THE RACING

committee crew contemplated the raw emotional state of the passing sailors, we unleashed our own volley of hot apple cider and whatever.

It was once around, which turned out to be merciful, as the weather just kept building, with the worst of it occurring about an hour after the race had ended. Meanwhile, back at the clubhouse preparations were being made to distribute the series trophies and congratulate the winners and participants. Finger foods were served and favorites were identified.

For the Champion of Champions race, in the Big and Bad Red Fleet it was Swift Ness getting her name carved on the Kirt Brooks perpetual trophy. For the Blue Fleet, the winner was the Paxton cousins' Express 27 Motorcycle Irene. In the White Fleet, the winner was John Gulliford of the J/24 Phantom.

The 2023 Berkeley Midwinters was one for the record books, with more rainy, stormy weather than we have seen in many years. Two of the four Saturday races were abandoned due to weather, and the races that were run were, for the most part, done in the rain.

This year's February BYC Midwinters race was the first one in more than 30 years without Bobbi Tosse (1939-2023) managing it either on the water or behind the scenes. She is and always will be missed. Cheers to Bobbi.

— mark bird

BYC SATURDAY MIDWINTERS (2r, 1t)

PHRF <85 — 1) Swift Ness, J/111, Nesrin Baso , 1 point 'io, Antrim 27, Buzz Blackett, 2; 3) Mintaka 4, Farr 38, Gerry Brown, 3. (11 boats)

PHRF 87-112 — 1) Baleineau, Olson 34,

CYC MIDWINTERS (4r, 0t)

PHRF 1 — 1) Saoirse, Tripp 41, ssell e s le, 10 5 points Baccanal, J/133, on pstein, 1 5 3 California Condor, Antrim Class 40, Buzz Blackett, 17. (9 boats)

PHRF 2 — 1) Outsider, Azzura 310, Greg elsen, points Peregrine, J/120, David Halliwill, 10; 3) Nuckelavee, Melges 32, Mark Kennedy, 17. (8 boats)

PHRF 3 — 1) Jeannette, Frers 40, ief Wadlei o o , 7 points Reverie, J/109, John Arens, 14; 3) Basic Instinct, Elliott 1050, Memo Gidley, 17. (11 boats)

PHRF 4 — 1) Rhapsody, Sa re Spirit, aren e l ram, 5 points Pelagia, J/80, Sergey Lubarsky, 17; 3) Windsome, J/100, Anne Thomas, 20. (10 boats)

PHRF 5 — 1) Arcadia, Mod. Santana 27, Gordie as , 4 points Heart of Gold, Olson 911S, oan rne xel e nert, 17 3 Nancy, Wyliecat 30, Pat Broderick, 21. (9 boats)

EXPRESS 27 — 1) Salty Hotel, John Kearne , points Moonlight, Jim Gibbs, 14; 3) Abigail Morgan, Ron Kell, 19. (4 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER 1 — 1) Q, Schumacher 40, lenn saa son, 7 points Freedom, Worth 40, Jib Martens, 11; 3) Finistere, Sabre 38 MkII, John

C arlie ro ard, 1 point WYSIWYG, Olson 30, Henrik Bruhns, 2; 3) Yankee Air Pirate, Olson 30, Donald Newman, 2. (5 boats)

EXPRESS 27 — 1) Wile E Coyote, Dan Pruan, 1 point Motorcycle Irene, Will & Julia axton, 1 3 Magic Bus, Eric Deeds, 2; 4) Salty Hotel, John Kearney, 3. (16 boats)

PHRF 114-156 — 1) Ahi, Santana 35, Andy e ell, 1 point Sunshine Express, SC27, Ben Tallarigo, 1; 3) Heart of Gold, Olson 911S, oan rne xel e nert, oats

F 15 1 Chesapeake, Merit 25, Jim Fair ernard ri e, 1 point Slainte, Cal 20, Paul Sutchek, 1; 3) Phantom, J/24, John Gulliford, oats

