sdyc.org

By Jeff Johnson
PC Around the Coronado Island Race
August 24, 2008

For the uninitiated, it might seem a stretch. But sailing a PC, the classic 34’ wooden sloop south around the North Coronado Island and back (30 miles approx.) from Shelter Island is an icon event on the PC calendar. Now, if the weather doesn’t cooperate and the fleet can’t make the whole distance, the fleet just rounds an impromptu mark and still makes an event out of it. But for the 2008 edition of the PC journey (Sunday, August 24th), conditions could not have been better.

The breeze was 12 to 16 knots from 280 to 300 degrees. This provided a close reach straight down the rhumb-line for the eight boats that lined up for the start at Buoy 17. Within 30 minutes, Point Loma was receding into the haze as the group charged offshore. About half the boats chose to fly kites and the other half kept a course a little higher and kept their kites in their bags. PC 45 Salsa (LaDow / Busch) was leading the fleet under spinnaker and taking the high road when they pulled a chain plate and nearly lost their mast. A quick head to wind and a tack for home saved the day. After about a third of the way to the island, it became apparent there was a wide interpretation on the best course. PC 54 Twilight (Worthington) was low of rhumb-line by more than two miles (as driven by the RC/Escort Boat JJ with GPS Navigation) and another group of three PCs had worked more than half a mile high! It was an awesome sight (and a relief to see such fleet parity) when they all came together at the back side of the island and rounded not more than 15 minutes apart. Everyone had made it out to North Coronado Island in less than 2 and a half hours. Nice!

PC 62 Wylie Menace (Sutphen) had a solid 15 minute lead at the halfway mark, but curiously picked a course that seemed the reverse of Twilight’s southerly reach out. They were sailing fast but really low of the course home. PC 31 Skylark (Hurlburt – not aboard) rounded the island near the back of the fleet but had a great rounding and was heading right for Point Loma – albeit 14 miles away and hidden in the haze/marine layer. Twilight had come from way south to round the North Coronado Island nearly overlapped with the rest of the fleet, footed off a little low of rhumb-line, but it was a fast course because they went from seventh to second place on the final leg of this great trip. Speaking with Jack Sutphen after the event, he noted that he realized he was headed for Mexico about a half hour after rounding N. Coronado and hardened up for the remaining 10 miles of the course. For his efforts, Wylile Menace was just able to clear Zuniga Jetty (with a nice ‘point effect’ lift) on their original port tack. With a couple of extra tacks for good measure, Menace and her crew crossed the finish line just five hours and 28 minutes after they had begun. Perennial PC historian Bud Caldwell noted that he couldn’t recall ever doing this race in less than six hours. And in fact all seven finishers bettered the six hour mark.

Congratulations to all the PCs that enjoyed such a wonderful sail and thanks to RC volunteers David Breazeale and Mike Dore for their patient shadow on the fleet aboard RC/v JJ during their entire trip.

By Shone Bowman
I-420 Junior European Championships 2008

After a spectacular summer of C420 racing in the US, SDYCers Nick Kaschak, Jake Reynolds, and I were proud to represent the USA in the 2008 I-420 Junior European Championships in Zadar, Croatia.  Before the event, we toured the city, checked out the racing venue, rigged charter boats, participated in the practice race, conquered the hotel waterslide, ate at awesome buffets, attended the opening ceremonies and in general had a great time.  Then the racing began.

Qualifying:  The qualification of the regatta was a two day series of six races.  Conditions ranged anywhere from 5 to 16 knots with some medium chop.  It was also extremely shifty, making tactical decisions difficult for those of us concentrating on speed in this new boat.  After the six race qualifying round finished, Nick and I felt much more confident and fast in the boat, allowing us to take our heads out of the boat and concentrate on the shifting breeze around us.  Both SDYC boats were in the top quarter of the 58 boat Silver Fleet heading into the four days of championship racing.  A relaxing and enjoyable lay-day ended quickly with plenty more racing ahead.

