SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART III

making it a lot easier to do well." The HoG crew particularly enjoyed the 2017 Vallejo Race because of the tight boat-for-boat racing against some of the SF Bay 30 boats. "Typically, we look forward to the three big races: the Vallejo Race, the Westpoint Regatta and the 2nd Half Opener, because of the opportunity to sail in different waters and sightseeing the entire breadth of the San Francisco Bay (from the ocean entrance to San Francisco to the North Bay and gateway to the Delta and then the lessvisited South Bay port of Redwood City). Each of these regattas provides different challenges and experiences. This year, the Westpoint Regatta was particularly memorable because of the after-race party and the refreshing jump into the harbor waters by nearly the entire crew to cool off." The team's secret to success is "a no-brainer: Just show up to race. HoG did nothing extraordinary except to race consistently with the same crew as much as possible. The crew gets to practice sail handling; the sails and rigging get checked, repaired and tuned; and we avoid unnecessary penalty points. Even if we had a bad fi nish in a race, it would keep us in the running for the overall season points." Regulars in 2017 were Robert Hu, Angel Rodriquez, Collette Meyers, Jan Rice, Nathan Bossett, Mark Barber and Mara Guttman. The fl eet stays in touch via a Yahoo Group, www.groups.yahoo.com/ neo/groups/sf30s/info.

SF BAY 30 — 1) Heart of Gold, 8 points; 2) Rhapsody, J/32, Chris Boome, StFYC, 4; 3) Tartanic, Tartan Ten, Robert Lanzafame, Club Lanzo, 4. (13 boats).

Laser — Humble Pie Marcel Sloane, SSC "The Lake Tahoe Laser Championship at Stampede Reservoir offered challenging and interesting conditions," reports Marcel Sloane about that regatta in September. "Zero to 10-knot winds with 20°-30° shifts gusting to 15-18 kept everyone on their toes. One short lapse of concentration and you're swimming. One race on Saturday was nuts. I recall reaching the top mark in second place only to fall prey to a mystery lull and stop fi ve feet after the mark. I literally watched 18 boats sail by me on both sides. Ack! "One humorous memory was trying to convince 'Schmidty', a recent Philly Laser Master transplant, that it was important to avoid the current near the windward mark on Lake Yosemite. He thought I was feeding him bullsheet. 'No, man,' I explained, 'lakes on the West Coast have current! For real — where the river fl ows into the lake. Don't go there!'" Sloane's favorite regatta was St. Francis YC's Fall Dinghy in October. "The

conditions were ideal: 10-15 knots and sunny. "There's nothing like racing the Laser in the shadow of the Golden Gate." Winning the High Sierra Regatta was a key factor in taking the season championship. "The Huntington Lake event (and Roger Herbst's Saturday evening jambalaya fest) always attracts a big Laser fl eet and the opportunity to score signifi cant points in the series. In the end, consistent participation, good results and a little luck was enough to dethrone the Laser legend and three-time defending series champ, Emilio Castelli." Sloane joined the Laser fl eet after nine years racing with the Benicia Vanguard 15 fl eet. "My daughters graduated from high school and went off to college. I found myself without regular crew. I hooked up with Greg Pfeiffer and the active Masters fl eet at RYC. I re-rigged my old Laser with the new 'go-fast' upgrades, and off I went. I've loved every minute of it since. There isn't a better, more fun group of people in the sport. On a Laser there's no one to blame but me, lots of racing opportunities in diverse venues, very little hassle, and great motivation to stay fi t."

Laser Radial — Extreme Ways

Andrew John Holdsworth, StFYC "The whole season was fantastic from start to fi nish," said Radial champ Andrew Holdsworth. "It really was a bit of a blur. I ended up winning six Laser regattas here on the West Coast and two big-boat regattas in the Aegean in my X-Yachts Xp38." Probably his favorite Laser regatta was the Masters Nationals in the Columbia River Gorge at Cascade Locks: "great racing, great locations, great friends and fantastic support from my girlfriend Jennifer." Now 53, Holdsworth has sailed Lasers on and off since he was a teenager. "This was the fi rst real year in Radials. I lost weight, got fi t and fi nally went to a training camp and got some coaching. I am probably sailing the boat better now than I did in my 20s." In 2017, he was healthy for the fi rst time in four years. In 2016 he sat out Laser sailing. "I had knee surgery and tore all the tendons in my elbow. I spent all winter in rehab and getting fi t, and this provided the base as well the motivation for the whole season."

Marcel Sloane

HUMBLE PIE

Andrew John Holdsworth at the Laser Masters PCCs.

LASER SVENDSEN'S GRAND PRIX STANDARD (13 regattas) — 1) Humble Pie, 77 points; 2) Seaweed Magnet, Emilio Castelli, RYC, 53; 3) #196080, Steven Schmidt, NoYC, 46. (67 boats; 6 qualifi ers). RADIAL (9 regattas) — 1) Extreme Ways, 58 points; 2) Voyager I, Toshinari Takayanagi, RYC, 52. (47 boats; 2 qualifi ers). Full results at http://svendsens-grand-prix.myfl eet.org

Our trio of reports on the 2017 season champions is now complete. Did your favorite fl eet get passed over? Send an email to racing@latitude38.com and tell us all about it. And now let's plunge into 2018, shall we? Plan your attack on the series of your choice with the aid of the 2018 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Master Schedule, published on December 29 along with this issue. See you on the water!