BYC SUNDAY MIDWINTERS (4r, 1t)

PHRF <126 — 1) L'Attitude, Olson 34, Frank a elmann, 7 points Nirvana, J/105, Katie Cornetta, 8; 3) Spirit, 70, nd ippel, boats)

PHRF 129-169 — 1) Tequila Mockingbird, xpress 7, andall asi ot, 4 points Wildthing, xpress 7, a Wilson Crai Wilson, 3 Froglips, J/24, Richard Stockdale, 11. (10 boats)

F 171 1 Antares, Islander 30 MkII, arr Telford, 4 points Zeehond, e port 30

Box Scores

Arndt, 13. (8 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER 2 — 1) Topgallant, Tartan 10, Carl Flemmin , 4 points Surprise, Catalina 34, Peter Birnbaum, 8; 3) QE3, Tartan 10, George Janson, 11. (7 boats)

Full results at www.cyc.org

EYC JACK FROST (8r, 1t)

PHRF 1 — 1) 'io, Antrim 27, Buzz Blackett, 10 points Good and Plenty, Soverel 33, Mark Wagner, 14; 3) Story Maker, Tartan 101, Mike & Sean Mahoney, 22. (8 boats)

PHRF 2 — 1) Sea Star, Cal 39, Bob Walden, 11 points Ahi, Santana 35, Andy Newell, 13; 3) Gig, Humboldt 30, Gil Sloan, 20. (4 boats)

PHRF 3 — 1) Loose Cannon, J/22, Theo o r, 10 points Maybe Baby, Hunter 34, Mark Bird, 13; 3) Grey Wulff, Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, en opple ell, 5 4 oats

EXPRESS 37 — 1) Bullet, Larry Baskin, 12; 2) Snowy Owl, Jens Jensen, 18; 3) Elan, Jack Peurach, 21. (5 boats)

OLSON 25 — 1) Sketch, David Gruver, 10 points O'Mar, David Scott, 14; 3) Synchronicity,

MkII, Donn Guay, 5; 3) Strange Magic, Islander Bahama 30, Mark Werder, 9. (6 boats)

ALERION 28 — 1) Zenaida, Fred axton rnie an, 3 points Resilience, Michael Quinn, 7; 3) Sweet De, Chris & Denise Kramer, 6. (6 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED — 1) Hare-O-Dymanic, W lie Wa it, t an etersen, 5 points Surprise!, xpress 3 1, o o nston a id errigel, 7; 3) Bad Hare Day, Wylie Wabbit, Michele S mpton ri en el, 11 10 oats

SINGLEHANDED — 1) Stink Eye, Laser 28, onat an toff, 4 points Envolée, Figaro 2, Nathalie Criou, 5; 3) Sweet Pea, Islander 30-2, Jan Hirsch, 11. (6 boats)

BYC MIDWINTERS WINNERS RACE, 2/26

RED FLEET — 1) Swift Ness; 2) Tequila Mockingbird; 3) Ahi. (3 boats)

BLUE FLEET — 1) Motorcycle Irene; 2) Envolée. (2 boats)

WHITE FLEET — 1) Phantom; 2) Strange Magic. (2 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

Steve Smith, 27. (4 boats)

SANTANA 22 — 1) Anemone, Hank Lindemann, 1 5 points Alegre, Chris Klein, 20; 3) Meliki, Deb Fehr, 20. (9 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

GGYC MANUEL FAGUNDES SEAWEED SOUP REGATTA (3r, 0t)

PHRF 1 — 1) Lucky Duck, J/90, Dave Macen, 4 points Nuckelavee, Melges 32, Mark Kennedy, 7; 3) Zamazaan, Farr 52, Greg Mullins, 15. (9 boats)

