‘Decision’ First Onion Patch Boat In Newport Race
[Written by Talbot Wilson] Although the Carkeek 40 ‘Decision’ owned by Steve Murray (New Orleans LA) was the top Onion Patch boat in the Newport Bermuda Race, the United States Naval Academy (USNA) TP52 ‘Invictus’ maintains first place for individual entries with a second in the 23-boat fleet. ‘Invictus’ had a first in the NYYC Annual Regatta June 9-10 in Newport.
The Onion Patch combines boats from all IRC classes in the Newport Bermuda Race. Results under IRC in the ocean race favored the more modern boats. ‘Decision’ just launched in 2012 and ‘Invictus’ a modern TP52 were followed by Lawrence Dicky (Greenwich CT) in his new Ker 43 ‘Ptarmigan’, Jim Madden (Newport Beach CA) in a Swan 601 ‘Stark Raving Mad’ and Hamnett Hill (Montreal CAN) in a new Marten 49 named ‘Defiance’. The standings within the Onion Patch fleet in the Newport Bermuda Race were scored with a 1.25 multiplier.
Of the boats doing the whole series— racing in Newport, doing the Newport Bermuda Race and sailing the Royal Bermuda YC Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group— the TP52 ‘Invictus’ from the US Naval Academy leads ‘Ptarmagan’ by just 3.25 points going into Friday’s Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group at the RBYC.
Among the three-boat teams racing for the Onion Patch Trophy the NYYC Blue team of ‘Stark Raving Mad’, ‘Temptation-Oakcliff’ and ‘Dorade’ leads coming out of the Bermuda Race with 47.25 points. NYYC Red has 69.5 points led by Andrew Weiss’s ‘Christopher Dragon’. ‘Carina’ skippered by Rives Potts, and Jim Bishop’s ‘Gold Digger’. The USNA team in third with 73.25 points includes ‘Invictus’, ‘Defiance’ (NA23) and ‘Swift’.
The Onion Patch Series concludes Friday, June 22 with the RBYC Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group. The first race, a windward-leeward course, starts at 10:00 ADT in Bermuda’s Great Sound. It will be followed by a second race that is a “Tour of the Islands” in the Great Sound the Granaway Deep, Port Royal Bay and Hamilton Harbour. The 23 Onion Patch Series entries will compete along with 11 boats just entered in the Anniversary Regatta.
For complete Onion Patch Series results see onionpatchseries.com.
