The 21st Ida Lewis Distance Race starts Friday, Aug. 14, at 11 a.m. in Narragansett Bay’s East Passage between Rose Island and Fort Adams, with 47 entries signed up for the 24-hour coastal challenge.
The fleet spans a wide range. At one end are two 30-foot high-performance sport boats — EC Helme’s J/92S Spirit of Newport and Tristan Mouligne’s Quest 30 Samba of Portsmouth. At the other are two grand prix ocean racers: Bryon Ehrhart’s 88-foot Lucky, from Chicago, and Art Santry and Oakcliff Sailing’s Reichel Pugh 86 OC-86, from Oyster Bay, N.Y.
“I love overnight racing and I think the Ida Lewis Distance Race is really the premier overnight race in New England,” said Mouligne, who said a strong double-handed class this year prompted him to get Samba going again.
Beyond the ORC, PHRF and PHRF Double-Handed classes, the race includes Youth and Collegiate Challenge divisions.
Four teams entered the Youth Challenge: defending champion Digger, a J/44 skippered by James Phyfe of Cranston; two entries from the New Bedford Community Boating Center’s youth offshore team, the Figaro 2 Red Shift and the Baltic 50 Crazy Horse; and Bill Kneller’s J/109 Vento Solare of Newport.
“A magical moment and memory from last year was definitely the dolphins riding the bow while Crazy Horse changed sails,” said Richard Feeney, education director at the New Bedford Community Boating Center. “The race has become an anchor on our calendar and the culmination of our junior offshore program.”
Six teams entered the Collegiate Challenge, including defending champion Falcon, a J/99 skippered by Jim Mega of Wakefield, Mass.
The race committee picks from a set of pre-determined courses before the start, based on expected wind and weather. Boats finish mid-morning Saturday between Ida Lewis Yacht Club on the south side of Newport Harbor and a mark near the Harbor Channel. Each crew is handed a bottle of Prosecco at the finish gun.
Kiel James Patrick is the presenting sponsor. More information is at ilyc.org/distancerace.
