THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200149
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
What a celebration.
It was like New Year's Eve, the Fourth of July and everyone's birthday all rolled into one. And a couple of crew members combined for more than 100 birthdays between them.
Larry Bryant and his crew knew they were the first boat to finish in the Cock Island Race's non-spinnaker I class, but corrected time can change a lot of results.
They figured ``Whisper,'' Bryant's 40-foot Hunter class sailboat, had beaten Sonny Smith's ``Restless'' - last year's winner - but they were afraid that ``Woodwind'' - the 1991 victor - had sneaked in ahead of them.
Finally, more than five hours after the race was over, officials started announcing the results. They read through four PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) classes, starting with fifth place and working up to first.
Sure enough, ``Restless'' took third. Bryant and his crew were on edge and a hush fell over the throng at Portside's water stage.
``In second place, `Woodwind,' '' Jim Hawks, co-chairman announced.
A mighty cheer went up, and there was an explosion of screams and yells from Bryant's eight-person crew. Then there were hugs and high-fives all around. They were still yelling and screaming when officials announced results of the other five classes.
``You all have got to loosen up,'' Bryant told his crew with a wide grin. ``You're too tight.''
Proudly holding the first place trophy, the Portsmouth skipper admitted he wasn't sure he had won even after ``Woodwind'' had been named second.
``I thought I had been protested,'' he said.
There were a couple of protests, a couple of collisions and even a few boats that ran aground - mostly around Lively Point - but Bryant grabbed his second winning trophy in three years. Last year, he placed second to Virginia Beach's Smith.
Fresh from capturing first prize in a regatta for all Hunter class sailboats at Solomon's Island, Bryant had his crew decked out in dark aqua shirts. Several other sailors suggested that if there had been an award for the best looking and best dressed crew, ``Whisper'' would have won that trophy, too.
However, GQ stood for General Quarters when it was time for some serious sailing.
Bryant had a good start and started catching some of the PHRF vessels that had earlier starts. ``Whisper'' rounded Buoy 12 - the halfway mark - first in its class and headed home.
The wind and the weather started playing tricks, though. Shifting as much as 180 degrees, the wind ranged from almost calm to strong enough for ``Whisper'' to heel over and send crew members scrambling to the high side.
Although the down-river leg had been mostly a broad reach with a light breeze coming from behind the boat, Bryant found himself battling against a stronger wind about half-way back. Fortunately, an incoming tide helped push him across the finish line in a little more than three hours.
Bryant had played the wind shifts, current and all the traffic almost to perfection. In fact, he couldn't think of anything he could have done differently, and he gave much credit to his crew.
Helping Bryant celebrate were Allen and Wendy Crumpler, Don Ivey, Muriel Burgess, Patricia King, Jeanne Steffnelli and Henry Pryor.
A rain squall came up, but ``Whisper'' was properly tied up in its Tidewater Marina boat slip. Then the wind died and the tide turned and rest of the fleet had trouble finishing before the 4 p.m. deadline.
Some didn't. They gave up, turned on their engines and bowed out as gracefully as possible.
Others hung on against the wind and the tide as long as possible. Portsmouth's Russ Simpson was one of those who fought the good fight, but his ``Rosa Fera'' captured the notorious John Hanna Rubber Chicken Award.
Named in honor of John Hanna of Seaford, the trophy is given to the vessel that comes closest to the finish line but fails to cross it before the deadline. This dubious honor was Hanna's at the first Cock Island Race in 1988, and the title shifted for the next three years. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
``Whisper,'' owned by Larry Bryant of Portsmouth, won in its class.
by CNB