Stamford YC Viper Open Sept. 19-20

[Peter Beardsley]

For people looking for more practice time on Western Long Island Sound prior to the NAs, consider heading to Stamford YC Sept. 19-20 for their annual Viper Open. SYC, host of the 2009 NAs, is the 5th out of 6 qualifiers for the WLIS Circuit.  7 Vipers signed up already, likely to be 12-15 teams on the line.  Register today at http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1494

If you want to come to Stamford a week early and leave your boat, Sept. 13 there will be a  Viper one design division at the Stamford YC Denmark Friendship Race -- 50th anniversary of the race.  For those not familiar with this race, it's the largest day race of the year on WLIS -- navigator's challenge around government marks, followed by a giant party on SYC's lawn with lots of Danish beer, and the chance to occasionally rub elbows with Danish royalty (literally - the prince has done the race several times previously, and the queen came almost 40 years ago).  History at http://www.stamfordyc.com/node/773   If you bring your Viper to SYC a few days early and let it be used for midweek festivities by Danish sailors, free entry fee for the race on Sunday.  http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1478

Scores to date for the WLIS Championship Circuit are attached. 

[Peter Beardsley]

Now up to 12 Vipers signed up for this one.  You can leave your Vipers at SYC until HPDO and/or Viper NAs if that helps at all.  Tends to be a lot of racing with short legs -- Stamford likes having 0.5 nm beats for less hiking and more action and 8-10 races over 2 days. 

[Peter Beardsley]

Now up to 14 Vipers.

[Peter Beardsley]

Great racing at Stamford YC this weekend for the annual Viper Open - 12 Vipers in attendance and 9 races over 2 days - very civilized first start time of 1 pm each day, with a building SWer on Saturday that topped out around 12 knots and allowed for 5 races, and a shifty, puffy northerly on Sunday around 10-12 knots with gusts into the high teens for 4 more races.  Zeke Horowitz put together a team of former college All Americans Brendan Healy and Scott Furnary to win 6 of the 9 races and win the regatta overall by 4 points over Ghost Panda, while Justin Scott mixing and matching teammates on Saturday and Sunday with 2012 US Laser Olympian Rob Crane, Navy All American Will Graves, and David Dougherty, won a tiebreaker over Joe Healey that came down to the final 10 feet of the last race.  Huge thanks to Event Chair Richard West and everyone at SYC.  Full results posted at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=1494 and updated WLIS Championship Circuit scores are attached.  Final WLIS Circuit event is HPDO Oct. 11-12.  Blackout Proposal will need to win the HPDO to force a tiebreaker with Jenny, and then I will need to figure out how exactly we break ties since that's not published anywhere...