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A
History of the Scotch Bonnet Light Race
Compiled
by Tony Gambacurta, SBLR Chair 2006, 2007.
Introduction
The
Scotch Bonnet Light Race is among the oldest and longest invitational
regattas on Lake Ontario. For
the better part of 4 decades, the SBLR has been one of the most
engaging sailboat racing traditions on Lake Ontario.
Each
year in June, around the time of the Summer Solstice, an intrepid
group of sailors embark from the Port of Rochester on a race across
Lake Ontario. They make passage across an offshore expanse of clear
water and into sight of Canadian shores. These hearty sailors then
turn, rounding the legendary lighthouse on Scotch Bonnet Island at
the north central shore of the lake - and return to Rochester
non-stop. They experience challenges and rewards. The challenges of
getting a team together, preparing the boat and equipment, of facing
the elements, of dealing with navigation, time and distance. The
challenges of a competitive race. They also share the rewards:
knowing they can and have met the challenges, being part of a team
with a common goal, and sailing offshore, over deep water, in one of
the most beautiful fresh water lakes in the world.
The
GYC also provides friendly, fun and delicious social events,
including a Sunday combined Father's Day and Scotch Bonnet Awards
picnic. Each year’s event also brings custom regalia for
participants as well as Flags and Trophies for the winners.
Sea
conditions for the race
Mid-June
often sees a transition from spring to summer lake conditions,
resulting in quite a variety of weather, even in a single race! As
we sail into the sunset on our first leg to Wautoma shoals, the
weather can vary from a nice reach with a warm southerly breeze on
our beam, to a cold, wet bashing into a stiff northwesterly that can
result in sharp 4 to 6 ft wave conditions when the wind blows at 25
to 30 knots along the shore.
Lake
crossings are an exciting experience. The night crossing brings air
temperatures that match lake surface temperatures. A humid 40-degree
temperature challenges sailors' ability to stay comfortable. Good
foul weather gear and proper use of layering are tested in these
conditions. If too many layers are added, sweat in your clothing can
bring on the shivers. We also have years where sailors can race
start to finish in shorts and t-shirts.
Not
only do temperature and sea state vary a lot, so do the sights, seen
some years in pea soup fog or in overcast skies and no moon, when it
is so black there is nothing to see beyond the rails of the boat.
Some years, all one sees is the navigation lights of the competing
boats. Sometimes the star viewing is an astronomer’s dream,
with the Milky Way painted across the sky and more shooting stars
than you can count. Sometimes we see the Scotch Bonnet Light in all
of its decaying glory, and other times, it is only a partial
gray-on-gray silhouette.
Every
year the mystery of what each race will bring draws many of us back
to experience the challenges and rewards that are the Scotch Bonnet
Light Race.
The
Island and The Light
Scotch
Bonnet Island is a low-lying two-acre outcropping of limestone, that
lies about a mile south of Nicholson Island, which itself lies less
than a mile southwest of the mainland of Canada's Prince Edward
County.
Erected
in the early 1850's, the Scotch Bonnet Light’ was first
illuminated atop its 54 foot high stone tower in 1856. Originally an
oil burner, the light was converted to acetylene in 1907, and finally
extinguished forever in 1959. Today, a flashing white light atop a
72-foot metal skeleton tower stands nearby.
The
crumbling ruins of original tower still stand today, but little
remains of the attached keeper's house.
Scotch
Bonnet Island supports one of the largest cormorant nesting colonies
on Lake Ontario. Herring gulls, greater black-backed gulls, and
black crowned night herons also nest on the island. They are
believed to favor hatching their eggs by the radiated heat of the
sun-baked rocks. To protect the nesting birds, public access to the
island is prohibited between March 15 and July 31.
The
1970s
From
Peter O. Allen Sr., Event Founder...
I
thought long distance racing made some sense, as we were sailing
boats with galleys, heads and berths. There just weren't many
choices in destinations for such races. Sailing along the shore to
Sodus Bay or Oak Orchard didn't seem to be all that much of a
navigational challenge.
