Vineyard Race
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 82 times since its founding.
It is also the final race of the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy series, the New England Lighthouse Series and the Doublehanded Ocean Racing Trophy. In 2015 the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy was awarded to the team onboard SPOOKIE skippered by Olympic Silver Medalist Steve Benjamin.
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 Blue Yankee in 2007. Skippered by Bob and Farley Towse of Stamford, Connecticut, it covered the course in 20 hours, 20 minutes and 15 seconds.
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.
In 2015 Stamford Yacht Club held the 81st running of The Vineyard Race. The Vineyard Lightship Trophy for overall victory under the IRC handicapping formula was awarded to SPOOKIE, a Carkeek 40 [Club].