Primal Scream Racing

Reports & Articles

January 2009

KEY WEST RACE WEEK, January 19-23, 2009
First Overall, PHRF 1
PHRF Boat Of The Week “Key West Trophy”
By Steven M Stollman, Owner/Skipper

Key West Race Week is the pinnacle of our sport and the title for which hundreds of yachts from all corners of North America and Europe compete annually. Only meticulously equipped racing machines and finely honed teams bother to attend this five day, 10-race event that challenges crews and tests vessel integrity like no other.

In January 2006, just two months after taking delivery of Primal Scream, we competed in our first KWRW. It was a cruel and humbling experience for the Primal crew as we faced repeated hardware failures and were consistently out-sailed during five days of 20-30 knot breezes. Repairing and jerry-rigging our boat each night, by sheer will we made it to the start line every morning. We finished in 13th place. However, in the end we were much smarter about what it would take in terms of crew and vessel competency to compete at the “Grand Prix” level.

In 2007 we returned to KWRW and finished 4th after an impressive claw back from laying 9th after day two. We knew then that we had it in us. Just as 2006 taught us how to sail in heavy air, 2007 offered a lesson in light winds with peak winds for the week around 12 knots.

Last year, with only half the crew “regulars”, we finished 2nd, pleased with our standing but knowing we could have done better.

After three years of dialing in the boat, three years of training and painstaking attention to hardware and rigging functionality, we knew we had the experience it takes to win. With our expanded North Sails inventory and an elevated sense of confidence following a string of successive wins (including the recent 2008 SE Florida PHRF Championship), we came to Key West feeling this was to be our year. And so it was……

KWRW 2009 was host to two strong cold fronts, ushering in brisk but unsettled 20 knot conditions early in the week, and then settling in to a consistent northerly 10-17k breeze. We capitalized on our heavy air strengths during the first two days of racing, driving deep on the downwind legs against our prit-boat competitors. We finished Tuesday with three bullets and a deuce in our holster and a comfortable 9 point lead on the J-120 El Ocaso, our closest competitor.

At this point, as expected, every boat in the class had Primal Scream in their cross-hairs, camping on us whenever possible. Being the slow boat in the Class (PHRF rating 66), it was at times a challenge to finesse a clear air lane. On Wednesday, in wildly shifty conditions, Primal Scream lost two points to El Ocaso, finishing the day with only a 7 point lead.

On Thursday we honed in on El Ocaso in an attempt to wrap up the regatta. A late wind shift on the final run of Race 7 gave us a timely boost and by Race 8 we focused solely on El Ocaso. Our scores for the day were 3 & 6 while El Ocaso scored a 5 & 7 – our lead going into Friday was up to 10 points.

Knowing too well “it’s not over till the fat lady sings”, we approached the races on Friday (Races 9 & 10) with the same focus and enthusiasm as we did for Race 1 on Monday.

We posted a 4th & 3rd on Friday – the last race being arguably the best we sailed all week – and finished the regatta in 1st place with a total of 26 points.

The tables turned on the last day for the balance of the “Podium Finishers” with Wairere (a Thompson 30) and Kali (a BH 36) eclipsing El Ocaso for 2nd and 3rd places respectively with 34 and 39 points.

In addition to PHRF Class 1 Overall winner, Primal Scream won the Key West Trophy, which is awarded to the PHRF Boat Of The Week (Most Competitive Class).

Achieving First Place and PHRF Boat Of The Week at Key West 2009 represents the culmination of three years of hard work by those crewmates fortunate to have been there, and also by those who could not but have contributed countless hours to the dream. Our common passion for yacht racing brings us together, drives our ambition and is the catalyst which fuses diverse personalities into a cohesive team.

Every boat and every sailor that goes to Key West Race Week goes there with the expectation of winning. The truth is most will never carve a KWRW win in their stock. Congratulations to the crew of Primal Scream for a stellar performance and outstanding achievement! It is your victory to savor.

KWRW Crew: Joe Goulet • Phil Flemming • Stu Starkey • Dan Peckam • Steve Barry • Mike Block • Anson Mulder • Scott Giering • Jennifer Kaye • Steven Stollman

Special Recognition to Primal Crew instrumental in our KWRW success, but unavailable for the event: Jaime Topp • Marco Oquendo • Bruno Miranda • Rick Jarchow • Jorge Dalmau • Brett Mintz

To read the Sailing World interview CLICK HERE

December 2008

52nd ANNUAL WIRTH MUNROE
FT LAUDERDALE TO PALM BEACH, 12/05/08
C&C 115 Primal Scream: 1st in Class, PHRF A

The interesting strategic aspect of the Wirth Munroe “40nm drag race” up the Florida coast is choosing between a more direct route up the coast, where you may also benefit from a sea breeze, or heading offshore to the Gulf Stream in hopes of finding beneficial current.

