18' Skiff International Regatta
St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco
Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2005

Sept. 2, 2005

Hamlin, Martin and Barnabas Cruise Home; Shark 3rd

SAN FRANCISCO---A day around 60 F. may not have felt like summer, but it capped a good one for Howard Hamlin, Mike Martin and Trent Barnabas who sailed Pegasus White to an uneventful but successful Friday afternoon on San Francisco Bay to wrap up first place in the 18' Skiff International Regatta.
The championship followed their June victory in the European International Championship in Sardinia, giving them two of the year's three major titles in the class, next to the JJ Giltinan Trophy, the class's premier event contested annually in Australia since 1938.
Hamlin noted that their victory was tempered by the week's disaster in New Orleans that closely followed the competition's time line, day by day. "It's nice to be able to continue our endeavor when a lot of people are in a terrible situation," he said. "Off the water it was never far from our minds. We're lucky. Those people aren't."
They won four of the 10 races over five days, including first among the skiffs in the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge special Thursday, but settled for a title-clinching third in Friday's first race and a fourth in the finale, leaving them four points in front of defending champion John Winning of Australia.
Martin, of Newport Beach, Calif., said, "We did what we had to do in the first race and kind of cruised in the other race." But he and Hamlin, of Long Beach, Calif., sensed that their intensity slipped once they put their skiff on cruise control. "It's amazing how sloppy it gets when it doesn't matter," Martin said.
Martin is Hamlin's rival in the 505 class but has sailed all four of these events as his middle crew, and this was their first win here. Barnabas, 26, is the son of a champion, Trevor Barnabas of Australia, who retired from the class after his runner-up performance here last year.
"We aggressively recruited him," Hamlin said. "In these kinds of conditions his strength, experience and agility are really important. I don't think he ever collapsed the spinnaker in a week of sailing, which is quite an achievement for a 754-square foot sail in this venue."
With winds as strong as 25 knots, they also were the only one of nine boats to stay upright all week. Samuel (Shark) Kahn, sailing Pegasus Black with Cameron MacDonald and Paul Allen, almost made it before taking a knockdown Friday in a relatively moderate 18 knots of breeze at the last leeward mark. "Unfortunately, we destroyed our non-swimming record today with a nice soft capsize," MacDonald said. That happened after they won the first race by a couple of boat lengths over Jack Young's Pegasus Gold---but, ironically, slipped from third to fourth place when the second throwout kicked in with that race, allowing Peg Gold to drop nine points for a DNF and jump back into third.
But when Peg Gold capsized off Alcatraz in the last race and wound up sixth, Peg Black's third place got it back into third to stay, perhaps signaling a youth movement in a class that's been dominated by veterans. Hamlin is 52, Winning 53. Kahn turned 16 a month ago. Early in the week Kahn said he would be happy to finish fourth. Friday he said, "I'm very happy," especially after "I did some major air time off the back when we [capsized]."
Kahn's two recent sailing ventures are in sharp contrast. Last week across the bay he sailed a relatively benign, non-hiking Etchells to first place in the tune-up regatta for the class worlds next week. "If you want to have good close racing, go out in an Etchells," he said. "If you want NASCAR-type stuff, try one of these skiffs." MacDonald said, "It was only his second skiff regatta, and I'm really impressed. Sailing with Paul on the 49er has helped a lot. Look at our finishes ((5)-5-3-3-2-(DNF/9)-3-3-1-3) and you'll see he showed improvement over the week, as well." The team's worst race was when the top of their mast broke Wednesday, forcing them to drop out.

