GLOUCESTER– Three tandems punched their ticket to Lunenburg Nova Scota on Saturday with wins in the International Dory Elimination Races at Niles Beach.
Mike Frontiera and Elin di Angelo (mixed doubles), John Scola and Mike Harmon (master’s) along with Erik Dombrowski and Joe Sanfillippo (men’s) all won their respective races Saturday while the women’s tandem of Denise Desautels and Edie Wald-Smith will represent Gloucester next month in Canada but had not competition to race against on Saturday. There will no be junior crews competing for Gloucester in September’s Lunenburg races.
The races kicked off with the biggest heat of the day, the four boat mixed doubles race, which features one man and one woman in each boat. Frontiera and di Angelo won the race comfortably taking a lead into the flag, which sits 1/4 mile off of Niles Beach in the mixed doubles, women’s and master’s divisions, and extending that lead on the way home with a time of 5:19, the best time on the 1/2 mile course of the day.
Mike Harmon and Edie Wald-Smith finished in second with a time of 5:40 followed by Geoff Thomas and Denise Desautels (5:48) and the team of Mark and Devon Harmon (6:06).
The Master’s over 40 division race was the tightest of the morning as Mike Harmon and John Scola outlasted Bill Edmonds and Alan Murray. Harmon and Scola took a lead into the flag but were caught by Edmonds and Murray on the way home. Edmonds and Murray, however, had to adjust their course so they did not finish outside of the course boundaries and it may have cost them as they ended up finishing just over a boat behind Harmon and Scola, who are multiple time International Dory Racing champs.
In the men’s division two multiple time champions raced to victory as partners for the first time as Erik Dombrowski and Joe Sanfillippo cruised to a win over Geoff Thomas and John Lucido.
Dombrowski and Sanfillippo led the race wire to wire finishing the one mile race course with a time of 9:14, 48 seconds ahead of their counterparts, who finished at 10:02
