The third annual Port Washington YC Newport Cup Regatta was held on August 23 and over 40 members of the club competed on Narragansett Bay on four 12-meter boats. Under clear, sunny skies, with warm weather and moderately high winds, Weatherly, American Eagle, Heritage, and Nefertitti left Newport Harbor with mains reefed (except for Nefertitti), bound for Jamestown, and then back into the bay. With winds this good, RC was able to offer the contestants two races. Past Commodores George Boulukos and Warren Cronacher, Commodore Ed Wassmer and Vice Commodore Michael Fried selected their crews and boats by drawing names out of a hat. The resulting team line-up: On board Weatherly with Commodore Boulukos: Kathy Boulukos, Stephanie and Joe Angelone, Pat and Joe Carpenter, Julie and Norm Geller, and Bob and Michael Hodson. On board American Eagle, captained by Commodore Cronacher, were co-captain, Vicky Cronacher, Jody and Gary Eglinton, Jeff Rueb, Maria and Ton Steele, and Lynn, John and Kelly Sutherland. Commodore Wassmer was the skipper of Heritage, and was joined by his daughter Paige and Susan and Dave DeBaun, Bill Downey, Buzz Haley, Tim and Alison Mummers, Doug Prisco, and Daren and Scott Schneider. Crew on Nefertitti, led by Vice-Commodore Michael Fried and his wife Pat, were Louis IV and Louis V. Nees and Louis Potters, plus Jessica Nees, Graham and Miles Potters, and Leslie and David Wollin. The results of Race One: 1. Heritage, 2. Nefertitti, 3. American Eagle and 4. Weatherly. Race Two results: 1. American Eagle, 2. Weatherly, 3. Nefertitti, and 4. Heritage. Overall results for the day: 1. American Eagle, 2. tie between Heritage and Nefertitti, and 4. Weatherly. After sailing, the teams enjoyed a post-race dinner, and for those still in Newport on Sunday, there were cocktails at Harbor Court (NYYC) to watch the sunset from the terrace overlooking Newport Harbor. Many thanks to Leslie and David Wollin for the successful 12-meter regatta and dinner, and to Theresa and Lou Nees for organizing the cocktail party at Harbor Court.

Knickerbocker YC was Race Committee for the weekend of September 20-21. There was a good fleet of boats which were out in Manhasset Bay enjoying beautiful sunny weather, without a cloud in the sky. Not much wind, though, thanks to the high-pressure system that brought a light northerly breeze that quickly died. Somehow, RC managed to complete three races on Saturday and two on Sunday. Results for Saturday, September 20: Sonars (10 boats), Race 1: 1. #682, Puff, Ralf Steitz, 2. #652, Sounder, Rick Jordan/Jeff Shane, and 3. #396, Delight, Bob Kirtland. Race 2 (2 boats DNS - Did Not Start): 1. #451, Ping, Sue Miller/John Browning, 2. #573, Selhum, Bahar Gidwani, and 3. #421, Weekend Warrior, Dan Simon/Bill Simon. Race 3 (4 boats DNS): 1. #487, Viento, Jonathan Siener, 2. Weekend Warrior, and 3. Delight. Sunday's Sonar results: Race 1: 1. Puff, 2. #375, Housemartin, Greg and Beth Danilek, and 3. Weekend Warrior. Sonar Race 2 on Sunday: 1. Delight, 2. Housemartin, and 3. Puff. Four MBOs were out on Saturday and five on Sunday. Their results: Congratulations to Chip Allen and Einar Haukeland for their first place finishes on both days of the weekend. Race 1 on Saturday: 1. #21, Blue Chip, Chip Allen/Einar Haukeland, 2. #11, Old Gray Foxes, Bob Adams/Curt Champlin, and 3. #3, Olin Express, Jack Antinori/Bob Prokop. Race 2: 1. Blue Chip, 2. Old Gray Foxes, and 3. #25, Blackjack, Adrian Alley/George Graf. Results for Race 3: 1. Blue Chip, 2. Blackjack, and 3. Old Gray Foxes. On Sunday, there was only one MBO race: 1. Blue Chip, 2. Olin Express, and 3. Blackjack. The Knickerbocker One Designs (KOD) were out on Sunday only and only had one race. Their results: 1. #8, Second Chance, Perry Lengton, 2. #15, Dybbuk, Roy Israel, and 3. #7, Knick Knack, Arthur Kass.

The same high pressure system that prevented a southerly from filling in on Manhasset Bay over the weekend, caused havoc for the 2003 Etchells Worlds over near Greenwich, CT. Race Committee, comprised of members of Indian Harbor YC and Riverside YC, co-hosts of the event, had their work cut out for them as they set and re-set the race course many times, and finally at 10 minutes before all racing had to be cancelled, got one race off at about 1:40 p.m. It was somewhat the luck of the draw as the 95 boats separated to the right or left side of the racecourse, as the wind veered west by 65 degrees, causing great delight for those on the right side of the course, and consternation to those sailing on the left. With racing scheduled to continue throughout the week, there is a lot of time to catch up to the lucky teams who were high on the leader board by end of day on Sunday. There were five USA teams in the top 10 finishers including Ken Read (2nd) and Dennis Conner (8th). Rounding out the rest of the top ten: one boat from Great Britain, two from Canada, and two from New Zealand. Results next week.

Readers who are looking for something to do this weekend, may be interested in the first annual NY/NJ All-Sail Boat Show, September 25-28 at Liberty Landing Marina on New York Harbor. Sail Expo will feature many of the larger sailboat manufacturers, sail makers, vacation companies, marine services, gear companies, as well as other marine-related organizations. Exhibitors will include Harken, Lewmar, J-Boats, Hunter, Catalina, and yacht charter companies. There will be seminars held by some of the biggest names in sailing - Gary Jobson will offer insight into the world of professional sailing, Russell Coutts, three-time winner of the America's Cup, will discuss what it takes to be a champion, and Nigel Calder will talk about several aspects of cruising. Bob Bitchin will host a "Cruisers' Party" on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m., which is free and open to the public and will include a raffle to win a Sunsail vacation to the Caribbean.

One of this year's exhibitors is WindCheck, the magazine for and by Long Island Sound sailors. Many readers may already be familiar with this regional sailing publication, which recently celebrated its first anniversary. According to Anne Hannan, publisher of the free magazine, personnel from WindCheck will be on hand at Sail Expo to promote the sport of sailing and raise awareness of all that Long Island Sound has to offer. She continued, "We hope fans of the magazine will stop by our booth as well as take advantage of the extensive offerings at the show." WindCheck which can be found at marine retailers, boatyards, yacht clubs, is free and covers racing, cruising, junior sailing, environmental issues and other points of interest for the sailor and all those who love Long Island Sound. Admission to Sail Expo is $13 on Thursday and Friday, and is $15 on Saturday and Sunday. Kids 6-13 get in for $5. Hours are: Thursday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information visit www.nysailexpo.com or www.windchecklis.com.