SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART II — W
Santana 22 — Albacore Mike Quinn/Frank Van Kirk, RYC Mike Quinn and Frank Van Kirk have owned Albacore for four years. "We started racing her immediately," says Mike. "Frank and I had been sailing together in another fleet, but we wanted to find an active design that could be raced by three people. The fact that the Santana 22 is also economical was a bonus. We bought Albacore for $4,500 with new rigging, new sails and a new bottom job from KKMI. That was a pretty good bargain! "We wet-sail the boat out of RYC and were almost immediately competitive in the fleet. It's possible that we could be a fraction slower in super-light air, but there is no difference when it blows. We like heavy air!" Their toughest regatta this year was RYC's Big Daddy in March. "That day started out mean and got nastier as it went. Cold, windy and blowing from the south. We saw at least 10 boats turn back — not from the Santana fleet — before they even exited the Richmond breakwall. Jan Grygier sailed an awesome regatta that day, could not be touched, and finished comfortably in first." Their favorite regatta was the Nationals in July, also hosted by RYC. "The sailing was beautiful, with the wind getting stronger every day. We had 15 boats on the line. Chris Klein won the event. Albacore got second. Phil Vandenberg ended the regatta with bullet, bullet to finish third. Newcomer Logan Jager, who was rigging his new boat at the RYC docks for the week leading up to the regatta, finished fourth." Crew on Albacore include Larry Nelson, Todd Edmister and Grant Edmister (an RYC Junior — actually, all of them belong to RYC). This winter, the fleet is enjoying the Jack Frost Regatta, hosted by EYC. "We Page 70 •
Latitude 38
• December, 2019
WWW.NORCALSAILING.COM
ealth in this context comes in numbers, but not dollars. Despite the title of this feature, most if not all of the boats profiled in this issue don't cost a lot to purchase, berth or operate. The designs are old and plentiful, and newcomers to the fleets can get started without a big outlay of cash. To make it to the top of the scoreboard, of course it helps to have new sails, a fresh racing bottom, and gear that won't bust in a blast of breeze. Perhaps equally or more important is time spent on the water, and, for those boats that aren't sailed singlehanded, the crew.
had 11 boats on the line, in beautiful November conditions, for Races 1 and 2. "Did I mention you can get into a raceready Santana 22 for less than $5,000, and that you can win wet- or dry-sailed?" 1) Albacore; 2) Alegre, Chris Klein, RYC; 3) Carlos, Jan Grygier, RYC. (15 boats) Michael Quinn and Frank Van Kirk
'Albacore' leads a school of Tunas in a Great Pumpkin race. Their bow crews appear to have taken a page from the Folkboat playbook.
J/24 — Downtown Uproar Darren Cumming/Melissa Litwicki, SSS "The J/24s had a blast this year," reports Melissa Litwicki, "with five or six regular participants showing up for eight season-counter regattas (as well as multiple RYC Wednesday night beer cans): StFYC's Spring One Design, SFYC's Resin Regatta and Summer Keel, the Great Vallejo Race, Jazz Cup, Richmond's Great Pumpkin, and two fleet-only events, one PRO'd by Jeff Zarwell and one by Robin Van Vliet. We had a total of 30 races, with 6 throwouts. "As the winner of last year's District Championships, Jasper Van Vliet and the Evil
