Larchmont YC Keelboat Sailors Dominate American YC Spring Series

April 26-27, May 3-4, 2008
Rye, NY

SirenSong blasts downwind on the first weekend of the American YC Spring Series Photo credit: Daniela Coen, www.photoboat.com -- go to photoboat.com for more regatta pictures

The American YC Spring Series kicked off the keelboat racing season in Western Long Island Sound with a bang. Both Saturdays featured strong easterlies packing big wind and waves, while the two Sundays saw lighter, shiftier winds. SirenSong, the J/133 owned and skippered by Larchmont YC's Thomas Carroll, with tactics by Butch Ulmer, mastered the difficult conditions with five firsts and a second, to win IRC 2. SirenSong was also awarded the Edward Richards Trophy for the best overall performance in the IRC fleet.  

Commodore Jan Smeets's J/133 Bacchanal, with Larchmont YC crew Mike Smeets, Bud Heerde, William Gleysteen, Kurt Weisenfluh, John Mawe, Gary Owen and Mike Puleo, placed second overall in IRC 2.
Other Larchmont YC boats competing included Roger Widmann's Swan 42 Quintessence, H.L. DeVore's J/44 Honahlee, and Rear Commodore Carl Olsson and Senet Bischoff in the J/105 class with Morning Glory and Indefatigable, respectively.
Larchmont YC sailors could be found aboard other top boats in the regatta, with John and Molly Baxter, Chad Corning, Andy Besheer and Sailing Director Lincoln White leading John Brim's R/P 55 Rima2 to first place in IRC 1 and Jamie Anderson and Ward Young driving Mort Weintraub's Express 37 Troubadour to first overall in IRC 3.