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n the Neuse River between Oriental and New Bern, a Labor Day weekend tradition was reborn this year as more than two dozen sailboats took part in the 2010 Oar Race on Saturday and in Sunday’s Michelob Cup.

It was the first time in 8 years that the Oar Race had participants sailing from New Bern to Oriental. It was also the first time since 2002 that the Michelob Cup — the Sunday race Oriental to New Bern — took place at all.

Bill Jarvis of the Fairfield Harbor Yacht Club, an instigator in reviving the Labor Day tradition, says the events went “wonderfully” and that it was “nice to get the event established” again.

A hurricane had been in the forecast for a few days earlier and Jarvis says the organizers and sailors were “fortunate that Earl got out of the way.”

A little more wind may have been appreciated, however. It was “slow for the sailors,” allows Olwen Jarvis, commodore of the Fairfield Harbor Yacht Club, though she adds it was fun to watch the racing.

In particular, Bill Jarvis reports that the conditions presented a tactical challenge and “a test of skill and judgment.” In Sunday’s Michelob race from Oriental to New Bern, he says, most boats chose to hug the southern shore of the river to catch what wind there was. Two and a half miles across the river, a smaller group of boats took to the north shore, among them Oriental’s Henry Frazer, who, Jarvis says, took “a very different track from the rest of the field,” where the wind wasn’t so obvious.

Frazer’s tactic, says Jarvis, “ultimately paid off.“In such light air, he explained, a wind shift can give one boat in the right position a big advantage. Frazer’s boat, Oriental Express, won the Spinnaker Class in the Michelob Cup.

While the spinnaker classes had chutes to run under, it was more difficult for the other classes. Only three of the cruising class boats finished the race. More than twice that many had started and most dropped out as the winds waned in the late afternoon.

Eight years ago, it was the event itself that waned.

Corporate sponsorship for the Michelob Cup had fallen away after 2002 and with it went the Oriental-New Bern race. As a result, the Fairfield Harbor Yacht Club’s Oar Race, a feeder race for the Michelob Cup, had also stopped sailing between New Bern and Oriental. (For 8 years the race went between New Bern and Minnesott instead.)

It appears now though, after this year’s success, that the Labor Day weekend races between New Bern and Oriental are back.

Olwen Jarvis, said that her husband is already “hyped up about getting next year’s races started.”

Bill Jarvis meanwhile says he has a message for sailors in the Oriental area. Some had not taken part in either race this year because they didn’t want to have to first sail up to New Bern for the start of the Oar Race. Jarvis says participation in both races is not mandatory and that he wants Oriental-area sailors to know that they can opt to just race in the Oriental-New Bern Michelob Cup.

Results of the races:

2010 Oar Race Results

(Times are corrected times.)

Spinnaker Class – Oar Race

1. Super Bueno – Ed Doughty 4:03:24
2. Afterthought – Craig Wright 4:03:57
3. White Snake – Dave Furna 4:07:39
4. Compass Rose – Mark Brennesholz 4:07:45
5. Brown Eyed Girl – Edd Parker 4:18:49
6. 10acious – Mary Piepenbrink 4:45:54
7. Silent Pursuit – Dave Whitney 4:57:44

Non- Spinnaker Class – Oar Race

1. Fair Lady Too – Kathy Vitols – 4:25:07
2. Packer Tacker – Chuck Thompson – 4:27:14
3. Miss Whitney – Doc Panacia – 4:28:57
4. Longview – Ed Weber – 4:38:09
5. Cloud 9 – Lee King – 4:58:22
6. Tango – Marc Dupree – 5:19:46
7. Just Us – Tim Thompson – 5:48:27 – Current Hope

Cruising Class – Oar Race

1. Julie – Arch Altman – 4:40:15
2. Paramour II – George Story – 6:03:54
3. Ocean Road – Dave Watrous – 6:14:33 – Last Flight Out – Aquila – John Jackson – Sea Gypsy – Benjamin Grady – Sciatu Mio – Massimo Dell’Aria

2010 Michelob Cup Results

(Starts for this race were staggered between 10a and 11:05a. Time shown is time the competitors crossed the finish line.)

Spinnaker Class

1. Oriental Express – Henry Frazer 16:06:28
2. White Snake – Dave Furna 16:16:15
3. Super Bueno – Ed Doughty 16:17:29
4. Afterthought – Craig Wright 16:19:26
5. Brown Eyed Girl – Eddy Parker 16:25:55
6. Nevermore – Brian Brown 16:34:26
7. Water Phantom – Charlie Nelson 16:40:45
8. Compass Rose – Mark Brennesholz 16:43:55
9. Bonnaire – Mike Bonner 16:48:17
10. Silent Pursuit – Dave Whitney 17:02:56
11. 10Acious – Mary Piepenbrink DNF
12. Meltdown – Matt Bannister DNF

Non-Spinnaker Class – Michelob Cup

1. Cloud Nine – Lee King – 16:49:50
2. Fair Lady Too – Kathy Vitols – 16:50:28
3. Miss Whitney – Doc Palancia – 16:55:44
4. Packer Tacker – Chuck Thompson – 16:57:59
5. Longview – Ed Weber – 17:12:55
6. Tango – Marc Dupree – 17:32:57
7. Just Us – Tim Thompson – 17:44:01

Cruising Class – Michelob Cup

1. Julie – Arch Altman 17:04:22
2. Aquila – John Jackson 17:35:34
3. Paramour II – George Story 18:00:00
4. Arwenstar – Sean Bradford 18:05:00
5. Hooligan – Cole Hankins DNF
6. Sciatu Mio – Massimo Dell’Aria DNF
7. Sea Gypsy – Benjamin Grady DNF
8. Ocean Road – Dave Watrous DNF

Posted Thursday September 9, 2010 by Melinda Penkava