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STARK RAVING MAD XI wins Conanicut Race

Around the Island Race (ATI) is the flagship sailing event the Conanicut Yacht Club and the crown jewel of Narragansett Bay yacht racing. Held annually since 1927, the ATI sails the classic 20 mile course around the scenic Conanicut Island typically drawing close to 100 boats in both racing and cruising classes. The ideal conditions for any distance race are favorable winds, advantageous tide, and warm weather – which the 94th Conanicut Yacht Club delivered on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend for the 90 boats that lapped the 18 miles around Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Photo Credit // Cate Brown Photography

VXOne Space Cadet was initially crowned overall winners but due to an unforeseen rating error, two of the four entered VXone sport boats have subsequently withdrawn from the 2021 CYC Around the Island Race.

The Race Committee has therefore recalculated the overall results. Congratulations to the correct overall winner, Jim Madden’s STARK RAVING MAD IX, on their new Carkeek 47 powered by Doyle Sails. Their name will appear on the Commodore John Quinn Trophy for the best corrected time along. Madden was also the winner of the Commodore Bruce B Brakenhoff Memorial Trophy for the fastest elapsed time.

Jim Madden, a sailing and downhill skiing enthusiast from New York, USA, has been racing his “Stark Raving Mad” series of yachts worldwide since 2000.

Jim began sailing at an early age, seeing him progress through Blue Jays, Lasers, a C&C 30 and a Ranger 33, all on Oyster Bay, New York. From there, Jim’s passion for sailing and adventure hasn’t slowed – with the Stark Raving Mad fleet of yachts including a J160, a J145, a RP 66, a J125, a TP52, a Swan 42, and a Swan 601, where Jim and his crew won many national and international major yachting regattas.

Jim now spends most of his time racing on the West Coast of the United States aboard his Swan 601, while the latest addition to the fleet is Stark Raving Mad IX, a Carkeek 47, which is based out of Newport, Rhode Island. The Stark Raving Mad XI is designed to the HPR and IRC rules and proven to be fast. The third hull in the series was built in 2013 before being modified and added to the Stark Raving Mad campaign in April 2021. The modification included an upgraded Doyle Sails inventory.

In third place was fellow Doyle yacht, Interlodge IV. Custom designed by Botin Partners and launched in 2015. Interlodge IV also recently secured 1st place overall in the New York Yacht Club Queen’s Cup.

Photo Credit // Cate Brown Photography

Individual class starts began at 1100 with the higher-rated non-spinnaker boats with faster boats starting later. The winds were southerly all day – making the race a true windward-leeward course. Crews started upwind towards Beavertail with the tide with them rounding the southern end of the island just as the tide turned and raced dead-downwind to the northern tip of Conanicut Island before heading back upwind again to finish off the yacht club.

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