Final standings (10 races):
1. Pegasus White, Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin/Trent Barnabas, Long Beach, Calif., Newport Harbor YC, 3-2-1-1-(4)-1-2-1-3-(4), 14 points.
2. Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/'Geoff Bauchop, Sydney, Aust., Australian 18 Footers League, 2-3-2-(4)-1-4-1-(5)-4-1, 18.
3. Pegasus Black, Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Cameron MacDonald/Paul Allen, Honolulu, Waikiki YC, (5)-5-3-3-2-(DNF/9)-3-3-1-3, 23.
4. Pegasus Gold, Jack Young/Euan McNicol/Casey Smith, Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz YC, 1-1-6-2-3-3-(DNF)-(DNF/9)-2-6, 24.
5. Fisher & Paykel, Andrew Cuddihy/Brent Dennis/Gerard Smith, Newton, NSW Australia, Australian 18 Footers League, 4-6-7-(DNF/9)-7-2-(DNF/9)-4-5-2, 37.
6. Skiff Sailing Foundation White, Chad Freitas/Dana Jones/Matt Noble, San Francisco, St. Francis YC, (8)-7-(8)-7-8-5-4-2-8-5, 46.
7. Rag & Famish, Grant Rollerson/David Cunningham/Chris Cleary, Sydney, Australian 18 Footers League, 6-4-4-5-6-(9)-5-5-6-6-(7), 47.
8. Fernside/Skiff Sailing Foundation Blue, Patrick Whitmarsh/Kevin Richards/Ben Glass, Alameda, Calif., Monterey Peninsula YC, 7-8-5-6-5-(DNF/9)-(DNF/9)-DNF/9-7-8, 55.

PRESS OFFICER Rich Roberts (310) 835-2526 cell (310) 766-6547 richsail@earthlink.net
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Sept. 1, 2005

Kite Boarder Prevails, But Hamlin Near Skiff Title

SAN FRANCISCO---Out of the cold, gray mist and fog they came late Thursday afternoon, Howard Hamlin's blue-spinnakered Pegasus White 18-foot skiff on the right and Anthony Chavez kite board on the left, both flying at nearly 20 knots toward the finish line of the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race.
Hamlin was farther downwind as they approached the Oakland Bay Bridge, but he had to jibe to make the finish line, while Chavez had set himself up for a straight shot under the span and crossed just in front. "Ten feet, I think that was all he got us by," Hamlin said. Chavez, wary of the long bowsprits the skiffs carry downwind, said, "I thought I was gonna get speared at one point."
The five-mile race from the Golden Gate is a change of pace feature of the annual 18' Skiff International Regatta. Chavez, 28, is one of the lead competitors in the Thursday night summer kite board series on San Francisco Bay. Only six skiffs started the race, joined by 12 windsurfers and 21 kite boards. The wind was about 20 knots, but Chavez said, "I thought either the skiff on my right or the windsurfer on my left were going to beat me if the wind went light, but we had good wind all the way to the finish."
The windsurfer who finished third was Seth Besse, who finished first overall last year. Hamlin, sailing with Mike Martin and Trent Barnabas, was not terribly disappointed. It was the first time in four years he had beaten all the other skiffs between the bridges, and with a second place to John Winning in the day's first romp around the buoys he increased his lead to six points over the defending champion from Australia.
Only the ninth and 10th races remain Friday, with Hamlin enjoying the luxury of a second discard to give. Only a disastrous day could deny him the championship. "It was a great race," he said of the bridge event, "a real adrenaline rush all the way."
Australia's Jack Young, sailing Pegasus Gold, nosedived out of contention with two DNF (did not finish) results when he flipped in the first race while running third and broke his headstay in the bridge race. That opened the door wide for 16-year-old Shark Kahn, sailing with Cameron MacDonald and Paul Allen, who climbed to third place overall with a pair of thirds. They were looking at second place right to the finish of the bridge race when local favorites Chad Freitas, sailing Skiff Sailing Foundation White with Dana Jones and Matt Noble, out-jibed them to cross the line about a boat length in front. That capped Skiff White's best day of 4-2. Freitas' only regret was that skiffs didn't sweep the first three spots. "If we had all picked an ideal angle [turning toward the finish] all three of us might have beaten [Chavez]," Freitas said.
The regatta is one of the class's three international events, along with the European International Championship and the JJ Giltinan Trophy Championship, the class's premier event contested annually in Australia since 1938.

