A light-air, upwind start to the Pineapple Cup all but guaranteed that Rambler 100’s (ex Speedboat) first outing under new owner George David would continue previous owner Alex Jackson’s run of no-win, no-record outings with the boat. Please keep trying, George; we really do want to see this monster spread her legs!
So far, the best media updates on the course are coming from Hugh “Junior” Piggin, who’s doing a bit of a dry run for the upcoming Atlantic Cup aboard the Class 40 Cutlass. Check out their Twitter feed here and their Facebook page here, and stay tuned for a detailed report from Hugh later in the week.
In the meantime, the sort-of-working tracker is here (with Rambler not far from the Windward Passage), you can see the PHRF start and IRC starts on video here,and here’s a short start report from SORC blogger (and budding videographer) Chris Woolsey:
We had two great all-clear starts, both of which were very punchy. The PHRF class was actually a bit closer to the line than the IRC class, with a minute to go, but both were right on the line at the gun. Sjambok wanted the boat and got it, front row start with speed. Very nicely done, followed by a fight with Bella… Pita, second row at the boat. Rambler 100, Ken Read at the helm, did a very nice job of locking the fleet into the upper 2/3 of the line, and then put the bow down and rumble rumble rumbled to a leeward end start with speed and a LOT of room to themselves.
The PHRF class saw Musica, the Aerodyne 38, right at the boat, front row, with almost full speed, with Different Drummer to leeward. The whole class bunched into the top half of the line in a very tight pack. Good action, four or five rows deep.
You can also check out updates from the boys on Genuine Risk at the King’s Point Waterfront blog as the downwind fun gets ready to turn on. Can you believe this awesome race almost died just four years ago? Top photo thanks to Anarchist Joe.
