The Maine Rocks Race - August 29

2008 was the first year for this short-handed race over 113 miles along the Midcoast of Maine. It promises to become an annual RYC-sponsored tradition. The PHRF-rated event is opened to boats crewed by one or two people. Membership in RYC is not required. The race offers those that participate the experience of sharpening short handed offshore sailing skills and refining systems and procedures for shorthanded passage making.

Notice of Race

To download and print a PDF version of the Marine Rocks Race Notice of Race, click here.

To download and print the Maine Rocks Race Registration form, click here

The Course:   The rhumb line length of the course is approximately 112 nm and fits the description of an ORC category 3 event.  Boats must be so equipped.  While life rafts and EPIRBS are not required for a Cat 3 race they are strongly encouraged.  The start and finish are in Rockland Harbor.  The basic course is, upon leaving Rockland, to leave Matinicus Rock to port, leave Mount Desert Rock to port, leave Matinicus Rock to Starboard, and finish in Rockland Harbor.

There will be two divisions, one for single handers and one for double handers.  Single handed entrants may be required to submit a sailing resume to include at least one single handed passage, entirely under sail, of at least 50 miles in the boat they enter in the race.

The Schedule:  There will be an informal dinner, followed by the skippers meeting (mandatory) at the Rockland Yacht Club Friday, August 28 at 1800 hrs.  The start will be at 1000 hrs. Saturday.  There is no time limit on this race.  Prize giving is tentatively scheduled for 1700 hrs Sunday.

The Rules:  The race will be governed by USSailing’s Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012, this Notice of Race, and the sailing instructions that will be available at the skipper’s meeting.  Auto pilots and wind vane self steering devices are allowed and prudent use is encouraged.

Other Equipment:  Single handed boats will fly the number one flag from a point near the transom, and double handed boats will fly the number two flag from a point near the transom.  Each boat must be equipped with jacklines.  There must be a suitable harness for each crew and each crew must be clipped to the jackline, or other suitable strong points, when on deck, during the entire race.  Each boat must deploy a radar reflector during the entire race.

Eligibility:  This race is open to mono hull sailboats with a LOA greater than 27 feet, and certified Mini 6.5 meters,  that hold a valid PHRF certificate.  The race organizers reserve the right to disallow any entrant deemed inappropriate or improperly equipped.  The decision of the race organizers is final.

Scoring:  Classes will be established at the discretion of the race organizer.  All boats will be scored using their PHRF racing handicap.  Corrected times will be calculated using the time on time formula, and the appropriate wind speed modifier.

Prizes:  Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and possibly third place on corrected time in each division.  A prize will be awarded for first boat to finish.  A prize will be awarded for the best corrected time finish for a double handed family team.

Entry Fee:  $45.00 for singles and $55.00 for doubles.

Registration:  Contact Doug Pope at doug@popesails.com for registration details. To download and print the Maine Rocks Race Registration form, click here

For an abstract of ISAF Category three requirements go to www.sailing.org/1930.php.

The current elapsed time record for the course is 29 hours 58 minutes 58 seconds.

The current corrected time record for the course is 28 hours 36.63 minutes

The Francis Stokes Memorial Trophy The trophy, donated to the Rockland Yacht Club by Peter and Peggy McCrea, is named after acclaimed trans-oceanic solo sailor Francis C. Stokes, Jr., who died Aug. 3, 2008 at the age of 82 years. Raised in the Quaker faith, Francis was a humble and soft-spoken man, who epitomized the Friends’ belief in inner reflection .  One of his passions was offshore single handed racing, an ideal platform for inner reflection. Francis  bought his first cruising sailboat in 1968 and in 1970, he made his first solo transatlantic voyage.   He competed in the OSTAR transatlantic solo races in 1976, 1980 and 1988, along with numerous Bermuda One-Two races in 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1989. In 1982-83 he sailed in the first BOC Challenge Solo World Race, finishing second in his class. He wrote of his life on the seas in his book, "The Mooneshine Logs.”  He also wrote, "My Most Successful Dreams have Involved Oceans."