Days 1 & 2:  Always late to fill in from a consistent direction, the wind forced on land postponements both days for an hour or so before holding at about 10 knots the first day and maybe 6 the second.  The light air sailing made fulfilling our 3 race a day requirement tough and consequently, we only completed 2 races one of the days.  Also, with the wind coming out of a new direction each day, one could not rely on knowledge acquired from previous days.  Shifts could be persistent or continuously oscillating and puffs never stayed stationary for very long turning tactical decision-making into a real nightmare.  Despite the challenging conditions, or perhaps because of them, Nick and learned a ton about the I-420, tactics, and race management.  After 2 days of championship racing, Nick and I climbed up to 21^st.  With nowhere to go but up, we looked forward to the next couple days of sailing.

Days 3 & 4:  With more wind earlier, Day 3 of the Championship allowed us to begin at the scheduled start time with about 10-12 knots early on.  As the day wore on, the breeze consistently died off to a light and shifty 5-6 making for an early on-land postponement and later an abandonment of race.  Before the breeze shut off, Nick and I scored a 5, 4 with our SDYC teammate Jake Reynolds right behind.  The final day of racing was the windiest day yet with puffs at almost 20+ knots and with about a 3 foot chop.  The light and quick I-420’s combined with the O flag, (unlimited pumping and kinetics) made for fun sailing on all legs of the course.  Our only blunder was an unfortunate capsize on the first beat of the last race, knocking us out of first place.  Liberated by the ability to pump all the way downwind, Nick and I passed boats on every downwind leg which helped us to secure two second place finishes at the end of a spectacular regatta.

At the end of the event, Nick Kaschak and I moved up into 6^th while team Jake Reynolds/ MBYC skipper Kevin Laube held their well deserved 13^th in the Silver division.   Our thanks go out to SDYC and the competition fund that supports me so well, sailing center USKOK, our fantastic coaches Elizabeth Kratzeg & Zach Leonard, and USA I-420 Class President, Larry Law for all the expertise and help in Croatia.  This has been one of the best sailing experiences I have ever had with memories to last a lifetime!

By Matthew Morris III
2008 Youthfest
August 14-15, 2008

2008 CORK Regatta
August 16-20, 2008

CORK is held at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbor sailing center. The sailing center is located in Kingston Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and was used during the 1976 Montreal Olympics.  The annual CORK regatta is advertised as being the best fresh water regatta in the world, and it certainly lived up to its billing.  The seven days of sailing were split into two events.  A two day Youthfest, for sailors 18 and under, followed by the main regatta; open to sailors of all ages.

The Youthfest had 200 competitors sailing Lasers, Radials, 29ers, C420s, Open Bics Bytes, and Byte CII.  65 Boats competed in the Laser Radial class.  Over the two days of racing several races were started, however only one race was actually scored.  The event was continually interrupted and boats were called back to shore, as several thunder storms moved through the area.  Excellent coaching was provided for the Youthfest competitors during the regatta.  Chris Dold coached the Radials.  Connor Stein from RCYC came out on top in the Radial fleet.  I finished 4^th.

The main event hosted total of 600 competitors sailing in nine different fleets on 5 courses.   There were 164 Radials, making it the largest single class of boat at CORK.    Fleet selection, took place on Thursday and Friday, to divide the Radial class into Gold, Silver, and Bronze fleets.  My 34^th place finish, in the Radial class, put me in the middle of the gold fleet.

During the regatta, wind conditions varied from two to twenty knots, along with 180 degree wind shifts, making for a very challenging regatta.  The Laser, Radial and 29er gold fleets managed to get three full days of racing in.  However, the other fleets did not race on the first and last days of the regatta.  The first day because there was too much wind, and the last day because there was not enough wind.  Sailing on Lake Ontario brought up many new aspects to sailing, such as thermals, storm fronts and cloud patterns.  As my understanding of the conditions improved, so did my performance.  As the results from fleet selection carried over into the main event, I was able to work my way up 34^th to a 22^nd place in the gold fleet, by the end of the regatta.

