THE RACING
With reports this month on the IRC racing at the Stone Cup; the 'beecomed' Coastal Cup; another fast Spinnaker Cup; the collegiate sailing championships; the windy Memorial Day Regatta; a quick look at the lake circuit; and, last but not least, the usual assortment of box scores and race notes.
LATITUDE/ROB
Stone Cup St. Francis YC's once-formidable Stone Cup showed signs of life again on May 21-22, attracting 81 boats to sail in IRC, PHRF (it was an HDA counter) and five one design classes. Saturday's two Cityfront races were held in moderate air, while Sunday's two races were a real workout in 25-30 knot winds. All eyes were on the IRC class, as this was only the second time the new rule has been employed on the Bay (the first was last year's Big Boat Series). Fourteen pioneers showed up to see how their boats fared under IRC and, when the smoke cleared, the winner came as no surprise — John Siegel's slippery aluminum Wylie 42 Scorpio, which also ran away with IRCII at the '04 BBS.
Top Stoners — John Siegel won IRC with 'Scorpio'. Right, Dennis Deisinger (left) and Rob Cooper were second with 'Natural Blonde'.
Siegel, a member of StFYC and the event's regatta developer, dominated the IRC racing with a consistent 2,2,1,2 record. Helping Scorpio continue her winning ways were tactician Bren Meyer, G.W. Grigg, John Buchanan, Toby Cooper, wife Joy Siegel, Geoff McDonald, Nancy Blum, Larry Peterson, Marcy Fleming, and Sean McBurney. Hank Easom's 68-year-old 8Page 158 •
Latitude 38
• July, 2005
Meter Yucca took the first two bullets (but stumbled on Sunday with 4,6 finishes), and Rob Cooper and Dennis Deisinger's J/105 Natural Blonde won the last race. As a reality check on IRC, the yacht club rescored the four races under PHRF (time on distance). "The results were basically the same, though Zephyra and Double Trouble would have moved up to third and fourth, respectively, if it had been a PHRF regatta," reported Siegel."Yucca would have been fifth." While it was eye-opening that a J/105 fared so well under IRC, the numbers indicated ahead of time that Yucca, a Sherman Tank amongst Ferraris, may well be the ultimate IRC weapon. With an IRC rating that is roughly 30 seconds a mile kinder than her PHRF number of 90 (i.e., it rates the equivalent of 120 under IRC), Yucca looked unbeatable until the wind piped up on Sunday. "We go the same speed if it's blowing 10 or 30, while everyone else takes off," explained Easom. "We also backed off a little, using the little jib and the fractional kite to make it easier on the boat and our aging crew." On the whole, the feedback on IRC was positive. "It seemed to work pretty well, though narrower rating bands would make it work even better," said Siegel. "We're hoping for a bigger IRC turnout next year, which will help return the Stone Cup to the prominence it enjoyed in the previous three decades."
IRC — 1) Scorpio, Wylie 42, John Siegel, 7 points; 2) Natural Blonde, Rob Cooper/Dennis Deisinger, 10; 3) Yucca, 8-Meter, Hank Easom, 12; 4) Zephyra, DK-46, Robert Youngjohns, 14; 5) Double Trouble, Sydney 38, Andy Costello, 22; 6) Howl, Sydney 38, Peter Krueger, 24. (14 boats) DIV. G — 1) Mistral, Beneteau 36.7, Ed Durbin, 9 points; 2) Stewball, Express 37, Caleb Everett, 10; 3) Mintaka 4, Farr 38, Gerry Brown, 13; 4) Sky High, J/35, John West, 18; 5) Inspired Environments, Beneteau 40.7, Timothy Ballard, 20. (12 boats) DIV. J — 1) Flexi Flyer, Tuna 35, Mitchell Wells, 5 points; 2) Petard, Farr 36, Buck/Newell, 11; 3) Two Scoops, Express 34, Chris Longaker, 17. (8 boats) DIV. K — 1) Mer Tranquille, Jeanneau 34, Larry Moraes, 4 points. (4 boats) DIV. M — 1) Latin Lass, Catalina 27, Bill Chapman, 10 points; 2) My Toy, Ranger 26, David Adams, 10. (5 boats) SF 30 — 1) Bay Loon, J/29, Joe Ferrie, 7 points; 2) Abba Zaba, Tartan Ten, Charles Pick,