Down the Bay Race

Around 10 p.m. on Friday night, the Carkeek 40 Rival engaged in a fierce tacking duel with the XP 44 Sitella around Smith Point.

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“I’ve got to say, it was pretty exciting crossing the bow of a Carkeek 40 after almost 12 hours of racing,” Sitella skipper Ian Hill said.

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Rival ultimately got the better of that battle, but Sitella wound up winning the war.

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Skipper Bob Cantwell and his crew aboard the Carkeek 40 captured line honors for the 69th Down the Bay Race, jointly organized by the Hampton Yacht Club and Storm Trysail Club-Chesapeake Station.

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However, Hill and the Sitella team were awarded the venerable Virginia Cruising Cup as the overall winner on corrected time. This marks the second time in three years that Hill received the Virginia Cruising Cup for top performance for the overnight passage from Annapolis to Hampton.