Primal Scream chose to jib-reach out to the Stream, some 4.5 nm offshore and one of its rivals Second Wind, a Dufour 44, chose the coastal rout. Although Primal found 1½ - 2 knots of current along the western edge of the Stream, she suffered with 3½ - 7 knot easterlies with massive & frequent shifts. Second Wind was able to fly their Code 0, enjoying a more stable breeze averaging around 8 knots.

When 18nm from the finish, Primal Scream put its bow down towards the finish and hoisted its Code 0 then peeled to its 1A asymmetrical spinnaker. Primal Scream and Second Wind converged at the finish with both vessels finishing with a corrected time of 4hrs-36min-28sec, a dead tie for 1st Place in Class PHRF A. Unlike buoy racing, the Racing Rules of Sailing do not provide a point-to-point tie break procedure, a tremendously unique occurrence. For the first time in the 52 year history of the race, The Sailfish Club of Florida and co-host, the Cruising Club of America presented two 1st Place awards to two competing vessels of the same Class. Fair enough! A great time was had by all.

Primal Team: Joe Goulet • Phil Flemming • Bruno Miranda • Dan Peckam • Patty Corsiatto • Rick Jarchow • Anson Mulder • Scott Giering • Stu Starkey • Steven Stollman

November 2008

SOUTH EAST FLORIDA PHRF CHAMPIONSHIP ‘08 November 15 – 16

1st In Class; 1st Overall

By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

The Primal Scream gang kicked off its 08/09 race season with a 1^st place Class & Overall win in the SE Florida PHRF Championship on beautiful Biscayne Bay. Although having just returned to Miami from Annapolis, the Scream was in race-ready condition to do battle with a formidable class of competitors consisting of a J-120 (“El Ocaso”), an Aerodyne 38 (“Thin Ice”), a Sydney 36, a Melges 32, two Tripp 33s, a J-105, and a Custom UL 28.

On Saturday with a blazing sun and temperatures in the high 80s, the RC got off three light-air races in a southerly breeze. As bowman Joe Goulet says “when we’re in light air flying our A-kite, we are in survival mode!” By this he means that in mixed fleets the light-air advantage goes to the boats that have large overlapping headsails and/or A-sails on bow sprits. In these conditions, the crew of the C&C must work very hard around the entire course to stay in the game. Basically, they have to claw for every inch. It was no small accomplishment that Primal finished Saturday in 1^st place by posting a 4, 2, 2 on the scoreboard. El Ocaso was only two points behind so Sunday’s first race would be critical.

Saturday night the first real dip of the jet-stream ushered in a cold front which completely changed the playing field. On Sunday in 60 degree temps and 20 plus knots out of the north, the crew re-tuned their rig and loaded their heavy offshore main, #3 jib, and symmetric kites (when in S-kite mode, Primal can sail very deep angles and make huge down-wind gains against the sprit boats). Two races were scheduled for the day. In Race 4 (first of the day) Primal took its only bullet of the series and claimed line honors by beating the entire fleet boat-for-boat. This victory essentially locked up the regatta as the Scream gang now had a seven point lead entering the final race of the series. In a very unsettled breeze, Primal took a 4^th in that final race and finished the regatta in 1^st place with a four point cushion.

The regatta was marked by some extremely close finishes, which serve as evidence to the credibility of the handicap ratings. Primal Scream lost 1^st place by nine seconds in Race 2 and three seconds in Race 3. El Ocaso and Thin Ice put on a good show for the fleet during Race 5, essentially match racing for 2^nd place in the series. It came down to a matter of a few feet at the finish line for the evenly rated boats and El Ocaso came out ahead to finish the series ½ point ahead of Thin Ice. It is indicative of the competition level that four different boats were able to win a race.

“This regatta seems to get better every year, and the Race Committee did an outstanding job in shifty conditions. The SE FL PHRF Champ title has eluded us in the past, having finished 5^th in ‘06 and 4^thin ‘07. Last year we suffered a parted jib halyard during Race 2, made an amazingly quick recovery, and finished 4^th in the race. We went on to score two bullets in the five race series and still finished 4thin the highly competitive class. This year, we were determined to bring home the silver. Winning the SE Florida PHRF Championship is another feather in the Primal Scream hat”

Tons of fun, great competition, superb team work, and a passion to win.

