Successful, Fun-Loving Fiesta Cup Regatta!

(Santa Barbara, CA)- In the face of every obstacle known to man, the Santa Barbara YC hosted their 14th annual Fiesta Cup Regatta off the beautiful harbor of Santa Barbara, California from July 18th to 19th.  The fleet was greeted by nice sailing conditions and a total of seven races were held for the one-design J/70 and J/111 classes.

The eight-boat J/70 class was fiercely contested by the two protagonists, and well-known, racing teams in Santa Barbara.  Past J/24 North American Champion Pat Toole and his team on 3 BIG DOGS had their hands full taking on Scott Deardorff/ Jon Ziskind/ Gus Duncan's CAKE.  Over the course of seven races, these two teams won all seven races and accounted for six 2nds! In the end, it was Toole's 3 BIG DOGS that took the regatta by two points over the CAKE team.  Third was the MONKEY HOUSE gang, led by Paul Castleberg and Lauren Amery. Fourth was Thomas Tunberg's NAMASTE and fifth John McCaffery's MAGIC CARPET RIDE.

The J/111 Class was a three-way duel between very experienced offshore teams. The surprise winner was not what the Ladbroke's Betting Parlour in London was betting on- Bernie Girod's ROCK & ROLL. Instead, it was Mike Drammer & Shaun Hughes' TITANIUM that rode their fast horse to the head of the class with a 1-3-1-1 tally for 6 pts total. Incredibly, the next two spots were determined on a tie-breaker at 9 pts each! With a 2-1-3-3 tally, it was Kenny Kieding's ARGO 3 that took the silver over Bernie Girod's ROCK & ROLL that had a 3-2-2-2.  For more Fiesta Cup Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fiesta Cup Regatta Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The Santa Barbara Yacht Club is pleased to host the 14th annual Fiesta Cup in gorgeous Santa Barbara, California from July 18th to 19th, 2020.  One-designs invited to participate include the J/111 and J/70 classes. Due to Covid-19 restrictions in California, this year's event will only be open to Santa Barbara YC and Santa Barbara Sailing Club boats.

The sailing will take place in the Santa Barbara Channel. The scenery is unparalleled, since the 50-mile channel is bordered by the Channel Islands National Park to the southwest and the "American Riviera" and San Pablo Mountain range to the northeast. In July, the venue typically provides a sea breeze of 12-18 knots from the WNW, but has a variety of wind conditions and average temperatures of 77 degrees.

Looking forward to a weekend on the water is a large contingent of J/Sailors. As the largest class in the regatta, the eight-boat J/70 fleet will enjoy great sailing and competition. The usual suspects will be present, including Scott Deardorff's CAKE, Tom Tunberg's NAMASTE, Pat Toole's 3 BIG DOGS, and Paul Castleberg's MONKEY HOUSE.

The J/111 Class will be a three-way duel between very experienced offshore teams, such as Bernie Girod's ROCK & ROLL, Kenny Kieding's ARGO 3, and Mike Drammer & Shaun Hughes' TITANIUM.  For more Fiesta Cup Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 2019 Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race is a distance race spanning 81.0nm and has been a tradition for Santa Barbara and King Harbor sailors for 47 years. The race is quite popular with sailors up and down the Southern California coastline, seventy boats are registered, of which 23% (16) are J/Teams.

The SB-KH is a simple race, too, since the tactics are pretty well understood by most teams. From the start line, sailing in a building northwesterly seabreeze, it is a straight shot on starboard tack to the bottom of the Channel Islands, with either Code Zeros or reaching spinnakers. The one and only turning mark is Anacapa Island, left to port.  The principal issue is getting around the wind shadow of Anacapa before gybing and dashing off on port tack under spinnakers towards the infamous Point Dume (a.k.a. sometimes Pt Doom!) in the glittery, fashionable village of Malibu, CA. The reason why that strategy works is that late afternoon winds from the NW are significantly accelerated around that point due to the fact the entire Los Angeles Basin is boiling hot (like 100 F deg hot!) and the Santa Rosa/ San Jacinto Mountain range to the east are like giant frying pans sending all that heat skywards! Upon reaching Point Dume, most boats gybe back onto starboard tack and head for the finish line at the opening to King Harbor in Redondo Beach, just north of the gorgeous Palos Verdes peninsula.