PHRF 2 — 1) CentoMiglia, Flying Tiger 10, en a ir es in Stepanoff, points Jubilant, J/112e, Kevin Wilkinson, 9; 3) Alchera, 1 0, eff illips, 13 11 oats

PHRF 3 — 1) Serenade, Sa re Spirit 3 , an asom, 4 points Heart of Gold, Olson 911S, Joan Byrne, 8; 3) Arcadia, Mod. Santana 27, Gordie Nash, 10. (10 boats)

PHRF 4 — 1) Bottoms Up, J/22, Brett Davis, 5 points Kookaburra, ird oat, artin offel, 11; 3) La Paloma, , ames ennefer, 14 boats)

KNARR — 1) Narcissus, John Jenkins, 11 points Star Platinum, Ty Ingram, 18; 3) Benino, Mark Dahm, 18. (6 boats)

Light Air in Opti Midwinters

February 18-19 saw the 46th annual SCYA Midwinters. Del Rey YC once again hosted the little folks in the Optimists and combined the Mids with their own Stephen M. Pitts Memorial Regatta. Stephen was an outstanding junior sailor and mentor who unfortunately passed from leukemia at age 18.

The Green fleet (with the youngest kids) races inside the marina and must dodge all manner of traffic: powerboats, sailboats of all sizes, service dinghies and SUPs.

The outside (Champ) fleet races around marks set off Venice Pier. The junior coaches and race committee generally set a course of about three quarters of a mile between the leeward and weather marks and lengthen or shorten (the latter in the case of the 2023 races) according to wind and swells, and (except for about six years ago when there were thunderstorms) the ocean has been agreeable.

The snow on the nearby mountains foretold a possibility of big winds, but none materialized outside. Saturday started out cloudy with an early northeast breeze that gradually clocked to about 240° at 4-6 knots, but wind direction and speed kept shifting, causing one race to be abandoned and several general recalls. Upon returning inside the harbor, we were met with 12-15 knots.

FOLKBOAT — 1) Polperro, Peter Jeal, 3 points Rodhaette, Laurence Chambers, 8; 3) Shanty, Allen Slichter, 12. (5 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

RYC SMALL BOAT MIDWINTERS (up to 14r, 2t)

W W T 1 im esen er o n roen, 13 points Tim ssell, 1 3 ri enel i ele S mpton, 33 oats

T T 0 1 o n Wolfe, 5 points

Donna Womble, 33; 3) Mark Allen, 34. (5 boats) C 1 a id a i, points a id West, 35 3 C ris an afame, 40 3 oats

T ST 1 alerie olt , 1 points

Brian Bauman, 30; 3) Steve Oliver, 49. (4 boats)

S 1 a a is, 13 points nd e erpeter, 17 3 Tom eill, 3 4 oats

INTERNATIONAL 14 — 1) John Clark, 8 points ir T ardo s i, 17 3 ames Clarson, 19. (5 boats)

S 1 l a ol o , 10 points ichael Sealey, 26; 3) Chris Davison, 34. (3 boats)

S T 1 Se astian ar er, 13 points

2) Shea Baggeroer, 28; 3) Nolan Balocki, 38. (4 boats)

S F S 1 ssell lein, 13 points Roy Jordan, 24; 3) Robert Cronin, 39. (3 boats)

Sunday was better: The sun came out, the wind held enough for a two-lapper, and all returned to the harbor after 4 p.m. Eight races were run over the two days. See www.dryc.org for results.

— andy kopetzky

Santa Monica Bay Race

On Saturday, March 4, DRYC ran its Santa Monica Bay/Palos Verdes Race, #2 of the William Berger/William Stein Series. Fifty-five boats started, and all but one finished. Ryan Welter, sailing his 38-year-old J/29 Zulu, won overall honors and first in class.