Credits to the team: Bow - Joe Goulet, Mast - Stu Starkey, Sewer / Floater - Bruno Miranda, Pit / Tactics - Dan Peckam “Big Country”, Navigator (space station) - Jaime Topp, Trimmer - Rick Jarchow, Trimmer - Brett Mintz, Main - Wes Tone, Driver - Steven Stollman

Race Details: HYPERLINK "http://bbyra.net/2008/Results/111508%20SEF%20PHRF%20DETAIL.pdf" http://bbyra.net/2008/Results/111508%20SEF%20PHRF%20DETAIL.pdf

April 2008

ANNAPOLIS RACE WEEK ‘08 April 25 - 27
1st Place: NOOD
Winner - C&C 115 East Coast Championship
By Anson Mulder – North Sails

The Primal Scream road show continued with a hard-earned win at this year’s Annapolis NOOD, successfully defending its 2007 victory in the same event. The C&C 115 class grew to nine boats this year, and the competition was much tighter than in years past – evidenced by the fact that four different boats were able to win races.

Preparation was the key for this regatta. Primal arrived in Annapolis a week in advance and the crew began to filter in as early as Monday night. Most of the day Tuesday was spent on boat prep, with the goal of examining every conceivable detail. There were even reports that a North Sails rep was spotted lubing the zippers on the jib bags. Most of the crew arrived Tuesday night and finished the boat prep early Wednesday morning. We went for a 90 minute sail to work on our Super Light rig settings and finished off with a brief crew practice. On Thursday we went out for several hours, using the fleeting mid-day breeze to practice maneuvers and gain familiarity with our race course near the Thomas Point lighthouse. To say that Thursday’s activities were critical to our success would be an understatement.

Day 1: We didn’t exactly sprint out of the gates, with three lousy starts on Friday in very light air. Fortunately good boat speed and flawless crew work helped us to a 3,2 in the first two races. We capped off the day with an unlikely comeback from fourth to first on the second beat, aided by one boat rafting up on the weather mark and some uncertainty within the fleet about which of the multiple weather marks to round. The race committee was outstanding all weekend, but had a little hiccup in this race as they set two marks very close to one another and it was unclear to some of the five classes on the course which mark they were supposed to round. Due to the confusing circumstance, there was some interesting talk post-race between the 115 owners about protesting seven of the nine boats who rounded the ‘wrong’ mark or simply having the race thrown out. However, since the top three boats were separated by only one point with four races to go the owners elected to hash it out on the water over the weekend. In my personal opinion, this was a great example of sportsmanship in yacht racing, as Infringer essentially could have won the regatta if the rest of the fleet was disqualified.

Day 2: Saturday was a good day for the Primal team. In both of the two races we got off the starting line in good shape, rounded the weather mark in the top three, and eventually picked off the leaders to finish first. At the end of the day we had a six point lead with only two races scheduled for Sunday.

Day 3: The NOOD’s final morning offered a biting cold 10-15 knot breeze. We were the first boat out to the race course and spent the better part of an hour working on rig tune. I must emphasize that it was really, really cold.

We were conscious of the fact that second through fourth was pretty tight, so although we wanted to have two good races we also wanted to stay clear of the other guys fighting it out for spots on the podium. We quickly realized that the feeling was not mutual…. Sunday actually proved to be the best racing of the weekend with two very tight races between the top three boats. Every inch of the course was contested, with crew work and boat on boat tactics deciding the top spots. We were out-foxed by one boat in each race, but a 2-2 was a nice way to wrap up the racing.

Summation: It is always satisfying to win a regatta, but the competition level and camaraderie of the 115 class this year was outstanding. Most of the boats had flashes of brilliance and moments at the top (six of the nine boats rounded a weather mark in first), and everyone was gracious in congratulating our crew on the win.

The dedication of our crew is what won this regatta. In addition to the three days of the regatta, most of the team spent three full days in Annapolis for prep and practice. For most 40’ racer-cruiser programs, asking for one extra day is a lot, and I fully appreciate the sacrifices everyone made for this regatta. Thank you all and congratulations.

