1998 Newport-Manhattan Series
Kostecki, illbruck-PINTA Win Race to Manhattan, Set Stage for Formal Commissioning
NEW YORK, New York (June 2, 1998) — The One Design 48 illbruck-PINTA, skippered by AmericaOne tactician John Kostecki, won the
154-mile Newport-to-Manhattan ocean race of the 1D48 Class early this morning
— setting the stage for the formal commissioning of the international race
boat at North Cove Yacht Harbor this afternoon.
After fighting for position all night off Long Island, illbruck-PINTA
overtook Jim Dolan's New York-based 1D48 "Sagamore" as the seven-boat fleet
sailed in close company under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at the entrance to
New York Harbor.
illbruck-PINTA finished at 5:18 am, just before dawn, under the shadows of
the World Trade Center towers. "Sagamore" finished two minutes and six
seconds later. She was followed one minute and 53 seconds after that by
America's Cup challenger Dawn Riley, skippering "America True" from the San
Francisco Yacht Club.
The illbruck-PINTA campaign is the first entry in the Volvo Ocean Race
around the world (formerly the Whitbread Race), three and a half years from
now. The One Design 48 yacht is the
training yacht for the corporate campaign initiated by the illbruck group of
companies, headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. The campaign will later
commission at least two Volvo Ocean 60 race boats.
Today's win puts illbruck-PINTA six points ahead of America's Cup
challenger John Kolius who is sailing Jim Andrew's Abracadabra, from
Birmingham, Alabama, in the Newport Manhattan Series of the 1D48 Class. Kolius
finished in fourth place today, two minutes and 20 seconds after America True.
Racing in the Newport Manhattan Series wraps up tomorrow with a three-race
contest on the Hudson River off Battery Point. Although illbruck-PINTA has
a six-point lead over Abracadabra, either yacht can still win.
The race boats began their ocean race off historic Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island,
yesterday morning and although illbruck-PINTA started conservatively, her
helmsman Morgan Larson had her in first place as the fleet cleared
Narragansett Bay. Kostecki and his international crew continued to lead the
race on a long starboard reach outside Block Island.
Sagamore and America True grabbed the lead from illbruck-PINTA as the wind dropped off Jones' Inlet at 3:00 am. They were still in that order as
they entered New York Harbor at Ambrose Light. Newport-based navigator Ed
Adams made the call to sail slightly closer to the New Jersey shore and
illbruck-PINTA regained the lead and held it to the finish.
illbruck-PINTA will be formally commissioned in a ceremony in New York
today at 3:00 pm. The ceremony will take place at North
Cove Yacht Harbor, Gateway Plaza, 393 South End Ave., New York.
Current standings:
1. illbruck-PINTA 1-1-1-3-4-1-1 12.5 points
2. Abracadabra 2-3-4-1-2-2-4 20.0
3. Sagamore 3-5-2-2-7-6-2 28.0
4. Starlight 4-4-3-5-3-3-5 29.5
3. Windquest 5-2-5-4-1-5-6 31.0
6. America True 7-7-7-6-6-4-3 44.5
7. Leading Edge 6-6-6-7-5-7-7 51.5
Read the earlier story, Kostecki, illbruck-PINTA Win Around-the-Island Race and Build Three-Point Series Lead
