2013 Toms River Tuneup Regatta

Fifteen teams attended the Toms River Yacht Club Tune Up Regatta on June 1, 2013 to kick off the start of E scow racing on Barnegat Bay.  The fleet sailed the Wanamaker course, and it did not disappoint, with a strong 12-15 knot south easterly breeze for race one and two.  Given the short course distance available in a south easterly breeze, races were limited to approximately 25 minutes. The theme of the first two races was to lead to the left and hope you didn’t get pinned past the port layline. With all fifteen boats arriving at the first windward mark within boatlengths of each other, strong starts and good boathandling helped Russell Lucas and Bobby Koar take races one and two.

The breeze piped up to 15-20 knots for races three and four, strong enough to make a few teams happy the water has warmed significantly in the last two weeks.  The breeze was oscillating through a greater range with the increased velocity, so the fleet was a bit more staggered than the drag racing in races one and two. Downwind rides were wet, fast and short. Russell Lucas took race three and Chad Hillyer took race four.

Jeff Bonanni, with crew Mike O’Brien, Matt Goetting and Maggie Condon squeaked out a one point win over Russell Lucas and his Shimmer team. Special thank you to all the volunteers at Toms River Yacht Club and to Chip Hillyer and his crew for the excellent race committee work.