Standings (8 of 10 races):

1. Pegasus White, Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin/Trent Barnabas, Long Beach, Calif., Newport Harbor YC, 3-2-1-1-(4)-1-2-1, 11 points.
2. Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/'Geoff Bauchop, Sydney, Aust., Australian 18 Footers League, 2-3-2-4-1-4-1-(6), 17.
3. Pegasus Black, Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Cameron MacDonald/Paul Allen, Honolulu, Waikiki YC, 5-5-3-3-2-(DNF/9)-3-3, 24.
4. Pegasus Gold, Jack Young/Euan McNicol/Casey Smith, Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz YC, 1-1-6-2-3-3-(DNF)-DNF/9, 25.
5. Fisher & Paykel, Andrew Cuddihy/Brent Dennis/Gerard Smith, Newton, NSW Australia, Australian 18 Footers League, 4-6-7-(DNF/9)-7-2-DNF/9-4, 39.
6. Skiff Sailing Foundation White, Chad Freitas/Dana Jones/Matt Noble, San Francisco, St. Francis YC, (8)-7-8-7-8-5-4-2, 41.
7. Rag & Famish, Grant Rollerson/David Cunningham/Chris Cleary, Sydney, Australian 18 Footers League, 6-4-4-5-6-(9)-5-5-DNF/9-4, 48.
8. Fernside/Skiff Sailing Blue, Patrick Whitmarsh/Kevin Richards/Ben Glass, Alameda, Calif., Monterey Peninsula YC, 7-8-5-6-5-(DNF/9)-DNF/9-DNF/9, 49.

PRESS OFFICER Rich Roberts (310) 835-2526 cell (310) 766-6547 richsail@earthlink.net
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Aug. 31, 2005

Wind Up and Fun Begins; Hamlin Upright and In Front

SAN FRANCISCO---Shark Kahn's Pegasus Black broke its mast, Patrick Whitmarsh's Skiff Blue blew out its sail track and Ty Reed's Skiff Red, an unofficial entry, also retired early with a hole in the middle of its mainsail bearing the rough outline of crew member Trevor Bozina, who said it was "like falling through a jelly doughnut."
Another way to measure the carnage wrought by 25-knot winds on the third day of the 18' Skiff International Regatta was that only two of the nine wild and crazy craft remained Chaos in 25 knots at the first start set the tone for the day. Everybody discarded his worst score after five of the six completed races, so Kahn, despite a DNF, is still in fourth place overall. Four races remain, including Thursday's change-of-pace Ronson Bridge to Bridge Race---five miles from the Golden Gate to the Oakland Bay---when a flock of kite boarders and windsurfers get off work in time to join the fun at 5:30 in the afternoon.
The regatta concludes with two races Friday, but it isn't likely to produce more thrills than Wednesday's switch from balmy conditions the previous day to the cool, customary blasts in the 20s with gusts above 25 delivered straight down the bay through the heart of the Golden Gate.
The show opened at 1:40 p.m. with Grant Rollerson's Rag & Famish (named for a Sydney pub) and Andrew Cuddihy's Fisher & Paykel already flipped over as the other seven boats crossed the line. Fellow Australian John Winning sailed Yandoo ("messenger" in Aborigine) to his first win of the week as Peg Gold took a dive halfway through the race, but the defending champion slipped to fourth in the next race after pitch poling in the 1.8-knot ebb tide opposing the breeze.
"We just punched the pole into one [wave] in front," Winning said. "You're living in danger the whole time here." And loving it, according to Dave Chatham on Skiff Red, who after flipping three times said, "That was by far my most fun day sailing." Peg White took a different approach to hold onto first place. Before the start, forward crew Trent Barnabas told Hamlin and veteran Mike Martin that the key to success Wednesday would be "survival---stay upright and win." They did so, but Hamlin blamed bad tactical calls on their fourth place, their worst finish so far. As the wind increased, they stuck to their plan and came back to win, as Cuddihy sailed Fisher & Paykel to second. Martin noted how strongly Peg White's crew concentrated on keeping their boat on its tender little feet, ignoring normal tactics in the interest of safety. "If we were on a layline it didn't matter," Martin said. "We said, 'When we get to that smooth spot out there, we're going [to tack].' "
Pegasus Black, with skiff veterans Cameron MacDonald and Paul Allen alongside the 16-year-old skipper, notched its best finish with second place in the first race and was running a solid second to Hamlin in the second race when the top four feet of the mast snapped off at the leeward mark. "It just went 'bang,' " Kahn said."It's too bad. Two seconds today would have been nice." But Hamlin had to admit, "When the wind is building like today, that's when it's really fun." Bozina's unplanned flight happened when the Skiff Red team was trying to right the boat from a capsize but his teammates were slow to counterbalance it as it came upright, catapulting Bozina through the main sail.

