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Darien sailor Geoff Beringer guided Gadzooks to victory in the Cornfield Point competition of the 77th annual Vineyard Race over the weekend. The race was conducted by Stamford Yacht Club.
The Cornfield Point competition is a 116-mile journey that is one of three races for the Vineyard. The Vineyard Race is a 238-mile trip to Buzzards Bay and back. There is also a 143-mile Seaflower course. Ninety-three boats entered in the race, and 83 left Stamford Harbor on Friday afternoon.
Beringer's boat won the Cornfield Point race based on corrected time, followed by Inessa II out of Highland Falls, N.Y., and Pegasus, guided by Austin Royle of Wilton.
The Vineyard winners, based on IRC corrected time, were Bombardino, out New York; Gracie, with Darien's Stephan Frank at the helm, and Oakcliff, out of New York. The PHRF rating winners included Eagle, led by Steven Levy of Greenwich; Whitehawk, owned by former Stamford Yacht Club commodore Joe Dockery; and Kyrie, out of Centerport, N.Y. Two handicaps are used on the 238-mile race.
Blue Yankee, sailed by Stamford's Bob Towse and his son, Farley, was the first to finish the race. Because of the handicaps, Blue Yankee did not win on corrected time. Towse is the former commodore of the Stamford Yacht Club and the current commodore of the New York Yacht Club.
The Seaflower leaders included Thin Man, out of Brooklyn; Poppy, out of Staten Island, and Synergy, from Maplewood, N.J.
Two season trophies were also distributed. Green Dragon, owned by Andrew Weiss of Mamaroneck, won the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy. The trophy goes to the IRC boat that does the best over the summer in a series of distance races, including the Vineyard. Darien's Mike McGuire, owner of Gringo, won the New England Lighthouse Trophy. The trophy is won by the PHRF boat that does the best over the summer in a series of distance races, including the Vineyard.
Unlike the past two years, conditions were ideal for racing. Winds were 12 to 15 knots from the south and southwest most of the race, making for fast times. The first boats arrived late Saturday afternoon, and some arrived Sunday morning.
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