Special Credits from Steven Stollman:
Jaime – optimizing Navigator function in buoy racing – great data processing and interpretation.
Rick – awesome double time trimming of jib & kite.
Stuey – flexible, adaptable and focused, with vigor, Stu embraces yet another new job, this time the Sewer.
Exemplary Team Work – There is no substitute and it only comes from hard work, commitment and practice. As Joe says, “there’s practice and everything else is BS”

Annapolis NOOD Team:
Bow – Joe Goulet
Mast – Phil Fleming
Sewer – Stuart Starkey
Pit – Mike Block
Trimmer – Rick Jarchow Jr
Trimmer – Brett Mintz
Navigator – Jaime Topp
Tactician – Anson Mulder

January 2008

KEY WEST RACE WEEK
2nd Place Overall – PHRF 2
By Steven M Stollman, Owner/Skipper

Weather conditions for KWRW ’08 were crazy with “racing abandoned” on Monday due to gale-force wind, then “racing abandoned” on Wednesday due to no wind. In shifty moderate air on Tuesday, the first day of racing, Primal Scream and its crew of ten finished in third place with 11 points after three races. The second place boat had 7 points and first place boat had 5 points. On Thursday afternoon, the second day of racing, Primal advanced its position to second place by earning a pair of deuces in the two moderate air races. Primal entered the Division 2 race course on Friday with 15 points, 3 points ahead of its 3rd place rival (but only 1 point ahead with throw-out) and save a miracle, first place with 7 points (4 points with throw out), beyond reach. Our goal was to sail smart and conservative and defend our 2nd place position in the fleet of nine yachts: a J-120, a Sidney 36, two Beneteau 40.7s and four J-109s.

On Friday morning, in heavy air and 4 foot confused seas, Primal tucked in a mainsail reef and deployed its workhorse #3 headsail. This sail plan provided good maneuverability and control in the 20+ air but not quite enough power to punch through the lumpy sea state. We pulled off a 3rd in the first race of the day, and then acquired our throw-out 8th in the second race. We shook out our reef and came back with a vengeance to claim a 2nd in the last race of the series and clinch our class “Second Place Overall”.

Interestingly, our rival for 2nd place on day one of racing, J109 Rush, fell to 3rd on day two (Primal’s segue to 2nd) and 5th on Friday with the 40.7 Overlap rising from 4th to 3rd on Friday, demonstrating how consistency wins regattas.

Our success can be primarily attributed to “clean-air” launches off the start line, huge gains downwind (deep & fast), good mark roundings and consistency. Of course being on the correct side of the course and being in phase helped, as did our team work, energy and passion to win.

Hats off to the Bow Team: Joe Goulet, Marco Oquendo & Phil Fleming, Pitman: Mike Block, Trimmers: John Fryer, Dave Pikowitz, Chris Fortin and Bob Roitblat and Tactician: Hobie Cadieux.

June 2007

ANNAPOLIS TO NEWPORT RACE (60th ANNIVERSARY)
PHRF 10th Place Overall
Every Finisher a Winner!
By Michael Block

After weeks of preparation and anticipation, the Primal Scream team set out June 1st on its first major offshore race. The historic, 473 nm (545 statute miles) race from Annapolis to Newport. Fifty nine competitors registered for the race with boats electing to race under either PHRF or IRC handicap rules. Primal Scream raced in PHRF, a fleet of 36 boats.

The team was faced with numerous challenges both meteorological and mechanical. Early into the race, Primal was plagued with electronic “Gremlins” which limited the crew’s ability to evaluate the changing weather conditions. Instrumentation troubles made just steering the boat at night a challenge. Due to the quick action of owner/driver Steven Stollman, a potentially disastrous loose rudder cable was repaired while underway before any damage was done.

The weather for Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday was beautiful. Primal Scream had a good start and upwind leg to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Twenty four hours into the race Primal Scream turned the corner into the North Atlantic and set up for a spinnaker reach. The strategy was to follow the rhumb line and sail directly for Newport. Several other boats elected to jib reach out much further to the east. Our strategy paid off initially as Primal Scream maintained her solid third place position throughout most of the weekend.

Conditions continued to be good until Sunday evening when Tropical Storm Barry brought winds in excess of 40 knots and seas of 15 feet. As the wind and seas increased, the crew executed many sail changes to de-power the rig, eventually ending up bare-headed and double-reefed. As Primal Scream’s progress slowed in the heavy seas, the boats that sailed east were in a better position to take advantage of the Storm’s wind shift and they began to pull ahead. The last 16 hours of the race became a battle of attrition.