Standings (6 of 10 races):
1. Pegasus White, Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin/Trent Barnabas, Long Beach, Calif., Newport Harbor YC, 3-2-1-1-(4)-1, 8 points.
2. Pegasus Gold, Jack Young/Euan McNicol/Casey Smith, Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz YC, 1-1-(6)-2-3-3, 10.
3. Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/'Geoff Beaushop, Sydney, Aust., Australian 18 Footers League, 2-3-2-(4)-1-4, 12.
4. Pegasus Black, Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Cameron MacDonald/Paul Allen, Honolulu, Waikiki YC, 5-5-3-3-2-(DNF/9), 18.
5. Rag & Famish, Grant Rollerson/David Cunningham/Chris Cleary, Sydney, Australian 18 Footers League, 6-4-4-5-6-(9), 25.
6. Fisher & Paykel, Andrew Cuddihy/Brent Dennis/Gerard Smith, Newton, NSW Australia, Australian 18 Footers League, 4-6-7-(DNF/9)-7-2, 26.
7. Fernside/Skiff Sailing Blue, Patrick Whitmarsh/Kevin Richards/Ben Glass, Alameda, Calif., Monterey Peninsula YC, 7-8-5-6-5-(DNF/9), 31.
8. Skiff Sailing Foundation White, Chad Freitas/Dana Jones/Matt Noble, San Francisco, St. Francis YC, (8)-7-8-7-8-5, 35.

PRESS OFFICER Rich Roberts (310) 835-2526 cell (310) 766-6547 richsail@earthlink.net
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Aug. 30, 2005

