This year we celebrated 50 years of C15 sailing in Halfmoon Bay with Hull #1 in all its splendor.
Next year we are coming back to Huntington Lake July 12-15 for the first time since 2009. Let ‘s show up in force and compete for the championship in one of the most celebrated sailing venues.
Click here to see a small sample of pictures from 2009 NAC
See the 2018 Notice of Race
The NOR for next year’s edition of the NAC where we return, after a long absence, to Huntington Lake CA. It is linked here: 2018 C15 NAC NOR V1
This event promises to be an epic event over 4 days, the last 2 coupled with the High Sierra Regatta. For any question, you should contact:
David Rumbaugh <sailorrumbaugh@att.net>
Note: While this is almost a year away, consider the limit on the maximum number of boats on the lake for that weekend and you do not wish to be the boat whose entry into the High Sierra is refused for going over the limit.
Since the lake was closed for a few years due to drought, it has been a sought after venue now that it is back to its legendary conditions.
From prior experience, it is a good idea to book a condo early.
For more about racing this event read about it here https://www.fresnoyachtclub.org/
I will post some old pics of Huntington sailing in this web site to wet your appetite. Mark your calendars!
On September 4, a special event took place at Westlake YC, with great significance for the Coronado15 association. On the occasion of the Frank Butler regatta, old timers sailed together. Below, the story as told by Ole Eichorn
This particular group first met about 40 years ago, before and as the Westlake Yacht Club was being founded.
Jim Holder founded the Westlake Junior Sailing program and started the sailing on Westlake with the launching of the first and only for‘some time, sail boat on the lake. WLYC began as the Westlake Sailing Association, a motley group of kids and parents who sailed on the lake back when it was being built and in the early days of being settled. Jim Holder was a founding member of WLYC. After WLYC was formed, we started the tradition of having summer sailing camps for kids which continues to this day, and all of us sailed in those camps and got to know each other. Many of us formed lifelong friendships which persist to this day, despite the fact that most have left the area (I am the only WLYC member left).
We all began sailing in Sabots – at first, “Westward” sabots, and then later “Sidney” sabots – and moved up to Banshees (!), Cyclones (!), Lasers, Lidos, and of course C-15s. In the group pictured below there are quite a few C-15 champions represented.
Don Long and I first thought of the idea for this regatta two years ago when sailing together at the C-15 Nationals in Marina del Rey. We realized that the WLYC Labor Day regatta – which was renamed a few years ago to the Frank Butler Regatta – would be perfect, and started making plans. Fourteen sailors showed up, along with their families, friends, and significant others, and we had a great BBQ Sunday night, and of course the round-robin Reunion Regatta on Monday.
LtoR: Elsie Elliot (Mark Elliot’s Mom and Allan Elliot’s wife), Mark Elliot, Peter Drasnin, Mark Bratton, Ole Eichhorn, Don Long, Frank Butler (!), Jim Shaw, Brad Herman, Glen Uslan, Allan Linnemeyer, Jim Biram, Jason Vandenberg, Dave Carney, and Iva Holder (Jim Holder’s ex-wife). Jim Holder attended and sailed but is not in this picture.
Ole Eichorn
***
As luck would have it, I was just given by Joe O’Reilly from Long Beach a set of association archives going back to the early days of the C15 (1968 and on) where I stumbled upon this 1976 picture of Frank Butler and Peter Drasnin then…
and now.
What a special event it was.
Vincent Paternoster
Nineteen (19) teams brought their Coronado 15 sailboats to the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club for the 50th Anniversary North American Championship of the C15 racing class. This two-man performance dinghy has been a popular class from its inception in 1967 and has been raced from coast to coast by many colleges and by more than 50 public fleets
This gathering in Princeton-by-the-Sea, California, attracted participants from Los Angeles to Seattle and was the largest gathering in more than a decade. The competition was intense, witnessing the joys of victory and agonies of defeat.
Mike Day, the Regatta Chair and PRO, delivered an outstanding performance before and throughout the regatta, coordinating awards, meals, guest housing and providing the most appreciative sailors with a rarely achieved total of 20 races over the three day event. Many starts, many mark roundings and many close and exciting finishes. It was the stuff that builds a memorable regatta.
