The 2020 Ms. Race Stays the Course
28 OCTOBER 2020 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY LORI DRAZ | Photos courtesy of Pete Buoy
The 16th annual Ms. Race, held at
the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club
(AHYC) on Aug. 22, was a tremendous
success. This year’s race theme was
“Stay the Course,” chosen to show the
all-women sailing group’s commitment
to raising funds to support 180 Turning
Lives Around which protects, advocates
and supports victims of domestic violence
and rape in the community. These
services are more necessary than ever
due to the spike in domestic violence
during the quarantine.
In March, Ms. Race committee
members wondered if they even
could have a race, but they followed
their theme to “Stay the Course,” and
though it was a little atypical, they
had a most successful and exciting
day on the water.
The event began on Friday evening
with a Virtual Captain’s Meeting
Ms. Race winner, Karen Harris, with her crew on her J120 Cygni
that welcomed captains and their crews from 10 boats spanning three
local yacht clubs and a new team of experienced sailors from New York.
Elaine Haher, past AHYC Commodore, seasoned J24 race captain and
three-time Ms. Race winner, shared her racing tips, along with the details
of the race course and pursuit start times as for Saturday’s race.
Race day was glorious on the majestic Sandy Hook Bay with no
storms for the female sailors. Captain Nitzan Levy, founder of Sailors
NYC, along with Ayme Sinclair, vice president of the National Women’s
Sailing Association, joined AHYC club member Janet Wurch to race on
Maritime Museum, was affectionately referred to as their “secret weapon”
while racing on former commodore Paula Del Coro’s Sabre 402.
in the light 6-knot breeze,
awaiting the selection of
the course for the day. Ms.
Race Course 3, the shortest
course at 5.45 nautical
miles, was announced
by the committee boat
captain at 12:30 pm.
The Pursuit Race started
at exactly 1 pm with the
sailboat Eduam crossing
the start as the light
downwind breeze died
and boats cautiously and
slowly limped across the
start until a slight breeze
picked up again. Eduam
was followed over the starting line by the nine other sailboats as friends,
families and guests gathered on spectator boats shooting photos and
cheering on the women with shouts of encouragement and praise.
The conditions on Course 3 had mostly light breezes with several
challenging light to no wind conditions for most boats. But the variable
conditions did not impact Karen Harris and her crew on her prized
J120 named Cygni. Harris effortlessly sailed the light breeze course to
win the race in a remarkable one hour, 45 minutes and 48 seconds.
She was followed by expert racer Elaine Haher on her J24, A Good Hair
Day. Third place went to Ms. Race Co-chair Eileen Campbell and crew
on her C&C 33 CODA.
Race day ended with a Virtual Awards Ceremony. Commodore
Jack Glass thanked the Ms. Race committee members for this featured
AHYC club charity race. Lynn Lucarelli, director of development 180,
and an emotional Anna Diaz-White, executive director 180, shared
their heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported 180 Turning Lives
Around, mentioning a special deep appreciation for being one of the
few charity events to be held during these unprecedented times.
Ms. Race supporters raised more than $15,000 for this year’s
event, totaling more than $170,000 for the 16 years the event has
the 2020 Ms. Race campaign was everything I hoped it would be. We
tried new virtual events, were successful with fundraising and had a
good turnout for the regatta. I'm so happy that sailors outside of our
area came to race the event. We met wonderful women who promised
to come back next year. Everyone adapted to the new protocols and
worked hard to get things done.”
For additional information on the Ms. Race, visit AHYC.net and
Facebook.com/MsRaceAHYC.
To see more photos, visit TheJournalNJ.com.
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