Hamlin's Daring Pegasus White Leads After 2 Wins

SAN FRANCISCO---Taking chances is the essence of the class, but Howard Hamlin and crew Mike Martin and Trevor Barnabas added dodging freighters and high-wire walking to take over first place in the 18' Skiff International Regatta Tuesday.
First-day leader Pegasus Gold proved vulnerable when it flipped while leading again at the first windward mark of the day near the Golden Gate Bridge, and when skipper Jack Young fell off the boat moments later it was evident events weren't going their way.
"I had my head in the clouds and didn't see the puff at the mark," Young said. "When I went to bear away the [hiking rack] grabbed [in the water]. Stupid blunder." The team righted the boat---"and then I fell off," Young said. "It wasn't our day."
Those misfortunes set up Hamlin's Pegasus White team to win races 3 and 4 and assume a three-point lead over their teammates, followed by defending champion John Winning's Yandoo from Australia and 16-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn, sailing Pegasus Black. Earlier, temperatures in the mid-70s and a balmy light westerly wind of 10 knots were more typical of Southern California or Mexico.
"Welcome to Baja San Francisco," Hamlin said as the fleet waited ashore until St. Francis Yacht Club race officer John Craig was confident the breeze was finally building enough to start the first race in 12 knots at 2:50 p.m. For the second race it blew 15.
Young, with crew Euan McNicol and Casey Smith, worked their way back to sixth place but couldn't hold onto Hamlin in the second race as the Long Beach, Calif. veteran made the most of Pegasus Gold's opening. "They were ripping again before they stuffed it," Hamlin said.
Then, as every other boat passed Peg Gold, rather than covering the fleet Pegasus White did a jibe spinnaker set at the windward mark in order to chase the stronger breeze on the north side of the course. "Doing a jibe set on one of these boats can get you into trouble," Hamlin said. "It's a risky maneuver, but with the wind way out we thought it was worth doing."
They not only repeated the move on subsequent laps, but on one upwind leg to the same side of the course they found themselves face-on with an incoming Matson container ship. "The largest section of the Sailing Instructions is not to interfere with commercial shipping," Hamlin said. "You could get disqualified---or killed. I don't know which is worse. But we looked at where he was and thought we could go the other way outside of him." With that daring end run, Peg White stretched its lead over Yandoo and Kahn's Peg Black, both of whom had to tack away relatively close to the ship's starboard side as Peg White emerged from behind its stern, running away. With all of that drama, Young noted, "The thing that came out today was the way Shark sailed." Kahn's two third places left him nine points off the lead with six races remaining through Friday, but he wasn't overconfident, even with the more experienced Cameron MacDonald and Paul Allen on board. "We just sailed conservatively without doing anything too radical," Kahn said. "It's tricky with the current. I'd be happy being fourth through the whole regatta."

Standings (4 of 10 races):
1. Pegasus White, Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin/Trent Barnabas, Long Beach, Calif., Newport Harbor YC, 3-2-1-1, 7 points.
2. Pegasus Gold, Jack Young/Euan McNicol/Casey Smith, Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz YC, 1-1-6-2, 10.
3. Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/'Geoff Beaushop, Sydney, Aust., Australian 18 Footers League, 2-3-2-4, 11.
4. Pegasus Black, Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Cameron MacDonald/Paul Allen, Honolulu, Waikiki YC, 5-5-3-3, 16.
5. Rag & Famish, Grant Rollerson/David Cunningham/Chris Cleary, Sydney, Australian 18 Footers League, 6-4-4-5, 19.
6. Tie between Fisher & Paykel, Andrew Cuddihy/Brent Dennis/Gerard Smith, Newton, NSW Australia, Australian 18 Footers League, 4-6-7-DNF, and Fernside/Skiff Sailing Blue, Patrick Whitmarsh/Kevin Richards/Ben Glass, Alameda, Calif., Monterey Peninsula YC, 7-8-5-6, 26.
8. Skiff Sailing Foundation White, Chad Freitas/Dana Jones/Matt Noble, San Francisco, St. Francis YC, 8-7-8-7, 30.

PRESS OFFICER Rich Roberts (310) 835-2526 cell (310) 766-6547 richsail@earthlink.net
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Aug. 29, 2005