Non-stop, after three days and thirty four minutes, Primal Scream crossed the finish line in Newport securing a PHRF 10th place overall (7th in Class). Due to the severity of the weather conditions, by the time it was over, more than one-third of the boats retired from racing seeking safe harbor back in the Chesapeake or New Jersey shore. Says Stollman “any boat finishing this race should consider themselves a winner, it was definitely the most demanding conditions I have ever experienced: high winds, heavy seas, cold rain and columns of green water crashing over the deck during a pitch black night – not for the faint of heart. Crew management was vital to avoid fatigue and hypothermia; we shortened watch periods as weather worsened”.

Overall, the 2007 Annapolis-Newport race was a positive experience for all aboard Primal Scream despite a few hours of less than comfortable conditions. Crew performance was stellar and everyone learned from the experience. Special kudos goes to bowman turned driver Joe Goulet who thrived on the storm conditions, piloting Primal Scream for 13 continuous hours and ushering her over the finish at Newport’s medieval Castle Hill lighthouse. An extremely impressive demonstration of strength and stamina! With spirits high and the crew recovered from this latest adventure, thoughts are already on the 2009 race.

Annapolis-Newport ’07 TEAM: Joe Goulet, Anson Mulder, Phil Fleming, Scott Rice, Marco Oquendo, Jaime Topp, Mike Block, Steven Stollman

April 2007

ANNAPOLIS RACE WEEK ‘07 (One-Design) April 27 - 29
First Place: Annapolis NOOD
C&C 115 East Coast Championship
Primal Scream Continues Its East Coast Tear!!
By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

After two frustrating days of no breeze and no completed races for most of the one-hundred competitors on division four, day three delivered excellent Chesapeake conditions with clear skies and 14-19k of breeze out of the northwest. The AYC Race Committee was finally able to provide two good races on this last day of the regatta. Primal Scream prevailed over the other six C&C 115s with two bullets. The deciding moment in the regatta came when Primal, trailing Infringer by a half boat length at the last weather mark, pulled off a great spinnaker set while Infringer struggled with an hourglass. Primal was able to slide through Infringer’s lee and stayed in a covering position for the remainder of the two mile leg.

Primal Scream finished the day with a pair of bullets, Infringer a pair of 2nds and Blue Dog a pair of 3rds. Primal Scream was presented with the 1st place East Coast Championship award, a beautiful C&C 115 half-hull mounted on cherry wood.

As usual, great team work! Special thanks to Kenta Inaba who flew in from Tokyo to sail the regatta with us and Dan Pekam “Big Country” for a calm head and superb sail handling (he literally bled for the boat. Good job lads!

Annapolis RW TEAM
Joe Goulet: Bow
Anson Mulder: Tactician/Main Trim
Kenta Inaba: Jib Trim
Phil Fleming: Mast
Dan Peckam: Kite Trim
Marco Oquendo: Foredeck/Sewer
Jaime Topp: Navigator/Tech
Mike Block: Pit
Steven Stollman: Driver

April 2007

CHARLESTON RACE WEEK ’07 (April 13-15)
1ST IN CLASS; 1ST OVERALL; PALMETTO CUP WINNER
By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

Primal Scream alters history in the Mid-Atlantic Low Country! For the first time, the historic Palmetto Cup, which is awarded to the regatta’s most competitive boat, has been won by the same boat twice. They said it could not be done. But Primal Scream and her crew proved the organizers, the Charleston Yacht Club and Charleston Ocean Racing Association (CORA) wrong. Yes, the crew of Primal Scream retained bragging rights to the Cup for the second consecutive year after winning PHRF Class C.

Conditions during the two days of racing were not the Scream’s ideal conditions. With non-overlapping jib the big genoa boats had weather-leg advantage in the consistently light breeze. With hopes of more wind on day two, our day one strategy was simply to sail conservatively and just stay in play. We finished the day in third with a 4th, 2nd and 3rd place finish. Day two didn’t serve up a lot more breeze, but enough for PS to come alive and leg-out on the competition. We finished day two with a 1, 1, 5 punch. With no racing on day 3 due to gale force winds and tornados, Primal Scream and a J-33 had 15 points each. The closely matched competition on the off-shore course resulted in Primal Scream finishing with two bullets and four other boats taking one bullet each in the 6 race series. The throw-out race resulted in our 11 to 12 point victory over the J-33.

Even though the conditions were not ideal, we won as a result of our tactical skill, focus, perseverance and ability to change gears as conditions required. Our team’s sail handling skills (particularly our foredeck) allowed us to seamlessly switch between our complement of North headsails and S & A downwind sails. Hats off to the Primal Scream team! You guys are great!

