Vineyard Race
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The Vineyard Race is an annual sailboat race hosted by the Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, Connecticut. It is held every Labor Day weekend.
The 238-mile race was started in 1932 and takes racers from Stamford east to Buzzards Bay and back. The first race had 23 starters with five finishers. The race has been held 71 times since its founding.
In 1982 the race was described by Bob Bavier in Yachting as one of the "yachting classics." and:
- The greatest distance races of the world have several things in common -- a challenging course, competitive fleets and an interesting array of famous yachts. By those standards, the Stamford Yacht Club's Vineyard Race rates close to the top. Like a miniature Fastnet, the Vineyard has a combination of coastal cruising, where currents play a big role, a stretch of ocean sailing, and a mark to round -- the Buzzards Bay tower -- before returning.
The fastest time to complete the course was set by Titan 12 in 2005. Skippered by Tom Hill of New York Yacht Club, it covered the course in 21 hours, 42 minutes and 46 seconds. The previous record was set in 2001 by Bob Towse aboard Blue Yankee.
The race is several races in one. Competitors must navigate Long Island Sound before passing into Block Island Sound through one of several narrow passages where there are tough tidal currents. After rounding the tower they must leave Block Island to starboard before heading back into the Sound. A typical race involves a variety of conditions.
