Fifth Lady Liberty Regatta sails in heavy winds: Heidi Riddle continues dominance of this New York Harbor womens’ sailing contest
Final Report on the 18-19 September 2004 regatta weekend
The fifth sailing of the annual Lady Liberty Regatta, hosting world-class female sailors from around the United States as well as local female Club sailors, was held on Saturday-Sunday, September 18-19, 2004. The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation and the Manhattan Sailing Club welcomed eleven teams of five women to race on Club-provided J/24s. The racing was held off New York City’s Battery Park, in view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Saturday, the women were treated to a pounding by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, which blanketed New York Harbor for much of the early morning with heavy downpours and winds averaging 25-32 knots (with gusts approaching 40) and temperatures in the mid-50s. Though the rain ended by mid-morning, the heavy breeze persisted. With thunder mounting during the 0900 skippers meeting, the decision was made by PRO Stephen Yip to postpone racing until 1030. After further postponements through the morning, all races were cancelled until Sunday. The heavy winds persisted through the night and the next morning.
On Sunday Ivan had moved on and bluebird skies welcomed the ladies, but heavy breezes continued averaging 25 knots throughout the day. All sailors were on the water with the first race of the series scheduled for 0945. The combination of heavy wind, swift current, and the tide change made setting the starting line. Indeed, repeated attempts to anchor the starting pin were necessary before racing could begin. By that point, unfortunately, the heavy winds had begun to the take their toll on the boats. Four boats – Allure, Vogue, Wired, and Lucky – retired before the first horn could be sounded.
Race One – two laps windward/leeward – Close volleying between Riddle and Swett with a strong recovery by Besse.
The first race – a two lap windward/leeward – began just after 1100, with Condé Nast Traveler skippered by Brown ’03 Womens All American Whitney Besse initially starting in last after a misstart but steadily climbing to finish strongly . Bride’s, skippered by 1975 Rolex Yachtswoman of the year Heidi Riddle, rounded the first windward mark ahead of Glamour, led by this year’s Rolex Yachtswoman, Hannah Swett. As the teams worked downwind, Bride’s remaining in first, followed by Glamour and Vanity Fair (skippered by Joan Touchette-Porter). Taking the risk on banging a corner, Besse’s Condé Nast Traveler made up lost ground, rounding the second windward first – ahead of Bride’s and Glamour. Bride’s fought back on second downwind leg, however to overtake Condé Nast Traveler by 15 seconds to take first with a race time of just over 1 hour, Glamour finished moments after Condé Nast Traveler.
Race Two – one lap windward/leeward – Another close contest won by Riddle.
Pressing to get the required three races in during the single day, the second and third races were planned as single lap races. Nine boats were on the line for the start of the second race as Wired and Allure, skippered by two of the local Club skippers, rejoined the fleet. At the starting horn, Allure, skippered by the Club’s Danielle Gallo, and Vanity Fair found themselves over the line, but cleared quickly. Gusty conditions persisted. It was a close race, with the top four finishers (Bride’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Vanity Fair, and Glamour) crossing within 30 seconds of each other over a total race time of a zippy 38 minutes.
Race Three – one lap windward/leeward – Besse takes the gun.
After a brief a short break, the third race off without all clear at the start. The pack was tight coming around the windward mark, with Condé Nast Traveler rounding first, followed closely by GQ, skippered by Dartmouth ’01 four-time All-American Erin Maxwell, and Bride’s. These three boats retained this sequence at the finish, ending the race within 30 seconds of one another. Condé Nast Traveler took the gun in just over 36 minutes.
Race Four – two laps windward/leeward – Swett gains the final race.
With the requisite number of races completed to make the series official, the committee returned to a two lap windward/leeward. The woman started cleanly and rounded the windward mark closely and in the same order as race number 2 – Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Bride’s. In a dramatic New York Harbor face-off, a 250-foot chemical tanker thought the committee boat’s position in the channel to be unwise, and challenged its anchor placement with a brief game of chicken, resulting in the disappearance and loss of the finish pin. The competitors weren’t aware of this, and at the first leeward rounding Glamour had a 39 second led over Bride’s and 1 minute 39 second lead over Condé Nast Traveler. Glamour extended this initial lead to 1 minute and 10 seconds to top these two.
Overall Results – The Trophy returns to Riddle, honors also to Besse and Swett.
The day ended with each of the team members of the top three Lady Liberty teams – Heidi Riddle’s Bride’s, Whitney Besse’s Condé Nast Traveler, and Hannah Swett’s Glamour – being awarded Tiffany bracelets and Riddle claiming for the fourth time the Steuben crystal perpetual trophy for its trip back to her and her sisters’ home state of Ohio.
Final Results – Lady Liberty Regatta, Sunday, September 18, 2004
Race results:
Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 Total
1. Bride’s Heidi Backus Riddle 1 1 3 2 7
2. CN Traveler Whitney Besse 2 2 1 3 8
3. Glamour Hannah Swett 3 4 4 1 12
4. GQ Erin Maxwell 5 5 2 4 16
5. Vanity Fair Joan Touchette-Porter 4 3 6 5 18
6. Bon Appetit Katie Morgan 6 8 5 7 26
7. New Yorker Jamie Szoke 7 7 8 8 30
8. Allure Danielle Gallo DNS 6 7 6 31
9. Wired Madeleine Tan DNS 9 9 9 39
10. Lucky Katie McDowell DNS DNS DNS DNS 48
11. Vogue Meg Dempsey DNS DNS DNS DNS 48
The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity formed in 1996 to promote amateur sailing and racing of national and international importance in New York Harbor.