Buzzard's Bay regatta honors Saltmarsh

When Bob Saltmarsh pulled his Laser Radial up onto the beach after two days of competition off Fort Taber last weekend, he looked around and saw a lot of members of his family, friends and others who wouldn't ordinarily turn out for a sailboat race.

"What are they doing here?" he wondered. They were there because the Buzzards Bay Championship regatta and trophy had just been renamed the Robert J. Saltmarsh Regatta and the Saltmarsh Trophy.

"I was completely surprised," said Saltmarsh, 74, former proprietor of Saltmarsh's in downtown New Bedford. "I had no clue."

He couldn't figure out what his name was doing on the trophy they handed him for winning the Radial division (a Radial is a Laser with a slightly smaller sailing rig) of the Buzzards Bay Championship (now and from now on the Saltmarsh Trophy).

Atty. John C. Bentley and Saltmarsh's wife Maura put their heads together to come up with some way to honor a man who has been racing Lasers in Buzzards Bay for longer than some of his fellow competitors have been alive.

"We wanted to do something befitting the old buzzard of Buzzards Bay," said Bentley. Saltmarsh is already a "Great Grand Master" of Laser sailing, both locally and nationally. Rather than award him another "great" in front of the honorific, Bentley and other organizers decided to, in Bentley's words, "just go ahead and name the whole damn thing after him."

"They're trying to memorialize me while I'm still alive," said Saltmarsh, whose two sons, John and Patrick, were on hand along with grandchildren, friends, wife Maura and about 40 or so well-wishers at the end of two days of Laser racing off Fort Taber in New Bedford's South End.

Saltmarsh started competing in Lasers -- a 14-foot kind of triangular fiberglass pancake that sits atop the water, goes very fast, and provides an extremely wet sailing experience -- in 1982. Before that, Saltmarsh raced a Rhodes 19 in Buzzards Bay for many years.

He normally wears an abbreviated wetsuit when racing in Buzzards Bay, but when he and Maura travel to Ireland in August for the Laser World championships, he'll be bringing along a full rubber suit.

"I hear the water's really cold up there in Cork," he said. Along with 320 other brave souls, Saltmarsh plans to compete for several days in the frigid waters of Cork Harbour and St. George's Channel (between the southeast coast of Ireland and the west coast of England).

Before heading off to the Emerald Isle, however, "Poop Deck Pappy" (as he's named his boat) will continue to sail in Class C in the Wednesday night sailing series at the Mattapoisett Yacht Club. And, he plans to compete in the Laser Masters class in the Buzzards Bay Regatta, scheduled for Aug. 3-5.

To prepare for the rigors of Laser sailing, Saltmarsh works out regularly at home and rides his bicycle many miles around Mattapoisett where he and Maura live. In the winter, he does a little skiing, but by and large, he stays focused on the Lasers.

He's already preparing for the 2002 world championships, "the Berkeley Circle," to be held in San Francisco Bay in August 2002.

When pressed for a comment about what he thought about last Sunday's surprise renaming the race and trophy in his honor, the reticent but knowledgeable Saltmarsh said, "It's kind of neat."

Results of the competition for the Haas Trophy for the area O'Day Laser championship and the Buzzards Bay Championship (now Saltmarsh) Trophy: Haas Trophy, Saturday, June 30: 1. Ben Richardson, 4 pts.; 2. Peter Follansbee, 4 pts.; 3. Mark Bear, 7 pts.; 4. Ted Moore, 12 pts.; 5. Chuck Rudinsky, 16 pts.; 6. Gary Orkney, 16 pts. Saltmarsh Trophy, Sunday, July 1: 1. Peter Follansbee, 7 pts.; 2. Ted Moore, 8 pts.; 3. Andy Tuthill, 13 pts.; 4. Mark Bear, 13 pts.; 5. Tim Orazem, 14 pts.; 6. Ben Richardson, 19 pts.

In the race that wouldn't end, Marion's Ron Noonan captured first place in Class A1 Celestial in his Sabre 402 sloop Wildflower, finishing 17th overall in the longest (in terms of finishing times) Marion-Bermuda Race in its 26-year history.

