Annually attracting a fleet of 100+ boats over the Labor Day weekend, the Conanicut Yacht Club’s “Round Island Race” ranks right up there with many of the classic around island events. With the standard course for most boats presenting a nearly 20nm challenge, usually clockwise, around Conanicut Island, the fleet enjoys a picturesque tour around Narragansett Bay and an opportunity to traverse beneath two magnificent bridges—the Jamestown Bridge to the west and the Newport Bridge to the east. Competitors this year were confronted with somewhat grey, overcast skies in the morning with a nicely developed SSW gradient breeze that, ultimately, was reinforced with awesome sailing conditions later in the afternoon when the clouds broke like magic over the smaller boats in the fleet finishing later in the afternoon. In PHRF A Non-Spin, third in class went to the J/24 TENACIOUS sailed by Bob Iriye from Newport YC. PHRF B Spinnaker division saw its top five swept by J/24s with line and handicap honors going to Mike Hill’s OBSTREPEROUS, followed by Henry Lane’s FAST LANE, Maggie Borden’s HEFFA, Larry Buckley’s POTATO and Tim Pennington’s ISLAND BOUND. For more CYC Round Island Race sailing information, visit http://www.conanicutyachtclub.org/ATI.aspx.