NYYC Red top Onion Patch team
By Talbot Wilson
Hamilton, Bermuda June 23, 2012- The new Carkeek HP40 ‘Decision’ owned by Steve Murray (New Orleans LA) was the top Onion Patch boat in the Newport Bermuda Race and then the talented ‘Decision’ team put on a top performance in Friday’s Royal Bermuda YC Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group to come out as the first place individual boat in the series.
‘Decision’ edged out Lawrence Dickie’s ‘Ptarmigan’ by only .5 points and beat the US Naval Academy TP52 ‘Invictus’ by 2.25. ‘Invictus’ had led going into the Bermuda event but finished that day in 11th place.
As the top individual boat in the Onion Patch Series, Murray wins the Henry B. du Pont Trophy.
“Doing the Onion Patch Series has been a dream of mine since I was 12,” Murray said. “Burt Keenan who was from New Orleans did the series and I had heard about it as I grew up sailing. I’m really excited at being able to win it now. This new Carkeek 40 is really fast in the conditions we had in the RBYC Anniversary Regatta. We are having a great time in Bermuda.”
Murray had won the racing division in the Regata al Sol, a 555 mile race from Pensacola FL to Isla Mujeres MX, in May as a warm-up for Newport Bermuda. He then trucked ‘Decision’ to Newport RI for the New York Yacht Club 158th Annual June 9-10, the first stage of the Onion Patch series
The NYYC Red Team of Rives Potts’ McCurdy & Rhodes 48 ‘Carina’, Andrew Weiss’ J122 ‘Christopher Dragon’, Jim Bishop’s J44 Gold Digger’ won the team competition. Their prize is the Onion Patch Trophy.
NYYC Blue— 'Stark Raving Mad', 'Dorade' and 'Temptation' (which did not sail in the RBYC Anniversary Regatta) finished second based and The US Naval Academy with 'Invictus', 'Defiance' and 'Swift' came in third.
The Onion Patch is a tough triathlon of sailboat racing that combines closed course and ocean courses in three world-class venues. Boats from all IRC classes in the Newport Bermuda Race were eligible to enter and must also have also raced the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta and the RBYC Anniversary Regatta, too.
The Onion Patch Series concluded Friday, June 22 with the RBYC Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group. The first race, a windward-leeward course, starts at 10:00 ADT in Bermuda’s Great Sound. It will be followed by a second race that is a “Tour of the Islands” in the Great Sound the Granaway Deep, Port Royal Bay and Hamilton Harbour. The 23 Onion Patch Series entries will compete along with 11 boats only entered in the Anniversary Regatta.
For complete Onion Patch Series results see www.onionpatchseries.com/
Onion Patch Series Scoring
Each yacht's individual final score in each event of the Onion Patch Series is determined by her finish position within the total Onion Patch fleet. The yacht’s score for the Onion Patch Series is the sum of the weighted points of all three events.
For races 1 and 2 of the Onion Patch Series (the first race of Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, 2012 of the NYYC Annual Regatta), the scoring was based on a formula that converted the yacht's corrected time into a time on distance (i.e., seconds / mile) number and the competitors ranked in order of the fastest sec / mile to the slowest sec / mile. Points are awarded according to ranking, and these points are used in the compilation of the overall scores in the series.
Each individual yacht's scores for the events are weighted as follows: the finish positions in the Newport Bermuda Race are multiplied by 1.25. The total points gained in the NYYC Annual Regatta are multiplied by 1.00 and the total points gained in the RBYC Anniversary Regatta are multiplied by 1.00. The lowest individual score wins.
Team scores are the sum of each team yacht's individual qualifying scores. The lowest team score wins.
Racing for the Onion Patch Series includes the first race each day in the 158th NYYC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, the Cruising Club of America-Royal Bermuda YC Newport Bermuda Race starting June 15th in Newport and finishing several days later in Bermuda and the Royal Bermuda YC Anniversary Regatta presented by the Butterfield Group on June 22nd.