L to Right, McInnis, May, Williams, Brangiforte, Kaukeinen

Fresh off his win at the North Americans, Massachusetts’ Bill Brangiforte continued his dominant summer by winning the 2010 US Masters at Barrington Yacht Club in Rhode Island. Sailed in conditions ranging from hot and still to darn cold with a driving rain, Brangiforte topped at 27-boat fleet the weekend of Aug. 21-22.  

Doug Kaukeinen of New York finished second with Pennsylvania’s Chris Williams third. Mark May of New York and Bill McInnis of Massachusetts rounded out the top five.

Brangiforte’s win was his second at Barrington of the summer and his fourth Worlds qualifier victory of the summer. He won the first New England Regional at Barrington in June along with the second New England Regional on Cape Cod to go with his NAs victory. Brangiforte had to withdraw from the Worlds, and other regattas, in June due to an injured elbow.

The fleet featured sailors from Florida to Massachusetts and many places in between. Prizes were awarded to the top three finishers in each age group, with Brangiforte winning the 40-50 group, Williams winning the 50-60 group, John Meyer (9^th overall) of Virginia winning the 60-70 age group, McInnis winning the 70-80 division and Gerhart Menzel (24^th) of Connecticut winning the 80+ age group.

Brangiforte and Kaukeinen emerged from the pack from the start of the eight-race series. By Sunday it was clear that the two were essentially in match race mode. Sailing in a chilly easterly with occasional hard rain on the final day, the two shadowed each other across the course. With Brangifote and Kaukeinen dueling at the top, Williams made a big move on Sunday sailing well in challenging conditions to move up to third.

The championship came down to the final race, and when Brangiforte finished second and Kaukeinen was unable to overcome hitting a mark to finish 8^th.

Barrington Yacht Club, especially regatta chairman Bruce Morris and race committee chief Scott Walker ran a great regatta. The 2011 Sunfish North Americans will be at the same venue next July, preceded by the Youth NAs!

Full Results

The next stop on the New Engand Sunfish Calendar comes Aug. 28 in Northwest Connecticut. This regatta will count toward the ongoing New England Sunfish Championship. The event is held at the Bantam Lake Yacht Club. Skippers meeting at 9:30 a.m. For more information contact Paul Borse (paulb27@juno.com).