61st Cal 20 Class Championships

Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club (San Pedro, CA) hosted the 61st Cal 20 Class Championships from September 8 – 10, 2023. A total of 35 Cal 20s raced in three divisions (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) making this once again one of the largest one design keelboat regattas on the West Coast.

Local CBYC sailor Bill Schopp sailing with crew RJ Vanderweyde and Reidar Schopp claimed the Gold Fleet championship sailing a very consistent series with no finishes worse than seventh in the 21 boat Gold Fleet. Coming in second place was up and coming youth sailor Noah Stapleton (CBYC/ABYC) who came within three points of first place. Rounding out the top three was another local CBYC Cal 20 sailor Mike Burch,

Racing took place at the infamous Hurricane Gulch within Los Angeles Harbor (same general venue as the recent July GP Sailing Series event). The nickname Hurricane Gulch is attributable to the prevalent strong sea breeze that whips around Point Fermin.

The breeze did not disappoint with typical races sailed in 15 knots plus of wind, with average speeds on the second day of 18 knots with gusts into the twenties were recorded on the racecourse. Most boats carried three crew members to help flatten the boat and spread-out boat handling duties under breeze on conditions.

The Silver class champion was Nicholas Parszik from CBYC. Lawrence Braslow from CBYC claimed the Bronze class championship. The Bronze fleet , which boasted 11 entries, was designed to provide an entry level racing class.

The Class 20 strives to encourage newcomers to join the action and progress from Bronze to Silver and eventually to Gold level racing. For a boat introduced in 1961, and even further removed from modern yacht design, the Class is doing well to keep attracting sailors to Corinthian one-design racing.

Details: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/gh5WDHxjnw

Source: Todd Smith