CRW ’07 TEAM
Joe Goulet: Bow
Anson Mulder: Tactician/Main Trim
Stu Starkey: Mast
Chad Goodwin: Jib Trim
Phil Fleming: Foredeck
Dan Peckam: Kite Trim
Marco Oquendo: Foredeck/Sewer
Jaime Topp: Navigator/Tech
Mike Block: Pit
Steven Stollman: Driver

March 2007

Miami to Bimini
By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

On Friday March 16th The Key Biscayne Yacht Club hosted a resurrected historic Miami to Bimini Yacht Race which started off the Southern end of Key Biscayne at 8:10 PM. Under a sky which was pitch black but illuminated by awesome bursts of blinding lightning, 10 mono-hulls and 1 multi-hull raced the 42 nautical miles across the Gulf Stream. The convergence of two weather systems put pre-race forecasts “all over the map” but in the end, as a high moved into the Atlantic but with a Gulf low dominating, the breeze settled in at from 18 to 24 knots from the West, veering to Northwest after midnight. Gulf Stream currents varied from 1.5 to 2.5 knots.

Flying a spinnaker from the start line to just before the finish, PRIMAL SCREAM’s boat speed was consistently from 8.5 to 9.5 knots with the occasional 10 plus knot surf – good for Line Honors, 1st in Class and 1st Overall. The SCREAM finished at 1:38 AM for an elapsed time of 5 hours 28 minutes which “corrected out” to 4 hours 44 minutes. “We pretty much ran the rhumbline and even with fighting the Stream averaged 8 knots Speed Over Ground for the crossing. The crew work was impeccable and the boat felt as if she was on castors - what a trip!”

After a day of crusty sailors swapping war stories around the pool of the Bimini Sands Resort, all racers enjoyed a great Awards Party, complete with a Caribbean band and BBQ. The crew of PRIMAL SCREAM collected some impressive silver, including an inscription on the Club's Perpetual, and then cast off for a Saturday night sail back to Miami. Good times were had by all!

January 2007

Primal Scream Key West Report
By Anson Mulder, North Sails Ft Lauderdale

Third in class offshore; fourth in class around the buoys. Normally these results would not be something that Steven Stollman and our Primal Scream crew would consider a success, but in the case of this year’s annual ten-day marathon combining the 160 nm Ft Lauderdale to Key West Race and the five day, nine race Key West Race Week series, third and fourth wasn’t too bad.

For about five days leading up to the Lauderdale-Key West Race, the forecast looked too good to be true. 25 knots out of the northeast, clocking around to follow the fleet as it made a gradual right turn skirting the reef line between Miami and Key West. The conditions played out exactly as scripted, which led to a great – and sometimes hairy – spinnaker run in which the overall elapsed time record was broken by about two hours.

Our ride on Primal was an exciting one, with several wipe outs, one shredded spinnaker, and a round down/auto-jibe by yours truly. In every case, the crew knew exactly what to do, and our recoveries were almost instantaneous – our weeks of practice throughout November and December certainly paid off.

We finished the race in roughly 19 hours and 20 minutes, which works out to an average VMG over 8 knots. We beat across the line all of our closest competition including a Farr 395, a J120, two J109s, and a Dufour 44. The two boats that beat us in class were a Santa Cruz 52 and a Farr 36, both of which owed us over a minute a mile and finished hours ahead. In reality, the only true litmus test is how you fare against boats of a similar speed, so our third place was a strong accomplishment and a nice way to start out the week.

After Friday night’s awards ceremony at Kelley’s restaurant on Whitehead St, our focus turned toward getting Primal ready for Race Week. Saturday and Sunday were perfect practice days – winds in the high teens with maybe three foot waves. Perfect 115 conditions, and nearly identical to the 2006 Charleston Race Week where we won our class and PHRF overall with dominant boat speed. As it turned out, that would be the last we’d see of a decent breeze until Friday.

The thirteen boat PHRF 3 fleet included five of the new Beneteau 10Rs, two J35s, and five other boats of a similar size and displacement.

The range of PHRF ratings was 63 to 87, with Primal Scream as the scratch boat. We raced on Division 4, which is located directly south of StockIsland.

Monday through Thursday was light, with the wind topping out around 10 knots. Prior to the first gun on Monday, we had raced Primal in light conditions maybe six or eight times, and even more rarely against boats of a similar speed. To put it kindly, it took us a while to figure it out. The boats with overlapping genoas clearly were a little higher and faster (although we owed them time), and we had problems accelerating at critical times during the starting sequence. Downwind, we were forced to sail the same angles as the sprit boats, and were not able to take advantage of the 115’s large penalty pole. Our boat speed struggles led to some reckless tactical decisions, and after four races, we sat in tenth place – not exactly where we expected to be.

