sdyc.org

August 14-15, 2010

The Balboa Challenge was hosted by NHYC August 14-15, 2010. The event was sailed in the Etchells Class and this year Team SDYC was composed of Patrick Sloan, Chuck Sinks and Chris Busch, skipper. We packed Etchells (#969) up and headed up to Newport. We stepped the mast, rigged the boat, gave the bottom a quick wash and we were off to the skippers meeting. Seven races were planned for the regatta. Six clubs competed including the defending champion Newport Harbor Yacht Club skippered by Scott Mason.

After a long tow to the starting line just north of the Newport Pier, we prepared for the start. While each of our crew had significant time in the Etchells, we had never raced together as a team. We worked on some fundamentals then prepared for the start of race 1. The courses and starting line were kept short by the RC to keep the fleet compressed and the racing exciting. As is typical for Newport, the breeze was light and variable with plenty of shifts and holes and a good bit of current running.

Race one was going very well for Team SDYC, when at the start of the second downwind leg, we noticed the wire jib halyard was one pull away from parting – which would have sent the jib halyard through the mast and SDYC’s 2010 Balboa Challenge Cup effort to an early exit. Between races, with some luck and quick hands, a less than perfect “fix” was fashioned – although our start on race #2 suffered as the crew was focused on saving and repairing the halyard. The halyard fix held for the remainder of the day and Team SDYC ended on top of the leader board.

Several attempts were made to secure a new or replacement halyard upon arriving at the dock Saturday evening. When those efforts were exhausted – the SDYC Team fashioned a more “permanent” fix for the halyard that appeared to do the trick. Sunday brought less breeze and a very long postponement. Finally racing was to get underway. When hoisting the jib, it became apparent the jib halyard was not cooperating. Finally, after some cajoling the jib went up and racing began. Team SDYC posted another solid race score by factoring in the current and applying “innovative” downwind techniques with a fully hoisted jib. For the final race of the regatta, the halyard finally gave out and the Team hoisted the jib on the spinnaker halyard. After rounding the weather mark, the jib was dropped to the deck, the halyard removed then re-connected to the spinnaker and the kite hoisted – not a picture perfect set that final race – but enough to keep Team SDYC on top of the leader board and earn the 2010 Balboa Challenge Cup a trip to SDYC for the next year.

A big thank you to the membership, the Board, the Challenge and Competition Committees for their support.

Respectfully submitted,
2010 SDYC Balboa Challenge Cup Team

Patrick Sloan
Chuck Sinks
Chris Busch, Skipper

Saturday, April 10, 2010
Contact: Bob Rhein (714) 785-6636
brhein@catalinaconservancy.org

The 2010 Catalina Island Conservancy Ball – Catalina Rocks! – celebrates the work of the Conservancy as well as the many awe-inspiring geological features that the Island possesses. The 15th Annual Conservancy Ball will be held in the beautiful Avalon Casino Ballroom. For information on tickets, sponsorships, or donating auction items, please visit www.catalinaconservancy.org > Support Us > Conservancy Ball.

When Kjeld Hestehave brought Velos the Tanton 73 to San Diego several years back it was black and battle scared and adopted the name the “Death Star” because of it’s resemblance to Darth Vader’s famous space ship.  The boat was built in Belgium in 1986.  It is a very heavy boat and with a smaller rig than many 70 footers specializes in the heavier air events. A few years back a new keel and rudder were fitted as well as changing the color of the boat to white.  In 2008 the bottom was faired again just before participating in the Pacific Cup.Velos has taken part in many of the southern California races from the Hot Rums to Puerto Vallarta and Transpac often winning the party in huge fashion but not always wining the race. In 2008 Velos placed second in Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii completing the trip in 8 ½ days. They also won 2 Newport to Ensenada races in the last 4 years.

This year Kjeld brought the boat north to San Francisco to participate for the 4^th time in the Rolex Big Boat Series hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club.  Velos had inconsistent results at this regatta in the past, twice finishing 2^nd and in 2007 finishing 7^th.  The decision to do the regatta was based mostly on wanting to participate in the St. Francis Yacht Club Stag Cruise.  Kjeld wanted to bring the boat up to house a few close friends during the event and since the boat was going to be up there Kjeld decided that it would be a great opportunity to participate in the Rolex Big Boat Series one more time.  Since time was running short Kjeld asked Chuck Skewes if he could get a group of good sailors together in time to do the event.  Chuck recruited SDYC sailor Will Stout and as many of the crew from their other two big boat programs Staghound and Alchemy.  Since the boat needed 22 crew it was a recruitment that would take some time.When the regatta approached Kjeld found himself on jury duty unable to help deliver the boat and unable to make any of the practices.  As the regatta approached it looked as though Kjeld was going to miss the first two days of the event.  A last minute verdict allowed Kjeld to catch a Thursday morning flight and make it to the boat as the boat was leaving the dock to go to the race course. Velos in the IRC B fleet was the biggest boat at the regatta and competing with the legendary Ragtime, the brand new Kernan 44 Wasabi, Swiftsure 3, XL the Antrim 40 just to name a few.  Wasabi sailing with a southern Californian crew were slated as an early favorite with a boat that was IRC optimized and sailing with a mostly professional crew.