The sixteen J/Teams participating include four J/111s (Bernie Girod’s ROCK & ROLL, Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s PICOSA, Kenny Kieding & John Vincent’s ARGO 3, & Mike Drammer’s TITANIUM), Dr Laura Schlessinger’s J/125 WARRIOR (a multiple race winner), two J/120s (Tom & Terri Manok’s POLE DANCER & Jack Rose’s PRIVATEER II), Scott Torrance’s J/124 FORGIVENESS, two J/109s (Tom Cullen’s FUEGO & Jack Mayer’s ZEPHYR), Doug Steick’s J/100 JIB & TONIC, Tom Hinkle’s J/40 WHITE LIGHT, three J/105s (Chuck Spear’s TWELVE BAR BLUES, Tom Bollay’s ARMIDA, & Dan Murphy’s CUCHULAINN), and Brian Kerr’s J/92 DOUBLE DOWN.  For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/125 Wins SoCal 300, Wins CORA Series

 
(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

J/125 Hammers Fast Coastal Cup Race

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 2019 Coastal Cup was the fastest race in the recent five year history of the event, with new elapsed time, ORR corrected, and ORRez corrected times established by three different boats. In fact, the first 15 finishers all eclipsed the previous record from 2017. But, for those that didn't finish by about 1100 on Tuesday, the wind shut down and the last few boats struggled to reach the line despite the excellent racing over 90% of the course.

Prior to 2015, the race was started in San Francisco and had finishes in Santa Barbara and Catalina. Then, five years ago, the race was changed to start in Monterey to fit into the CA Offshore Race Week.

Zachery Anderson and the crew of J/125 VELVET HAMMER continued their excellent race week by setting the ORR corrected time record for the Coastal Cup at 17h 25m 23s, well below the Catapult's 2017 time by more than 5.5 hours. VELVET HAMMER currently leads the CA Offshore Race Week standings in class and overall. They will line up in an 11-boat class for the SoCal 300 and try to continue their success down to San Diego starting Thursday.

Santa Barbara Yacht Club opened their doors to competitors on a normally closed-to-business Tuesday and the sailors warmed up from a cold night on the ocean on the sunny deck of SBYC. Next up is the In-Port Wednesday night racing hosted by SBYC, a BBQ dinner on the beach with music and awards for the Port race and the Coastal Cup.   Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing  For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

California Offshore Race Week Series Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2019 California Offshore Race Week is hosted by Encinal Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. Together, they connect three distances races into a full offshore race week series. The series first race is now the fifth major offshore Memorial Day event!

Said one owner that has participated in previous series, “it’s the perfect series of races to kick off summer. Condensed into a tight window to accommodate our busy schedules - we get the chance to experience all of the challenges of too much and too little wind while racing along the picturesque California coast. We are all looking forward to the exhilarating downwind conditions and finishing in the San Diego sun. We’re packing the sunscreen!”

The three events are the following:

• May 25- Spinnaker Cup Race- San Francisco, CA to Monterey
• May 27- Coastal Cup Race- Monterey, CA to Santa Barbara
• May 30- SoCal 300 Race- Santa Barbara, CA to San Diego

The event has proved popular with J/Teams on the Pacific coast. Participating in all three races in both the ORR-A Class and PHRF B Class will be the J/125 VELVET HAMMER, skippered by Zachery Anderson from Richmond YC (note- they are also entered in the 50th Transpac Race).

Sailing just the Spinnaker Cup Race from San Francisco down to Monterrey, CA will be seven J/Crews.  In the PHRF D Class are two J/120s, Timo Bruck’s TWIST and Michael Clarke’s J/120 SHENANIGANS from Richmond YC. In the PHRF E Class are three J/105s (Shafaq Sheikh’s SPARTAN, Chris Kim’s VUJA STAR, and Charlie Abraham’s JAVELIN), Vern Zvoleff’s J/88 RABIAN, and Kevin Mills’ J/36 DAWNS EARLY LIGHT.

