On Saturday and Sunday April 26 & 27 the second annual Region 1 Championship was held at Sail Newport on Fort Adams in Newport Rhode Island. Hosted by the Newport Model Sailing Club, 40 sailors participated in extremely challenging conditions.
The Friday afternoon practice session was held in 10 to 15 knot SSW winds and a partly cloudy sky. This was the calm before the storm!
Saturday dawned with ominous gray skies and 15-18 knot winds with gusts over 20 knots… then it got really gnarly! By the end of the skippers meeting, we had 17-22 knot winds and torrential rains. Full foulies required! Throughout the morning the preferred sail choice was the B Rig, and there were several transmitter failures due to the driving rain. By early afternoon the rain abated, and the winds died down to A Rig range for the rest of the day.
The real heroes of the day were the RC team that braved the elements all day to run 6 full races!
At the end of the race day, it was time to peel off the foul weather gear, cleanup the boats, and recount the good, the bad, and the ugly of the day over beers and dogs. Great conversations and great fun!
On Sunday the rain subsided, but we had shifty WNW winds. The wind speeds and direction varied all day requiring 3 major course changes and requiring multiple rig changes depending on the heat you were in. Some competitors changed rigs 4 times throughout the day as wind speeds varied between upper A Rig to mid B Rig. Throughout the day temps warmed, and it turned into an absolutely beautiful sailing day.
The fleet was made up of a good mix of local and regional sailors and several of the DF95 road warriors. In the end the top 5 places reflected that mix of sailors. Fifth place went to Tony Gonsalves; fourth place went to Brad Read; third place went to Steve Landau; second place went to Peter Feldman; and first place went to a relatively unknow sailor by the name of Ken Read!
Henry DiPietro
2025 DF95 Region 1 Championship Complete Results
