THE RACING With reports from the YRA Westpoint Regatta, the OYRA Half Moon Bay Race, the Plastic Classic, the Vic-Maui and the San Francisco Perpetual Cup, plus a preview of the International 14 Worlds and a light smattering of Race Notes. The mega-millions version of Box Scores includes results from Spring/First Half beer can series.
Windy YRA Westpoint Regatta It was 90 degrees when we arrived at Westpoint Harbor in Redwood City on the morning of June 30, and there wasn't a breath of wind. All signs were pointing to a repeat of last year's lightish-wind Westpoint Regatta that saw decent breeze in the Central Bay before things went all San Diego-like at the Bay Bridge. But the morning glass was not at all a sign of things to come. As the 'media' boat motored north, the water developed a little bump. Not long after we got to the starting line off Treasure Island, it was nuking. Boats were bashing back and forth during the prestart sequences, and a headsail had already torn. All signs were now pointing to a rough day on the racecourse. A killer upwind leg against the flood to Little Harding was basically one long port tack with the occasional starboard zig to get around the buoy. Once boats started cracking off the wind, the spinnakers were slow to bloom — which was understandable. The Bay was almost as white as it was green. Once parallel to Alcatraz, a few boats had the gusto to raise their kites; there were mixed (and at times catastrophic) results. John Clauser's 1D48 Bodacious+ got things under control in a hurry, tearing off on a nice run and leaving most of the
LATITUDE / TIM
'Khimaira' and 'Bodacious+' pass Alcatraz on white water, leading the way to Redwood City.
fleet in her wake (she would go on to a second place in her class). Back around Alcatraz, it was a brutal state of affairs. Jens Jensen's Express 27 Snowy Owl was an early victim of the building breeze not long after the crew hoisted her kite, spinning into a broach before recovering nicely and jamming down the Central Bay on her way to a first in her 11-boat class. Other boats weren't so lucky. Bob Harford's Express 37 Stewball had spinnaker trouble in front of the Ferry Building; the kite eventually shredded along the foot as the crew quickly re-hoisted the jib. "Well, there goes $3,000," said one commentator nonchalantly on the photo boat. The rest of the divisions seemed to get their situations under control as they approached the Bay Bridge, though there was still some carnage on the racecourse. Nico Popp's Sunfast 3600 Invictus, which won its division last year, dropped out of the race right around Pier 24. "We had an unbelievable beat catching up with boats that started 10 minutes ahead," Nico told us. "We decided to head to the Cityfront to hoist above Alcatraz. Unfortunately, we blew the halyard cover and the chute fell halfway. We broached and tore the chute into pieces. We could have hoisted the second chute, but I thought it was time for a beer — that was enough money spent for the day! It's too bad, because we would have done well. We should have
been more conservative and stayed on white sails longer. But, 'Hell no!' we said. 'Darn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!'" South of the Bay Bridge nearly every boat drifted to a stop, and, just like last year, the top of the South Bay became a parking lot as leads (as well as deficits) disappeared. But the traffic jam was short-lived. The wind filled in almost immediately, propelling the fleet quickly southward toward the San Mateo Bridge. David Ross's Express 34 Traveler was on a tear but had a few minor round-ups before blasting down the Bay. The legend of the race was Ludovic Milin, who was singlehanding his J/120 Saetta, and who seemed to have the biggest chute of any boat out there. Milin had everything under control — until he didn't. He started spinning out as he was weaving through the parking lot of ships at anchor on the South Bay, and was having a harder and harder time keeping the boat under control. Eventually he lost the kite, which apparently tore where the tack meets the bowsprit. Despite having to pause to reel in the kite, Milin took second in his six-boat class. (Saetta has the dubious honor of being featured in this month's Caption Contest on page 60, as well as in Max Ebb on pages 98-99. To cringe at visuals of the race's carnage, take a look at July 2's 'Lectronic Latitude online at www. latitude38.com.) There was no east-west split this year, where boats make the tactical decision to go around the San Mateo shoals or not. All the fleets stayed west and hugged the shore of South San Francisco on a screaming, squirrelly run. Aya Yamanouchi's J/88 Benny had one of the more glorious runs of the day, surfing along at what looked like 100 miles per hour, while just behind her, Dan Knox's Islander 36 Luna Sea struggled to keep the kite under control. The contrast in carnage and glory was on display from the weather mark until the finish line. The day's excitement continued ashore at Sequoia YC's Port of Redwood City clubhouse, the site of a post-race Island Time Party. The Westpoint Regatta is one of the biggest Bay Area races of the year. With 86 boats circling the Bay, it was a pleasure to see the long parade of spinnakers proudly marching south. We tip our hats to everyone who braved the gale, and we look forward to next year's regatta. — latitude/tim
