Good Winds, Good Times at Long Beach Race Week

Long Beach, CA (June 26, 2016) – If there were any dusty sailors, following last night’s Mount Gay Rum party at Long Beach Yacht Club, it wasn’t evident in the level of racing on the third and final day of Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week (LBRW).

The 120 teams greeted the day head-on, with tight racing in 14 classes on three windward-leeward and random leg courses.

Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) bested LBRW co-host Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) in the Yacht Club Challenge. The trophy is awarded based on the cumulative score of a team of three boats, competing in different classes – one of which must be a Catalina 37.

LBYC edged out ABYC by a slim .02 points; thanks to a strong performance by Bruce Cooper’s J/70 USA32, Bob Lane’s Andrews 63 Medicine Man, and Dave Hood, who clinched his fourth Catalina 37 National Championship title today, in a dog-eat-dog battle with Chuck Clay’s ABYC team.

Insanity won in the Farr 40s, and Jim held off Caper in J/120s by one point, .

One sailor on Code Blue defied the Marine Department’s Shark Advisory against swimming, and went for a dip, at the windward mark. Code Blue was able to retrieve the sailor and regain some lost ground, to capture the Schock 35 National Championship title.

While racing was extremely close in most divisions including PHRF A, where Picosa beat Mexican Divorce by just one point, with E-Ticket two points behind; in other categories the dominance was more straightforward. Venom victoried, putting the squeeze on the 16-boat Viper 640 fleet, while Relapse controlled the Flying Tigers with six bullets and one second place finish.

Reigning J/70 World Champion Flojito y Cooperando handsomely won the J/70 division, with Bruce Golison’s Midlife Crisis in second and Catapult, owned by Joel Ronning third.

While the big boats bring excitement and cachet to LBRW, the J/70 fleet has drawn some of the big guns too, including World Champion Bill Hardesty on Flojito y Cooperando, and John Kostecki – Olympic medalist, America’s Cup champion, and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year – on Catapult.

“I like to see how I stack up against the pros,” said Corinthian sailor Geroge Hershman, who finished 23rd out of 26 teams. A newcomer to the J/70 fleet with Solarcoaster, he said the pro talent provides, “a really great way to learn” for Corinthian racers. The top Corinthian team was Chris Raab in sixth.

LBRW maintained its reputation as a favorite west coast regatta, thanks to great competition and race management, bookended by lively parties with where long-time friends mingle and compare racing notes.

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Source: Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week