Finally, joining the fleet for the SoCal 300 Race are two more high-octane, extremely fast offshore teams.  Sailing in ORR E class are Scott Grealish’s J/121 BLUE FLASH and Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 LIVE WIRE.  For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fast Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The prognosis for this year’s Santa Barbara to King Harbor race, hosted by Santa Barbara YC & King Harbor YC, was full of gloom and doom.  NOAA’s weather forecasts were for no wind all day, holes everywhere, but maybe filling in from the south late in the day.  However, as usual, the NOAA models were somehow 100% wrong, again.  The race became a near textbook scenario, a slow build in the morning for sure, but by the time the big boats were rounding Anacapa Island 32nm downstream, the winds were in the northwest 17-19 kts range and by the time the fleet leaders made it across the 10nm dash to Point Dume on the Malibu shoreline, gusts were over 20 kts.  Most fleet leaders then gybed onto starboard tack and headed straight for King Harbor, playing the windshifts towards the end of 45nm section.

For the fastest J’s on the track, the twin J/125s in ULDB C Division, it was a duel to the finish.  Dr Laura Schlessinger’s WARRIOR led at the first turning mark- Anacapa Island- turned left and raced to Point Dume planing most of the way.  Then, gybed onto starboard off that point.  At that stage, Viggo Torbensen’s well-oiled offshore machine- TIMESHAVER- gybed on top of them a few hundred yards to windward, slowly dropped down over WARRIOR, then in front and continued to extend their lead by executing a few slick moves, faster sail changes, and led Dr Laura’s WARRIOR into the finish line. WARRIOR had changed to a Code Zero in the lighter going, but could not change back to the A2 asym fast enough.  As a result, TIMESHAVER crossed the line just 2min 12sec ahead of WARRIOR, taking 2nd and 3rd in class, respectively.  On a PHRF Overall basis, it was so close that TIMESHAVER took 2nd Overall while WARRIOR was 5th Overall.

In the ULDB D Class, Bernie Girod’s J/111 ROCK & ROLL was 2nd (slipping into 4th overall between the J/125s), Kenny Kieding & John Vincent’s J/111 ARGO 3 was third (14th overall), Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL was 4th, and Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA was 5th.

The ULDB E Class saw Dan Murphy’s J/105 CUCHULAINN take 5th place, while Doug Stelck’s J/100 JIB & TONIC was 7th.

PHRF A Class had Scott Torrance’s J/124 FORGIVENESS hold on to 5th and Tom & Terri Manok’s POLE DANCER was sixth. PHRF B Class saw Jack Mayer’s J/109 ZEPHYR take 5th in class.  Finally, in PHRF C Class, Fred & Suzanne Cottrell’s J/33 TIGGER take 2nd, Chuck Spear’s J/105 TWELVE BAR BLUES was 5th place, and Tom Hinkle’s J/40 WHITE LIGHT was 6th.  For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

MINOR THREAT Tops Fiesta Cup

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The annual Fiesta Cup Regatta took place in the “Riviera of America”- the famous crescent shaped miles long beach that forms the waterfront for Santa Barbara, California. Hosting the event was the Santa Barbara Yacht Club for the fleet of a dozen highly competitive J/70 class one-design sailboats.

Winning his first major event in awhile was Jeff Janov’s crew on MINOR THREAT from California YC in Marina del Rey, CA. After a slow start of a 4-4-2, they threw down the gauntlet, closing with four 1sts in a row to win with just 10 pts net.

Second was Chris Snow’s COOL STORY BRO from San Diego YC, third Scott Deardorff’s CAKE from Santa Barbara YC, fourth Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS also from SBYC, and fifth Bruce Cooper’s USA 32 from Long Beach YC. For more Santa Barbara Fiesta Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 2018 edition of the Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race is shaping up to be another notable event in the southern California offshore season. With eighty-nine boats registered in the giant PHRF division, it will be a “who’s who” of the SoCal offshore fraternity that will be vying for both class and overall honors. Hosted by Santa Barbara YC as the starting point and the King Harbor YC as the finishing point off the gorgeous Point Loma peninsula off Los Angeles, the fleet will always be engaged in the classic elemental battle of how to win, what appears on paper, to be a very simple race.

