On the first of January 2016, some hearty souls braved the elements, competing in the annual Dana Dillon Memorial New Year’s Madness (NYM) Race co-sponsored by Old Point Comfort Yacht Club (OPCYC) and Hampton Yacht Club (HYC). This is the first race of the New Year in the Hampton Roads area and it honors one of the southern Bay’s most superb sailors and racing skippers, who originated this race.
The late Dana Dillon was the 37th Commodore of the Old Point Comfort Yacht Club, a member of the Hampton YC, and skipper of Amarylyn. Dana liked to race on New Year’s Day so that he could state for one day that he had raced every day of that year! After Dana crossed over to Fiddler’s Green the race was renamed in his honor, to be thereafter known as the Dana Dillon Memorial New Year’s Madness Race.
As it does every year, the race day started after a hearty breakfast at HYC. Racers got off on a downwind start with a flooding tide. Under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 40s, and light and variable winds that backed from north to west, it was a day for some great spinnaker sailing. Most of the spinnaker boats popped their chutes just prior to crossing the starting line and continued that way for most of the race. The NYM race is mercifully short, just under six nautical miles out of Hampton Creek, around the Hampton Bar, and then finishing off the Old Point Comfort docks.
This being a typical pursuit race, each boat had a separate start time based on her PHRF rating. Even though Diablo was among the last to start, Greg Cutter and crew surged past their fellow competitors to take the overall win for the 2016 NYM race.
Following the race, skippers and crews gathered at the OPCYC clubhouse for a bountiful and crowd-pleasing post-race feast of grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, brats and John Scott’s award winning chili.
The order of finish for the respective classes was:
PHRF A
1. Greg Cutter, Diablo (overall winner)
2. Christian Schaumloffel, Mirage
3. John Blais, Stardancer
PHRF B
1. Guy Sorenson, Blue Ghost
2. Rose and Stocky Hobart, Pura Vida
PHRF C
1. Ben Cuker, Callinectes
2. Cheryl Merek, Whiskey Girl
PHRF Non Spin
1. Mike Tate, Aquarius
2. Greg Watt, Incorrigible
3. Dave Lively, Lively Lady
Cruising
1. Jonathan Romero, Tempo
2. Jim Forrester, Anjalie
3. Tim Etherington, Wine Down
By Captain Michael Turner, OPCYC and HYC