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Event Results

Awards - 2008:

First to Finish	Patrick Jones	Adhara
The Francis Stokes Award Best Corrected Time for a Single Hander	Jonathan Green	Jeroboam
Best Corrected Time For a Family Crew	Rusty Duym	Williwaw

	Not pictured: Jonathan Green

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Event Highlights

To share your log or your blog of the race, click here.

From Jonathan Green, Jeroboam, Winner of the 2008 Francis Stokes Award

Here's a recap from Jeroboam's log... Interesting start as those boats favoring the shore along Owls Head moved decisively to the early lead (Adhara, Williwaw and I think one other). After yawing about in the lobster boat wakes, a N-S column of air materialized and I was able to capitalize for a short clip while considering using the momentum to drive West toward a second column forming. I noticed Panacea moving toward it and made the mistake of not doing the same which soon afforded me last place in the fleet and a long tedious wait in the doldrums of Monroe Island while Peter (Panacea) rode that column for quite a while. When the wind gently came up, I worked my way down Two Bush Channel, carefully using each shift to my advantage then got a big break at the South Breaker mark when a SW shift allowed me to avoid a couple tacks at the end. I think I made some ground on someone here as a radar spot just in front of me came around the mark from the West but with the fog I couldn't see who it was.

The Matinicus-Mt Desert leg proved a windfall for my progress in catching up with the fleet. I opted for a port tact to work with the tide, even though my VMG was materially less than a starboard tact would have afforded. I gambled on the predicted SE shift for my next tack and it worked, leaving me upwind of most of the fleet and with a good line for Mt. Desert Rock. I hoped the shift would steady but it kept clocking, allowing some of the downwind boats to make the mark without the need for a hitch, but for those who did, I made some good ground. The leg back to Matinicus again proved favorable for Jeroboam as she needs plenty of wind to attain hull speed and catch up with the shorter waterlined, similarly rated boats. The chase to catch up with Williwaw was intense with both boats carrying too much sail, rounding up, though I rounded far more frequently than they, and hand steering for hours on end. I passed just prior to Matinicus then we were off to the downwind races. Williwaw chose a direct route up Two Bush Channel with their whisker pole out while I ran West a bit to go dead down, wing-and-wing (no whisker pole) and maximize the surfing angle. By the time we reached Monroe, we were still neck and neck, as each of our strategies proved as effective as the other's. I stupidly over stood the jibe toward Rockland and Williwaw swiftly took advantage of the hole to regain the lead. I tried desperately to catch up again, giving it the whole main and jib, but couldn't retake them and crossed just after Williwaw. What a great battle we had!

 

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More About Francis Stokes

In the 1960s through the early 80s, Francis Stokes, who lived in Maine until his death in 2008, was a New Jerseyian who had a predilection for sailboat racing at sea, mostly alone. Stokes was never a big name in this sport, never came in first as a single-hander, never was really interested in the sport until he was in his mid-40s. But he says he was drawn to such races because of a bond with Nature that could be achieved only through sailing. His face revealed the amiable, intelligent slightly goofy look of some of most Yankee ancestors. He was entered these demanding sungle-handed events in what most would consider wholesome family cruisers, rather than the usual flat-out racing machines, and yet he always seemed to do remarkably well.

Races, for Francis Stokes, were experiences to be savored and treasured, and not just endured. There's a larger lesson here, and he teaches it very well. He said things like "At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much." and "The sea finds out everything you did wrong." 

His book, The Moonshine Logs, has been called a wonderfully moving and insightful account covering Francis Stokes' modest beginnings in ocean racing to his later triumphs in his beloved Mooneshine. Stokes tells of his first transatlantic crossing in 1970 when he sailed Crazy Jane from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, to Plymouth, England. During the ensuing 15 years, Stokes participated as a single-handed racer in may of the major ocean races of the time, from OSTAR 1967 to several Bermuda One-Two races, to this first BOC challenge single-handed round-the-world race in 1982, where he performed the daring rescue of Tony Lush in the Southern Indian Ocean.TOP

Photo Gallery

To submit your favorite photos of the race, click here.