Midwinter Regatta
February 19th, 20th, 2005
Story By Gary Jorgenson, Skipper of First Light, Photos by Jeff Johnson
 |
Wet, windy, and wild would be the best description of the 76th annual SCYA Midwinters. San Diego Yacht Club hosted the Beneteau 40.7 one design fleet at the February 19th and 20th event, originally planned as 5 races over the two days to be raced on the old America's Cup course west of Pt. Loma. The southerly wind direction and high sea state forced a move of venue to the Coronado roads, and the combination also limited the action to one rugged race on Saturday and three races on Sunday. |
One of the
toughest jobs Saturday was simply getting to the course, which meant battling
20-25 knot head winds and a steep 6 foot chop all the way from Ballast Point to
the race course area. While 8 boats made it out to the
race course, both Silhouette and Drumshanbo had to drop out prior to the start,
the former lacking enough able bodied crew, and the latter lacking a #3
headsail.
After a short postponement while the race committee fought the conditions to get
a course set, the remaining 6 boats, most with reefed mains and #3's, started
into a 22-24 knot headwind and big seas. Shortly after the start Corinthian
broke it's anchor chain, leaving 40 feet of chain and the anchor on the bottom.
For the rest of the race the committee boat crew fought to keep the boat on
station with no anchor. Wind speeds were reaching 28 knots at the windward mark,
and most of the fleet went conservative on the downwind leg. Lacking a #3,
Changes In Altitudes dropped out part way through the race, finding the going
tough with a larger headsail. French Toast blew out the head of their smallest
headsail, and finished the final two legs of the race without a jib. 5 boats
finished, with Wiki Wiki leading the way, followed by Estelle-B, SuperGnat,
First Light, and French Toast.
The race committee rolled the fleet into sequence for a second race with 4 boats
still competing, but a large squall blew in by the windward mark as the race
started, obscuring the pin end of the course. After a Coast Guard helicopter
buzzed the pin boat, all wisely decided to call it a day.
Sunday saw more favorable conditions, with 14-18 knot winds and 2-4 foot seas,
and as a result the fleet got in 3 full races of 4 legs each. Drumshanbo again
decided to head for home, with some minor damage and lacking a full
sail inventory, but the other 7 boats started all three races. SuperGnat held
off Estelle-B to win race 2 with most of the fleet clustered closely together at
the finish. Race 3 ran somewhat longer legs, allowing for a good tactical race
won by Estelle-B with Wiki Wiki and SuperGnat hot on their tail. First Light
finished with a spinnaker torn from head to foot.
The fourth race
started into a squall that eventually passed outside the course, and a somewhat
building chop. Changes In Altitudes blew up it's traveler and was forced to drop
out, while Estelle-B shredded a spinnaker,
dropping them back in the pack. After Silhouette lassoed the windward mark with
it's mainsheet, SuperGnat cruised to an easy finish with First Light and WIki
Wiki battling for second a short distance behind.
SuperGnat wound up the overall winner, with Estelle-B winning a 2nd place tie
breaker over Wiki Wiki. SuperGnat and Estelle-B were awarded trophies at the
post race party hosted by SDYC. First Light finished 4th, Silhouette
5th, French Toast 6th, Changes In Altitudes 7th, and Drumshanbo in 8th. The
owners pitched in to buy a couple of well earned bottles of wine for the race
committee, who did an incredible job in very rugged conditions to get 4 races
completed.
Click here for race results.
Click here for more pictures.