In addition to being an ISAF Grade 1 competition and a Grand Prix event for the Laser and Laser Radial classes, sailors raced hard, competing in C420, Byte, Byte CII, Laser2, and 29er class North American Championships.  Fellow sailors from SDYC, at CORK, included George Saunders who finished 2^nd in the Byte CII class and Samantha Childers who finished 25^th in the 29er gold fleet.

Congratulations and thanks to the Kingston Yacht Club, the regatta organizers and volunteers, for putting on a well run and successful event.  I would also like to thank SDYC for their support in making my participation in this event possible

Bishop Rock Race
August 15-17, 2009
By Jeff Johnson 

So if you remember two things from this article to talk about with your sailing friends and crew, it should be that the Bishop Rock Race starts in Catalina and is 150 miles of off-wind sailing (minus the beat to SB and miscellaneous miles in light air).

For the first few years, the Bishop Rock race, as it was conceived, was an out and back course from San Diego and usually featured some mark prior to Bishop Rock – like La Jolla weather buoy or North Coronado Island. On the typical year, only the biggest boats could get offshore far enough to avoid the dying breeze near the coast at night. The others languished in that ‘dead zone’ and usually had to retire.

2008 marked the fifth year that the Bishop Rock race (189 nm overall) has started in CATALINA! After a competitor’s meeting in Two Harbors Friday morning, 15 boats checked in at the starting area near Ship Rock just outside Two Harbors. Competitors were split into two fleets with the B fleet (PH rating of 54 or higher) starting first and the A fleet (PH rating of 51 or lower) starting five minutes after that .

Getting away from the start line proved to be a key strategic moment. There is usually wind funneling through Two Harbors from the windward side of the island. This gives boats about a half mile push.

From there, they have three options:

1. Stay in the middle, and perish between coastal and offshore winds
2. Short tack up the island coast to the West End, connecting the wind gusts from cove to cove
3. Tack shortly after the start and head toward the mainland, trying to get offshore and out from under the lee of the island.

This last strategy often involves sailing crazy angles that seem like you’re headed back home rather than around West End. 

The offshore boats mostly got the breeze first, but were several miles to leeward of the West End of Catalina as they rounded it. For the better part of 30 to 45 minutes, competitors could see the first boat to break into the breeze, Tom Holthus’ Bad Pak, a J-145, heeled over in a 12 – 15 knot breeze powering up the rhumbline to Santa Barbara while they sat, or just barely crept along. At least there was promise of better things to come. The first couple of boats that were working the short tack up the shore option rounded West End and also headed off to Santa Barbara. Looking at their angles, they were about 2 or 3 miles behind the leading offshore boats, but were also two or three miles to windward. Within about 60 minutes, everyone was around West End and sailing in a fresh breeze upwind to Santa Barbara island 35 nm away. At Santa Barbara island, boats were still well grouped with everyone getting around within 2 hours of one another. Tad Walicki’s well sailed Santana 35 “Alinka” was last around about 1900, still well before sundown, and in the hunt.

The fleet spent Friday night beam reaching along in 15+ knots of breeze and a mostly full moon. This third leg (SB to BR), approximately 65 nm long is where the big separation begins. The Andrews 70’ Alchemy, with new owners (Peterson and Braun out of Oceanside) and Bad Pak were able to really accelerate down the course and rounded BR about midnight. The smaller displacement boats all pretty much stuck together with 8 boats within sight of each other near the Bishop Rock buoy around sunrise Saturday morning. The final leg, Bishop Rock to the finish at SD Channel entrance buoy, is 98 miles long. For the fast boats, it was about a 15 hour sail with good breeze. While it never reached the 20 knot hallmark folks come out here looking for, it also, for the leaders, never really shut off either. The smaller boats spent 24 hours, give or take a couple of hours, to cover this same stretch. As the smaller boats got within about 20 miles of the finish, the wind shut down and the fun meter sagged a bit. But a light northerly breeze came up with the sun and soon competitors were beam reaching the final dozen miles to the finish with all boats reporting by 9 am Sunday morning. That’s a little shy of 48 hours of great blue water ocean sailing.