Aussies---Who Else?---Rule On Opening Day

SAN FRANCISCO---Jack Young, sailing Pegasus Gold with Euan McNicol and Casey Smith as crew, took a pair of opening-day wins in stride in the 18' Skiff International Regatta Monday, but Smith was a bit more expressive. "It will be hard to go back to sailing anything else," Smith, 26, said of his first racing experience in the class. "You don't do on other boats what you do on these."
The all-Australian team posted two comfortable victories while other Aussie entries---defending champion John (Woody) Winning, Grant Rollerson and Andrew Cuddihy---stood second, fourth and fifth, separated by former world champions Howard Hamblin and Mike Martin of Long Beach and Newport Beach, Calif., sailing Pegasus White with young Aussie Trent Barnabas in the forward position.
Sixteen-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn, sailing the Pegasus Black with Cameron MacDonald and Paul Allen, notched a pair of fifths and shared a three-way tie for fourth among nine boats. One entry, Ty Reed's third hometown Skiff Sailing Foundation boat, retired from the first race with a broken tiller and called it a day. Eight races remain through Friday, including the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge change of pace late Thursday afternoon. All other races are run on windward-leeward courses from 1.2 to 1.5 miles in length set off the south shore of the bay from the Golden Gate past the host St. Francis Yacht Club to Fort Mason, twice or three times around. There will be no discards. Winds Monday were a San Francisco normal 18-22 knots but from southwest over the peninsula rather than through the Golden Gate. Young said that may have made his day easier, although he had to work for the lead after a mediocre start in the first race.
"Howie [Hamblin] jibed out early and managed to halve the first run on us," Young said, "and we had a stuff-up dropping the kite, but downwind the next time we had that one long starboard leg with one jibe at the end. We got a really good ride there." So good that when the boat flew off a wave on what Young called a "bunny hop," Smith exclaimed "Who¹s yo daddy?!" in his excitement. Did that means he's having fun already?
"If that's anything to go by, it'll be fun all week," Smith said. With shirtsleeve temperatures in the 70s, Martin and Winning seemed satisfied just to enjoy the sailing, as long as they're in contention three points off the lead. "It was a beautiful day," Martin said. Winning added, "Nothing too anxious out there yet---but it'll get that way."


Standings (2 of 10 races):
1. Pegasus Gold, Jack Young/Euan McNicol/Casey Smith, 1-1, 2 points.
2. Tie between Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/'Geoff Beaushop, 2-3, and Howard Hamblin/Mike Martin/Trent Barnabas, 3-2, 5.
4. Tie among Rag & Famish, Grant Rollerson/David Cunningham/Chris Cleary, 6-4; Fisher & Paykel, Andrew Cuddihy/Brent Dennis/Gerard Smith, 4-6, and Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Cameron MacDonald/Paul Allen, 5-5.
7. Tie between Skiff Sailing Foundation, Chad Freitas/Dana Jones/Matt Noble, 8-7, and Fernside/Skiff Sailing, Patrick Whitmarsh/Kevin Richards/Ben Glass, 7-8, 15.
9. Skiff Sailing Foundation, Ty Reed/Dave Chatham/TBD, DNF-DNS, 20.
PRESS OFFICER Rich Roberts (310) 835-2526 cell (310) 766-6547 richsail@earthlink.net
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Santa Barbara Skiff Festival 2004

There were three 18 Footers at the Santa Barbara Skiff Festival. Many thanks to Ron Bohem for letting the Santa barbara crew use his two boats. Ron didn't participate himself, as he had just returned from the 14 regatta in Kaneohe HI. Dana Jones did some serious work to prepare the boats, and the result was well worth it. At least 13 sailors participated in perfect Santa Barbara conditions. We used the Big Rigs both days and covered alot of ground. The 29er fleet was sizeable, and Julian Bethwaite was a visiting coach.

Refinishing

Early this March, I drove to Portland with 49er sailor Campbell Rivers. We brought the 18, and Campbell's 49er to get some serious work done at Schooner Creek Boat Works. It was time to give up the gold. After about a week of sanding and fairing, Schooner Creek's star painter, Merlin sprayed us a fast coat of red.
Many thanks to Steve and Nancy Rander, Willie, Seth, Merlin, and the rest of the Schooner Creek Crew for all of their help. Check out their website for a look at the all carbon 43 footer they're building.

-chad

JJ Gilitan Trophy 2004

Pat, Paul and I traveled to OZ in January to race in the18 Foot Skiff Worlds. Skiff racing is an Australian tradition and this competition is one of the oldest in the sport of sailing. There is one heat per day with seven races total. The winner receives the JJ Gilitan Trophy. The races are around fixed marks and islands and the courses are pretty challenging. Spectators fill ferries to watch as they have for over a hundred years.

JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat Seven (Jan 11, 2004)

Southerly?
Today was the seventh race and featured the fifth wind direction we've scene during the event. We got a lot of information from different teams on the most difficult course in the series. Although everyone said different things there was one consensus. "Watch out for spectators!"
Indeed, the last day of the JJ was a Sunday and everyone and their mother came out to watch. Hundreds of people lined the heads and beaches, everything that floats was on the course and we had our share of near misses, especially before the start. We started in a small bay, packed with all kinds of boats. We avoided the carnage but some were not so fortunate. Avaya, who was tied with us, smashed into a spectator and damaged its wing.

-pw


JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat Six (Jan 10, 2004)

Nor east
Racing returned to normal today with the wind blowing a gusty 8 to 15. All the boats left the beach with the big rig. Once again we were locked into battle with Avaya and had some real close racing. There was a lot of North in the breeze and it made the reach from Shark Island to Clarke Island extremely interesting. We have one of the largest kites out there which is great running, however on the reach its real scary. On the third lap heading to the finish everyone was pulling down their spinnakers and two boats tried to pass us with a lot on the chute. The Germans went over us and capsized the Brits went below us and got there kite down about the time we reset ours. As they came up to make the finish we went over the top of them flogging the kite all the way to line and finished overlapped but ahead of them.
We had one of our wildest rides yet as we over stood Shark Island and had to sail across the harbor fully pressed with our giant kite rolling over and leeward wing going under occasionally. Finally we flogged the kite for 20 seconds or so putting the leeward wing in the water to slow down and move the apparent wind aft and barely avoiding the reef.

-pw


JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat Five (Jan 8, 2004)

Wild West Wind
Each day brings a new wind direction, the west wind is the strongest in the puffs and the lightest in the lulls. A four lap course with almost all reaching, some with the kite, some without. Flat water and tight reaching with a lot of breeze on produced some of our top speeds ever, and also our worst capsize. No damage to anyone or anything this time. Finished in 16th place which was hard earned as the puffs were out of every-which-way. One minute your doing 20 something knots with the kite up heading to the leeward mark and the next your pulling down and tacking to make the same mark.
Friday is a lay day and then off to the races on Saturday for heat six. It is supposed to be a strong Nor' E'sta, exciting stuff!

-pw


J Gilitan Trophy Heat Four (Jan 7, 2004)

Shark Island Bites
Conditions looked great on the harbor for a powered up big rig race today. We had a decent start, and were able to keep up with the pack for the most part. We rounded the top mark in the top fifteen and on the first downwind leg headed into the light airs of shark island where the fleet had parked and was waiting for us. Some good luck prevailed and we emerged from the pack in fourth. RMW and Computer Associates where well ahead as we battled with West Marine and Ayava for third.
We sailed a good beat and rounded the top in third as the wind filled on the second downwind leg the fleet again compressed at the bottom. On the last up winder we spent too much time in the middle. In Sydney it pays to stay in the corners and we were passed by boats on both sides to finish ninth on the last run.
Despite being passed we were encouraged by our race and in each heat we are learning a little more about the harbor which is a tricky place indeed. Each day brings a different wind directions and courses take us near heads, through bays, and around islands.
We've moved into a new flat in Elizabeth Bay where we can watch the wind spread out across the harbor from our roof top swimming pool. We expect the view to be quite helpful in the remaining heats.

-pw


JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat Three (Jan 6, 2004)

Calm
Today's race was really, light. It didn't look like we'd be racing at all. As race time approached, we got an Easterly fill, and the race was on. Today was our first race using the #1 rig. The 18's have two rigs. The #1 is a couple feet taller than the #2 rig, and carries a much bigger kite. Our big rig at home collects allot of dust because it's always too windy to use it. We struggled on our first light air 18 sail. We fell behind sailing too far into a bay, and never had the speed to catch up.

