Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Fast Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race!

Santa Barbara to King Harbor race (Santa Barbara, CA)- It is just 81.0nm from Santa Barbara to the King Harbor finish line just inside the breakwater near Palos Verdes Peninsula on the western point of Los Angeles.  The race is quite simple, sail straight (somewhat) to the first turning mark in the race, the southernmost island in the Channel Islands chain- Anacapa Island.  Then, turn left and head to King Harbor.  In most years, the strategy is simple, no matter what the forecast tells you, head for Malibu’s Pt Dume promontory as fast as you can nearly due east, then bear off or gybe and go directly to the King Harbor entrance buoy just off Redondo Beach.  Despite the apparent simplicity of the race, some can get it horribly wrong.  Nevertheless, in most years there are a number of J/crews that manage to do quite well.

In the PHRF A class, we find that Carolyn Parks’ J/145 RADIO FLYER was sixth place.  In PHRF B Class, Fred & Suzanne Cottrell’s J/33 TIGGER was third and Tom Cullen’s J/109 FUEGO was fourth, with Jack Mayer’s J/109 ZEPHYR in seventh. For PHRF C Class, it was Kris Helm’s J/30 EGGEMOGGIN that took fourth place.

For the ULDB A Class, it was a trio of the fast west coast flyers- the J/125s- that all finished together to round out the top five. Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER was third, followed by Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE in fourth and Dr Laura Schlessinger’s WARRIOR placed fifth.  Then, in ULDB B Class, Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA was fourth place and Glen Griley’s STAMPEDE was ninth.  For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information