2009 Bedford Pitcher

REGATTA REPORT

Report by Lynn Fitzpatrick, WorldRegattas.com

Smith and Delisser Win Star NA’s Warm-up Regatta Jud Smith and Stuart Delisser won the 50th Anniversary of the Bedford Pitcher Regatta hosted by Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT.

A fleet of 34 Stars from all over North America turned out for the five-race series that took place this weekend. The Cedar Point Open for the Bedford Pitcher was used as a tune-up regatta for the 2009 Star North Americans in which over 50 boats are registered.

Smith/Delisser beat out John MacCausland and Kevin Murphy by one point. Two races were sailed on Saturday. All teams knew that the first race on Sunday would have to be a good one because the forecast was for a shifty and dying breeze. Smith and Delisser, who have won every regatta that they have sailed together in the past nine months, including the Schoonmaker, Lippincott, and the Ned Hay, took a fourth to MacCausland/Murphy’s third in the race. MacCausland/Murphy were ahead by three points going into the fourth race of the series. By winning the fourth race Smith/Delisser moved ahead in the series.

As it turned out, both teams collected their worst scores of the regatta during the final race in which they encountered 40-degree shifts. “Neither of us got off to a great start in the final race. It was shifty,” said Smith. “We were on the wrong side of a shift and they ended up in a hole during the beat.”

“Cedar Point did a great job in running the regatta and we are looking forward to the North Americans,” said Smith. Smith and Delisser used Doyle’s main sail #9, a design that Smith developed last spring. They found the sail to work well in light air and adapt well to the moderate winds that they also experienced during the regatta.

There were many interesting skipper-crew combinations at the Cedar Point Open for the Bedford Pitcher including Rich and Richie Gordon. Rich Gordon’s father and Richie Gordon’s grandfather, Richard “Dick” Gordon won one of the first Bedford Pitchers almost 50 years ago when he crewed for Skip Etchells. He also won the Bedford Pitcher as a skipper twice. Young Richie exhausted himself crewing for his father on Saturday. When he told his father that he didn’t think that he could sail the second day of the regatta, his father said to the 11 year old, “How about if you skipper and I crew?” The 11-year old was miracuously healed and took up his dad’s offer, becoming the third generation of Gordon’s to carry on the tradition of steering in the Bedford Pitcher.

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The Bedford Pitcher will be a practice regatta for the 2009 North American Championship which starts on the following Tuesday.