Although placing in the regatta now seemed unlikely, the crew did a great job of staying focused. The regatta presented an opportunity to sail the boat in light air against stiff competition, so we made some changes including loosening the new PBO rigging, loosening the headstay, and changing our trimming techniques, particularly when coming out of tacks.

Wednesday went a little better, and by Thursday Primal felt like a different boat. It was vintage 115 when we were hooked up – higher and faster than most of the competition. Better boat speed facilitated the way for better tactics, and we picked a few nice shifts en route to putting a 1,2 on the scoreboard. These scores were good enough to win our class for the day, which is an accomplishment for any boat at KWRW. We followed up with a third in the final race on Friday, and rallied to finish fourth in our class. In every sense, we had to consider it a successful regatta - we learned a great deal about sailing the boat in light air during the first half of the regatta and our success in the second half of the regatta confirmed that we were on the right track with a fast boat, great sails, and a strong crew.

Next stop is Charleston Race Week to defend our 2006 1st place Palmetto Cup win…

June 2006

C&C 115 "Primal Scream" takes 2nd place at Block Island Race Week
By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

After 5 days of hard fought racing resulting in 4 bullets out of 8 buoy races, Primal Scream finished 2nd overall in PHRF Class 2, missing 1st place by a mere 10 seconds!

To everyone who participated in BIRW (Anson, Marco, Phil, Gia, Todd, Doug, Sheridan, Neily, Chris, Dave) a huge Thank You for an incredible all out effort. Excellent crew work, strategy & tactics (particularly in race 9), beautiful venue, good house, loads of fun and most of all, great friends, competitors and team mates.

RACE NOTES:

Primal Scream twice beat all boats in Class "boat-on-boat". Primal Scream's ECSA PHRF rating = 69. Class included a Taylor 42(rates 47), two J-120s (rates 48 & 55) and a Beneteau 40.7 (rates 54).
Class 1 & 2 were started together (13 boats) with Primal Scream the smallest and highest rated boat of both fleets.
Race #7 (Thursday) was a 20nm distance race around Block Island.
A second place in race 8 would have secured us a Class 1st overall. We corrected out to 3rd place, missing the required 2nd place by 10 seconds.
We played musical pit: 3 different pitmen in 5 days (all excellent).

April 2006

C&C 115 Primal Scream Wins Charleston Race Week
By Anson Mulder, North Sails Ft Lauderdale

Since Steven Stollman's C&C 115 Primal Scream was splashed in Miami last November, we'd performed extremely well in the local Biscayne Bay regattas, finishing in the top three virtually every time out. Strong finishes in two offshore races (Lauderdale-PalmBeach and Lauderdale-Key West) further confirmed that we had a fast, versatile boat, a strong sail inventory, and a great crew. Although I raced against Steve at both Key West and Miami Race Weeks, I was excited to get back on Primal for Charleston Race Week to see how we stacked up against the competition outside of SouthFL.

Looking at the scratch sheet, CRW would prove to be a good litmus test for us. Among the thirteen entrants in PHRF B, there were a handful of heavy hitters and a few sleepers. The C&C 115 Blue Dog had raced along side Primal throughout both KWRW and MRW, and we certainly knew they would be a factor.

Last year's CRW winner Temptress (SR 33) had performed well in the southern circuit, with a first at KWRW in PHRF 4.Temptress also sailed well at MRW, with a third in PHRF 3, a class that was won by another Charleston competitor - the B 32 Defiance.

Although we didn't know it on Friday morning, we certainly knew by Sunday afternoon that there were two other strong boats in the fleet - a local J 35 with a ton of experience and a J 33 that certainly snuck up on everyone. We also recognized that in a thirteen boat fleet, an OCS, DNF, or DSQ would prove costly.

Day one couldn't have gone better. Our game plan was for conservative starts which would allow us to rumble and let our boat speed get us up to the front. We had great upwind and downwind speed, minimized our mistakes, and caught a couple breaks to take two bullets.

With steady wind pressure and direction, it was a boat speed day - good evidence that C&C had built a boat that was fast all around the course and organized well so the crew could easily execute while turning the corners.

