Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

J/Teams prevail in Stratford Shoal Gearbuster Race

by J/Boats 21 Oct 17:33 BST October 13, 2024
69th Annual Indian Harbor Stratford Shoal Race - the Gearbuster © Indian Harbor Yacht Club

Last Columbus Day weekend was the infamous "Gearbuster Race" run annually every fall by Indian Harbor YC. It's a long day race around various government buoys in western Long Island Sound.

It's a popular event as the "grand finale" of fall sailing on the Sound. It is quite popular with J/sailors. There were 25 J/Teams sailing (50% of the 51-boat fleet!). Lots of silverware was garnered by the various J/Teams! Here is how it all went down by division.

PHRF Doublehanded Division
In this fleet of half-dozen boats, the J/teamms nearly swept the podium. Winning was Christian Uecker's J/120 HOUND DOG, with Thomas Sa's J/33 GUN DOG in second place, and the two other J/120s rounding out the top five- Sara & Josh Reisberg's ABILYN in fourth and Richard Wests's CHARLOTTE in fifth position.

PHRF A Division. (<9)
Winning this half-dozen boat division was the screaming-fast J/125 GOOD NEWS sailed by Macrae Sykes.

PHRF B Division (10-55)- J/Teams sweep!
This ten-boat fleet was packed with hot J/crews and it was not a surprising outcome to see the top five spots occupied by those talented teams.

Winning was Bill & Jackie Baxter's J/111 FIREBALL by nearly 24 minutes corrected time! As a result, they also took PHRF Overall honors, too. Second was Steve Losik's J/121 HABIRU, third went to Eric & Maggie Deichmann's J/112E MISCHIEF, fourth was John Sartorius's J/120 ALIBI, fifth was Bill Klein's J/120 SPECK, and sixth went to Brian Nelson's J/112E HONEYBADGER.

PHRF C Division (56-91)
Four J/crews sailed this nine-boat fleet. Taking class honors was Nicolas Delcourt's J/88 OH JEE, with Steve Landy & Derek Soohoo's J/100 SANGUINE taking the silver medal.

Eaton's Neck Short Course Race

PHRF Spinnakers Division- J/Teams sweep!
Sailing in this fleet of eleven boats were several J/crews that swept the podium! Winning was Ken & Drew Hall's J/88 NEVERMORE, followed by Randy Bourne's J/105 STRANGE BREW in second, and JC Zucconi & Jim Townsend's J/92 EASY RED.

PHRF Non-spin Division
This eleven-boat fleet saw Jim Reichel's J/105 SCAPEGOAT take the silver medal.

More information here

Related Articles

66th Stratford Shoal Race at Indian Harbor YC
Fifty-two boats signed up for what promised to be epic sailing conditions Living up to its name, this year's Indian Harbor Yacht Club Stratford Shoal Gear-Buster Race saw winds gusting to 30 kts and, of course, lots of gear getting busted up in the steep, breaking seas on western Long Island Sound! Posted on 14 Oct 2021
Captain Islands Challenge on Long Island Sound
Offering the opportunity to sail with a purpose Over the years, racing on Long Island Sound has been very popular in western Connecticut. The competition is typically casual, particularly mid-week evening racing. Posted on 23 May 2020
The 64th Gearbuster: A test of perseverance
One of the premier fall sailing events on Long Island Sound The Gearbuster, first sailed in October of 1956, has become one of the premier fall sailing events on Long Island Sound, and this year featured 57 entries from over 20 clubs. Posted on 14 Oct 2019
Classic Yacht Regatta at Indian Harbor
Formidable racing machines, ideally suited to their environment I've served on race committee for the IHYC Classic Yacht Regatta on and off since 2012, but this is the first time I've noticed a hipster millennial among the competitors. Posted on 19 Sep 2019
8th Annual Geartester at Indian Harbor preview
Early season version of the notorious October 'Gearbuster' Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT will host the 8th Annual Geartester. The Geartester is an early season version of Indian Harbor's notorious October Gearbuster currently in its 64th year. Posted on 7 Apr 2019