by Talbot Wilson
Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) BERMUDA, June 19, 2019: Roy and Gail Greenwald’s Valiant 42 Cordelia has finished first in fleet on corrected time in the 2019 Marion Bermuda Race. She will win the Goslings Founders Trophy. The Greenwalds sail out of Mairon MA. Cordelia is also the Class D winner.
Among other prizes, Cordelia will win the coveted Beverly Yacht Club ‘Polaris Trophy’ as the best celestially navigated yacht. Gail Greenwald will win the ‘Navigators Trophy’.
Roy Greenwald - husband and skipper - said (with a smile), “I make the boat go fast and she tells me where to go.”
On Tuesday, Mark Riley’s Kiwi Spirit, skippered by 18-year-old Jo Riley earned line honors as the leader from start to finish in the 2019 Marion Bermuda Race. The Farr 63 finished off St. David’s Lighthouse at 2:27:59 Tuesday.
Kiwi Spirit was a family effort - Father, son and daughter plus three cousins and a brother-in-law make up the family part of the crew. Joining them was Chuck Fontaine a lifelong friend who has run the Mass Maritime Sailing Program. Fontaine is, after sailing many miles with the Riley group, adopted member of the Riley family.
Mary Pierce, Marion Bermuda’s Principal Race Officer (PRO) and person in charge of Operations and Scoring said Wednesday morning, “Everything’s happy. All the boats are finished. We’re still doing compliance and we’ve got the [Spirit of Bermuda] redress hearing this afternoon. We have one or two compliance requests... the numbers are the numbers."
Cordelia and all of the class winners steered by the sun, moon and stars purely by celestial navigation. James Geil, Master of Tabor Boy for 32 years said, "Our celestial navigation was spot on for the last two days. We didn't turn on our electronic GPS navigation until after we finished."
This race was Tabor Boy's first Marion Bermuda adventure. Geil said, "We'll be back in 2021 and we'll help bring more Classic Division entries.'
And the winners are...
Founder’s Division
Class A -
Abigail - Robert Buck, Aquidneck 52, Marion MA - Celestial
Kinship - Francis Selldorf, Baltic 52, Padanaram MA
Sunflower - Mark Lenci, Beneteasu Oceanis 523, Harpswell ME
Class B -
Gallant, Christian Hoffman, Navy 44, USNA Annapolis MD, Celestial
Momentum, Paul Kanev, Hinckley Sou’wester 51, Newport RI
Defiance, George Hamilton/Kevin Navarro, Navy 44 MKII, USNA Annapolis MD, Celestial
Class C -
Pinnacle - Peter Torosian, Tartan 4100, Rye NH, Celestial
Escapade II - Tom Bowler, Morris 46, Ocean, Marion MA
Scappare - David LeBlanc, Catalina 42 MKII, Stillhouse Cove RI
Class D -
Cordelia - Roy Greenwald, Valiant 42, Marion MA, Celestial
Frolic - Ray Cullum, Dixon 44, Marion MA, Celestial
Silhouette - David Caso, Cherubini 44, Portsmouth RI
Classic Division
Overall Class and division
Tabor Boy - James Geil, Schooner 92, Tabor Academy Marion MA, Celestial
DNS Spirit of Bermuda - Jordan Smith, Tall Ship 118, Dockyard, Bermuda