Photos and story by Art Petrosemolo
More than 20 one design and keel boats came to the line for the annual Monmouth Boat Club Labor Day Regatta that was sailed in picture-perfect conditions on the Navesink River September 6.
Lightning Skipper Randy Dickerson and Flying Scot Skipper and defending club champion Bernard Friel took one design around the buoy honors. Past Commodore Denis Farley took line honors in the keel boat Bridge Race.
Principal Race Officer David Watts set roughly north-south windward-leeward courses for the buoy event sailed in light wins hovering around five mph during the afternoon.
Dickerson, in his second year in the Lightning class, won his first regatta with first place finishes in the first and third race and a third place finish in race two for five points.
George Harrington, sailing with his wife and daughter, took second place in a tie-breaker with Dale Barney by virtue of his win in race two. Each had seven points. Commodore Pat Corr finished fourth in the tightly contested three race series.
In the Flying Scot class, the Friels (Skipper Bernard and wife-crew Andree’) took two of three races, finishing second in the second race for four points and a two point victory over Thom Lee, sailing with Melissa Pater, who recorded finishes of three, one and two.
Skipper Marc Gordon with two, three, three finishes and eight points finished third and thirteen year old junior skipper Topher Lucyk, with his dad Paul as crew, finished fourth.
Nearly a dozen keel-cruising boats sailed the long course to the Oceanic Bridge and back for their Labor Day competition. Farley, sailing a C&C 30, was first over the line followed by Ron Kudile in a Catalina 28. Sanderlings finished third and fourth with skippers Taugh Lynch and Santo Pezzuti at the helm.
The Labor Day Regatta marks the end of the summer sailing season at the 136-year-old, historic boat Club on the Navesink River in Red Bank.
