J/105 GOOD TIMIN and J/120 CHANCE Winners
San Francisco, CA, (September 10-13, 2009) - This was not your typical Big Boat Series. It only got into the 25 knot range on one of the four days, lots of 10 to 20 knot sailing, and the wind was so light on the final day that racing was abandoned for the IRC divisions and the J/120 one-design class starting on the City Front. However, the J/105s had an outstanding final Bay Tour Sunday race to conclude the series in this tightly fought class. The ultimate winner of the J/105 class was Chris Perkin's GOOD TIMIN with Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE in second. Barry Lewis's J/120 CHANCE from Atherton, CA won the J/120 fleet. In the US IRC Nationals, the only two J's sailing faired well with the J/44 GOLDEN PHOENIX raced by Jim Bishop (with Steve Benjamin calling tactics) finished 2nd in IRC C Class and the J/122 RESOLUTE raced by San Diego Yacht Club's Tim Fuller (with Jeff Madrigali as local hotshot tactician) finished third.
Ninety seven boats came to compete in this years Rolex Big Boat Series. Enthusiastic J owners accounted for 42% (or 40 boats) of the regatta. While many of the competing boats are from the Bay Area and California, some hail from ports across the US and abroad. Lorenzo Berho and his J/145 RAINCLOUD hail from Mexico City, Mexico and are sailing in IRC B. 'RAINCLOUD is a Mexican family and friends boat that has changed our lives, and also has helped us fulfill several dreams,' said Berho, who only started sailing five years ago. 'We had a great experience in last year's Rolex Big Boat Series that we decided to come back in spite of the difficult economic times, and for most of us that means traveling from Mexico City. The organizers are great and the competing boats are really friendly. Last year we got fourth place in our fleet so we would love to get a third place this year. We know that most of the fleet is very competitive and there are many experienced sailors with local knowledge. I am turning 50 years old on September 15, so I chose this regatta as my birthday present. There is nothing better than sailing with my family and best friends in the most outstanding Bay of the world.'
The Commodore's Cup, which was established in 2004 to be awarded to the largest one-design fleet, was awarded to the winner of the J/105 class, Chris Perkins' GOOD TIMIN. "Honestly, Bruce Stone sailed a great series," said Perkins of the fleet. "He only had one bad race and won three out of seven sailed. His ARBITRAGE is clearly one of the quickest boats. Everyone would agree he is quicker than us." So what would Perkins credit his team's win to? "The challenge in a 25-boat fleet is consistency," he continued. "We didn't have any big mistakes and that is what made the difference for us." Jeff Littfin's and John Case's MOJO sailed very consistently to finish third in the regatta. In fact, MOJO was winning after the first day with a 4-2 finish. Both GOOD TIMIN and ARBITRAGE had 2-7 and 1-15 finishes, respectively, to start out the series out of the top three on Thursday. By Saturday, both of these leaders climbed up the fleet ladder to be leading by the end of the regatta with ARBITRAGE accumulating three 1sts and a second to make up for their one deep finish on the first day.
For the J/120 class, the expected leader before the series happened to be the ultimate winner, Barry Lewis's CHANCE. But, CHANCE's win was not without a strong challenge from John Wimer's DESDEMONA from Half Moon Bay, California. The outcome of the last race determined the overall winner of this very competitive class; CHANCE won the race and DESDEMONA finished third, losing their lead from the day before to CHANCE. Just off the pace was previous year's winner MISTER MAGOO sailed by Steve Madeira in fourth and Don Payan's DAYENU in third-- again the outcome of who placed third on the podium coming down to the last race on Saturday. Had there been the one last race, the infamous Bay Tour on Sunday, the results could've very likely been quite different as the Bay Tour often is credited for upsetting the chances of many well-sailed boats in such a capricious race.