For 40+ years, the event went rhumbline from the MDR Olympic Circle near the breakwater to the low-profile NOAA #28 Waverider Buoy about 11 miles SSW, anchored in about 1,500 feet on the Santa Monica Bay escarpment. Given the massive amount of scope, the wind, swing (more than a half mile) and swells,

Box Scores

S 1 millo Castelli, 11 points avid LaPier, 32; 3) Will Benedict, 33. (12 boats)

LASER RADIAL — 1) Evan Sullivan, 40 points rnest al an, 5 3 Tos i Ta a ana i, 61. (15 boats)

T 1 ene arris, 7 points C ristine Sasaridis, 8. (2 boats)

T S 1 i ael inn, 1 points

2) John Walsh, 31; 3) Gordie Nash, 34. (8 boats)

SOUTHAMPTON OPEN CLASS — 1) Kelly i e, ne, 3 points 1 oat

POTRERO/KELLER COVE OPEN CLASS

1 Ste e o r , a Sailer, 1 points T ler Backman, Montgomery 15, 44; 3) Charles Witcher, Banshee, 51. (4 boats)

Full results at www.richmondyc.org

SCYC MIDWINTERS (3r, 0t)

PHRF A — 1) Animal, Sydney 38, Craig Fren , 5 points Aboriginal, Sydney 38, Bret ripenstra , 7 oats

PHRF B — 1) Dr. Feelgood, Olson 30, Rhys C ard, points Hi jinx 2.0, xpress 34, rad Sampson, 10 3 No Name, Custom, Alan coupled with its 1.5-ft freeboard, it was like trying to locate a yellow Roomba outfitted with a tiny antenna mid-ocean. After years of turning mark "Where's Waldo?" issues, the club changed the race completely for this year: Courses of 23 miles (Stein Series) and 25 miles (Berger Series) take the competitors toward Playa del Rey near LAX, then SSE to El Segundo, Redondo and Palos Verdes, finishing at the MDR south entrance.

Visions of blue skies and sailingcalendar panoramas of multi-colored spinnakers against a snowy mountain backdrop were dashed by low-hanging cumulus clouds, some inland fog, rolling seas, and a gray day devoid of sun. The clouds may have obscured the mountains and their record snowfall (Mt. Baldy, about 45 miles away, had received more snow than any hill in the lower 48), but the wind showed up for a change, albeit shifty.

Initial southerlies prior to the noon start clocked around to WSW. The usual windless parking lot surrounding Palos Verdes Peninsula saw winds ranging from 8 to 18 knots and building, until the last competitor crossed the finish just after 5 p.m. Most boats screamed in on a reach toward the finish line.

See results at www.dryc.org/racing. — andy kopetzky

Wirtanen, 10. (11 boats)

MOORE 24 — 1) Nobody's Girl, Mackenzie Coo S dnie oore, 7 points Pegasus Racing, ilippe a n, 3 Adios, Hilary Hill, 12. (7 boats)

JIB & MAIN — 1) Gandalf, Santana 35, Robert eWit, 3 points No Name, Islander 36, Paul Tara, 8; 3) The Perfect Thirty-Six, Catalina 36, Steve Niemann, 8. (5 boats)

Full results at www.scyc.org

SYC J/105 & J/88 SPRING INVITATIONAL, 3/1112 (5r, 0t)

J/105 — 1) Blackhawk, Ryan Simmons, 8 points Beast of Burden, Sellers/McDonald/ Turner, 19; 3) Godot 2.0, illip a , 0 4 Zuni Bear, Mike Donohue, 35. (18 boats)

J/88 — 1) Split Water, ar o e, 10 points

2) Butcher, Dave Corbin, 13; 3) Pelagia, Sergey Lubarsky, 15. (4 boats)

Full results at www.sausalitoyachtclub.org

TYC MOTT MIDWINTERS (1r)

1) Kind of Blue, J/109, Pellie Anderson; 2) Lion, Olson 25, Lon Woodrum/Steve Nimz; 3) Siento el Viento, C&C 29-1, Ian Matthew. (6 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net