Stellar days at Long Beach Race Week

Sporty sailing conditions by day, spiced rum and dancing by night: Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week delivered 24/7, for the hundreds of sailors who turned up to race in the waters off Long Beach, CA on June 23 to 25.

“Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and Long Beach Yacht Club team up to put together this event each year, merging our forces to provide – with our years of experience and knowledge gleaned from this event, and others – the best regatta possible, for our participants,” said co-chair John Busch, of LBYC. “This year we were blessed with strong winds, fair seas, excellent competition and great parties. And we couldn’t do it without our sponsors, like Ullman Sails and all the others who support this great event.”

Three stellar days, of breeze and sunshine, rounded out this annual funfest of racing and parties. Over 100 teams, hailing from Montana to Mexico, competed in one design and PHRF racing, on three different courses along the California coast.

“We were a little worried initially, when we didn’t see the number of entries we’d like early on,” Busch admitted, “but as usual, a lot of people wait to sign up.” Traditionally, numbers are lighter in Transpac years, as those racers do their final prep for the Los Angeles to Honolulu Race, which starts next week.

“But we ended up with 122 boats – and some really strong fleets like the J/70s, Vipers, and Pac52s, plus the weekend warriors who come out to play and make it such a fun event,” said Busch.

There were thrills and spills, in the 15 to 20 knot conditions, and chop.

The Pac52 BadPak made a comeback, nudging Invisible Hand out of the lead by one point. Temptress won in the lively Farr 40 competition, while Caper won solidly in the J/120 fleet.

Chris Snow’s Cool Story Bro iced the 26-boat J/70 fleet, never finishing lower than 5th place; Pat Toole’s 3 Big Dogs topped the Corinthian entries. Code Blue blew away the Schock 35 division, with top three finishes in all seven races, to earn their Pacific Coast Championship title.

Rival won PHRF C; E Ticket aced PHRF B; Kuai took the Sportboat division, while Boomslang prevailed in the Viper Class.

Busch added, “Our Random Leg classes have continued to increase in size over the years; we are seeing more competitors who like to do the distance races, in addition to the windward leeward. We see it as the best of both worlds.”

In those categories, DreamCatcher got three bullets in RL-C while DistraXion also took three firsts in RL-B. Elyxir held off Stray Dog, in RL-A2, while Peligroso survived a final day protest with Wasabi to win RL-A.

Skip Ely’s Elyxir also won the Golison & Kent Family Trophy, awarded to the highest placing boat with the lowest average race score, whose skipper sails the series with a minimum of three family members aboard including the skipper.

In the battle for Catalina 37 National Championship, Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s Team Ayres/Satariano ousted four-time champion DH3, who took second, while Jane’s Addiction took third.

“Ullman Sails is excited to sponsor this event once again, and to support great sailing, competition, and camaraderie at this fantastic venue. We appreciate the host clubs, all the volunteers, and of course the racers who continue to show up each year,” said Ken Cooper, of Ullman Sails.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: Betsy Crowfoot