At the awards presentation, nice wooden picture frames were filled with the winning boats picture as seen from the Race Committee boat some time shortly after the start. A big thanks goes out to member Matt Smith for his assistance and boat (23’ Mako) which served as the RC boat. There might have been a fishing line trailing from the RC boat sometime after the start, but I couldn’t be certain….I was focused on the racers. Unfortunately, I do know there were never any fish in the boat. And thanks also to Stan Jorgenson on m/v Pikake, and to John Rogers on s/v Legacy for their hospitality extended to this RC.

All the competitors agreed that it although it was not the fastest race on record, it was still one of the best blue water courses to sail. To borrow a phrase from the crew shirts of Shockwave – “Two Rocks, Two Islands, Two Parties – Where do I sign up?”

Answer – online at www.sdyc.org/raceinfo – make it a date and dare to go the distance – Port Captain’s Race Around Bishop Rock, August 14 – 16, 2009. Just remember the two things…

Balboa Challenge
August 1-3, 2008
By Frank Tybor

The Balboa Challenge Cup Hosted by BHYC is a very challenging and entertaining regatta.  Sailed outside Newport Harbor  in Gov Cup 21s, the regatta heavily favors local teams. The Gov Cups are a very light 3 person keel boat resembling a cross between a Flying Tiger and a J-24. They are somewhat finicky, and reward experience in the boat. Reflecting this, the top two teams, skippered by John Pinckney and Mike Pinckney respectively, were both local with a good amount of time in the boats prior to the event.

The SDYC entry comprised myself, Joe Markee, and Mandi Markee. Early in the regatta, our lack of experience in the boat was an issue, but as the regatta progressed, so did the finishing positions. Our final finishing position was 6^th, behind the local teams, and 3 points behind SWYC’s winning Lipton Cup Skipper. My team would like to thank SDYC for providing us the opportunity to compete at this event. We all learned a lot about the boat and the competition, and would like to be considered as the SDYC entry for next year.

Junior Europeans; Croatia
by Jake Reynolds 

After a very long plane ride, we arrive in Zagreb, Croatia then about a three hour drive to the race area in Zadar, Croatia. We arrive to clear, blue skies and a temperature of 38 to 40C and that is about 85 to 90F plus humidity. I learned not so quickly how to convert Celsius, Kilometers, Meters and Kunas. Our hotel was a welcome from the heat and close to the sailing venue. It included all you can eat buffet for all of our meals and it was tasty, quick and wide variety of different to weird selections of food. It even had a water slide and was located on the waterfront as well.

Our chartered boats were three days late which left our team to a big disadvantage in not being able to practice in the I 420’s particularly since we do not have them to practice with San Diego. Upon the boats arrival we prepared them for measurement and then rigged and got ready for Opening Ceremonies. They were a thrill that I will never forget. All teams carried their country’s flag to represent their country. The event was held in Old Town where we were seated on a water organ that is tubes along the waterfront when the tide rolls in that made music. The back drop that evening was dark skies, lightning bolts shooting into the water and rain.

The next morning we woke to not a breath of wind on the water. It was like this for the majority of the regatta. We had two days of qualifying for gold and sliver fleet. And we had 4 days of racing in our fleets. It was the hardest regatta I have ever sailed; all of the kids that were sailing were all very good. We had or hands full with dealing with trying to make the boat go fast. Rounding leeward marks, we found racers yelling AQUA, AQUA and others yelled ROOM and others just screamed. This behavior was a surprise from the “quiet” Americans. It was something that we had to deal with for 6 days of racing.