There
were no buoys out in the lake to which one could race. The nearest
object that one could sail around and then return to Rochester seemed
to be Scotch Bonnet Island, off the Canadian shore. Why not go
there?
[At
a time before Loran or GPS] Few of us even had dedicated chart tables
back then. The largest boats racing in the club in those days were
in the 25' to 27' range. So, as a test of navigation skills, as well
we all those other skills involved in sailboat racing, the Scotch
Bonnet Race was born in 1972.
The
original course was direct to the island and back. The first race
started early Saturday morning. With such small, slow boats this
would clearly be an overnight race. I think we might have had five
boats. The following year we might have had six boats, again
starting on Saturday morning.
By
1975 Kenny Gjersoe took on the management of the Scotch Bonnet Race,
and it became and annual invitational event.
The
first race was won by past commodore Warren Miller. His boat,
New Issue,
was a Cal 25 and the crew included Miller, John Blonowicz, Joe
Verdone, and Gerry Rossner. Other contestants in that first race
included Peter Allen, in No
Quorum,
a 24-foot Shark, Ed Elliston, in Mako,
another Shark, and Tom Koltis in a Morgan 28 called Xanadu.
Bob
MacIntyre started racing the Scotch Bonnet as crew aboard Milt Sales'
Hustler
in
1975, ‘76, and ‘77. Then, in 1978, he started racing his
own boat, Double
Shot
(the first), a Cal 27T2. According to Barbara MacIntyre, who was
aboard in 1978, the lighthouse was structurally intact in those days,
but the light was not functional. She has vivid memories of the
cormorants on the island, which were as numerous then as they are
now.
The
notice of the "1977 GYC Scotch Bonnet Invitational Race"
stated that there would be "more fleets: IOR I, IOR II, LOR I,
LOR II, MORC, with no fleet larger than 15 boats." The race was
started on June 17 at 1930 with a 36-hour time limit. An "Early
Finishers” Celebration Party was planned on Saturday, June 18
at 2000 hours. On Sunday, the awards were presented after a
breakfast-brunch served from 0930 to 1230. The General Chairman was
Earl Cliffel, Jr. Ernest Persi was Safety and Communications
Officer. Jerry Rossner was in charge of Photographic Coverage and
Photo Awards, and Peter O. Allen was Special Awards Chairman.
From
Burt Ringelstein
During
a SBLR in the Seventies, Ward Smith, my good friend and GYC sponsor,
and Art Wachs were double handing. Ward was on the tiller and Art
was below with a Heathkit AM Radio Direction Finder, which was the
latest in electronic navigation before Loran or GPS. It was a
bread-box size device with a turnable antenna on top and was tuned to
a local radio station. As Art tuned and tuned, suddenly the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir was heard loud and clear and Art immediately shouted
to the helmsman "SALT LAKE CITY A-BEAM"!
The
1980s
During
the 1980s, the event attracted a large contingent from RYC and other
clubs on Lake Ontario. Participation in the race grew to over 100
boats, the greatest in its history. The reputation of the SBLR
around the lake was elevated as a result of some significant changes
which took place as the event evolved.
One
significant change was the use of the LOR (Lake Ontario Rule) and IOR
(International Offshore Rule) handicap rules to score the race. Both
methods employed measurement rules, which predate the PHRF
performance rules popular today.
For
a number of years, Myron Archer chaired the committee. He started
awarding the placement flags and silver bowls, which racers have
looked forward to receiving all these years. He initiated several
sponsored trophies. Rick Hibbs said "The first year he had that
awards table set up on the lawn, the sight of all that silver on a
sunny afternoon was breath taking!"
Myron
called upon the RARA (Rochester Amateur Radio Association) to provide
ham radio communication with a committee boat stationed at Scotch
Bonnet Island. He also began notification of Seaway Sodus in order
to inform shipping traffic about the race. Prior to those
notifications, there had been a few near-misses between SBLR boats
and freighters. Myron’s efforts helped put the GYC on the path
to a history of safe long distance racing.