-cf


JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat Two (Jan 4, 2004)

The Tortoise and the Hare
It was survival on the harbor today with a 25-30 Knot Nor Easta'. Dogs were blowing off chains as we carried the machines into the water.
We got a clean start, and battled upwind. With huge puffs rolling through, our goal was to keep the mast in the air. Boats were dropping like flies, and we sailed through the graveyard.
Our upwind speed was lacking, but we were feeling solid in the big breeze. The course was so long, that faster teams could flip, and still be in front of us. We finished the gauntlet in seventh place. Not bad at all. After getting in, we learned that we were the only boat that didn't flip!
I had mixed feelings about the day. We didn't go over, but six boats flipped, and still beat us. I'm sure our speed will improve throughout the week, and you can bet we'll be hoping for the big breeze.

-cf


JJ Gilitan Trophy Heat One (Jan 3, 2004)

Tied Up!
Paul felt well enough to race today after getting his teeth knocked out.
We had a rough start. Our friends on Maytag were forced into us at the start as a skiff capsized in front of them. Our wing wires locked up with their pole, and we started about 15 seconds late. We struggled to catch up in a dying breeze. We didn't catch many boats, but were happy to make it around as a trio after the previous day's race.

-cf


JJ Gilitan Trophy Practice Race -- Disaster Strikes!!

Our first race on Sydney Harbor turned ugly today. The North East breeze was twenty knots plus but mild compared to the day before. We had an OK start and decent speed on the first beat. Tactically, we got a bit shaken as the fleet played the western heads of the harbor. We followed the pack at the first mark, and passed some flipping boats. We rounded shark island, and the bottom mark, keeping the stick in the air, and making distance on the competition.
Making gains upwind was tough, and we were happy to reach the weather mark again. We set and jibed out to the middle of the Harbor where the breeze and chop were considerable. We were three stringing, going fast and healed up. We hit some bad chop, and all fell forward on the wing. The boat rounded up hard into a capsize.
In the crash, Paul's face hit the rack. He lost most of his two front teeth. He was rushed in for emergency dental, and stitches. Pat and I double handed in, which was wild.
We gave priority to other areas of our charter boat, and underestimated the value of good foot straps. Better foot straps may have prevented this accident. Skiff Sailors Take Note.

-cf


JJ Gilitan Trophy Practice -- Rodeo on the Harbor

Paul Arrived today from Honolulu. We put him straight on the skiff for our first ride on the harbor The 'nor eastah' had been building all morning and by the time we launched, it was a-blowin. We quickly learned how wild sailing on the harbor could be. The breeze was relentlessly shifty and really fresh.We made it upwind, set the kite and started going fast, Fast, FAST. We hit a couple of great jibes before putting it in the drink.
The breeze kept building, and making it in was a priority. On the way in, we flipped more times than we had all year. We survived the rodeo without breaking anything, so the day was a victory, and a great first sail on the Harbor.

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Long Beach Shore Fest, Oct 4-5 2003

Pat, Paul and I took a trip to Long Beach to sail in the Long Beach Shore Festival. The Shore Fest is typically a huge event which can draw over a million people. The main attraction is the Blue Angels air show. Unfortunately, the mayor canceled the shore fest. We did without the Blue Angels and had a nice quiet weekend regatta off the beach. We had a 100% turnout of the 18 fleet which now amounts to four boats.
The first day we had four races in great Big Rig conditions. We were able to squeeze by Howie in one race so as not to give him a clean sweep. At the end of the day, 470 campaigner Jen Morgan hopped on for a skiff ride. University of Hawaii Coach Andy Johnson also went for a burn before the day was done.
On day two, we had three races in building breeze. By the end of the third race, we were seeing 15-18 knots and the Big Rigs were looking pretty big. Our plans for a distance race outside the break wall didn't seem too safe. We picked up Ben Glass, our weekend Race Committee for a ripping last run, a couple of miles in flat water.

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