Melges Race Week San Francisco

[Photoboy]

Some eye candy from day 1, SF Melges Sail Week: 13 of the top team duking it out.

See front page for details, left column

[PD Staff]

Le Mighty Surgie sends us this video from Yesterday

[PD Staff]

42 Marine Report Day One

Sam Rogers of 42 Marine has very nice blog covering the Melges Race Week from his onboard perspective as pitmen on John Kilroys Samba Pa Ti!


http://42marine.com/

August 20, 2010

If Tom Cruise were to make a sequel to his popular movie “Days of Thunder”, being a driver of a Melges 32 in San Francisco Bay would be a good place to start…that is of course, if Nicole Kidman could have a supporting role. By the end of the first day at the California Cup, several boats collided, struck masts, and even stuck their bow sprits in places where they don’t belong. This resulted in damage and bruised egos, but by the end of the day, the breeze was fulling pumping and there were awesome rides to be had downwind. Speed, carnage, and nice wipe-outs at what is a tune-up regatta for the Worlds less than a month away…it will be interesting to see what happens when the fleet size doubles and the sailors get even riskier with their calls in just a few weeks.

Although the Cal Cup is being treated as a tuning/training event for most teams, it did not take long for the blood to get pumping as the pressure and intensity of the Worlds is always lingering in the background. With the overcast skies taking longer to clear over SF Bay than normal, the first race got off with an 11:30 am start and shifting condition at 9-13 mph. We did a good job of starting clean near the pin end and used our speed to punch out on the front row. A few boats tacked immediately to the right corner which seemed risky at the time, but as we got closer to the top of the course, the move would pay off. The Samba was fortunate to make it back from the left side and tacked back onto the starboard layline in what looked like was going to be in 3rd place behind Warpath and Argo. As we got closer to the mark, Argo approached on the port tack layline, attempted a tight duck on Warpath, misjudged it badly and collided with the stern quarter of Warpath at a high rate of speed causing both boats to get tangled with masts basically intertwined, and allowed us to do a slight luff to get around the carnage, around the mark, and off onto the downwind. From there we were able to stay hooked up in the pressure in a slightly building breeze and maintain a nice lead through the finish. Warpath would need to retire from the race due to damage suffered to the boat and sails, but would be able to sail the remainder of the day, but Argo would call it quits as they had another collision with Leenabarca later in the same race and would need to go to the dock and inspect for damages.

Race 2 saw similar conditions but with what looked a breeze that was trying to fill but just didn’t have any gusto behind it. A challenging aspect about racing on the bay is not always setting up for the conditions that you are currently seeing, but what you anticipate on seeing. As the gun sounded, a few boats again tacked immediately at the boat and sprinted out to the right side. We did a good job of starting closer to the boat, but again in conservative fashion getting to the right when the opportunity presented itself and managed to round the windward mark in 3rd place. As the skies started to clear in Sausalito, the breeze was really starting to build on the right side, and for the boats that could pull off a nice gybe set, immediate gains were made.


At the first bottom mark, I wondered to myself who turned the fan on at the Golden Gate Bridge as the breeze had gone from 9-12 on the first beat to 17-20 on the next upwind. When the skies clear in SF, its time for breeze on, and it was now a drag race to the right side of the course to get into the pressure first. With the ebb tide starting as well, once we got to the right side our goal was to call an early layline, below and ahead of race leaders Bliksem and Yasha Samurai, but we found ourselves hipped up and being overstood as we approached the mark. After watching several boats come up and around us, we set our kite and managed to pick off one boat the last downwind. A disappointing 5th place, but a good lesson learned regarding the laylines for future regattas.

The last race of the day, the skies had cleared for the most part and the breeze was now settled in at 18-21 kts with the ebb tide in full effect. As the majority of the fleet stacked up at the boat end to get to the right side, we inched closer to the pack, but again stayed conservative and focused on a clean start and tacking to the right once a lane developed. With all 13 boats on port tack within 30 seconds of the starting gun, it was a full drag race to the right corner and a real test of boat speed. Morgan and John did a great job of keeping the boat moving at all times and Stu found some good shifts at the top of the course to get us around the mark with a healthy lead. After a clean set and gybe, we blasted off to the leeward mark at 19-20kts of boatspeed. The final 3 legs would be a repeat of the first 2 with it essentially being a drag race to the right side of the course and who could get there first. We managed to hang on for a race win and a 4 pt lead headed into day 2 of the Cal Cup.

[PD Staff]

42 Marine Day 2 Report

August 21, 2010

6 Races have been completed at the Melges 32 California Cup, and if Day 1 was known for its collisions and carnage, Day 2 was similarly exciting, but for its close racing, not expensive repair jobs. The skies again cleared over SF bay around the same time as yesterday, and just like the first day, once the breeze started to fill, it was a right handed program both upwind and downwind and for the boats that could call good laylines from the far corner of the racecourse and pull off a good gybe set at the top mark, they often were the ones to do well. The fleet was much more tightly packed today and it is clear that with one day of racing on the Bay, everyone is improving and upping their games.

Several teams showed moments of brilliance today which we can only assume will be more consistent as we get closer to the worlds and each of these teams get better. Full Throttle won the first race of the day by nailing a great gybe set at the top mark and blasting off to a massive lead by the end of the 2nd downwind. On the Samba, we were able to hold off a strong push from current World Champions Bliksem for an entire race and pull off the win in race 2. And in the final race of the day, the team aboard Leenabarca showed some awesome speed and took a convincing win in the final race of the day.

