THE RACING
SHARON GREEN / WWW.ULTIMATESAILING.COM
California Offshore Race Week It's such a great idea that we're hoping Offshore Race Week is the beginning of a new tradition on the California coast, a must-do for boats that qualify to race on the ocean. "We really enjoyed California Offshore Race Week," said Rodney Pimentel, whose Cal 40 Azure won their division in the series. "All five clubs did a great job of running the event and making it fun for the participants. Linking the three races together seemed to increase participation." The first California Offshore Race Week (a long name, so let's just call it CORW) started on Friday, May 27, with the Spinnaker Cup. As usual, San Francisco YC ran the start, and Monterey Peninsula YC received the finishers. But then, for the first time, Encinal YC's Coastal Cup started from Monterey that Sunday and finished in Santa Barbara, where Santa Barbara YC invited the coastal racers to join in a Wet Wednesday beer can race. The second-ever SoCal 300 started from Santa Barbara on June
San Diego speedsters 'Aszhou' and 'Fox' head for the Gate at the start of the Spinnaker Cup.
3 and sailed through a scoring gate east of San Nicolas Island to finish at the fifth club, San Diego YC. "It was really nice to spend more time Page 90 •
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in Monterey and Santa Barbara, which are great venues," commented Pimentel. Jim Vickers, the commodore of EYC, explained how CORW came about. "At the end of the 2015 Coastal Cup, we at EYC were bemoaning how much work was put into a race that only six boats finished, and Bill Guilfoyle, then rear commodore of Santa Barbara YC, suggested maybe we could join the San Francisco to Santa Barbara Coastal Cup together with the SoCal 300 and form this California Series. We all thought that was a great idea. It took a few months to get the idea hashed out, and get EYC/SBYC/SDYC aboard with dates and details, but by September it was a done deal, and we were going to race the Coastal Cup from SF to SB, and tie in with the SoCal 300 from SB to SD." Then David Servais from SDYC called up and said, "Hey, I've got a better idea. Let's split it up not into two events, but into three, and we'll bring in the Spinnaker Cup." "I originally said no to the idea," says Vickers, "because I thought we'd never get five yacht clubs together in time to pull this all off. But David and Bill did a bunch of groundwork, including connecting with Betsy Jeffers, vice commodore of MPYC, and Nancy DeMauro, race chair of SFYC, which made the five-club idea seem possible. We all started working feverishly to organize and promote this, and we're all thrilled with how well it has worked out. It's nothing short of exciting to see a resurgence in offshore racing." The numbers tell a success story of cross-pollination between NorCal and SoCal fleets. The Spinnaker Cup had 58 entries, compared to 23 last year. The
SHARON GREEN / WWW.ULTIMATESAILING.COM
This month we introduce the California Offshore Race Week — long may she run; feature reports on a delightful Delta Ditch Run and a remarkably nice turn around the Farallones; go on to the Go for the Gold Regatta; and wrap up with congratulations to a Bay Area Rose Cup winner. Among other races, Box Scores includes some first-half beer can series results, with more to come next month.
Coastal Cup had 29 entries, and the SoCal 300 had 30. Each of those had only a meager seven entries in 2015. "We are looking forward to doing it again next year," says Pimentel. "It would be nice if the race organizers would consider starting the Spinnaker Cup a day later, and the SoCal 300 a day earlier to keep the entire event within a week." — latitude/chris SFYC/MPYC SPINNAKER CUP, 5/27-28 CLASS D — 1) Varuna, Rogers 46, Chris Hemans; 2) Fox, TP52, David Servais; 3) Buona Sera, SC70, Edward Marez. (8 boats) CLASS E — 1) Bustin Loose, Sydney 38, Jeff Pulford; 2) Symmetry, J/111, Howard Turner; 3) Outsider, Azzura 310, Greg Nelsen. (12 boats) CLASS F — 1) Elan, Express 37, Jack Peurach; 2) Blue Flash, J/88, Scott Grealish; 3) Loca Motion, Express 37, Mark Chaffey; 4) Alternate Reality, Express 27, Darrel Jensen. (16 boats) CLASS G — 1) Azure, Cal 40, Rodney Pimentel; 2) Carnaval, Santana 35, Bill Keeler; 3) Avion, Bianca 414, Thomas Abbott. (9 boats) CLASS J — 1) Alchimiste, Archambault 27, Stephen Kleha; 2) Snafu, Moore 24, Karl Robrock; 3) ¡Mas!, Moore 24, Mark English. (5 boats) CLASS K — 1) Orion, MOD 70 trimaran, Tom Siebel; 2) Chim Chim, Gunboat 62 catamaran, John Gallagher. (2 boats) CLASS M — 1) Horizon, SC50, John Shulze;