John Eurich, the Coronado 15 Association Commodore, contributed a monumental effort in recruiting participants, raising the awareness that this was the 50th anniversary, engaging Frank Butler, the designer of the C15 and the president of Catalina Yachts, who joined the celebration by presenting the participants and race committee with commemorative tee shirts. John also produced a commemorative plaque to be presented to Mr. Butler and Catalina Yachts, and also repaired and tuned C15 dinghies for guest participation.
Throughout the competition, Dave Rumbaugh, a multi-time champion, and teammate, Steve Fishman, were the “class of the class” in the Syd Corp Series, but fate did not grant them the championship victory as a broken boom caused them to miss two races. Their sterling effort to recover fell a single point short as Barrett Sprout, another multi-time champion, and his crew, Todd Best, held off the late charge by Rumbaugh and Fishman to capture victory and be crowned champions in the 50th year anniversary regatta.
Ofer Amir and Kent Arndt easily captured the Cabrillo Fleet title, although John Eurich and Robin Norvell gave them a run for the money by leading after the first seven races. Ofer and Kent will likely graduate themselves to struggling up the ranks of the Championship Fleet.
Karey Sharp took the Junior Championship with three bullets. Her crew was her Dad, Aaron Sharp.
Another highlight of the regatta was the participation of the very first Coronado 15 built in 1967. Hull #1 was sailed by Charlie Quest and Nate Salpeter, with the name of Grand Ole Gal and labeled First In Class. They brought her home to an eighth place finish among eleven boats in the Championship Fleet, proving the durability of the design and boats created by Frank Butler and Catalina Yachts.
It would be remiss not to mention the undeterred spirit of Mark Brazil and Noah Farrell, who suffered a tragic car fire that consumed all of their gear and personal belongings, to gather the resources to be on the line for the first race and complete the entire championship series.
Surpassing everything else in the regatta was the wonderful camaraderie shared by all involved and is a recognized hallmark of the C15 class. Competing “hammer and tong” on the water, the racers knew no bounds to mutual support, backslapping and sharing the spinning of sailing lore. The more than 60 volunteers from the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club were equally welcomed and accepted participants in this camaraderie.
You can find all the pictures from the event here in the HMBYC gallery
With spirits high, the competitors and hosts bade fond farewells and embraced optimism that this largest recent gathering is a sign of the resurgence of the C15 class, as they look forward to the 2018 North American Championship. The South Corinthian Yacht Club may organize this event, designated to dovetail with the High Sierra Regatta. It is held at the 7000 foot high Huntington Lake in the California Sierra Mountains, which is widely acclaimed to be most enjoyable sailing venue west of the Mississippi.
Join us in 2018!
Charlie Quest,
HMBYC C15 Fleet Captain
2016 – 2017 Coronado 15 National Association Vice-Commodore
“Grand Ole Gal” Hull#1 sails the 2017 NAC on 50th anniversary of C15.
2017 Coronado 15 North American Championship Regatta a Big Success – Thanks!
On behalf of the Coronado 15 National Association and the regatta competitors, I’d like to extend our appreciation and thanks to the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club for hosting this regatta and, also, to its fantastic volunteers for making this 50th Anniversary 2017 North American Championship Regatta such a big success. Especially, I’d like to thank: Mike Day and his NAC Regatta Committee (Lucy Gillies, Connie Malach, Scott Pyne, John Powell, Charlie Quest and Joe Rockmore) for all their hard work, which started well over nine months ago; Sylvia Teng for creating the C15 logo used on the mugs, T-shirts and awards; Lucy Gillies for researching and obtaining the awards and swag; Charlie Quest for providing C15s for out of town competitors, and his “Kaisen” as the RC boat; Lisa Fernandez for keeping track of all the competition and meal registrations. Also, a big thank you to the NAC Race Committee for running four days of racing in an efficient and timely manner. Kelly Pike deserves special kudos for making sure that the marks and safety boats were prepared and checked out well in advance of the racing, ensuring that there were no last minute issues. A special thank you to Chef Denise de Somer, for creating and organizing such great meals and for keeping us well fed. And, a big thank you to all those involved that I didn’t mention here, but should have; we couldn’t have done this without you.
Thank you HMBYC,
John P. Eurich
2016-2017 Coronado 15 National Association Commodore
