The annual East / West Challenge kicked off Friday evening with a competitor check-in and reception at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach.  Over 85 competitors, boat owners, race committee, housing hosts and guests are participating in the regatta which has grown this year to include four Harbor 20 fleets.

Representing the East Coast are Fleet 3 from Hilton Head and Fleet 5 from Annapolis. Representing the West Coast are Fleet 4 from Santa Barbara and Fleet 1 from Newport Beach.  Each Fleet has sent four teams (skipper and crew) for a total of 16 boats in the regatta. Additionally, each of the Harbor 20 boat owners is the “3rd crew” providing the team additional insight on “local knowledge” and familiarity with their boat.

The Friday reception, which included hosted beer and wine and a Taco Bar, allowed participants to meet and greet each other and discuss the upcoming regatta.

 

 

 

 

 

The format of the regatta is Fleet racing (not team racing as one may deduce from the name). Awards will be given to the top 5 individual competitors.  Additionally, the scores from all the competitors representing the East Coast will be combined and compared to that of the West Coasts fleets, and the lowest overall score will be awarded the East / West Challenge Perpetual Trophy.  Currently, Fleet 3 (Hilton Head) possesses the trophy by defeating Fleet 1 at Hilton Head.  This year is the first year that more than 2 fleets have participated in the East / West Challenge.

The regatta will consist of a planned eight (8) races over two days. The courses are place in the Harbor Harbor area adjacent to the yacht club docks making it easy and comfortable for spectators to watch the action.

On Saturday, the winds were pretty steady at about 7-9 knots out of the South/South West. As is usual in Newport Harbor, shifts and current provide for a challenging venue where local experience can give competitors an advantage.  The race committee was able to get off four (4) windward / leeward races, each about 35 minutes long.

At the end of the day, the East Coast leads with 268 points to the West Coasts 276 points. With only an 8 point spread, the challenge is close even as the second day of racing begins. The leaders in the individual competition is as follows:

1. Tom Schock (sailing for Fleet 5) – 12 points
2. Jim Kerrigan (Fleet 1) – 18 points
3. Scott Deerdorf (Fleet 4) – 20 points
4. Lee Sutherland (Fleet 1) – 22 points
5. Karl Pomeroy (sailing for Fleet 5) – 23 points

After racing on Saturday evening, the out-of-town guests were treated to an hour-long guided tour of Newport Bay in the iconic “Duffy”, electric boats. Wine, cocktails and snacks along with commentary on the interesting facts and notable landmarks provided the background for this sunset cruise to Lido Isle Yacht Club for the Saturday Party.

 

 

 

 

Saturday was capped off with a festive party with a variety of food, live music, dance floor and hosted bar. There was a lot of energy left over from the day as was evident by the chatter, energy and plenty of dancing.

Sunday, racing begins at 1pm and will conclude with awards and an Awards dinner at the NHYC.

Pictures of the event will be added to this post and included in the final regatta wrap up post.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WINDWARD OFFSET AND GATE MARKS, as were used for the Schock Regatta, and will be used again for the Champoinship? If so DON’T MISS THIS EVENT!

On Thursday, September 27, two days before the Championship, the H20 Association is sponsoring an evening called “ASK THE JUDGES” at 7:00 PM at NHYC. Certified judges will be present to answer any and all questions you might have about the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012. A whiteboard with magnetic boats will be used to help visualize on-the-water situations as they change over time.

Don’t go into the Championship with lingering questions about the rules. We will be entertaining questions such as:

1)     Can you have contact with another boat and not have broken a rule?

2)     If two overlapped, close hauled, starboard tack boats reach a windward mark to be left to port, does the leeward boat have to fall off at the mark, or can it continue to sail on, taking the windward boat with it?

3)     Can boats on opposite tacks be overlapped?

4)     If a boat running on port tack overlaps to leeward a boat running on starboard tack, and then jibes, does he (she) then have luffing rights?

5)     Does a boat which tacks from port to starboard inside the 3 boat length circle ever have rights to mark room?

6)     The committee boat is a mark and an obstruction. Is an inside boat, overlapped to windward, entitled to room at the obstruction before starting?

7)     Is a boat ever required to sail her proper course?

8)     Does a boat which is sailing above close hauled have to fall off to a close hauled course at the starting signal?

9)     Can you take a penalty turn anytime before the finish of a race to exonerate yourself of a rule infraction?

 

Answers:

1) No

2) Yes or no, depending on how the overlap was established

3) Yes , if both are sailing more than 90 degrees from the wind

4) Yes

5) Yes

6) Yes, unless approaching the starting line to start (barging)

7) No

8 ) Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It all depends on how overlaps with adjacent boats were established.

9) No. A penalty must be taken as soon as possible after the time of the incident.

 

What’s your question? Come and get the answer. Find out once and for whether you were right or wrong in past incidents. This should be a really interesting and fun evening!

We hope to see you there!

 

On June 23, under sunny skies and a light breeze, the Annapolis Yacht Club held a first ever Harbor20 Fleet 5 Regatta honoring AYC Commodores. The weekend of June 22 -24 marked the 126th anniversary of Annapolis Yacht Club. The newest AYC fleet of Harbor-20 sailboats sponsored the First Annual Commodores Cup Race which was a huge success as seven current and past AYC commodores competed in 3 races. Each boat sailed with a three person crew which included the boat owner, a Commodore, and a crew person selected by the commodore.

After very close racing, the winners were past commodore Cappy Kidd with crew member Molly Wimer and owner Peter Trogdon on SKIMMER #311. Current Commodore Kevin McNeil and crew finished in second place.

A special luncheon and awards ceremony for all of the race participants and spectators followed the event.

Attached are some images from this wonderful day of sailing.

Peter Trogdon
SKIMMER #311

A Fleet

(11 sailors)

 

B Fleet

(10 sailors)

2nd Place – Anne and Greg Hatton (not pictured)

C Fleet

(4 sailors)

The three series Lorin Weiss Regatta concluded with awards at the BCYC Sunday after the races. A total of fifteen races were conducted over three days beginning in April and concluding yesterday. Approximately 27 Harbor 20s participated in the regatta. A beautiful and warm summer day provided the background for a very challenging last day of racing, as shifty and gusty winds toyed with even the most contemplated strategies.

Bill & Diane Menninger handily won in the A Fleet, and were awarded the Commodore Lorin Wiess Memorial Perpetual Trophy (most know this trophy as the bell next to the bar at the BCYC).

Jeff Gorden took 1st place for the B Fleet, also by a large margin, and was awarded the Jim Kerrigan Perpetual Trophy.

And a first-time award was given to the recently formed C Fleet winner, Kathryn Reed.

Official results have been posted on the race board at BCYC but not yet posted online as of this writing.

There is no LIYC barbecue after the race on Fri. July 13th.  Kathy Sangster will be hosting a barbecue at her house for the H20 sailors after the race,  Please bring meat to barbecue and your beverage and she will supply the rest.  RSVP:   Kathy Sangster

403 Via Lido Soud

Newport Bch, Ca. 92663

kathykenya@yahoo.com

949- 723-0350