On the first start Velos won the pin and shortly was able to cross the fleet.  When the wind shifted left Velos was on layline and the entire rest of the fleet was over stood, giving Velos a 2.5 minute lead at the first mark.  Velos never looked back in that race or any other race.  Velos not only won all 6 races, Velos lead to every mark except one leeward mark the entire regatta.  San Diego Yacht Club Member Kersey Clausen who lives in the bay area was also aboard and was his first Big Boat Series win in over 30 attempts. The awards party was over run with Velos crew and supporters.  Congratulations to the crew of Velos: Kjeld Hestehave, Chuck Skewes, Will Stout, Kacey Campbell, John Adriani, Andrea Adriani, Kersey Clausen, Al Silva, Bob Brangston, Scott Pack, Jenn Garvey, Dave Koenig, Ryan Koenig, Mark Mauer, Jon Thompson, Mike Schiltz, Andy Schwenk, Tom Gilbert, Patrick Koranda, Jay Davis, Andrew Whittome,  Rich Deveau, and Kirk O’Brien.

A local dog is being called a hero today by San Diego Fire Officials after he alerted his owner that a neighbor’s house was on fire last Thursday, allowing the occupants to escape without injuries. Sandra Angel, the dog’s owner was sleeping soundly in her La Playa neighborhood home until about 2:30 a.m. She awoke when her dog began to paw at her bed insistently.

“My dog, Cabrillo came to my bedside very agitated,” Angel said. “He kept going to the window and coming back to the bed, then scratched at the mattress and tugged at my sleeve to make sure I got up. That’s when I smelled smoke. I got out of bed and saw a smoky haze with the glow of a fire from the house a few doors away.”

Sleeping tenants were roused and quickly urged out of the home while Angel alerted other neighbors, worried that elderly residents nearby would need more time to get out safely. “It’s scary when it happens in the middle of the night,” Angel said, “but you get focused pretty fast when you realize you might have just minutes to save a few precious belongings and get to safety.”

The fire’s hero is a Portuguese Water Dog named Cabrillo, a centuries-old breed loved by yachtsmen. Boating is in the blood of these animals, known for assisting fisherman with hauling nets, herding fish, retrieving items lost overboard and even swimming messages between boats in the days before radios. When fog rolled in, they sat on the bow listening and barking as a sort of primitive radar system. In fact the breed nearly became extinct in the 20^th century as modern electronics diminished fisherman’s need for the dogs. “He’s a smart dog, and you’re lucky he picked up on the danger” said Batallion Chief David Williams, expressing his appreciation for the dog and his owner’s quick action before the fire burned out of control.

Police are still investigating the cause of the fire which started in the attic at 438 Rosecrans, destroying the roof and some of the contents. Firefighters from Point Loma Station 22 and local Police responded quickly, preventing the fire from spreading to nearby homes. They remained at the scene for several hours.

The Race Committee was back in business September after a nice rest during July and August. We lead the month off with the PC Nationals Sept 6-7. Eleven of these classic beauties lined up on the Coronado Roads to determine their champion. Defending Champion #45 Salsa – skippered by Chris Busch sorted things out in Race One with a third place finish, but put the hammer down after that with straight bullets in the next 4 races. Right behind, in the perpetual runner’s up position with all 2nds was #62 Menace – skippered by Bruce Sutphen. #31 Skylark – owned/skippered by fleet captain Tom Hurlburt rounded out the awards with third place overall. Thanks to all the fleet members for coming out to support their championship.

Next up was the Beneteau Cup. Five 36.7s and eight 40.7s registered to sail for this rally. Steve Ernest on Aimant de Fille schooled the 36.7 fleet with straight bullets. On the 40.7 course Kirk O’Brien on Drumshanbo dueled with Estella – B (Armando Silvestre) and won the tie breaker with a 3rd over Silvestre’s 4th (both had two 1sts and one 2nd).

Next up, you should be getting ready for the Hot Rum Series. Race I is November 9th. If you don’t have a ride, call your favorite skipper and offer to bring cookies and beer. That usually works…

And finally, 2009 is on the horizon and the provisional 2009 regatta calendar will be posted online very soon. From the Race Committee’s perspective, it will be a very busy year, so if you’ve ever thought about coming out to help run races, 2009 would be a good year to come through on that goal. Besides the usual big RC events including the NOOD in March and Yachting Cup in May, we will be hosting the Snipe Worlds and Junior Worlds in late August and early September. From assisting on shore, housing officials, driving boats for press/spectators, helping with measurement or hospitality, serving on the RC during the week or even being a sponsor for the event, there is plenty for everyone to do.

Plan to get involved and call us if you have any ideas or time. We look forward to seeing you here!

We are an old San Diego family, from La Mesa.  We are returning from ranching in Texas for 20 years and are bringing out 50′ Jenneau from St. Maarten, N.A. through the canal and up the Pacific west coast through Cabo San Lucas and on to San Diego.

I would like to invite some crew to join us, someone desperate for some adventure.  We are members of the St. Maarten Yacht Club, Perth Amboy Yacht Club and would appreciate any assistance.  We will be in Costa Rica on July 31st.

If you are interested, please contact the SDYC Sailing Office for contact information for Mr. Strecker.

Sailing Office: (619) 758-6309, jared@sdyc.org