Past
Commodore Earl Cliffel was instrumental in the use of time-on-time
handicap corrections, and the introduction of that system to the SBLR
was another landmark in the SBLR history and a source of pride for
the club.
From
Bob Elliot
The
1980 race which was the only one postponed from a Friday evening to a
Saturday morning start because of a really nasty storm. Lillian
Roemer was in charge of the stake boat at Scotch Bonnet Island and
she left long before the storm arrived. There were some
communications problems and she didn’t learn that the start was
postponed. She and her crew stayed at their station all through the
storm that night.
This
item appeared in the July, 1984 issue of Haarstick Sailmakers LOFT
LINES newsletter: "The 80 mile Scotch Bonnet across Lake Ontario
was another Haarstick success story. Foxfire,
Dr. Jekyll, Desperado, Hooligan, Venture,
and Azrael
all won their respective divisions. A clean sweep! Kewero,
White Pepper, Good Times, No End, Newave, Caleidoscope,
and Yellow
Fever
all placed.
The
July,1985 issue of the Haarstick newsletter reported that their
customers won 7 out of 8 divisions in the 1985 Scotch Bonnet Race:
Cliff Sertl's No
End,
Harry Voss' Kiki,
Bob Brorein's Good
Times,
Fred Muhleman's Rigel,
Jim Hill's Venture,
Ed Fischer's Cherokee,
and Ernie Coleman's Desire.
By
1986, 99 boats finished the race. The best elapsed time for a
monohull boat, 12:04:36, was posted by Tim Kinsella's Olson 40,
Polestar.
Ray Howe's tri-hull, Volena,
completed the race in 9:35:33.
101
boats entered the race in 1987, but 38 did not finish, while four
others withdrew before the start. The best elapsed time for a
monohull boat, 16:07:54 was scored by an Express 37, First
Class.
The best corrected time, 17:18:46, was posted by Steve Corona's
Freedom 25, Azrael.
The best multi-hull time was 15:17:41 turned in by Bob Howe's
trimaran Nueva.
Of
the 94 entrants in the 1988 race, 14 did not finish. Division
winners included James MacArthur in the J/33, Highlander.
1989
saw 97 entrants representing thirteen different sailing clubs from
all over the lake. They included a 10-boat fleet of C&C 35
MKIII’s. Cliff Sertl took monohull line honors in the J/35 Das
Blau Max with an elapsed time of 16:10:24, finishing only 6 seconds
ahead of John Odenbach’s C&C 37R Rampage.
Other division winners included Ed Burns in the Hunter 40 Farfelue;
Harry Voss in the Pearson 36 KiKi;
David Hill in the J/30 Innisfree;
Bob Fields in the Express 30 Vitesse;
Michael Dwyer in the Tartan 30 Hooligan;
Tom Foley in the Pearson 30 Summer
Snow;
Tim Donovan in the Pearson 26 Silvercloud;
Bob Brinkman in the Merlyn 36 Magician;
Don Wulf in the Chrysler 26 Panatella;
and Todd Weber in the multihull Northern
Cross.
A short course for J/24’s was won by Reid Stava in Bateau
Blanc.
From
Bob Blakley ...
There
was that awful night in the '80's when after turning the mark at
Wautoma Shoals it looked like the end of the world ahead of us save
for the lightning! Forging on across the lake, a strange buzzing was
heard, sounding like many bees. But no bees, rather looking up the
mast we saw a strange arcing electrical discharge making the bee
noise. It was like in a Frankenstein movie. The top 3 feet of the
mast were engulfed in this corona. I felt the hair standing up on my
arm and then the next thought was "we are going to get hit by
lightning I'll bet". I guess it was futile to crouch down in
the cockpit, but after a few minutes the corona passed and didn't
return. Luckily no lightning either.
From
Darbbie Thomas…
I
remember the start of the 1986 race on June 12th.
The weather was ominous at the start, and it just got worse as time
went on. I was aboard Wave
Runner
out of SBYC, and I recall the captain telling the crew not to touch
the standing rigging because of the lightening all around us. Though
we weren’t struck by lightening, we did get to see St. Elmo’s
Fire in the rigging. One RYC boat was struck, and all of its
electronics were fried. We never did find the Wautoma Shoals turning
boat.
