"I normally have a strict “more time on the race course than in the airport/airplanes getting there” policy. However, after Covid-19 effectively destroyed the second half of DIYC Member Roger Gatewood’s J/145 KATARA’s west-coast sailing season, I got a call from Bill Wingrove that we had been invited to participate in the 2020 Long Point Regatta! Myself and the rest of the crew were all too happy to schedule a flight and jump at the opportunity!
KATARA was moved to the Los Angeles area last year where she participated in the 2019 TransPac (DIYC Log Article October 2019), the LAYC’s Midwinter Around Catalina Race (DIYC Log Article March 2020), and the 2020 Puerto Vallarta Race (DIYC Log Article April 2020). There were plans for the Newport-Ensenada Race, the Rolex San Francisco Big Boat regatta, and many others, all of which were cancelled by the pandemic.
Bill and I headed to the Tampa airport to hop a flight to LAX where we would join up with Roger, his daughter Cat, Sam Heck (our CA boat captain), and several other CA based sailors for the regatta. This race is generally as much about the parties on the island of Catalina as it is the two day-races out and back. While the large on-shore activities were cancelled, our sister J/145 PALAEMON (owner Rudy Hasl is a member of the San Diego Yacht Club) had access to a beautiful remote camp facility on the island.
Unlike most of KATARA’s races, where we frantically comb through the boat looking for anything of weight not bolted down to be thrown ashore before we depart, this race’s prep involved loading in a dinghy, oars (thanks Liam and Tyler!), home-cooked Korean BBQ (thanks, Allie!), sleeping bags, pillows, adult beverages, cookies, and doughnuts!
After a brief motor down to the starting line, the race started in a light breeze around 5-6kts out of the southwest. The forecast expected this to build slightly to near 10-11 kts and clock to the right as we sailed across the channel and to the island. We made a short 3 mile beat to the North on Port tack before tacking for what we hoped was, and turned out to be, the lay line to the finish. Other than an expected area of highly turbulent air just outside the mooring field within a mile of the finish line, the rest of the outbound race was uneventful and largely an uphill endeavor.
Sail stacking was allowed for this race, so many of the crew spent a fair bit of the race man-handling massive sail bags around the deck for optimal weight distribution.
Once finished, we picked up our mooring ball and shuttled the crew in the dinghy, a few at a time, ashore. Once everyone assembled together, Allie prepared an incredible meal of Korean BBQ, rice, and salad. In the morning, many of the crew took a hike to the top of one of the nearby peaks, while others enjoyed a relaxing morning aboard or took a swim through the mooring field.
The race back on Sunday started at 1300 in southwest winds like we had on Saturday. Starting with the light-medium genoa, then quickly proceeding through the tweener, the A1, and ultimately the A2. The bow team did an excellent job of peeling between the various headsails. The A2 and Staysail carried us much of the way through the second half of the race to a beautiful finish just off of Newport Beach, CA. A few hours motoring home ended what was a fabulous weekend enjoyed by all."
In the 2020 Long Point Regatta to Catalina, Roger Gatewood’s (DIYC) J/145 KATARA took 1st overall ORR (1-1) and 2nd in Class PHRF (3-2). Her sistership- the J/145 PALAEMON owned/ skippered by Rudy Hasl- took 2nd overall ORR.
The KATARA team included: Sean Motta (DIYC), Bill Wingrove (DIYC), Sam Heck, Cat Gatewood, Julia Jaynes, Liam McCarthy, Allie Tsai, Tyler Caroe, Louis Tuey, Daina Bandziulis, and Ruta Bandziulis. Reprinted with permission from the Davis Island Yacht Club October 2020 Newsletter- "The Log". Thanks for sailing photo credits- Tom Walker. Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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