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Brian Boschma: Red Sky:
Brian has been racing his Olson 34 “Redsky” in crewed offshore events for years now, and will voyage into his 1st Singlehanded Transpac this Summer. The Farallones race was a preplanned practice run for the SH Transpac . “The SSS Standown Marathon just meant more practice with the kite” says Brian, who was going to let the forecast dictate weather he sailed out the gate, and do a leisurely cruise out to the Farallones anyways, but the lack of wind convinced Brian to go with the flow and do the Marathon.
“It was actually great for me” Brian” indicates” I set the 1.5 oz shy kite at Bonita and was able to carry all the way to the San Mateo Bridge.” Brian hugged the north side of the channel and crossed near the North Tower to avoid the STD, and then hugged the city front for relief. He considered dousing with everyone else between the Bay Bridge and Hunters Point when things got a tad puffy, but after raising the jib, things really mellowed out. “ 22 miles of spinnaker run,” Brian exalts when do you even get to do that inside the bay single handed?”
For the ride back up, Brian sailed with his 100% jib and played the west side and avoided the big breeze the later boats experienced in the south bay, but after rounding pier 39, the shit hit the fan, and 30 knots for the final push to the GGYC did a number on his main, tearing it literally to shreds. “ I finished just behing Greg Nelsen on the Azzura, who also took a beating” Said Brian, “ Greg pointed to his jib which was also in tatters, and I pointed to my main, classic”
Vincent Swerkes: Rocket 22
If you look at Vincent Swerkes and Torren Knoor’s Custom 22 ”Catch 22” and you would swear it was a shortened J-22. In all actuality, the custom race was built for the 1980 SSS Transpac, by Judson Zenzic but broke its rudder and returned back to the mainland The owner had a cradle made for the back of his pick up truck to haul Catch 22 for the next decade in Lake Shasta. Catch 22 would then get a new owner , Lance Bushard, who later moved her to Lake Tahoe, where she built a custom garage just big enough for her to fit in and keep her protected from the intense uv rays and harsh Tahoe winters. Vincent and Torren bought her in 2011 for 2 six packs of beer.
“It was the chain saw or pretty much a give away” says Torren” The owner just wasn’t using her and she was taking up valuable garage space “ Her 1st race in decades was the SSS 3BF. “ She’s pretty well set up for short handed racing” says Vincent” but tends to squat a little low in the transom with two in the cockpit. The Stand -down Marathon was Vincent’s 1st singlehanded race on her, and the plan is to more shorthanded races. Torren and Vincent will switch off, and it’s not set in stone but Catch 22 could possible make another run attempt to Hanalie Bay in the near future. We’ll have more on this little gem a little later.
John Lubimir: Flight Risk
Temporarily relocated back to the Bay Area after 45 years on the East Coast, John Lubimir has his eyes set on his 1st Single Handed Trans Pac. “Flight Risk” ,the Quest 30 was recently picked up at Sail California by John who was looking for a boat for the SHTP. “It just so happened that the boat was on the dock with several other boats John was looking at, much to his surprise. A cult boat on the East Coast, designed by Roger Martin and built by Holby Marine in Rhode Island, there were only 8 -30’s and 6 -33’s built- they are in demand even in this market by those who know them.
John raced against a Quest 30 in the 2011 Bermuda 1-2. “I got my butt kicked in the process on my Bennett 46’” said John. “ This boat’s potential is tremendous, the skipper is the only weak link” he adds. Next year, 4 Quest 30’s are expected to enter the 2013 Bermuda 1-2, a testament to their short-handed following. In addition to the Bermuda 1-2, John has 6 Port Huron to Mackinac races under his belt, heaps of time soloing on The Great Lakes and significant offshore experience. A retired former business owner, John has taken 4 months off from doing nothing to prepping and sailing on SF Bay in preparation for the June 30thstart of the SHTP. If Flight Risk looks familiar, one other Quest has been patrolling the Bay and local offshore waters for some time, Wayne Lamprey’s “Rhum-Boogie”.