The
1990s
1993:
According to Jack Kreckman, skipper of the O’day 28 Knot Home,
“A light air start took us to mid-lake around midnight. It was
cold and damp, with intermittent rain, but the wind improved somewhat
in the middle of the lake. The most memorable part of the race was
the end, which for us was around 1400 hrs on Saturday. There was no
wind to speak of and the fog was so thick we could hear the foghorn
on the pier for over an hour before we saw the pier. In fact we
could hear voices on the pier for half an hour before we passed it."
1994:
As reported by Bob Elliott, skipper of the C&C 35 Bedlam,
“We started in very light air and tried to pick up a sea
breeze by going close to the shore, to no avail. In fact, it was
0315 Saturday morning before we rounded the Wautoma Shoals buoy.
Once we passed the first mark, however, the wind picked up and we
reached across the lake nicely under spinnaker. At mid-lake the
temperature was in the thirties and the mist felt like little ice
daggers hitting our faces. At 0920, we rounded the island in hazy
sunshine, reaching back to Rochester by 1545 Saturday afternoon."
Earth
Voyager
finished at 0946, the last boat crossed the finish line at 1904
Saturday evening.
1995:
Another light air start tested the collective patience of the fleet.
However, for what it lacked in intensity, it made up with
consistency, and boats slowly but steadily moved across the lake.
The overnight temperatures were not nearly as cool as most years, and
the breeze picked up to 5-6 knots by midnight. According to Robert
Polhemus, skipper of the Pearson Vanguard
Siesta.
“The wind continued to build to 9-10 knots, and we rounded the
lighthouse at 0715 the following morning in 12 knots of breeze. The
trip back to Rochester was so foggy that we frequently could see only
the top one-third of the sails of nearby boats. By 1300 we were
within the bight of the Rochester embayment, about nine miles from
the finish line. Then the wind completely disappeared, and we bobbed
within sight of the harbor for the next 8-1/2 hours.” Even
Earth Voyager
needed 13-1/2 hours to finish, while Das
Blau
Max,
the first monohull to finish, took just over 19 hours. The last boat
to finish, Wanderer,
a Pearson 28, crossed the line at around 0100 on Sunday, 29 hours
after the start of the race.
1996:
We started with more wind than usual, making excellent time in a
building breeze. We close reached to the island by 0300 Saturday.
Although it was typically cold at mid-lake, it remained dry and
things warmed up nicely by breakfast time. With winds ranging from
10 to 20 knots for most of the race, the bulk of the fleet was home
by 1000 on Saturday morning, while Whitey LeBlanc, finishing at 1235
aboard the Catalina 28 Marimba,
set a new record for the fastest time by the last boat to finish.
The trimaran Cakewalk
finished at 0534, and the first monohull, Das
Blau Max,
finished at 0727.
1997:
A down year for the Scotch Bonnet Light Race, the date was changed
twice, first to avoid conflicting with the Sodus Bay Challenge Cup,
then back to the original date to avoid the prospect of finishing
during the Harborfest Fireworks show. We also experimented with the
format of starting the race on Saturday morning rather than the
traditional Friday evening. The result: only 33 boats entered the
race. However, even worse, only 4 boats finished. The race course
was pockmarked with numerous holes, so that few succeeded in moving
consistently for more than an hour or two at a time. By 0200 Sunday,
most of the fleet still hadn't rounded the island, 19 hours after
starting. Faced with a 1000 Sunday time limit, it took only a little
simple arithmetic for the skippers to conclude they had no chance to
finish on time, and one by one, they called in their DNFs and started
their motors. Even Earth
Voyager
averaged only 5 knots, finishing in 14-1/2 hours. The three
monohulls that finished within the time limit, Contender,
Foxfire,
and Sea++Major,
finished between 0815 and 0906 Sunday morning, while Bill Golden's
Cardinal
crossed the finish line only a few minutes after the time limit.
