(Santa Barbara, CA)- The J/70 West Coast Championship was hosted by
Santa Barbara YC as part of the fun-loving annual Fiesta Cup Regatta.
After the amazing luau-styled barbecue on Saturday night (a BBQ on the
beach with awesome local band and free-flowing margarita bar), nothing
was going to slow down nor stop Steve Wyman’s crew on NUNUHUNU from
winning the regatta. In fact, after three bullets and two 3rds in the
first seven races, they did not have to sail the last race to win! Starting out the weekend with two bullets in two races, Pat Toole’s crew on 3 BIG DOGS look set to repeat past performances at the top of the J/24 class. However, the wheels flew off their shopping trolley sometime around races 3 & 4, posting an 11-7 in succession to fall back to mid-fleet. However, after collecting their wits back together, they quickly rattled off a 3-2-2-1, improving every race to close out the regatta with a win and securing the silver overall.
For the balance of the top five, it was bloody battle to the very end. Essentially, all weekend-long, three boats were tied- Ken Kieding’s SMOKE & MIRRORS 3, Scott Deardorff’s CAKE and Steve Hendricks’ MONKEY HOUSE. It really came down to the last race to determine their three-way tie. By taking a 2nd in the finale, Kieding’s SMOKE & MIRRORS snagged the final spot on the podium to take the bronze. However, tied on 36 pts each, it was Deardorff’s CAKE that grabbed fourth place over Hendricks’ MONKEY HOUSE. Great sailing for all! For more J/70 West Coast Championship sailing information
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