of the fort. They learned how the fort was used as a confederate prison.

David Ehle's Swing Dixie Quintet - Dave and the band kept the atmosphere upbeat with swing favorites for the entire family.

Sponsors Making “In-Kind” Donations
Thank You to Redbones for their generous donation of the post-race barbeque and to the Boston Harbor Hotel for their donation of the site of the Captain’s Meeting and the Pre-Race dinner. Thanks also to Starbucks, Harpoon Brewery, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Whole Foods, Silver Platters and others who made this event so successful.