(San Diego, CA)- The SoCal 300 was created in 2015 as a race hosted by Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club to provide a long coastal race with differing and challenging conditions. Now in its 5th year, the race is as popular as ever with a record 38 boats having competed in 7 classes in 2019. Many Southern California boats use the race as a Transpac Race qualifier (must sail a 150nm race or passage in year prior to Transpac with a specified number of the same crew on board). Additionally, teams from Northern California make their way through the CA Offshore Race Week and conclude the series with the SoCal 300.
SDYC's Manny Gomez has been the race chairman for the SoCal 300 for two years, and was excited to see such a great turnout in 2019.
"I am so proud to have welcomed 28 teams to SDYC for the 5th running of the SoCal 300 and the inaugural CA 500. I want to thank SDYC for supporting our idea with the CA 500 and continuing to support the SoCal 300. Each of the teams found the race challenging in the beginning, and lighter towards San Diego. I wish all the best to all of the teams who used this race as a Transpac warm up and wish them well to Hawaii,” commented Gomez.
Zachery Anderson’s J/125 VELVET HAMMER had an incredible week competing in the full 3 race series and winning the overall CA Offshore Race Week title. They were in the series class against Maverick and Alive, chasing them down the coast all week long. In the end, the title was theirs as they had the best corrected time in the SoCal 300 of all series participants.
“The whole race week was ideal,” commented Anderson. “Each race of the series provided different challenges and conditions. It was special to leave the San Francisco Bay and sail down the coast with the whales. For us, Coastal Cup was the highlight. The conditions were perfect for the J/125. We were up on the step for hours. It was spectacular to have sustained boat speeds in the teens and twenties all night. For the SoCal 300 we transitioned to 5 crew in the prep for our Transpac run this summer. The race was like a mini-Transpac, big breeze and reaching off the coast, then a nice downwind run. We went into this race as a tune-up for Transpac and the first major offshore racing we have done on the J/125. I am so proud of the Velvet Hammer crew was able to win the CORW. We are going into Transpac with a full head of steam.”
The SoCal 300 is unique in the way it is scored using 3 separate legs, plus the full start to finish being the 4th leg for scoring purposes. The original idea was to take the differing conditions of the race from SB to the islands, the run down to the turning buoy and the race to the finish and score the competition as 3 legs plus the 4th leg being the full start to finish of the race (worth 1.5 points). So a “perfect” score would be 1 + 1 + 1 + 1.5 = 4.5 points. Many competitors enjoy the leg scoring concept, seeing how they perform on different legs with their unique conditions and racing lines, so expect to see this scoring concept continue.
One way that this scoring is made possible is the technology of the YB Tracking race trackers. All four races in the Race Week were tracked live with 15-minute updates and can be replayed here: https://yb.tl/corw2019.
San Diego Yacht Club has been working with YB Tracking for almost a decade, providing race trackers for all boats racing in the Island Race, SoCal 300, and Puerto Vallarta Race. The trackers have the ability to ping a boat’s crossing of a GPS line, so all scoring uses the location and timing pings from a boat’s tracker to determine the leg finish/start times. The competitors are asked to document their own perceived crossings for verification and backup in case there is an issue with the tracker on board. Over the last few years, the concept has been proven successful and will continue to allow offshore racing to dial in the courses including virtual finish lines farther out to sea, rather than relying on marks or buoys.
SD Boatworks’ David and Julie Servais were integral in creating the SoCal 300 in 2015 on behalf of San Diego Yacht Club, and continue to support the event as a sponsor in 2019. SD Boatworks will also be supporters of the Transpac Race this summer.
“We are so thrilled to see the SoCal 300 continue to grow,” said David Servais. “From its inception in 2015, to its incorporation into Offshore Race Week, this race is quickly becoming a world class event. As a lead in to the Transpac Race, there is no better way to test your equipment and your crew. This year is truly special give the huge entry list for Transpac. We are pleased to announce that in order to better support the racers making this journey we will be on station in Rainbow Harbor from July 5-13. We will have our SD Boatworks mobile rig shop, featuring Marlow Ropes and hardware from Harken and Spinlock on site right in front of Gladstone’s restaurant." Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information