Author: Barby MacGowan

Good Decisions Yield Winners in Four Classes Fully expecting light and variable breezes overnight, forty-three sailing teams started the 2022 Ida Lewis Distance Race presented by Bluenose Yacht Sales on Friday, August 19 and returned throughout the day Saturday, August 20 to complete the event’s 17th edition. The wind conditions wound up ranging from 8-10 knots at the start to high teens and 20s out near Block Island to nearly nothing at points near the finish, making…

Recent boating accidents on Narragansett Bay, both fatal and near fatal, have prompted local boating enthusiasts to sound the alarm for boating safety. The non-profit organization Better Bay Alliance was formed in January 2020 after racing sailor Sandra G. Tartaglino was struck and killed by a powerboat while helming a catamaran in the New England 100 Regatta. In August of this year, a 30-foot sailboat competing in the Aloha Cup was hit from behind by a larger powerboat and…

Doublehanded Sailors Ken Read/Suzy Leech Win Coveted Venona Trophy   Sailing doublehanded on the Jeanneau Sunfast 3300 Alchemist, Rhode Islanders Ken Read (Portsmouth) and Suzy Leech (Jamestown) collected a boatload of trophies for their ‘Round-the-Island (‘RTI) Race performance at the annual Edgartown Race Weekend, hosted by Edgartown Yacht Club in Edgartown, MA on July 22-24. The most impressive piece of silverware – the prestigious Venona Trophy, which dates back to the origins of the race in 1938 – validated…

The Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, RI has teamed with the Narragansett Bay Yachting Association (NBYA) to announce a new trophy for a “Narragansett Bay Middle Distance Champion” in 2021. The trophy, made of pre-preg carbon fiber and gold-plated brass, will be presented to the PHRF skipper/team with the best overall combined performance in the Ida Lewis Distance Race IN BAY race (Saturday, August 21) and NBYA’s Inaugural ‘Round the Bay Regatta (Saturday, July 24). The Ida Lewis Distance…

  The 17th edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race starts Thursday, August 19, 2021 and will keep its expanded format from last year to give competitors more options. The schedule consists of: • Registration and Skippers Meeting conducted by host Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, RI on Thursday, August 19. • Offshore Distance Race (Between 112 and 169 nm) for ORC, PHRF (Aloha and Coronet divisions), ORC DoubleHanded and PHRF Cruising Spinnaker classes starting Friday, August 20….

By SallyAnne Santos Following the resounding success of the 2019 12mR World Championship held in Newport, RI, the International Twelve Metre Association (ITMA) has again selected America’s City by the Sea as the venue for the 2022 12mR World Championship. “We expect an enthusiastic response and a strong turnout by our dedicated 12mR fleet members who always relish sailing out of Newport,” said ITMA President Paul Buttrose. Scheduled for September 19-24, 2022, the regatta will be held during the traditional 12…

By Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International Photos by Stephen R Cloutier Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (Chilmark, MA) claimed the coveted Venona Trophy at Edgartown Race Weekend’s 82nd ‘Round-the-Island Race, sailing his classic Alden Cutter 44 Lark to win his class and post the best corrected time from among all entrants in the Spinnaker Division.   A of 46 boats competing in eight classes started and finished its circumnavigation of Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, August 1. In…

In Sporty Winds, Winds, Privateer, Zephyros, Masquerade, Warrior Won and Alchemist Win Trophies By Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International   A total of 65 boats started the 2020 Ida Lewis Distance Race presented by Jeanneau America on Saturday, August 15 in a building northeasterly that dished out 20-22 knots of breeze (and a few knock-down gusts) throughout most of the day and into the evening and overnight. By the time racing had finished for two offshore classes (IRC and PHRF Doublehanded)…

Double-Handed Racing and Friendly Fun Will Have Renewed Emphasis By Barby MacGowan, MediaPro International   The annual Ida Lewis Distance Race, scheduled for its 16th edition starting Saturday, August 15, has announced that Jeanneau America is the event’s new Presenting Partner. The news comes on the heels of the race changing its start date from Friday to Saturday to better accommodate an inclusive weekend schedule and coincides with other exciting changes for the event, including a Mixed (co-ed) Double-Handed class…

By Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International For a 15th year, the Ida Lewis Distance Race indulged competitive racing sailors in an overnight sprint that proved both challenging and extraordinary. Thirty-one teams, in five classes for boats of 28 feet and longer, set out after noontime on Friday, August 16 to engage in a 110-mile course that took them from the start off Fort Adams in Newport, RI, past Castle Hill to Buzzards Bay Tower, then to a mark southwest of Block…