The standard “formula”, if there is one, breaks down into four basic strategies: (1) sail the first part from Santa Barbara to the Anacapa Passage as low as possible on starboard tack, as the wind that funnels down Santa Cruz Island from the northwest favors those coming in “hot” from further east/ southeast; a distance of roughly 30.0nm at 154 degrees. (2) rounding Anacapa Island is always a challenge, the decision to go offshore vs. inshore causes all kinds of anxiety and consternation for any navigator/ tactician. In short, the goal is to get around it as efficiently as possible and if often includes elements of both. (3) Anacapa Island to Point Dume on the Malibu Riviera is the “classic play”, a distance of 32.0nm at 92 degrees. The reason why it “works” is because any northwesterly flow of any type down the Santa Barbara Channel at all accelerates like crazy against the 3,000 ft tall mountains just inshore and then gets curved around the point. However, the effect lasts for about 10.0nm going into Point Dume on port tack, then as the NW flows gets “bent” around the headland, it’s often best to simply head straight for the King Harbor entrance on starboard tack about 26.0nm distant at a bearing of 113 degrees. Why? Because, for most boats that get to Point Dume before sunset, the thermal onshore breezes are still strong that are getting sucked into the greater Los Angeles regional basin off to the east (with 5,000 ft mountains still hot and drawing in the cool ocean breeze late into the night). This year’s will be light, so those effects coming into the L.A. Basin may be even more pronounced than in past races.

Starting on July 27th will be a strong fleet of J/crews, representing most of the top sailing clubs across the Southern California region. Those teams include twin J/125s (Dr Laura Schlessinger’s WARRIOR and Viggo Torbensen’s TIMESHAVER); Glenn Griley’s J/122 TKO; three J/111s (Bernie Girod’s ROCK & ROLL, Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s PICOSA, & Ken Kieding/ John Vincent’s ARGO 3); two J/120s (Tom & Teri Manok’s POLE DANCER & Jack Rose’s PRIVATEER); two J/124s (Seth Hall’s MARISOL & Scott Torrance’s FORGIVENESS); Jack Mayer’s J/109 ZEPHYR; David Gorney’s J/105 NO COMPROMISE; Eric & Steve McClure’s J/35 MACS; Doug Stelck’s J/100 JIB & TONIC; Fred & Suzanne Cottrell’s J/33 TIGGER; two more J/105s (Chuck Spear’s TWELVE BAR BLUES & Dan Murphy’s CUCHULAINN); Brian Kerr’s J/92 DOUBLE DOWN; and Tom Hinkle’s J/40 WHITE LIGHT. That is quite the J/Tribe headed down the SoCal coast from Santa Barbara to LA! For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fiesta Cup Regatta Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The annual Fiesta Cup Regatta will be taking place this weekend in the “Riviera of America”- the famous crescent shaped miles long beach that forms the waterfront for Santa Barbara, California.  Hosting the event from their prominent position literally right on the beach/ waterfront will be the laid-back, fun-loving Santa Barbara Yacht Club.  Rolling out the proverbial red-carpet as their members always do for visiting yachtsmen, the SBYC will be entertaining a deeply talented fleet of nine J/70s representing several of California’s major sailing regions.

For starters, the local champions and top sailors cannot be underestimated.  The J/24 North American Champion Pat Toole is now sailing J/70s in the modern version of THREE BIG DOGS.  They have been quick learners and, in due course, have started to regularly punch in top three finishes at various J/70 regattas over the past few months in the Southern California J/70 circuit- a very talented group to start with.  Also, from the local fleet that has done well on a regional and national basis is Scott Deardorff’s CAKE.  Then, sailing an all-women’s team on CUP CAKE will be Heidi Zisskind’s crew from Santa Barbara YC.  Other top teams include multiple West Coast J/80 Champion Curt Johnson on AVET 2.01; he, too, like Toole’s BIG DOGGERs, has been on a fast learning curve and is getting comfortable sailing at the top of the leaderboard.  Then, a J/70 West Coast Champion from San Diego, CA will be amongst the visitors hoping to steal the Fiesta Cup- Chris Snow and John Brigden’s COOL STORY BRO.  Should be an entertaining weekend of racing in Santa Barbara, famous for massive kelp beds and wild puffs off the bluffs!  For more Santa Barbara Fiesta Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 3 BIG DOGS Win Cinco de Mayo Regatta

JADED Dominates J/24s 
(Santa Barbara, CA)- The annual Cinco de Mayo Regatta in Santa Barbara, CA is one of the all-time favorites for dinghy and one-design keelboats in the region.  The laid-back Sail Santa Barbara Sailing Club does a fantastic job hosting the event, making sure their party on Saturday evening is well-attended due to the copious amounts of delicious Mexican food and massive pitchers of Margaritas.

