“With all these parties, when do we get a chance to race?” To: All PHRF and IRC Racers Subj: The Edgartown Yacht Club 'Round-the-Island Race Weekend When: Thursday, July 26 thru Sunday, July 29, 2012 Go to: www.rtirace.org for the Notice(s) of Race(s) and details now. The EYC ‘Round-the-Island Race is not just a race. It’s a racing weekend. More parties, more races, more fun! This year’s EYC RTI Weekend is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before. Plus it’s the inaugural year for the RTI’s inclusion in the New England Lighthouse Series sanctioned by the Stamford Yacht Club. · Thursday afternoon, July 26 you’ll kick the weekend off with a 'Set Your Sights on the Silver' Welcome Party at the Club. An informal Skippers Meeting will get you ready for Friday’s Big Boat Event. · Friday, July 27, the racing guns go off with the no-entrance fee Big Boat Event, a series of buoy races where you can tune your boat, practice your crew and compete for prizes. · The races are followed by race sponsor Mount Gay Rum’s spirited “JumpUp” Party featuring live music, Bajan Buffet and an informal ceremony to award the Big Boat silver and distribute the coveted Mount Gay Red Hats. Skippers Meeting for the RTI will take place before the party. · Saturday, July 28. The main event, the 53.7 nm race around Martha’s Vineyard. First gun at 0800. There will be more classes and more opportunities to take home silver. · We also provide a heckuva sit-down dinner for hungry competitors at the Clubhouse after the race. Last year over 185 sailors feasted to their delight! Danced the night away to the Island’s favorite Deejay. · We relax the Club dress code (no muffy, buffy and stuffy) for the entire weekend, and you and your crew are entirely welcome to use the Club throughout. · Sunday, July 29. The Awards Ceremony for the 'Round the Island Race commences at 1100. Be sure to stop by the Galley Grill for complimentary coffee and muffins! We have planned a wild and wonderful weekend for people like you who love to sail and socialize together. On behalf of our Flag Officers, the Race Committee, and all of our club members, you are cordially invited to join us on the last weekend in July for what we’re sure will be our biggest and best RTI Weekend ever. Very cordially, Ned Brooks Commodore Sal Giardano Chairman, 'Round-the-Island Race Committee Register today at www.rtirace.org

Edgartown YC ‘Round-the-Island Race Now A Sanctioned Event of the New England Lighthouse Series.

This coming July 28th, 2012, the Edgartown YC ‘Round-the-Island Race will be a sanctioned qualifying event in the New England Lighthouse PHRF Race Series. Conceived by the Stamford Yacht Club, competitors must score in two mandatory races; the SYC Stamford-Vineyard Race, and the Storm Trysail Block Island Race. Competitors must also score in one of several races of their choice of which our RTI will be one. Others include the Monhegan Island Race, the Ida Lewis Block Island race, and the Around Long Island Race. Commodore Ned Brooks declared, “We are delighted that the Stamford Yacht Club, the sanctioning authority, found our race with five lighthouses and the only race run in Massachusetts waters to be an appealing fit for inclusion in the Series. Inclusion in the NELS is a very nice compliment for our race, our Race Committee, and our Club.”

We are also adding "strictly optional" buoy races on Friday July 27th, the day before the RTI. This should provide participants a chance to get crews out on the water, make last minute tune-ups, and take home some prizes. There will be no additional fee for the Friday buoy races and, yes, the bar will be open Thursday night. A separate Notice of Race will be prepared for the buoy races.

Past notable winners of this 52.8-mile race include RAMBLER, SCHERAZADE and MONEYPENNY to name but a few. Open to PHRF, IRC, Cruising class yachts, and One-Design classes, the race is a highly competitive but fun race for all participants.

Edgartown Yacht Club held its first race around Martha’s Vineyard Island in the summer of 1938, and, except for the years of the Second World War, the race has been an annual event ever since. The course itself is a splendid sail. It is reminiscent of the race around the Isle of Wight in England, which was the course of the first America’s Cup. The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is similar (only a few miles longer); both courses have views of cliffs, headlands, villages and open water; and the tidal currents and wind effects are important in both. The course around the Vineyard passes in sight of the seven lighthouses of Cape Poge, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West Chop, East Chop and Edgartown. In the morning the fleet sails between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday they are in the open Atlantic Ocean with views of the south coast of the Vineyard. In the afternoon, rounding the gorgeous cliffs of Gay Head, the fleet sails up Vineyard Sound, which was the second busiest body of water in the world during the age of sail. Prizes will be awarded for all classes Sunday morning, July 29. In addition to traditional trophies for placement within each class, Venona Trophies will be awarded to the top finishers in each class and The Commodore’s Concord Cup will be awarded for Line Honors.