Texan William Turner and his Firestorm USA 87 crew threw down the gauntlet at the Midland Bay Sailing Club in Midland, Canada this week.
As a warm up to the North American 5.5m Regatta running June 23-26, the 5.5s joined MBSC’s Wednesday night club racing. With her distinctive red hull and black sails Firestorm was easy to spot in the fleet and she wasn’t just the first 5.5 across the finish line, she led the fleet of keelboat and shark racers, writes Jennifer Harker
This was Firestorm’s first race in North America since 1989. Built in California for legendary racer Albert Fay, her racing credentials include winning the World’s in 1983 and a World third in 1987. Following Fay’s death, the boat was sold and went to the Netherlands in 1997, where Firestorm sailed in the 50th anniversary races in 1998 and then topped the evolution division in 2000.
Inspired by her history and racing pedigree, as well as the half model that hangs in Turner’s home club of the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, he’s had his eye on the former Fay boat for more than a decade and is thrilled to own her and be racing competitively.
He and crew Tal Hutcheson said it was a bucket list to see the boat, never mind owning or sailing her. Hutcheson said, “It’s especially cool for me as Firestorm was built by a close family friend, my dad’s godfather. Being on the boat and being competitive is special, it’s a feeling, a real connection.”
On the first day of official racing in the North American 5.5M Regatta Nantoria CAN 22 rose to Firestorm’s challenge.
CAN 22 is sporting crisp new sails and buoyed by some slick spinnaker raises, John Lister and her crew cruised to victory in Race 1 finishing a full minute ahead.
O’Kelly CAN 79 and Firestorm were neck and neck around the second mark before O’Kelly put some distance between them and would start the day with a strong second.
Purple Haze USA 51 moved ahead of Firestorm as Turner’s crew had to wallow in the waves to fix a broken jib tack.
Dan Rossi was helming Purple Haze for the first time in several seasons as Savage USA 75 is home in Maryland for some work. Rossi has generously let other crews race Purple Haze which is all part of the program for the North American 5.5 fleet, constantly working to get more people involved in racing.
After tuning up in Wednesday’s gusty club race Rossi said he’d forgotten just how much fun USA 51 is to sail. That joy was evident as she would finish the day with three solid thirds and a fourth.
Race 2 saw a much tighter packed affair but with similar results Nantoria was across the line first, followed by Firestorm.
Don Cameron’s O’Kelly was having a good day until the unpleasant sound of ball bearings rolling across the deck and abandoning ship into the water meant the end of racing for the day. “We had a second and third and we were very happy,” Cameron said, “When all of a sudden ball bearings were everywhere. The jib car exploded and that was the end of it.”
Afternoon shore repairs were completed and Cameron said, “We put some blocks on it and we’ll race again tomorrow.”
Things heated up sharply in Race 3 and 4 as Firestorm and Nantoria matched speed, movement and tactics often rounding the marks together and trading the lead, fighting for every inch of advantage including some fearless tactics that kept everyone on their toes.
Lister said of the day, “It was great racing with good wind shifts and gusts to play and some nice tight leeward mark running.” He called Firestorm a slippery boat and said she is hard to catch with the lead.
For their part, Turner and crew are still learning Firestorm’s tricks. “I think Nantoria is the faster boat but Firestorm points and handles well,” Turner said. “She’s a low displacement boat built for racing and running, downwind she’s very quick which helps tremendously.”
It all bodes well for the next days of competitive racing.
It was all smiles for Firestorm USA 87 (skipper William Turner, Jeff Brook and Tal Hutcheson) after a strong first day of racing at the North American 5.5M Regatta
It was a familiar sight all afternoon as Nantoria CAN 22 and Firestorm USA 87 shadowed each other, trading leads throughout the four races. Both boats registered two firsts on the day which will keep things interesting.