1998:
Another light air year for the race, the average speeds ranged from
5.2 knots to 3.2 knots. Most of the fleet finished late in the
afternoon or evening on Saturday. Spinnaker division winners
included Tim Kinsella's Polestar,
Bob Fields' Vitesse,
and Bob Porter's Harrier.
Non-spinnaker winners were Bob Polhemus' Siesta,
John Nicholson's Chenonceau,
and Kermit Sleggs' Ariadne.
The multihull winner was Paul Abendroth whose Corsair F-27 trimaran
also took the prize for the farthest travelled boat, coming from
Yellow Springs, Ohio (near Dayton).
1999:
Among the more peculiar Scotch Bonnet races, the 1999 event was
characterized by a number of large windless areas interspersed with
substantial areas of 10-15 knot breezes. The trick was to be in the
right place at the right time. In only one division was the
differential between the first and last finishing boats less than two
hours. Division One was typical with the first boat finishing in 13
hours vs 20 hours for the last boat in the division. Even though
fourteen boats did not finish, 21 stubbornly inched out of the lulls
to finish within the time limit, some even posting surprisingly good
elapsed times. The Olson 40, Rambunctious,
for instance, finished in just over 13 hours to lead all monohulls.
The
2000s
Scotch
Bonnet 2000 was blessed with some of the best weather ever enjoyed
during the event, even though it faced one of the worst forecasts.
With predictions of thunderstorms issued even on the day of the race,
43 boats showed up to be treated to consistent 8-18 knot breezes from
start to finish. The spinnaker fleet started with a 1-mile weatherly
leg toward Crescent Beach where all 24 spinnakers were set on a broad
reach. Almost the entire fleet passed the mark boat at the island
between 0100 and 0300. In fact, 26 boats rounded the island between
0149 and 0249. The year 2000 was also a record setting year. Gene
Angelidis' Nobody's
Business,
a Nelson Marek 43, set a new monohull mark of 09:33:48 for the 79 NM
course, while Dave Poulin's Rambunctious,
an Olson 40 established the record for best corrected time of
12:00:26. Ray Howe and Earth
Voyager
, meanwhile set a new multihull record of 07:05:00. That year also
saw a new record of 12:11:58 for best elapsed time for a monohull of
30 feet or less when John Rodgers'
Mad Cow
beat Bob Porter's
Harrier
by only 11 minutes as both boats sprinted across the finish line
close reaching under spinnaker. Finally, Leonard Redon's Passages,
a J/42, posted the best elapsed time for a non-spinnaker boat,
finishing the race in 11:50:47, while Jim Ely and his J/35C,
Moonrise,
set the record of 12:47:09 for best corrected time for a
non-spinnaker boat.
2001:
Bob Porter, a regular SBLR racer from Oswego Yacht Club was once
again denied a division win as Flicker beat Harrier on corrected
time. Blue
Knight, Polestar, Aria, Real Time, Tantrum, Ariadne
were also division winners. Earth
Voyager
won the multihull division. Trophy winners: Blue
Knight
won the Allen Trophy, Aria
won the Founder's Cup, Laughing
Dragon
won the Giambra Cup, and, Ariadne
won the Stewart Trophy.
2002:
Sailing conditions were overcast, occasional rain, winds from the E
clocking to S at 10-20 knots. Division winners were: Das
Blau Max, Moonrise, Mad Cow, Flicker, Tantrum, Fair Lady
and Sundance.
Moonrise
won the Allen Trophy, Mad
Cow
won the Founders Trophy, Rambunctious
won the Giambra Trophy, Tantrum
won the Stewart Trophy.
2003:
Boatpix showed up for the start and took pictures of the boats from a
helicopter. Boats finished with elapsed times of only 12 to 17
hours. Division winners were Shades
of Grey, Blue Knight, Destiny, Flicker, Paradox, Chutzpah
and Dolcinea.
Mad
Cow (J-30,
John Rodgers) won the Founders Trophy for the 5th
time in 6 years. Blue
Knight
(J-35c, Peter Pape and Hank Stuart) won the Allen Trophy for the 2nd
time. Shades
of Grey
won the Giambra Trophy and Paradox
won the Stewart Trophy.
