Category: Racing

The midwinters took place under clear skies, light breeze and mild temperatures. At the last minute we were able to find a crew (Jessica) for Karyn, who made it to the start lin about 40 seconds before the gun of the first race: way to go!

There were 5 boats that made it – all from fleet 2 in Marina del Rey.

Rank	SailNo	HelmName	CrewName	Club
1st	3744	Vincent Paternoster	Jim Ach	South Coast Corinthian YC
2nd	3067	John Richardson	Vadim Mantelzak	SBYRC
3rd	3700	Nick sampson	Noah Farrell	South Coast Corinthian YC
4th	2579	Christopher Hill	Nathan Large	CSULB Sailing Association
5th	3658	Karyn Jones	Jessica	South Coast Corinthian YC

Check the entire album

This winter started like summer in Southern California. I should say – even better than summer as the temperatures are mild and we have no overcast.

Aside from the first regatta in January (Champagne Series) which started in 30kts wind – the racing was canceled but just about everyone got a chance to swim, even Barrett Sprout – we have been very lucky to encounter perfect weather coupled with light winds and beautiful sunsets.

The real first meet this year was the Super Bowl regatta organized by the Santa Monica Windjammers YC as a charity event for the benefit of the Wellness Community a cancer patient support organization. We had 9 boats present – teh same number of participants as our 2011 North American Championship in Halfmoon Bay, CA! It was hard to believe.

Scott Tobin who had been absent from racing last year due to an injury was on the water with wife Becky. John Richardson with tactician Mark Brazil worked hard and sailed fast but lost the tie with Scott who had a bullet.

Vincent placed third tied with Wil Paul. But most remarkable was the effort put forth by the new boats that are now competing. Three new boats are now in the Marina del Rey waters including sail no. 3700 – the 2011 champ boat.

We are very excited indeed by the great showing for this first big event of the year. The small boat program at SMWYC has been energized and we will be working together to bring a second boat from that club in the fleet.

What a way to kick off the year! For results see SMWYC superbowl results page (Broken link 🙁 )

http://www.smwyc.org/pdf/SuperbowlRegatta2012ResultsRev.pdf

By Vincent Paternoster

As I write this article, 2011 is drawing to a close, the morning frost turns the brown hills to a faint white and we get a chance to think about the great sailing season that ended.( Yes, even in SoCal, the mornings can be surprisingly cold as soon as you step over the hills away from the ocean!).
The year opened up with the launch of the new web site for Coronado15.org. The sailing season started quickly with the super bowl regatta hosted by the Santa Monica Windjammers YC. But when May arrived, we had the Sunstroke series which races in the Marina Del Rey channel every Thursday night. This year was very well attended as we had a few nights with 5 to 6 boats, but most nights had 3-4 C15, which was significantly better than years past. The sponsorship from DISC the local sports medicine clinic and the steady hand of Bruce Fleck as our regular PRO, greatly contributed to that success. But there is more to it than that!

Starting with the 2010 NAC that took place in Marina del Rey, I placed a few phone calls to the Long Beach sailors to spark their interest. That is when I came across a boat that was for sale. Concerned that this boat might be snatched by Charlie Quest to add to the Half Moon Bay C15 armada, I decided to buy the boat and sweet talk my son Tom to sail it with his friend Joe. Not only did they have fun racing for three days, they managed with zero practice to beat me by one point overall. That was a humbling moment, but also the sign of good days ahead with the increased participation from SCCYC boats.
This boat through 2011 played the role of a club boat by letting various interested parties race it and discover its unassuming qualities: performance, ease of handling and fun. When 2011 started, the Marina Del Rey fleet was fairly spread out and the competition rather minimal. It was fun but it started getting even more fun when, in the course of the season, the fleet started coming together with close finishes. The Thursday night dinners following the races were a great display of the growing camaraderie in the fleet.
By far, the most improved sailor of 2011 is John Richardson.. John got a chance to spend more time at the tiller and gained a lot of confidence. Now, with encouragements from his crew Mark Brazil, John is looking at the boats behind him, not in front anymore.  As a matter of fact, during the Turkey day regatta at ABYC, John was consistently faster and I could not seem to be able to keep in front of him. During the last downwind leg for the day, while I was slightly ahead, John was able to creep up on me and eventually pass me. Then to regain control, I attempted to get him to foul me, but in so doing, as I was asking for room from my leeward position, I ended up tangling my whisker pole on his boom. As my crew Vadim jumped to untangle the boats, our boat immediately flipped before I could do anything. We had a good laugh, which naturally cost us the race but we were wet and cold!
With so many chances to sail in 2011, my second boat exposed many people to the C15 and the local fleet. Three club members have decided to buy a C15:. Karyn Jones, our 2012 SCCYC commodore bought my second boat, Nick Sampson bought the 2011 champion boat from Dave Rumbaugh, and Noah Farrell bought another C15. We are also seeing interest from SMWYC with 2 additional C15s that may race during the summer.
The 2012 NAC will again take place in Marina Del Rey at SCCYC during the One Design weekend (July 20-22). We are hoping that by the summer the Marina Del Rey fleet will be quite competitive and entice our friends from around the state and beyond to join us for 3 days of great racing on the ocean.
Keep an eye on the web site for up to date information. See you on the water!