Seaflower, a Custom 38-foot sloop captained by Ron Chevrier of Marion and carrying an all-Marion/Beverly Yacht Club crew, was the first local boat to cross the finish line, finishing seventh overall.

Racing was so slow that 25 boats ultimately withdrew from the race, leaving only 53 boats to finish. Captain Phil Hutchinson of Harwood, Md., in his Frers 46 Veritas, was the first to finish, limping into St. George's Harbor, Bermuda, early in the morning of June 28, two days later than the usual finish for the Marion-Bermuda. Two years ago, Veritas finished dead last.

"You had to concentrate on sailing the boat in light five to seven knot air," said Andrew Howe of Ocean Navigator magazine, who was navigator aboard Dove, a blue ketch competing in Class A1 Celestial. "The only good thing for the celestial mariner was that there were no seas."

Becalmed, skippers and crews did some whale- and porpoise-watching and swimming in the middle of the Atlantic, while waiting for winds to come up.

Finishing behind Noonan in Class A1 Celestial were two boats skippered and crewed by U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen, Lively, captained by Mike Smith, and Swift, captained by Kyle Buchina.

After experiencing an equipment failure right off the starting line, Ted Severance of Manchester, NH, and the Beverly Yacht Club, brought his navy blue Little Harbor 50 cutter Sequoia to the head of the pack in Class A2 Electronic, finishing second behind Despedida, an Alden 54 skippered by Nicholas Cannistraro of Annapolis, Md.

Gerrit Sanford of Swansea skippered his Nonesuch 33 Kitty Hawk to a first-place finish in Class C2 Electronic. Donald Cody of Lakeville, in his blue Little Harbor 38 Altair, placed third in the same class.

Here are the complete results for the 2001 Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race: the Beverly "Polaris" Trophy for the best performance by a celestially navigated yacht to Spinache, an Island Packet 35 skippered by James Lawless, Cornwall, NY; the Navigator's Trophy to the navigator of the first celestially navigated yacht to finish, Rany Graham, Pasadena, Calif., navigator onboard Spinache; the RHADC "Past Commodores" Trophy for best performance by an electronically navigated yacht to Solace, a Tashiba 40 skippered by David Owen, Northport, NY; the Adams Bowl for the best performance by a New England yacht to Seaflower, a Custom 38 skippered by Ron Chevrier, Marion; the Town of Marion Trophy for best performance by a Buzzards Bay yacht to Kitty Hawk, skippered by Gerrit Sanford, Swansea.

Also, the Deborah Anne Domenie Memorial Trophy for the best performance by a yacht from the New York area to Sinn Fein, skippered by Peter Robovich, Metuchen, NJ; the Corporation of Hamilton Trophy for the best performance by a yacht from Bermuda to Bermuda Oyster, skippered by Paul Hubbard, Pembroke, Bermuda; the Commodore's Cup for the best performance by a Blue Water Sailing Club Yacht to Fiddler's Green, co-skippered by David Patton, North Reading, and Jack Noble, Marion; the Bermuda Longtail Trophy for the best performance by a Beverly Yacht Club yacht to Wildflower, skippered by Ron Noonan, Marion.

Also, the L. Byron Kingery Short-Handed Trophy (crews of four) for the best performance two classes: Electronic: Solace, skippered by David Owen, Northport, NY, and Celestial: Panacea, skippered by Gus MacDonald, Freeport, Maine; the Beverly Family Trophy to Rhapsody, skippered by Matthew Asaro, Barrington , RI, and Solution, skippered by Carter Bacon Jr., Sherborn; the Ocean Spray Marion-Bermuda Team Trophy to a team of three yachts from one club or association with the lowest combined racing time to the Harrasseket Yacht Club of South Freeport, Maine, with a combined time of 14 days, 0 hours and 59 minutes, represented by Libra, skippered by Barney Baker; Panacea, skippered by Gus MacDonald; and Sandpiper, skippered by Charles Whittier.

