Greetings!
Fall came in with a bang and there are only a few starting guns left. Next week will be the last Tuesday will be the last Match Racing Drills and Wednesday will be the last fleet race. Sign up by clicking on the links. Hopefully the winds will be warm and wonderful as the sun sets on our weeknight race course.
After next week the racing will all be on the weekends. We have 5 spots left for American Fall Series where we'll have both Farr 40s, the 11.5 and Ker 50 out. For Manhassett Bay we will field the Melges 24s again. That will be done on a selection by resume basis but please do sign up if you are interested.
The Classics look to have great sailing Saturday and Sunday the final race and prizegiving on Saturday September 29th. This is the prettiest time of the year for a double lap around beautiful Oyster Bay.
One special note, this weekend we are participating in the International Coastal Cleanup. Please consider showing up early for Classic Sailing, or just coming down for the morning. We'll be meeting at OBMC at 8:30 and using our RIBS to go in close to shore and pick up floating debris from the Waterfront Center to the Cove. My Mom and her Husband are driving in from Michigan and I'm making them do it :-).
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Tiller Overcomes All Conditions to Win 5th in a Row
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 The finale of the Grand Slam Series, the Oakcliff International threw virtually every condition possible at the sailors and challenged the best of the best. In the end, Will Tiller's Full Metal Jacket Racing won the Oakcliff International, $2000 in prize money and a set of Gill Race Collection Jackets. USVI Skipper Taylor Canfield who finished fourth in the International won the Grand Slam Series as well as a coveted invitation to next year's Congressional Cup to be held next April in Long Beach California. The Congressional Cup has been run consistently for 48 years. It is a prestigious and tradition filled event where the winner goes home with a coveted Crimson Blazer.  Regatta Chair David Murray with his wife Jo Ann traveled all the way from Long Beach to Oyster Bay New York to present the invitation. The regatta began on Thursday when the mark boat operators got the most physical exercise placing and pulling marks repeatedly struggling to get a race off. The wind filled in just enough for the Classics to sail an abbreviated course and finish their series summer series. Both sets of sailors met for dinner; pizza made in a wood fired oven built into the back of an old fire truck.  Friday the sea breeze filled in mid-day and to make up for lost time, the racers were kept out until after sunset and there were multiple discussions about match racing in the dark. Saturday was hot, wild and windy. An approaching front which spawned tornadoes at nearby Breezy Point NY had the Race Committee flying the no spinnaker flag early in the day and moving behind Cove Neck to try and stay out of the 30 knot winds.
Unfortunately we did have one collision between two masts and one came down. No one was hurt and our spare mast is on its way. Sunday was full circle with light northerlies fighting the heating. The race organizers chased and maximized the zephyrs of wind but even then had to abandoned one match and move into the finals. The wind finally filled in enough for some decent racing with the last race being started JUST before the 4pm time limit.
The huge disparity in conditions punished some but Will Tiller and team danced through the light air, hung on in the heavy and dominated, loosing only one race in the whole regatta. This win brings their Grade 2 winning streak to 5. Tiller hopes to continue his record back onto the World Tour with the next stop in Marseille France. The Polish team of Krzysztof Rosinski was second and Nicolai Sehested of Denmark third.   Full Results HereMore Detail and Play by Play HerePhotos by Molly Riley HerePhotos by Cheryll Kerr Here |
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A HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered and housed sailors and manned the BBQ and shucked clams and umpired and moved marks and took photos and tweeted and facebooked and generally helped make the Oakcliff International a great success and truly an Oakcliff experience.
Sincerely,
Dawn Riley
Oakcliff Sailing Center |
