A long-standing tradition in sailing communities, Wednesday Night Racing is a warm-season highlight for visitors and residents of St. Michaels. You don’t have to know a thing about sailing to enjoy the sights each week and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum offers a terrific location for an evening picnic to watch the races. Crossing the Oak Street Bridge on some Wednesday evenings, motorists are tempted to stop and watch as boats sometimes maneuver their course down the Miles River.
Three separate fleets race each week between May and October. Each captain is racing to be crowned “King of the Miles” for the year. The Star fleet is large, with 16 captains racing the classic one-design keelboats that are a standard racing boat in most sailing circles. The other two classes are made up of a variety of boats of different sizes and designs and are handicapped by speed.
To the casual observer, the races look confusing, as boats dodge back and forth in front of each other, while others turn and head in a completely separate direction. These boats are able to race against one another due to a system of handicapping, which is a way of leveling the playing field, giving incentive for slower boats to race and to even win their class. Using the Performance Handicap Rating Formula (PHRF), each boat is given a rating that assumes the best performance possible – in optimum conditions. When these boats race against each other, the results are unknown until the judges complete their calculations, using the ratings to adjust results. Any sailor will tell you, however, that crossing the finish line first always feels fantastic, even if they don’t actually win the race due to handicapping.
Principal Race Officer Marshall Patterson says Wednesday Night Racing is a relaxed and friendly competition organized by volunteers. Participants do not have to be members of any club to race on Wednesday Nights.
The season completed in early October. Preliminary season results are as follows: For the Star fleet, first place goes to Bob Flower on Lil Buddy, second place to John Jenkins on Jade, and third place is held by Patrick Penwell on Rebel Yell. The A PHRF fleet was won this season by the PF Flyers on Phone, just ahead of Team RX on Javelin, and followed by Jeff Staley on Ostinato. In the B fleet, Bob Larson on Blew Bird took first, followed by Jeff Pevey on Full Deck, and Norman Brown carries third place again on Pagan.
A highlight of the racing season is awards ceremony, with seasonal trophies for each of the three classes. Some special awards include the Hugh Kabler Memorial Award, and an award for a race each August around Herring Island called the James H. Wilson Round the Island Race. Some fun awards include one for the captain of the boat who is best dressed, who gets to wear a huge red and white plaid 1970s blazer; and the Lighthouse Award goes to the boat that consistently comes in last.
The last big trophy is now called the Highpoint Trophy and is awarded to the winner of the class that is the most competitive, determined by a formula. These awards and more will be offered at this year’s awards ceremony to be held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19.[slideshow id=42]
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