This article appeared in Mainsheet magazine

Half Moon Bay, CA

The 2011 edition of the North American Championship was held in Half Moon Bay in the friendliest Yacht Club for the Coronado 15 class under near perfect conditions.

The participation this year was somewhat a disappointment as only one boat came from Southern California and 3 boats came from the Sacramento area. While lightly attended, this did not affect the spirits of the racers and the local boats were thrilled to see competition visit the waters of Pillar Point harbor.

On Friday, the weather was light and remained overcast for the entire day. Yet Richard Calabrese, the PRO was able to give us enough races to complete the Syd Corp Series.Dave Rumbaugh took the lead from the beginning and never let anyone get too close. Kiersten was able to demonstrate her incredible speed going down wind and secured a 2nd place with brand C15 crew Kendall Ermshar.

Charlie Quest had difficulties with his new boat so he was unable to fully show off his local knowledge. Charlie’s boat was new in the sense that it did not look much like a boat the day before the races without a centerboard and many other critical components. In true Charlie fashion, the boat came together the morning of the race and Friday’s sea trials revealed that the centerboard did not go down to its full position.

Syd Corp Results: 1) David Rumbaugh/Claire Fishman, 4 pts; 2) Kiersten Vance/Kendall Ermshar, 11 pts; 3) Alex Fishman/Steven Fishman, 11 pts. (9 boats)

After racing, four adventurous boats decided to stay on the water fro some fun and venture outside the harbor towards the famed Maverick spot. Of course we did not go beyond one of the outside buoy, but we got a chance to experience a steep sea and get a close-up look at breaking water on the reefs immediately outside the harbor. It was a humbling reminder of the power of the ocean when the C15s disappeared between swells – almost half the mast’s height – in our estimate, it was easily an 8′ swell.

Saturday, the wind turned to westerlies and Richard was able to create a race course along the length of the harbor. The racing was excellent as the breeze built up to 11-12 kts and allowed the racers to use the trapeze under a nice warming sun during the afternoon.

Interestingly, Charlie got his boat together and was offering significant challenges to the rest of the fleet (except of course Dave). Similarly, Lucy Gillies who was sailing club boat Hakuna Matata (that was Barrett Sprout’s former boat), came in with some very strong races on the tail of the top contestants.

On Saturday, the reporters from Norcal Sailing came to visit and provided some additional coverage of the race. They wrote a nice race report that can be found at this link.

Sunday offered similar sailing conditions to Sunday and confirmed Dave lead who easily took the championship.

2011 final results:

C-15 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – A FLEET (8/13-14)
1) David Rumbaugh/Claire Fishman, 10 pts; 2) Alex Fishman/Steven Fishman, 19 pts; 3) Kiersten Vance/Kendall Ermshar, 20 pts (5 boats)

C-15 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – B FLEET (8/13-14)
1) Lucy Gillies/Hunter Gillies, 13 pts; 2) Patrick Melley/Rick Winnans, 15 pts; 3) John Powell/Alan Quest, 21 pts (4 boats)

The fleet is looking forward to sailing in Marina Del Rey for the 2012 edition.