After Closing Ceremonies all the teams traded their team gear with one another. It was kind of a symbol of friendships made and memories to be kept. And the best part of the trip is that I came back with an experience that I will never forget, and never ending relationships that I have now built with new friends from all over the world.

Thank You, SDYC, for your support!

Charlie Arms-Cartee sailed her first event for San Diego Yacht Club with fellow members Annie Nelson, Sam Treadwell and Julie Mitchell in the Mayor’s Cup, a Grade 2 women’s match race event in Long Beach in July. Also a member of St. Francis Yacht Club, Charlie’s crew included Dana Riley, Theresa Brander and Karen Loutzensheiser. Like the Congressional Cup, the event is sailed Catalina 37s just off the Belmont Pier. Eight teams competed from the US, Brazil, New Zealand and Sweden.

The SDYC team placed 4th in the round robins having beat everyone but Liz Baylis, the event winner twice in a row, (sailing with SDYC member Shala Lawrence). Charlie faced Kiwi Sam Osborne in the petit final. Osborne won 2 out of three to take 3rd place overall.

“I was on the other end of a lot of penalties” Charlie, also a certified umpire, said “but it was great racing with lead changes and tight finishes”. Having beat 5 women who were ranked higher then her, Charlie looks forward to moving up from her 48th place in the ISAF Women’s match race rankings.

Just back from training in Qingdao, China, the first thing Graham Biehl wanted to do was grab a carne asada burrito at Loma Bonita, then maybe hit some of the local beaches with his girlfriend, Mikaela. There was little time to unwind before the 21-year-old sailor would head off for the August 8 opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“It sounds weird to have a vacation at home, but that’s how it is because I’m so busy everywhere else around the world,” Biehl explained while relaxing at a table overlooking the Yacht Club marina. “When I’m back here I just like chilling out and spending time with my friends.”

Biehl, who will crew with 470 partner Stu McNay, is one of two Yacht Club members representing the United States in China. The other is Andrew Campbell, U.S. Sailing’s reigning Sportsman of the Year, who will compete in the Laser Class. As both ply the waters of the Yellow Sea hoping to win medals, they will call on skills developed as young sailors in the Yacht Club’s Junior Program.

“I blame the Yacht Club and the Junior Program for this whole thing,” the 24-year-old Campbell joked during a phone conversation in early July before heading off to Belgium for the European Championships.  “The access they provided me to do as much sailing as I wanted allowed me to go a long way on the learning curve before I went out into the national competitive circuit and then the international circuit.”

“I didn’t realize it back then, but the single biggest thing I learned is that there’s no substitute for spending time on the water,” he continued. “That’s the most important thing for making improvements in the game and I was lucky to have a club and a facility that was open to that kind of activity.”

FRIENDSHIP, MOTIVATION, AND COMMITMENT

Biehl agrees the Junior Program helped advance his abilities. “San Diego Yacht Club is where I learned to do my real racing and that’s where I really grew up sailing,” he said. “What I gained from the program is friendship, motivation, and commitment.”

“I think the group I grew up with here at the Club included some of the best and most well-rounded sailors in the nation,” Biehl assessed. “I think we all pushed each other really hard and that’s where it all comes from – friends pushing each other hard. We all sailed lots of different boats. We didn’t just focus on one. We sailed whatever we could get our hands on, which is great experience.”

Biehl and Campbell have more than their Junior Program and Olympic experience in common. Their mothers run a business together and both men come from sailing families.

“My family came out here for the Americas Cup and we were guests of the San Diego Yacht Club,” Campbell remembered. “They opened their arms to us offering my family a guest membership like they offered hundreds of other families during the Americas Cup. I don’t think they had any idea that offer was going to pay off in the way that it did with me representing the Club in the Olympic Games and with my dad going to be Commodore in a couple of years.”