Day two was more of the same, only a little windier (18-25).The first race was going as planned, and we were approaching the second windward mark a few boat lengths behind Blue Dog. Disastrously, the kite slipped out of its bag near the starboard tack layline and within moments we were parked with the sail completely submerged, wrapped around the rudder. We rebounded well for the second race, but at the end of the day our scores were 1-1-14-2, and we needed two races on Sunday to qualify for a throwout.

By Sunday the wind had shifted nearly 180 degrees to the northeast, which produced a different wave pattern and trickier conditions. We used our boat speed to set up for a couple large shifts and took a second in the first race. A top three finish in the second race would lock up the regatta.

A quick OCS left us with some catching up to do, but again our steady boat speed allowed us to find good lanes, pick shifts, and sneak back up toward the front. A final exciting run in which we match raced Blue Dog for third place ended with Primal ahead by 0:02, and the regatta safely sealed up. Primal Scream was also awarded the Palmetto Cup for winning the most competitive PHRF class. Next stop: Annapolis NOOD.

A Special Note from Steven Stollman to his Crew

For those who were able to sail at CRW (Anson, Marco, Joe, Chad, Paul, Russ, Rick, Stu & Jaime), a huge thank you for an awesome regatta. After a great 1st day (2 bullets), but a worrisome 2nd day (1st race "DNF"), the Primal Scream crew remained focused and confident and on day 3 clawed it's way to a PHRF Class B overall victory, a PHRF overall victory and a place of perpetual honor on Charleston Yacht Club's Palmetto Cup trophy. We left nothing on the table! Again, many thanks for the hard work, commitment, perseverance and boundless energy which in 5 short months has elevated this team to a position of prominence in the world of yacht racing. The following is a list of the silver earned during this regatta:

DAY 1 - 1st Place Trophy
DAY 3 - 3rd Place Trophy
CLASS OVERALL - 1st Place Trophy
PHRF OVERALL MOST COMPETITIVE (all classes) - 1st Place Perpetual Trophy + 3 day SeabrookIsland golf vacation.

January 2006

Ft Lauderdale to Key West (“Feeder”) Race
By Anson Mulder, North Sails Ft Lauderdale

C&C 115 “Primal Scream” owned and skippered by Steven Stollman of Key Biscayne, Florida, secured a 1st place win in PHRF Class C in this year’s 160 mile Key West Feeder Race. Primal Scream had a corrected elapsed time of 17hr-18-58, beating the Class runner-up by over 9 minutes, along with beating half of the PHRF A and B competitors. Although not registered under IRC, Tim Jacket calculated that if Primal Scream was registered under IRC, she would have taken 1st place in IRC, beating the TP-52 “Sjambock” by about 46 minutes! The Primal Scream team of 9, including Chicago based 115 owner Don Waller, worked tirelessly throughout the night to obtain and maintain it’s lead. In addition to constant, detailed attention to navigation (nearly entire passage traverses treacherous covered reefs), the team’s strategy of always flying the best sail for current conditions paid off. Although this strategy meant the bow was busy performing 16 spinnaker peels during the “hours-of-darkness”, it kept the 115 rumbling while others stalled in changing conditions.

Says Stollman “the 115 performed flawlessly and she comfortably accommodated the sail inventory, crew and provisions required for a successful distance campaign”.

December 2005

C&C 115 “Primal Scream” at the Wirth M. Munroe Invitational
By Steven M. Stollman, Owner/Skipper

On Friday, only two weeks after delivery of my C&C 115 "Primal Scream", we did our first open water distance race, the Wirth M Munroe Invitational Yacht Race, a race from Ft Lauderdale to Palm Beach, organized by the CCA and the Sailfish Club of Florida.

The 46-mile rhumb-line distance was a beat all the way with a northerly blowing at 25+ and the Gulf Stream roiling with 8 footers and the occasional square 10-12 footer. Although we were overpowered with our Heavy #1 (North still building my #3), Primal Scream" handled the seas beautifully. After doing a 720 penalty turn and 5hr 28min of sailing, we were first to cross the line in Class B (8 boats, including a J-120 and a Wauquiez 47) and corrected out to a Class 2nd place, missing first by only 1min 30sec. Caruluna, Cai Svendsen's C&C 99 took 1st place in Class C (also 8 boats) and took 1st place overall for the regatta.

On Sunday, Primal Scream had her Miami debut here on Biscayne Bay. With light air (~6k) we competed in the Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association's PHRF regatta #11.We were first to cross the finish line in both races and on a time-on-distance basis corrected out to a Class 1 bullet and second. A great first showing for the 115 and a huge boost for the Primal crew!