TYC Racers Battle Shifting Winds in 70th Fishers Island Round the Island Race

Duet and Aries put TYC on the podium, finishing first and third, in the Short Handed Class in the 70th annual Fishers Island Round the Island Race on a beautiful Saturday of Labor Day weekend.

In total, four Thames Yacht Club boats joined more than 60 boats in a race that demanded patience, smart tactics and the ability to make the most of every puff of wind.

In the Short Handed Class, Duet, skippered by Greg Locke with his wife Yuan Yuan Chen as crew, won on corrected time, while Aries, skippered by Dave Knecht with crew Tom Loughman, finished third—after roughly three hours of racing. Aries was also second across the finish line in the class and third across the line overall.

The race started at West Harbor, with the Short Handed Class starting first among the 10 classes. From the beginning, Aries was locked in a close battle with Raven, a Beneteau 36.7 out of Ram Island Yacht Club, while Duet followed closely behind.

“We were chasing Raven, and we were closer and then farther—it kept going back and forth,” said Knecht, who has competed in the race more than half a dozen times. “And Duet was chasing us the whole time.”

Loughman said the race offered a new experience for him.

“It was a very fun race,” he said. “I’ve never done the race clockwise around the island. There was plenty of wind, but once we rounded the corner, the wind went away for about 40 minutes. When it came back, it was on our nose.”

Locke agreed that the conditions made for an exciting race. “The race was great,” he said.

Then the wind disappeared

After the fleet worked its way along the north side of Fishers Island and approached Lord’s and Wicopisset Passages, the race took a dramatic turn.

TYC’s Stu Caplan was aboard Set Free, an IMX40 with the Mudheads, skippered by Jim Slavin. The boat went on to win its class and take the overall fleet award, but even the fastest boats had to contend with the disappearing breeze.

Caplan, who was trimming the spinnaker, said the fleet was fortunate to have the current working in its favor when the wind died.

“It was a good race until Lord’s Passage when the wind died, but we were lucky as we had a half knot of forward motion and the current was with us,” Caplan said. “It was a bit of a parking lot, but the wind filled in soon enough from a southerly direction and we were able to fly the kite most of the way.”

For some boats, however, the combination of little or no wind and the tide turned the race into a frustrating drift. The radio came alive as boat after boat announced that they were dropping out.

Duet managed to get through Wicopisset Passage just before the wind completely died, allowing them to nearly catch Aries.

When the wind finally returned, the boats accelerated on a beam reach toward Race Point, with Aries gradually pulling away from Duet. The unusual conditions also dramatically changed the normally fast downwind leg for the spinnaker fleet.

“After rounding Race Rock Buoy, one spinnaker-class boat came charging past Aries and likely went on to take line honors,” Knecht said. “Under normal conditions, many spinnaker boats usually rocket past us on the downwind leg.”

But these weren’t normal conditions. Many of the boats were caught in the windless waters and adverse current leaving them well behind.

A smart call by the Race Committee

With the fleet facing another potentially long stretch of light air and adverse current, the Race Committee shortened the course, ending the race at North Hill Bell.

“It proved to be a smart decision,” Knecht said. “Had the race continued back toward West Harbor, sailors could have faced a long and frustrating slog against the tide in very light wind.”

Aries crossed the finish line approximately three minutes behind Raven and about 10 minutes ahead of Duet. But once corrected times were calculated, the results shifted.

Duet took the Short Handed Class with Aries a close third, just 22 seconds behind the second place finisher. 

Strong showing across the TYC fleet

The TYC boats made their presence known throughout the race.

Roy Adams, aboard Heron with crew Steve Currier and Jackie Cameron, finished fourth in Non-Spinnaker Class A, while Tom Doyle, aboard Bagatelle, finished seventh in Non-Spinnaker Class B.

With the TYC boats among more than 60 competitors, the 70th running of the Fishers Island Round the Island Race delivered plenty of competition and plenty of drama.

For the TYC racers it was another memorable day on the water ending with a beautiful rainbow.