The Sail SBSC RC and PRO crew managed to knock out seven races for the J/24s and eight races for the J/70 class.  The sailing conditions could not have been any better all weekend long, with Saturday’s winds ranging from 240 to 270 deg at 4-8 kts and Sunday’s sunny breezes also building midday from the west around 4-8 kts.

Winning the J/70 class was Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS crew with a remarkably consistent record of five 1sts and three 2nds to win with just 9 pts net.  Second was Scott Deardorff’s CAKE, winning the only two races the Big Doggers did not, finishing with 16 pts net.  Then, taking the third spot on the podium was Wolfe’s SHARK with 20 pts net.

In a somewhat similar fashion as the 70s, it was Klatt’s J/24 team on JADED that simply dominated the J/24 fleet with all bullets to end up with just 6 pts net after discarding a 1st! Ouch! Almost taking all 2nds for the silver was Taylors USA 2223 with 12 pts net.  Rounding out the podium in the bronze slot was Nidzieko’s YOUNG FOOLS with 18 pts net.   For more Cinco de Mayo Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

3 BIG DOGS Top SBYC Holiday Regatta

(Santa Barbara, CA)- Just before Christmas, the Santa Barbara YC in Santa Barbara, California hosts their annual SBYC Holiday Regatta.  The sailors have a wonderful time, often dress up in Christmas themes (like Santa, elves, etc.), and look forward to an awesome holiday party at the club on Saturday evening.  The turn-out for the event this year was higher than previous years with a very competitive J/70 fleet in attendance.

The regatta took place on December 2nd and 3rd.  Those were happy times.  Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS crew finally got their “mojo” going and won two races in the four races sailed, but only won by one point!  With a winning tally of 1-2-2 after three races, all Scott and Leslie Deardorff’s crew on CAKE had to do was sail in the same waters as the “big doggers” and win the regatta.  However, that didn’t happen, with the CAKE crew “eating crow” instead, posting a 5th in the final race to disappointingly drop to second for the regatta with 10 pts total.  Third for the event was Tom Tunberg’s NAMASTE with a 4-1-3-6 record for 14 pts.  The J/70 sailors celebrated the fun weekend of racing and the awards afterwards on the beautiful deck of Santa Barbara YC overlooking the Pacific Ocean sunset.  Those celebrations were short-lived.

What no one ever anticipated, of course, was that only one day later- December 4th, the so-called “Thomas Fire” would start and end up blazing out of control due to powerful “Santa Ana” winds that blow hot, dry air offshore.  The Thomas Fire would end up burning 273,400 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, causing traffic disruptions, school closures, hazardous air conditions, and power outages.  As 2018 started, California firefighters were still fighting the Thomas Fire, the single largest wildfire in California history.

Then, this past week, a massive “pineapple express” weather scenario descended upon the region, not a good thing. An enormous Pacific depression swept south from the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, pulling in huge amounts of moisture from as far away as Hawaii (e.g. the pineapple express source), creating a deluge of rain, falling in massive amounts in a few short hours as it hit the coasts.

Exacerbating the scenario were the high (up to 4,000 ft) mountain ranges along the Southern California coastline northwest of Los Angeles, the tall peaks creating a “compression” that simply squeezes more rain out of the systems.

The net result was that mountainsides de-nuded of any brush or trees from the wildfires simply produced landslides and huge mudslides that swept down valleys and to the ocean, creating walls of mud up to 4 feet high (1.25 meters) racing downhill, crushing anything in its path- houses, fences, trees, cars, boats, bridges, and sadly people, too.  Over ten miles of Route 101 highway along the Pacific Coast were closed from Ventura west to the Santa Barbara; some parts of the highway are under 10 feet of mud and debris.

Incredibly, Scott and Leslie Deardorff’s J/70 CAKE survived one of those massive mudslides, but one of their buildings didn’t, nor did a car, but thankfully their family is OK and so is their main house.  The photos here don’t do it justice, nor indicate how frightening it was.  According to Scott, “it sounded like a freight train coming down the hill at us”.  For more Santa Barbara YC J/70 fleet sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Santa Barbara YC Crowned U.S. J/70 Youth Champions!