2004:
Another fast race year with Acadia
(Beneteau 40.7, Rick Shaheen) finishing in under 12 hours and the
slowest boat in only 15 hours. In a continuing rivalry between them,
Celtic
Fire
beat Flicker
to win their division. Other division winners were Blue
Knight, Hiawatha, Aria, Passages, Voyageur
and Flight
Simulator.
Earth
Voyager
raced in a single boat division and finished in 5 hours and 15
minutes! Uprising
won the Founders Cup. Hiawatha
(Catalina 38, Bob Porter, OYC) won the Allen Trophy, Acadia
won the Giambra Trophy, and Voyageur
won the Stewart Trophy.
2005
brought a heavy air start and all the way to Watoma. Winds died as
boats neared the Island. The winds eventually filled in and boats
reported a wonderful ride home. For most boats, it was a long race.
Division winners were Silver
Bullet, Jibe Talkin, Allegro, Celtic Fire, Moondance, Knot Bad,
and, Dulcinea.
Discovery
II
(Olson 30, Dave Overy) won the Founder's Cup. Silver
Bullet (Beneteau
40.7, Kiki Voss) won the Allen Trophy and the Giambra Trophy! Knot
Bad
won the Stewart Trophy, the only GO boat to finish the race.
2006:
At the Awards Tony Gambacurta said "This year’s race had
exceptional sailing. I could not have asked for better weather.
Although I did predict something like this". Division winners
were Eole,
Passages, Moondance, Flicker, Hiawatha, Silver Bullet,
and Flight
Simulator. Flicker
won the Founder's Trophy and the Allen Trophy! Rampage
(Concordia/Farr 47, John Odenbach and Susie Robbins) won the Giambra
Trophy. This year was the inauguration of the Genesee Rochester
Trophy and it was won by Allegro
(C&C
35, Jim Hill).
2007:
Light air at the start, wind picked up after Watoma. After rounding
the island there was plenty of wind (and rain) to get boats home.
Flicker
(Pearson
30, Bill Thompson) won the Founder's Cup and Allen Trophy for the
second year in a row. Flicker
started the SBLR for the 22nd consecutive time. Other division
winners were Sarabande,
Aloha, Moonrise,
and, Hiawatha.
Petrel
(Islander
26, Wilkinson) won the new single handed division. Desire
(Columbia 26, Ernie Coleman) won the Genesee Rochester Trophy.
Mullet
(Beneteau
40.7, Chad Henry & Chris Werner) won
the Giambra Trophy and Moonrise
won the Stewart Trophy.
2008:
A very powerful thunderstorm ripped through the fleet shortly after
the start. Boats recorded gusts in excess of 50 knots. "The
rain really stung when it hit your face, so much lighting at times,
it was as though the sun was back out." reported one crew. 13
of the 36 boat fleet dropped out. Although the temperatures were not
at their coldest, around 50 F offshore, it was a rainy foggy wet
event. Division winners were First
Today, Hiawatha, Petrel, Blue Skies, No Agenda,
and, About
Time.
Hiawatha
won the Allen Trophy, First
Today won
the Founder's Cup. Mullet
won the Giambra Trophy for the 2nd
year in a row. No
Agenda
won the Stewart Trophy. Allegro
won the Genesee Rochester Trophy for the 2nd
time. This year was the inauguration of the Warren Miller "New
Issue" Trophy for first time SBLR racers. It was won by Orr
What
(Jim Orr, RYC).
To
Be continued...
Acknowledgements
Although
I had the fun of editing this, I copied heavily from Bob Elliot's
work. Thanks also to Peter Allen, Rick Hibbs, Bob Blakely, John
Meagher, and Darbbie Thomas.
From
SBLR Founder Peter Allen...
Thanks
to the many people who have championed the event and provided many
hours of volunteer time to its care and feeding over the intervening
years. Who would have thought?
25
Mar 2009 Tony Gambacurta
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