THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407170229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
For Sanford Richardson and his boat Fatal Attraction, there would be no close finish.
Richardson and his crew finished first by 11 minutes over second place finisher Sea Star in the PHRF A (Performance Handicap Rating Formula) class and went on to capture the Euclid Hanbury Cup as the overall best performance by a skipper and crew at the stormy seventh annual Cock Island Yacht Race on the Elizabeth River Saturday.
Richardson, who is from Portsmouth, but now lives in Virginia Beach thought there were two factors in winning his class.
``Our key to success was our light boat and good tactical work by the crew,'' said Richardson. ``Winning this award is an honor for me because I am from Portsmouth.''
Last year's Hanbury Cup winner, Sonny Smith, ran into some trouble. He didn't run in the PHRF A class, but placed third in PHRF NS-1.
``We ride a big heavy boat and today wasn't a good day for it,'' said Smith. ``Today was the day for light boats because they accelerate better with the wind.''
The Cock Island Race, which this year featured 315 boats, is a very special and different race then some of the other sailboat races.
According to co-chairman John C. Ellis, Jr. this race has several unique facets.
``This race is a sailboat race for the sailboat community alone,'' said Ellis. ``There are plenty of other sailboat races that are a part of another event, such as Harborfest.''
Unlike most of the other sailboat races in the country the Cock Island race likes to recognize the captain and his crew.
``All crew and captains are invited to party after the race is over, said Ellis. ``At other races it is usually just the captain and his wife who are invited to party after the race. We like to recognize the entire sailing community.''
Each year there is the award given for the boat that comes closest to finishing the race, but doesn't before the 4 p.m. deadline.
This year's winner of the John Hanna rubber chicken award for the closest but not good enough finish was the boat Rosa Fera and captain Russ Simpson.
Simpson's boat crossed the finish line two minutes after the deadline. by CNB