THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410180131
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
The fifth annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, completed Saturday at Town Point Park, came off in fine fashion.
There was a smile on every face.
``I'm on cloud nine,'' said Lane Briggs, the race's founder. ``This has been the best race we've ever run.''
``I'll move heaven and earth to get back here next year,'' echoed Bobby Hall, skipper of the schooner Harvey Gamage from Bath, Maine.
Run in record time and boasting the largest field to date, the race's success was manifest at the post-event oyster roast in Friendship Park on Saturday. Several hundred guests toasted one another to what a great time they'd had.
``I can''t tell you how pleased I am with everything,'' said Bill Ripley, race chairman. ``It's the largest turnout we've ever had.''
The race began Thursday near Annapolis, Md. Twenty-nine schooners from all over the United States sailed off in a moderate breeze. By the afternoon, however, the boats were riding the front edge of an approaching northeaster, 20 to 30 knot winds filling their sails. Several vessels crossed the finish line off Willoughby on Friday morning, a full day earlier than expected.
``Some schooners were doing upwards of 10 knots,'' Ripley noted. ``In past years, we've had boats crawl in on Saturday morning.''
The ``schooner wind,'' as Briggs called it, and the largest field ever, weren't the only reasons the race was such a success. A record $2,000 in entry fees was raised for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and, according to the sailors, the four-day event went off like clockwork.
``I want you to quote me on this one,'' said Curtis Ciszek, skipper of the schooner Unicorn from Seattle. ``This is the most well-organized race I've ever been in.''
The competition was divided into three classes, determined by the size, weight and speed of each vessel. The overall winner was the Leopard, a 77-foot boat captained by Reuel Parker of Key West, Fla.
The Nomad, from West River, Md., won the Class B division.
``At one point we were doing about 12 knots,'' skipper Vernon Hardesty said with a smile. ``We were going like hell.''
The top three finishers in each class received marble plaques. The only local boat to place was the Flutterby of Norfolk, piloted by Tom and Nancy Dohan. It took second place in Class B.
Jim Hutchieson, captain of the Johanna Lucretia from Plymouth, England, placed third in the AA class.
``We heard about the race earlier this summer when we were in Newport, R.I. The conditions were ideal, a really fantastic affair,'' he said.
The event climaxed in a Parade of Sail into downtown Norfolk just after noon Saturday. The incoming fleet was an appropriate backdrop for the city's first Chesapeake Bay Maritime Festival and Classic Boat Show at Town Point Park. Boats were docked from the Omni to Nauticus. Several of the larger craft were open to the public.
The race has an interesting origin. Briggs, owner of the Rebel Marine at Willoughby and captain of the Norfolk Rebel, a tug with sails, had gone to see the launch of the New Pride in Baltimore in 1989. At the ceremony, he challenged the boat's captain to a race down the Bay. Though Briggs lost, he decided to organize a formal event in 1990, donating any proceeds to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Seven boats entered the first year. Nurtured by the support of the Town Point Yacht Club, the Fells Point Yacht Club in Baltimore, and other sponsors, the race has grown steadily. It is now, arguably, the largest schooner race in the U.S.
``I bet we have 50 boats next year,'' race chairman Ripley said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BILL TIERNAN
Between the flags, the Brilliant, of Mystic, Conn., pulls into port
at Town Point Park on Saturday in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner
Race.
by CNB