Heading into the final day tomorrow, we have a 9 pt lead over Bliksem with 2 races remaining and we will do our best to hold off a charge from several challenging teams. While we are excited about doing well in this event and sailing hard against great competition, the California Cup is basically like a pre-season football game in the NFL…it doesnt mean much until the real season starts. The challenge for tomorrow and the next few weeks will be to remain hungry and push ourselves and the boat to the limit to ensure there are no questions left unanswered when the worlds begin.

Full results Here. It is off to bed for another sound night of sleep, and a morning with several advil and caffeine.

[PD Staff]

Positioning M-32's after Day 2

Pos Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Points Pos
1 13131 Samba Pa Ti John Kilroy Jr. 1 [5] 1 2 1 2 7.00 1
2 169 Bliksem Jeremy Wilmot 4 1 [6] 3 2 6 16.00 2
3 49 Full Throttle John Porter [7] 7 5 1 3 5 21.00 3
4 32917 Warpath Steve Howe 4.6/RDG [6] 4 4 5 4 21.60 4
5 32 STAR Jeff Ecklund [11] 2 9 5 7 7 30.00 5
6 166 Pegasus-MotionX Philippe Kahn 5 3 3 [13] 12 8 31.00 6
7 174 Leenabarca Alex Jackson 10 4 7 10 [11] 1 32.00 7
8 203 Yasha Samurai Tony Rey 2 8 10 8 9 [14/DNF] 37.00 8
9 142 Goombay Smash William Douglass 6 [11] 8 6 8 9 37.00 9
10 162 Viva Don Jesberg 8 [12] 2 7 10 11 38.00 10
11 158 taboo Stephen Pugh 9 9 [11] 11 4 10 43.00 11
12 128 ARGO JASON CARROLL [14/DNF] 14/DNS 14/DNC 9 6 3 46.00 12
13 211 Arethusa Phil Lotz 3 10 12 12 [13] 12 49.00 13



Division: Melges 24 (12 boats) Pos Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Points Pos
1 379 pTeron Dan Kaseler 3 1 1 1 1 1 8.00 1
2 675 12happythoughts David Brede 2 2 4 8 3 6 25.00 2
3 449 Flying Circus David Joyner 7 8 2 6 2 2 27.00 3
4 657 Personal Puff Dan Hauserman 1 7 8 2 7 4 29.00 4
5 52 Scotch Bonnet Mike Roberts Tony Beale 4 3 5 4 6 9 31.00 5
6 24 Smokin Kevin Clark 6 5 6 3 5 7 32.00 6
7 686 USA 686 John Downing 5 4 7 13/DNC 8 3 40.00 7
8 77 BONES Robert Harf 12/30% 6 9 5 4 5 41.00 8
9 540 Wilco Douglas Wilhelm 10 9 3 7 9 8 46.00 9
10 222 practice girl Christopher Farkas 9 10 10 9 13/DNF 13/DNC 64.00 10
11 15 Abordage Erwan J.E. le Gall 13/DNC 13/DNC 13/DNS 10 13/DNF 10 72.00 11
12 300 Trezentos Andre Peixoto 13/DNC 13/DNC 13/DNS 13/DNC 13/DNC 13/DNC 78.00 12

[Photoboy]

"Sergie the Most Excellent" provided this vid from onboard Bliksem !

[Ballard Sailor]

That is some serious domination by the PNW in the Gold Cup! Way to represent!

[IOR Geezer]

They didn't have Melges 32's when I was a kid.

[PD Staff]

Sam Rogers 42 Marine Report:


August 23, 2010

The M32 Cal Cup concluded with 2 races on Sunday and a less than stellar performance from the Samba team. We managed to sneak away with the win, but it was very well understood that if we have a showing like we did in the last 2 races, we will be nowhere near the podium when the races count in a few weeks.

With 1 or 2 teams headed into the dock after the finish of the first race to catch flights, the mood on the racecourse was slightly more relaxed than the prior two days. Leenabarca maintained their great speed from the end of day 2 and managed to win the final day with a 1,3. Star returned showed top form as well with a 5,1 and sent a message to the fleet that they will be ready to rock and roll when the worlds begin.

A good event overall, but we will be looking forward to the pre-worlds when more of the class rules are in effect, like restrictions on coach boats. Since the Cal Cup was a non sanctioned class event, there was no sail declarations, weigh-in or coach boat restrictions. There were times when coach boats would be driving up behind us while racing within 2-3 boatlengths, snapping photos and getting a good look at our settings, than blasting off to the next boat to do the same thing. Very distracting and frustrating to have these flies buzzing around the track and getting in our way.

At the end of the final day, the fleet headed over to the San Francisco Yacht Club for some famous Mai Tais and good banter. It is amazing how when we would return to the dock at the St. Francis YC, it would be about 60 degrees and overcast, and once you get to the San Fran YC across the bay, it is 80, perfectly sunny and in a gorgeous setting. Guess it pays to be on the right side of town!

Final results here , pictures here. Headed home this evening, than off to the Melges 20 Nationals in Holland, Michigan on Thursday.