SBYC Wins FREE Use of a J/70 for 12 months!
(Newport, RI)- The inaugural U.S. J/70 Youth Championship had its fair share of drama after two days of sailing.  Tight racing.  Teams pushing the envelope tactically all weekend long.  Close-quarters racing producing dramatic turn-arounds at each corner of the course. As each race unfolded, yet another wind shift and puff pushed another group of boats past leaders in front of them.  To say the least, it was about as atypical weather conditions anyone could imagine from a “locals” point of view in Newport.

Ultimately, winning and demonstrating good tactical decision-making capability, extraordinary boat-handling, and a steady boat-speed advantage through-out the regatta was the Santa Barbara YC Youth Team- skippered by Lucas Pierce with an excellent crew of Ryan Eastwood, Chris Kayda, Payne Donaldson, and Kris Ozolins.  It was a remarkable performance, especially considering the wildly fluctuating and variable wind conditions every team had to contend with over the three-day regatta.

The sailing conditions delivered by the weather Gods surely contributed to the drama and anxiety experienced by the various teams.  On Friday, it was a cruise ship floating around the bay off Newport that kept winds fluctuating from the SSE to SSW direction.  Then, on Saturday, after a long weather delay/ postponement, an ornery passage of a weather front ultimately produced a heavy gray mist and a good breeze from the south to finish a second round of nine races by early evening.  Sunday’s finale was no different, fog, then sun, then good breeze, then a thermal breeze shutdown by a front with high-level northwesterly breezes!

All things considered, the regatta format permitted good teams to rise to the top given enough opportunities to get there!  In the Sunday morning “repechage” round that consisted of four races on Sunday morning, the top three teams were Annapolis YC, Little Traverse YC and Coral Reef YC.  They joined the double-round-robin leaders- Santa Barbara YC, Sail Newport and Severn Sailing Association.

The finale started just after noon time. Winning the first race was Sail Newport’s team led by Brendan Read.  Then, in the second race, Annapolis YC (skippered by Porter Kavle) won by a large margin.  Then, in the third race, Sail Newport Youth Team won again.  There was no question the Santa Barbara YC crew were feeling the heat, especially from the local youth team from Sail Newport.

In the fourth race, the wind went crazy, going light and mixing cat’s-paws with small streaks and shifting at least 50 degrees.  Two boats shot into a leg and half lead, in second was Santa Barbara, having seen the first streak and shot right to grab it and take off around the windward mark.  Sail Newport went left and missed it, bobbing in the powerboat chop. The race was ultimately canceled due to the time limit, much to everyone’s delight!  As a result, with no visible wind in sight and less than forty minutes to the regatta time limit, PRO Dooley wisely decided it was time to call it a day and fired off three guns to mark the end of racing.

As a result, winning the regatta by ten points was the Santa Barbara YC Youth Team.  Second was the SAIL NEWPORT Youth Team comprised of Brendan Read, Andrew Sherrin, Kate Nota, and Ted Bjerregaard.  Third was Annapolis YC Youth Team comprised of Porter Kavle, Will Comerford, Benjamin Podlich, and Jake Viskers.  Rounding out the top five was Severn Sailing Association Youth Team in 4th and Coral Reef YC in 5th place.

At the awards ceremony, the Santa Barbara YC Youth Team (pictured here) was presented not just with their keeper trophies, but also the FREE J/70 their club gets to use for twelve months!  The SBYC Vice Commodore Scott Deardorff, himself a J/70 sailor, is looking forward to utilizing their FREE J/70 (complete with a brand new suit of North Sails and Triad Trailer) for club events, youth keelboat development and, perhaps, even women’s keelboat development!

Regatta Chairman- Stu Johnstone- remarked, “it was amazing to see the high-level of competitiveness by all nine teams.  Having sailed against some of them in past J/70 events, it was evident most could compete in the top ten in any major J/70 regatta, that is how much they had improved over the course of the year.  I also wanted to thank all the boat owners who donated their boats for the event- SAIL 22 (Ed & Becky Furry), Tim Healy, Henry Brauer, and Juan Reid from Chile- without them there would be no regatta!”

Regatta sponsors included North Sails (providing 6 brand new suits of sails), Harken (promoting their “Blockheads” project), MJM Yachts’ Bob Johnstone (who also donated the free J/70), Sail Newport (Brad Read and Vinnie Pattavina), and SAIL 22 (especially, the help of Sam House- as the regatta bosun).

