Appeared in the Sippican Week, Marion, MA, July 25, 2011
The bay is overcast with an on again, off again breeze. The Beverly Yacht Club boat, helmed by assistant Betsy Pierce and Race Officer Jamey Shacoy, cuts through the choppy waters on its way to the starting mark for the Van Rensselaer Memorial Cup, hosted by the BYC. It’s one of the oldest in Buzzards Bay, according to Schakoy, having started in 1896. After a 25-minute ride from the club the boat stops and drops anchor about 50 yards just east of Buoy 2 (or BYC mark “G”), creating an imaginary line for competitors to start and finish through.
Just before 12 p.m. the ships approach and prepare to race, circling around the BYC boat and the buoy. As a “pursuit” race the Van Rensselaer has a staggered start, meaning each class of boat starts according to its handicap. Handicaps are determined on size and shape of the boat, Pierce says.
“There’s a lot of advantages and disadvantages between the classes of boats,” Pierce says. “J-boats are longer, meaning more sail advantage or a larger area of catching the wind. Of course they’re heavier too, which is a disadvantage.”
“Generally speaking,” Shacoy adds, “a longer boat is faster.”
The race reflects the skill of the crew and not the quality of equipment due to having the smaller boats start earlier and the larger ones start later, explains Pierce.
The race starts at noon. Shacoy hoists a flag as Pierce sounds an echoing horn, each signifying “go time” for a class. A whirlwind of sound overtakes the bay, sails clapping like thunder and wake splashing over the sides. Crews shout directions to each other as each boat picks up speed. The sounds continue for the next hour or more with other classes starting. Some classes have five or more boats fighting at the start, only inches from each other and fighting for a quick position. Other classes have only a few. After the surge of excitement there are only the sounds of the Bay.
And waiting.
As Race Officer, Shacoy is responsible for setting the course making sure the 20-some boats knew where they were ending up along the way. Once the BYC boat reaches the marker, Pierce places letters (signifying the various markers in the Bay) on a large rack at the stern with red or green-colored squares below them. The colors signify a port or starboard rounding of the marker.
“This race is much different than standard ones,” Shacoy explains. “It’s about 15 miles. Most are only five to ten. And with a staggered start, the ending is fantastic. Boats are clustered together and fighting for position. You don’t have to sit around and wait for results. There’s a clear winner.”
All races have time limits. The Van Rensselaer’s is five hours. After a couple hours of waiting, boats swing back around toward the BYC boat for the halfway mark. It’s quick, jumbled. Classes are already mixed together. Then they’re off again, leaving the BYC crew to sit and wait for the competitors to make a final stretch to the finish line.
After the three-hour mark another wave of racers jet through the water and toward the boat. Ahead of the pack are “Sterling” and “Raptor” fighting for the lead. The two ships move fast across the water and the crews hustle to catch both the wind and a lucky break. Somehow they move gracefully for being large boats. Yet “Raptor” cuts ahead only 100 yards from the finish line, and with a bellow from the BYC boat horn, they are claimed the victors. The crew cheers. The race is over. More boats jet across the buoy and the horn blows. By the time the last boat comes in, the Van Rensselaer has lasted four hours.
After the BYC boat returns, the other crews are on shore and talking, sharing stories and congratulating each other.
Wiley Wakeman, driver of “Raptor,” thought the day and the race were perfect.
“It’s a fun format,” he says. “And the ending was fun. We didn’t think we could break away [from “Sterling”] at all. The last few hundred yards had everybody going as fast as they could down the stretch. It’s exciting.”
Though discouraged from losing the lead, “Sterling” driver Katherine Schmidt also enjoyed the race.
“We had such a good lead,” she says. “But it was a fun. The wind kept dropping from nearly 15 knots down to three or four. It happened to us at the end too. But the race was good.”
The Beverly Yacht Club hosts a number of races and regattas throughout the summer including the US Optimist Dinghy Association New England Championship July 29 through the 31st.