Class results: Class A1 Celestial: 1. Wildflower, Sabre 402, Noonan, Marion; 2. Lively, Navy 44, Smith, Annapolis, Md.; 3. Swift, Navy 44, Buchina, Annapolis, Md.

Class A2 Electronic: 1. Despedida, Alden 54, Cannistraro, Annapolis, Md.; 2.

Sequoia, Little Harbor 50, Severance, Manchester, NH; 3. Babe, Swan 46, Couper, Pembroke, Bermuda. Class B1 Celestial: 1. Spinache, Island Packet, Lawless, Cornwall, NY; 2. Panacea, Pilot 35, MacDonald, Freeport, Maine; 3.

Solution, Custom 50, Bacon, Sherborn. Class B2 Electronic: 1. Veritas, Frers 46, Hutchinson, Harwood, Md.; 2. Winsome, Dawn 48, Endicott Davison, Boothbay, Maine; 3. Thistle, Sequin 44, Bruce MacNeil, Lincoln. Class C2 Electronic: 1. Kitty Hawk, Nonesuch 33, Sanford, Swansea; 2. Bonspiel, Nordic 44, James Richter, New York, NY; 3. Altair, Little Harbor 38, Cody, Lakeville. Class D2 Electronic: 1. Solace, Tashiba 40, Owen, Northport, NY; 2. Frisco, Mason 44, Fred Voegli, Shad Bay, Nova Scotia; 3. Rhapsody, C & C 35, Asaro, Barrington, RI.

The members of the working committee for the Schwartz Regatta, hosted June 23 by the Low Tide Yacht Club, put in a "lot of hours to make the event a success," according to co-chair Paul Barton. Not one to hog the spotlight, Barton wants to give credit to the other two co-chairs, Lesley Perry and David Alves, both longtime LTYC members who "worked as hard, if not harder" than him to make the event a success.

Results for the Low Tide Yacht Club, Series 2, Race 1, Course: 6.43 miles: Cruising Class 2: 1. TireLess, Gil Canastra, 01:18:24; 2. Breezin', Darryl Murphy, 01:20:01; 3. Dragon, Dick Hitchcock, 01:23:04; 4. Head Girl, Chris Fletcher, 01:30:18. Cruising Class 3: 1. SeeFest, Ira Perry, 01:25:57; 2.

Pieces of Eight, Mark Thornhill, 01:28:34; 3. Prudence II, Ted Cioper, 01:30:43; 4. Fiddlers Green, Jay Cafferty, 01:31:01; 5. Absolutely, Dan Oliveira, 01:38:26; 6. Trade Secret, Eric Arnessen, 01:44:55; 7. Ms. Hannah, Ray Davignon, 02:05:15; DNC � Ventana, Don Gracia; Banzai, Morris.

Results for the first Wednesday night race for the Mattapoisett Yacht Club held June 27 are (all times corrected): Class A: 1. Club A, Steve Andleman, 00:45:41; 2. Lung Ta, Paul Silva, 00:46:23; 3. In Deep, Bob Warren, 00:47:05; 4. Horizon, John Flood, 00:48:38; 5. TireLess, Gil Canastra, 00:50:17. Class B: 1. Survivor, Brian Lynch, 00:37:29; 2. Gryphon II, Susan McGowan, 00:38:03; 3. Carina, Jim Broadwater, 00:38:23; 4. Heron, Dick Prouty, 00:40:11; 5. Chickadee, Charles Smith, 00:41:11. Class C: 1. Poop Deck Pappy, Bob Saltmarsh, 00:39:32; 2. Barkley, Harvey Pentleton, 00:39:59; 3. Mariner, M. Correira, 00:40:04; 4. Jan Cap, David Jenney, 00:40:32; 5. Sunfish, B. McGowan, 00:41:40.

Barbara Veneri sails a 28-foot Soverel yawl in and around Buzzards Bay. You can reach her by e-mail at: bveneri@hotmail.com or by fax at: (508) 997-7491.

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