THE RACING
LATITUDE/ROB
Autonet Melges 24 Nationals With the 2009 Autonet Melges 24 Nationals trophy on the line, Brian Porter's Full Throttle was over early at the Alcatraz start for the eighth and final race of the St. Francis YC-hosted regatta sailed June 12-15. But the four-time national champion never threw in the towel, and had ground down two-thirds of the 21boat fleet by the time they reached Crissy Field. As the fleet short-tacked up the Cityfront in a healthy flood, Porter and his crew — brother John, Harry Melges and Andy Burdick — kept grinding away. With Vince Brun's Bailout and Dave Ullman's Pegasus 505 sitting 1-2, the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin-based Full Throttle crew knew they had to get up to fourth place to get into a three-way tie for first, which they'd win on the countback. At the first weather mark, they'd worked their way into fifth, but were a good dozen boatlengths behind the fourth place boat. "We knew we had to get fourth to win, and we just kept working hard," Porter
Porter and crew were trading tacks with the fourth-place boat — which they passed with 50 yards to spare before the finish off the Presidio. That fourth vaulted them to the top-spot for the week, and earning them a three-peat in the Nationals after winning in 2007 and 2008. Brun finished second and Ullman third. Bruce Ayres' Monsoon — in fourth overall — topped the seven-boat Corinthian Division for boats with no pros aboard. The top local finisher was regatta chair Kristen Lane's Brick House 623, which vaulted into seventh overall on the strength of a 1-6 final day. AUTONET MELGES 24 U.S. NATIONALS (6/12-14) OPEN — 1) Full Throttle, Brian Porter, 20 points; 2) Bailout, Vince Brun, 20; 3) Pegasus 505, Dave Ullman, 20; 4) Monsoon, Bruce Ayres, 27; 5) pTeron, Dan Kaseler, 39. (21 boats) CORINTHIAN — 1) Monsoon; 2) Elwood, Jim Caputo, 44; 3) Lounge Act, Loren Colahan, 51; 4) Smokin', Kevin Clark, 73; 5) Personal Puff, Dan Hauserman, 103. (7 boats) Complete results at www.stfyc.org
ICSA Nationals The nation's top college sailing teams took to the Bay May 25-June 3 — for the first time since 1988 — to contest the three spring College National Championships. The sailors got everything they were promised: plenty of breeze, awesome race management and just about the most fun you can have in a Collegiate FJ short of, well . . . But the kids who showed up — many of whom are naThe 'Full Throttle' gang clockwise from left, John Porter, Harry Melges, tive Californians attending Brian Porter and Andy Burdick won their fourth Melges Nationals. East Coast schools — were there for one reason only: to take home said. "Harry kept putting us in the right a national title. The Women's Nationspots and going in the right direction. als and ICSA Gill Coed championships We were fast . . . upwind and down." were both co-hosted by Stanford and On the first run, Full Throttle made up St. Francis YC under the direction of a lot of time and by the time the peloton Stanford Coach John Vandemoer, St. was headed back upwind to the finish, Page 114 •
Latitude 38
• July, 2009
PETER LYONS/WWW.LYONSIMAGING.COM
It's time once again for all the Racing Sheet that's fit to print and some that's not! June was a crazy month, on the Bay and beyond, and it took some doing to try and fit all the action into these pages. We start with the Autonet Melges 24 Nationals before giving a breakdown on the first time the ICSA Spring Championships have been held on the Bay in more than 20 years. Then we move onto a rip-roarin' Coastal Cup before checking out the second American Sailing League Event at Pier 39. Then it's on to Club Nautique's first-ever Armed Forces Cup before heading up to Huntington Lake for the Moore 24 Nationals. Then we finish off with a report form the Catalina 25/250 Nationals. Enjoy!
Dave Ullman's 'Pegasus 505' Team works upwind at the Autonet Melges 24 Nationals. Nobody came off the water saying the bats are comfortable, but nobody said they're not fun . . .
Francis YC Junior Director Mike Kalin, PRO John Craig and Regatta Chair Rolf Kaiser. The ICSA/APS Team Racing Championship was hosted by Cal Maritime and Cal at Treasure Island Sailing Center — Clipper Cove makes an ideal team racing venue — and run by Bryan MacDonald. The ICSA Women's National Championships got underway first, and the conditions couldn't have been better. The breeze started in the 10- to 12-knot range and built to 18-20, with a few squirts into the low-20s as the afternoon wore on. But that alone wasn't what made it so good. The breeze direction was initially pretty right-heavy, which coincided perfectly with the flood that built with the breeze from the 10 a.m. start time on. Then, as the
