THE RACING
'Box of Rain' and 'Yellowfin' are among 20 J/105s entered in the RegattaPRO/SYC Winter One Design Series.
RegattaPRO Winter One Design Racers saw fairly flat water and a northeasterly wind at 7-10 knots over the course of the afternoon at the December 9 RegattaPRO Winter One Design. While the J/105 fleet had a packed line of 17, it was the big-boat J/120 division with some of the trickiest startline action. The J/120 Peregrine eregrine stole all in their class with a 1-1 (after missing November's two-race day, they're standing in second place for the series). Peregrine helmsman Michael O'Callaghan recalls the course: "In Race 1 we thought the pressure was better to the right off the line, so we tried to get onto port quickly. Unfortunately, I made a mess of the start by luffing Kookaburra into an OCS. I felt terrible about this dastardly move in a little fleet in a midwinter race. That move stopped Kookaburra and allowed Mr. Magoo to sail over both of us and get some room on our weather hip." Peregrine closed Race 1 with a 90-second lead over Mr. Magoo. "For Race 2, I handed the helm to our main trimmer/ tactician Steve Fentress." Smiling, he adds that Fentress started the race by shutting the door on both Mr. Magoo and Kookaburra at the committee boat. "And I thought I was a jerk with my start. A little ruthless, but it's yacht racing," comments O'Callaghan. "We sailed basically the same race as the first, but the three boats behind us were close to each other, slowing each other down, and this opened up our lead." Peregrine's efforts in 2018 will go to maintaining cohesiveness. "EJ Rowland coordinates the crew and does pit, so we always have the right skills aboard." Page 88 •
Latitude 38
• January, 2018
Factoids: The Peregrine crew has been sailing together for 15 years. Many of them raced on Dayenu, Desdemona and El Ocaso in earlier years. O'Callaghan himself has sailed alongside two crewmembers since his teen years in Sea Scouts. "A big thanks to owner David Halliwill who allows us to race the boat and have fun together," he adds. Steve Madeira and the Mr. Magoo crew garnered a 2-2 (they're in first place for the series), and with a third for the day it was Tom Grennan of Kookaburra (series third place). Meanwhile, in the J/105 class, Colin Miller of Big Buoys shares: "We got off to a good start in this series and we're trying to hold on. Our second race had several changes in position, which made it great fun in a bit more breeze." It's great to see new boats on the line, but Miller says his circa-2015 crew (the boat used to be called Ultimatum) is doubling down with intent to win. "We were a bit apprehensive about being within a J/105 line-up but have found that although
The dastardly crew of the J/120 'Peregrine' won both RegattaPRO races on December 9.
there is a battle for every place in this fleet, off the water all are welcoming and happy to give pointers." The Big Buoys
BOTH PHOTOS MARTHA BLANCHFIELD / RENEGADE SAILING
'T Tis the season for Midwinters, Midwinters and more Midwinters. Covered this month are the Sausalito YC/RegattaPRO Winter One Design, the Perry Cup for Mercurys, SBYC's Island Fever Fever, the BYC Midwinters and SYC's Chili Midwinters. For something completely different, a young Bay Area sailor visits Cape Town and brings back a Volvo Ocean Race interview. Box Scores is on holiday, but Race Notes never rests.
team gets in the groove pre- and postrace with a battle song from Led Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks. December results reveal that Phillip Laby and the Godot crew nailed a 1-1. Having not participated in the November race, this puts Godot in series third. Earning a 2-2 for the day was Big Buoys, placing them in a series tie for first with Theresa Brandner and crew on Walloping Swede (4-4 for the day). The winter season equates to gr eat racing for the J/70 fleet too, with Christy Usher on Christine Robin taking the helm from her husband Tracy and opting for an all-female crew. In December that crew included Terre Layton and Jessica Chase. "Winter in San Francisco has been delightful so far. Conditions have been sunny, warm, light
