While Fleet 12 boats  were four of the five entries in this year's Newport Regatta J/22 Division, the one invader from afar, Dave Nickerson of Noank, Ct., came with credentials, having won in J/35's at the New York Yacht Club Regatta held in Newport a couple of years back.  Nickerson's presence would raise the bar for the locals. Beautiful weather greeted the sailors Saturday morning, but the action began slowly as the Race Committee started the first race  off Coasters Harbor Island in a very light northerly that turned to drifting conditions almost immediately.  The committee stubbornly stuck to its guns and only abandoned the race after nearly an hour, and one futile spinnaker set by Besame, still less than halfway to the first mark!  A nice 10 knot southerly quickly filled in and the regatta was set to get underway for real.

     The course for Saturday's races was nearly a fetch to the windward mark, creating a bit of a drag race, and sure enough, Nickerson immediately showed impressive speed in his J/22, "Don't Tell Mom", leading at every mark, winning the first race going away.  Besame, skippered by Rob Salk, was second, holding off a charging Machbuster and Paladin at the downwind finish (all races were windward/leeward twice around).  FJ Ritt, sailing on a Shields in this regatta, had turned over Paladin to his son Franz and Franz's Bates College Sailing Team "mates".  Flying a college pennant from the backstay, the Bates team had the boat figured out by the end of the day, finishing strongly with a first and a second.  But by then Nickerson had taken charge with three opening bullets, and despite a fourth in the last race, led Besame by a point, Paladin by four, and Machbuster by five.  Lowell Thomas's Chaos, sailing with only three aboard, gamely held fifth.

    Sunday brought a fresher south southwesterly breeze of 10 to 15 knots and a much more symmetric windward/leeward course.  Again, Nickerson looked good early, winning the first race, and Machbuster's fourth effectively eliminated any hopes that the blue boat may have clung to.  The second race of the day burst the Bates team's  bubble as an "OCS" spoiled a good finish and ended any realistic chance for their comeback as well.  So it was now down to Nickerson and Salk, with the Noank boat leading by one and throwouts not an issue as each had a fourth from Saturday.  Paladin shrugged off the disappointment of her "over early" and won the next race, but Besame's second evened the regatta, and her win in the next race put her in the lead.  But much to Besame's chagrin, the committee called for a tenth and final race, and just as each of the previous three races had developed, "Don't Tell Mom", Paladin, and Besame  were virtually nose-to-tail at each mark, only now with the regatta squarely on the line.  Paladin's presence made pure match racing more difficult and Nickerson was able to finish as strongly as he had started, pulling out to a safe lead on the final run to clinch the title and leave Besame a bridesmaid for the second year in a row.

    Once again, the Newport Regatta provided great sailing conditions, first class race management, and a cliffhanger finish with the outcome in doubt through the last leg of the last race.