Perhaps you noticed a little more activity just outside Mattapoisett harbor last week as 30 Ensigns, a 22’ keelboat, raced off Strawberry Point to determine who would be the 2016 Ensign National Champion. One hundred and twenty sailors travelled from as far away as Texas and Michigan to compete in the four-day event. Ten races were sailed in various conditions with winds from 10 mph to 30 mph giving sailors a true taste of Buzzards Bay racing. The eventual winner, Bud Brown and his crew from Tom’s River YC sailing on Lorelei, bested the competition by eight points over Thom Hering in CanAm Express from Centerport YC. Seven MYC boats participated, placing two boats in the top 10 as Steve Clark placed eighth in Brou Ha Ha and Rick Warren placed 10th in Odyssey. Olivia Silva, sailing in her first national championship, raced the MattSail Ensign Slicker with her crew all under 24 years old.
MYC commodore, Bob Warren, who raced with his brother Rick in Odyssey, said “the racing was fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for better conditions.” He went on to thank the entire race staff headed by Mike Dahill, the PRO for the regatta, the 50 volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout and the Mattapoisett Boatyard for exceptional work launching and hauling all the boats and providing such a great atmosphere during the week-long event. Nightly events were catered by Joe Sauro from The Gateway Restaurant in Wareham and John Mello’s Sail Loft in New Bedford. Lunches for sailors were provided by Oxford Creamery, On The Go, Shipyard Galley and How on Earth. “Mattapoisett is certainly a special place,” and he went on to say, “With the help of the townspeople, the local vendors, and our town officials, we were able to put together an event that people will talk about for a long time. Everybody who came from out of state loves it here and will be back.”
The Awards dinner took place at Shining Tides on August 18 with over 150 people in attendance. Next year’s Championship will be held in Michigan and Commodore Warren expects some of the Mattapoisett fleet will travel out there to compete.
The next big event for MYC is the Hurricane Cup on September 14 in which everybody is welcome to compete, member or not. Boats as small as Bullseyes all the way up to 50 footers race together in a one-race free for all. For more information on all MYC events and for a complete rundown of all the scores of the Ensign Championship, visit the Mattapoisett YC website at www.mattapoisettyc.org.