“That’s made a huge impact on my family for the better,” Campbell reflected. “The openness and accessibility that kind of thing can provide and the opportunity that can provide is an amazing situation. I think the San Diego Yacht Club is a unique organization in the sense that it provides that opportunity if people are willing to take it. I can’t say enough good things about the Club and I’m very proud of it.”

MIND-BLOWING AND OVER THE TOP

The Yacht Club and the rest of America will be proud of Biehl and Campbell when they join the world’s best athletes entering Beijing’s National Stadium for the lighting of the Olympic Torch. What are the sailors expecting?

“I’ve been to all the (sailing) world championships and other major competitions, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” Biehl said. “I’m getting a little nervous now that it’s really starting to set in.”

Although he has won or finished well in several national and international competitions, Campbell says he can’t even imagine what the Olympics will be like. “But I’m expecting something mind-blowing that I think is going to be over the top,” he said. “It’ll be pretty overwhelming, but I’m really looking forward to it. Being part of the U.S. team on that level is something that is very rare and very cool.”

To follow Andrew and Graham in China, visit www.sdyc.org/olympics for all the links.

Laser Pacific Coast Championships
Monterey Peninsula YC
August 1-3, 2008
by Matthew Morris

The 2008 Pacific Coast Championship saw 109 boats on the water.  Austin Evans and I represented San Diego Yacht Club.  Austin sailed in the full rigged and I sailed in the radial class.  The three days of sailing brought very mixed conditions for the sailors.  Nine races were scored, Austin finished 36th in a fleet of 61 boats.  I finished 20th in a fleet of 50 boats.  Jennifer Spalding, from the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, won the radial class with 26 points.  Brad Funk, from Clearwater Yacht Club, dominated the full rig class with 14 points.  The 4.7 fleet was very small, only three boats, however, Mary Hall finished with straight bullets for a decisive victory.

The winds went from light to moderate and back to light over the course of the regatta.  Winds were also localized and very shifty.  Sea conditions changed the most, dead flat the first and last day, with five foot swells developing during the second day of racing.

Monterey Bay is a beautiful place to sail with an abundance of marine life.  Sincere thanks to Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club for hosting the regatta.  I would also like to thank San Diego Yacht Club for helping to make this opportunity possible for me.

Laser North American Championships
St. Francis Yacht Club
July 24-27, 2008
by Matthew Morris

Five SDYC sailors, Max Hutcheson, Austin Evans, Julian Busch, Nevin Snow and I made the trip up to St. Francis YC for the 2008 Laser North Americans.  Max, Austin and Julian sailed full rigs, Nevin and I sailed Radials.

This was my first time to sail San Francisco Bay.  Everyone said to expect lots of wind and current, and they were right.  The wind speeds ranged from 15 to 25 knots with gusts over 30.  Currents were up to 5 knots.  We did have a chance to practice and sail under the Golden Gate bridge a couple of days before the race.  Getting even a little experience sailing in those conditions was a great help, as the wind and current were double anything I had seen in San Diego.  Starting with the ebbing and flooding tides was especially difficult.  On the last day we had two generals because the ebbing tide sucked everyone over the line.

A total of 160 competitors were divided into four fleets, 58 Full Rigs, 43 gold fleet Radials, 42 silver fleet Radials and 17 Laser 4.7s.  Eleven races were scored.  Despite difficult conditions and tough competition, David Wright dominated the Laser Standard division with a total of 14 points and Allan Clark with 13 points in the Radial gold division.  Nevin finished 29th in gold.  Max, Austin and Julian finished 39th, 51st and 52nd respectively in the Full rigs.  I finished 22nd in silver.

The evening socials, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, offered an opportunity to meet competitors from different corners of North America along with members of the US Olympic team.

Congratulations to St. Francis Yacht Club for hosting a very successful regatta.  San Francisco is one of the most beautiful and exciting places to sail.  I would also like to thank San Diego Yacht Club for helping to make this opportunity possible for me.