(Padanaram, Massachusetts)- The BBR (as the Buzzards Bay Regatta is
commonly referred to) has long been one of the highlights of the summer
sailing season on Buzzards Bay, and certainly renown as one of the best
sailing areas in New England. Generally sailed in the first weekend of
August, the BBR is blessed with favorable sea-breezes that develop late
morning and can often build from the WSW well into the 15-20 kts range
or higher along with enormous current-induced chop. While not San
Francisco Bay or Cascade Locks in Oregon, it's certainly one of the
better "big breeze" venues any sailor can find along the Eastern
seaboard. The BBR is one of the largest multi-class regattas in America, but like many others, has been suffering from attendance over time, particularly in recent years. The dinghy classes (Lasers & 420s) continue to do OK, but the offshore keelboat classes have diminished quite significantly. Nevertheless, the army of volunteers and the enthusiasm of the host clubs ensure the sailors are having a good time ashore (lobster bakes, etc) as well as have good race management on the water.
This year's event was hosted by the New Bedford Yacht Club from August 2nd to 4th! Thirty-seven keelboats (one-design & offshore) participated over the three day weekend. Remarkably, nineteen of those boats were J/Teams from around New England-- J's were by far the dominant brand at the regatta with 51% of the participants.
PHRF
1 division had the largest fleet of keelboats at the regatta with
fourteen boats, a welcome change from previous years. Taking second and
third in class were the two talented sailing teams on the J/111's-
WICKED 2.0 (skippered by Doug Curtiss) and ODYSSEY (sailed by Fred Van
Liew and Dave Brodsky), respectively. Fourth was the J/122 AUGUST WEST
sailed by Jamey Shachoy. The third J/111, BRAVO skippered by Sedgwick
Ward, took seventh in class. The "other" WICKED, the J/124 sailed by
Scott Bancroft took 8th and Jim Masiero's J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS got the
short-end of the stick on a three-way tie for 9th to settle for 11th.
It was a good showing for the J/Teams, taking 50% of the top ten
overall. For more Buzzards Bay Regatta sailing information
