PEARSON FLYER BLAZE STAR WINS RACE TO OXFORD
Pat and Amy Teeling win in summer Race to Oxford
Pat Teeling attributes Blaze Star’s victory in the summer Race to Oxford to poor conditioning.
Teeling sails the Pearson Flyer doublehanded with wife Amy and a downwind start meant setting the spinnaker. Pat handles foredeck duties since Amy steers the boat.
Host Tred Avon Yacht Club started the Race to Oxford on Aug. 13 and it was extremely hot and humid that Friday.
“After the start gun sounded and the spinnaker was up and drawing, I sat down to catch my breath and futilely wipe my brow,” Teeling said. “But the pool of sweat I was in soon paled in comparison to the flood of self-doubt as I looked at our class gathering way and sailing off to the east while we lonesomely sailed away to the west.”
Teeling had planned to stay on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay based off the forecast. However, he began to question himself
after seeing perennially successful skipper John White lead the charge to the east.
“It is hard to hold to your convictions when you see more talented sailors than yourself head the other way,” Teeling said. “But, quite frankly, I was too hot and too out of breath to get up and gybe over to join the fleet. Amy, thankfully, just thought I was carrying out my plan. So off to the west we went.”
However, as the fleet progressed down the bay, it slowly became apparent that Teeling’s decision to stay west might pay off. A check of the hand-bearing compass showed Blaze Star was indeed gaining on the boats that went east.
“A gybe back toward the east to consolidate with our class and lo and behold, it looked like the west had paid off after all as we crossed in front of our class and soon crossed the finish line off Black Walnut Point to squeak out a win,” Teeling said.
Of course, it helped that organizers with Tred Avon Yacht Club shortened the course due to light winds that never topped eight knots. Setting the finish line at G7 near Black Walnut Point eliminated the Choptank River portion of the race.
Blaze Star took first in PHRF B class with a corrected time of 4 hours, 22 minutes and 15 seconds. That was just over two minutes better than White aboard his new Abbott 33.
“I think it’s rare that being out of shape has an upside, but in this race, I think it factored into our success,” Teeling said. “However, I promise not to rely on that again.”
Because there was not the usual powerboat chop, Teeling said the flat water made for good boat speed and Blaze Star hit six knots a few times en route to capturing the largest class in the race with eight entries.
Arnold resident Nick Iliff skippered Muskrat to top honors in PHRF A, which attracted only four boats. Iliff and his brothers have done more than 50 races to Oxford and their strategy is always the same — go east in the bay regardless of wind and current conditions.
“Sometimes this plan works and for this race it did,” said Iliff, who felt the light winds and flat water suited the modified J/105.
Muskrat, which wound up capturing line honors, also benefited from a bit of luck. After wrapping the spinnaker around the headstay on the first gybe of the day, the crew had to gybe back and found better air as a result.
The Iliff brothers saw their good fortune continue as the fastest boat in the fleet sailed into a hole on the western side. Finally, the J/105 enjoyed a comfortable fetch on approach to the finish line, while the class competition was beating due to an unfavorable wind shift.
Charlie Iliff drove downwind and handled upwind jib trim, doing “his usual fantastic job” of both, his younger brother said. Nick Iliff steered at the start and served as spinnaker trimmer. Mike Cranfield worked the bow, while Bill Folkerts trimmed the main and handled the spinnaker halyard, pole and tack line. Teresa Batzer, Jerry Romanow and Bob Wagner helped keep the hull in excellent trim.
“This was the first race for Bob, who drove down from Pittsburgh for the opportunity to float around and be cooked on the Chesapeake, and second time on the boat for Jerry and Bill,” Nick Iliff said.
Batzer is a crew regular, while Cranfield has raced with the Iliffs for decades.
“We have sailed enough Summer Oxford Races that occasionally we have benefited from the often fickle conditions and won,” Nick Iliff said. “This is the first race in which we have been first to finish and have corrected first in fleet as well.”