Bermuda International Race Week

The 2015 edition of the XL Catlin Bermuda International Race Week was blessed with relatively classic Bermuda sailing conditions for the international group of sailors in the J/105 fleet. The forecast could not have been much better, with the first day’s racing schedule to have NNE winds of 10-20 knots, partly cloudy skies, followed by more of the same on Friday with slightly less wind, and then closing with light air and a sunny day on Saturday. The Royal Bermuda YC’s PRO Hank Stuart completed the 10-race no-throw-out series for the fleet of seven boats. The format is unique: local Bermudian crews of three persons are matched with international crews of three people, with the Bermuda and International skippers swapping for each race, each skipper helming five races each. The racing on Thursday started off in cool temperatures with puffy breezes ranging 20-30 degrees in the 12-22 knot range. Fast out of the gate was local Peter Bromby and co-skipper Chris Murphy sailing Chequemate, posting a perfect score of five bullets to take a commanding lead. The Yabsta crew with Trevor Boyce (BER) and Stew Neff (USA) sailed to a 4-2-2-2-2 scoreline to secure a strong hold to second place. Settling into third place after the first day was the team of Jon Corless (BER) and John Barnett (USA) with a 5-6-3-3-5 record. The second day dawned with beautiful blue skies and a moderate breeze from the ENE, blowing 6-10 knots, gusting higher at times during the day. Continuing their remarkable string of firsts was the Bromby/Murphy team on Chequemate, starting out their day with a first place in race 6, and closing out the day with a third to remain comfortably at the top of the standings. With two races being sailed in light to moderate winds, the Great Sound saw big, puffy, dark grey clouds sliding across the race area and producing massive shifts for each leg. The standings were jumbled for the balance of the top teams. The Yabsta Boyce/Neff crew survived the day with a 3-7, while behind them the Back in Black crew of Ed Faries (BER) and Mark Riley (USA) posted a 2-1 for the day and jumped into third overall. Mayhem dropped back to fourth place with a 4-6 record, and Passion’s team comprised of Jim Macdonald (BER) and Andrew Kennedy (USA) from Annapolis tightened the gap with the top three with a 5-2. On the final day, the J/105 teams sailed three more races. The day started with PRO Stuart sounding the horn and the AP went up the Club’s flag pole alerting the classes to stay ashore. The Race Management Team went afloat to hunt for wind. At 10:32:55, the AP came down and the fleet was on for racing. On the final day, the Yabsta team of Boyce/Neff won the day based on their very consistent 3-1-3, enabling them to secure a second overall as well as second in both divisions. Boyce was second in the Bermuda skipper category and Neff second in the International group. The Mayhem crew of Corless/Barnett posted a 1-6-1 to take second for the day and secure third overall, with Corless taking third in the Bermuda group and Barnett fourth in the International. Third on the day was Chequemate’s Bromby/Murphy team with a 2-5-2 record to hang on for the overall win and winning each category. Of note was that Mark Riley on Back in Black was third in the International skippers’ group. Thank you to the great sponsors of this event: Bacardi Limited, EFG, Bermuda Tourism Authority and J/105 sponsors: XL Catlin & Butterfield Group. Bacardi Bermuda Keelboat Race Week sailing information