Finally, kudos to the Regatta PRO Kevin Dooley, the Offshore Racing Coach from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy- amazing job for running 25 races in crazy weather conditions!  And, thanks to his supporting  cast on the Race Committee- Bill Canfield, Oakley Jones, Paul Hazlett, Bob Spagnolo, Richard Barker, Jack Fisher, and Macken Offspring!  Follow U.S. J/70 Youth Championships on Facebook here.   Sailing photo credits- Matthew Cohen   For more U.S. J/70 Youth Championship sailing information and results Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Raab’s SUGOI Wins J/70s @ Fiesta Cup Regatta

(Santa Barbara, CA)- Over the past weekend, a baker’s dozen-plus J/70 had an extremely fun time sailing Santa Barbara YC’s Fiesta Cup.  As has been the case, when the breezes fill in after a glassy morning, the westerly flow begins to favor going right into the beach and inside the kelp beds.  However, setting the race course further south minimizes that basic strategy, it still has an impact on the curving breeze further offshore.  As a result, the SBYC PRO managed to fire off five races for the fleet, permitting one race to be dropped in the overall scoreline.

In the end, it was Chris Raab’s Newport Harbor YC team on SUGOI that handily won the regatta, scoring just 1sts and 2nds in his scoreline to win with 5 pts net!  Similarly, trading some places in races was Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT crew from California YC that took second with a tally of 1-3-1-2-8 for 7 pts net.  Rounding out the podium was the “local rock star”, Pat Toole’s famous 3 BIG DOGS crew from Santa Barbara YC with a record of 5-2-6-7-2 for 15 pts net.

The balance of the top five included Sarah Wyman’s NUNUHUNU from Dana Point YC in 4th and Steve Hendricks’ MONKEY HOUSE from Santa Barbara Sailing Club in 5th place.  For more J/70 Fiesta Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fiesta Cup Regatta Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- In what has become a new tradition for the SoCal J/70 fleet, a number of good crews will be participating in the extremely fun Santa Barbara YC Fiesta Cup over the July 22nd to 23rd weekend.  It’s not hard to see why the event attracts so many good crews, Santa Barbara is regarded as “America’s Riviera”, with beautiful Spanish mission-style buildings, a spectacular waterfront that features beaches for miles and the famous Stearns Wharf with lots of seafood, the famous Santa Barbara Zoo, lots of shopping and excellent restaurants downtown, and spectacular vistas and hiking up in the mountains that rim the bay.

In addition to all the local attractions, the amazing venue for the SBYC allows nearly stadium-style racing to take place.  Situated high on a sandy bluff next to the harbor, sailors can enjoy spectacular views from the second story bar, restaurant and balcony; the sweeping 270 degree views permitting everyone to see the sailing taking place before them on the ocean.  The SBYC members make sure everyone has fun; especially on Saturday night when the famous Fiesta Cup party takes place with an excellent band or DJ and gallons of margaritas and Mexican beer flow along with delicious tacos, salsa, chips and guacamole.

Looking forward to great sailing offshore by SBYC’s expert RC and PRO teams will be eight crews that range from San Francisco to the Los Angeles/ San Diego areas.  Amongst the leading teams should be local hero Pat Toole and his 3 BIG DOGS crew, famous for having won the J/24 North Americans in recent years.  Challenging him on his home turf will be renegade outsiders like Chris Raab’s SUGOI from Newport Beach, CA; Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU from Dana Point, CA; Curt Johnson’s AVET 2.01 from California YC in Marina del Rey, CA; and Tony Collis’ FLY from Kings Harbor YC and Redondo Beach, CA.  For more J/70 Fiesta Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SoCal 300 Race Preview

(Newport Beach, CA)- The 2017 edition of the California Offshore Race Week has been producing epic racing in both of the first two events for the fleet of forty-five of the top offshore teams on the West Coast.  The Spinnaker Cup from San Francisco to Monterrey had light conditions at the outset, but saw classic Pacific swells offshore as the fast-reaching J/crews reveled in the conditions and took off.  The same was true for the Coastal Cup Race from Monterrey down to Santa Barbara, where it blew even harder with winds in the 20-35 kts range and swells up to 15 feet!

The final event of the Cal Offshore Race Week is the big-daddy of the three races- the SoCal 300.  The race goes from Santa Barbara, offshore around the San Islands, past San Clemente Island,

Starting on June 1st, the fleet includes two of the hottest J/125s in the western hemisphere- Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE from Coronado YC and Viggo Torbensen’s TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC.  Both teams are also practicing for the upcoming Transpac Race which have at least four J/125s registered with hopes for a 5th J/125! Joining them is Jim Goldberg’s J/109 JUNKYARD DOG, the only J/Team that have registered to sail the entire Cal Offshore Race Week series.    For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

More Awesome J/125 Warrior Sailing Videos!

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The J/125 WARRIOR has been having a lot of fun sailing off windy, sunny Santa Barbara on some spectacular sailing days this spring, enjoying the nuking conditions that often sweep around Point Conception to the north and blast the fleet with 20-35 kts winds on a clear day!

On April 8th weekend was the famous Race to the Tower and back.  Basically, a wind sprint on starboard gybe from the starting line set just off the famous pier at the southeastern part of the harbor- Stearns Wharf- then off to one of the big oil rigs offshore in the Santa Barbara Channel and return to the finish.  In that race, the J/125 WARRIOR simply lit it up, sent it down to the rig at speeds up to 23 kts and won the fleet overall by three minutes.  Here is the YouTube video of the experience by Paul Harteck, the son of the skipper Larry Harteck in the video.

Then, as if they did not have enough fun on the April 8th Tower Race, then WARRIOR’s owner, Dr Laura Schlessinger, got in on the act for their May 4th extremely windy “Wet Wednesday Night” series race.  Again, it was blowing up to 25 kts and the mighty WARRIOR took off again!  With Dr Laura on the helm, they easily hit 21 kts of boat speed- “girl power on steroids!!”  The crew included Sam Solhaug, Larry Harteck, Bill Daffron, Dean Duesette, Xander, Brett Decampos, Colin Campbell, and Steve Goularte.  Watch the J/125 sailing video here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

California Offshore Race Week Returns!

(San Diego, CA)- The California Offshore Race Week will return for its second year featuring the combined efforts of Encinal Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. From May 27 to June 3, these five clubs will join forces to produce a week-long schedule of races in a tour from Northern California to Southern California with stops in Monterey and Santa Barbara. Participants will have time along the coast to relax and meet up with friends and family.

The 2017 California Offshore Race Week will bring together the Spinnaker Cup, the Coastal Cup and the third running of the SoCal 300. This race week is unique because competitors have the option of completing the entire week or they can choose to participate in singular races. There are currently seven boats registered for all three legs of the race week, with additional boats doing individual segments.

Ready to compete in the full California Offshore Race Week is Mark Surber on his J/125 DERIVATIVE from Coronado Yacht Club. Surber has raced in many offshore races in Southern California, but this will be his first time racing the SoCal 300.

“Southern California has some of the best sailing, with the greatest conditions being offshore on a South longitude from Point Conception. The SoCal 300 is one of few events that takes us there. We can't wait for the fantastic Santa Barbara hospitality and challenging offshore racing!”

Also for the second year, the SoCal 300 will partner with SailOnline, an online simulation of the race using the polar of a Santa Cruz 52. Participants will navigate a virtualized course with start times and waypoints that imitate the real race. There were 205 people representing 35 nations that participated in the 2016 virtual SoCal 300 from the comfort of their own homes. Competing online is great way for sailors to sharpen their skills for real life sailing.  The fee for entering the race increases after Friday, May 19. ENTER NOW and learn more about the CORW series here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cruising a J/105 on the Pacific Coast?

(Santa Barbara, CA)- Why not!?  Larry & Becky Harteck, active members of the Santa Barbara J/105 fleet, decided to do exactly that with their two sons- heading for the Channel Islands!  According to Larry:

“We were at Santa Cruz Island for three days without any cell service!  Our son, Nick, is exploring a cave (an underwater ‘grotto’) that goes back at least a 100 feet and opens up to 2 large ‘rooms’.

We anchored at Lady's Harbor in absolutely perfect conditions!  So nice to enjoy the sounds of nature, hiking adventures ashore, swimming and exploring with the kids!”

We could not agree more with this idea.  Disconnecting from anything electronic and interacting with your environment in a family setting is a wonderful way to spend time with your kids!