— ONE DESIGN J/120 Chance
Etchells Wilder Beast
Santana 22 Carlos
Barry Lewis St. Francis YC
Tim Wells San Francisco YC
Jan Grygier Richmond YC
The way Barry Lewis sees it, two things make the J/120 the premier big boat one design class in the Bay. The first is the great competition. "These guys are all great sailors and the leads change frequently," says the wireless industry entrepreneur. Secondly, it's a true Corinthian class. Not only do the owners drive their boats, they've all become friends and get together through the season for regular 'skipper's dinners'. "It's the best fleet I've ever sailed in," he concludes. Lewis came to the class in 2001 after a lifetime of dinghy sailing, which included the intercollegiate circuit (for the Naval Academy) in his younger years, and more recently with his son on Lasers just prior to getting Chance — his very first keelboat! He's never looked back and never looked elsewhere. Lewis considers his crew — Doug Nugent, Scott Kozinchik, Matt Gingo, Christian DiCarlo, Michael Redmon, Mark Rupper, Aaron Elder, Sean Ross and David Krausz — "one of the most talented and dedicated of any class. They're the main reason we did so well." Chance was really on a roll this year, and Lewis was hoping for a repeat of their dual 2003 win of the season championship and Big Boat Series. The former came down to the last race, where he narrowly edged out Steve Madeira's Mr. Magoo. At the '06 BBS, Chance led until the last race, when they stumbled to eighth, allowing Magoo to take the division win — by literally about a foot.
Australian Etchells sailor (and 1983 America's Cup winner) John Bertrand once called the Etchells class "Olympic class sailing when there are no Olympics." 2006 season champion Tim Wells would certainly agree with that assessment. "The best sailors and most competitive class in the world!" he says. Tim (with son Tucker, above) came to the Etchells ranks three seasons ago after a professional sailing career which included a Red Bull-sponsored 11-Metre campaign in the late '90s, and rides on the Farr 40s Crocodile Rock and Wahoo. When he decided to 'go Corinthian', there was only one fleet he had his sights on. This year he won it. Wells, who these days makes his living as a VP of market development for a software company, gives main credit for the win to his very supportive wife, Allison. With 52 counting races, the sailing season doesn't allow much family time. Next on the list would be Tim's middle man and co-skipper, Bill Barton. "Bill is not only the grandfather of the fleet, he's the soul of it, too. As a driver, the guy can still pull a monkey out of his . . . well, he can still get us out of trouble even when we totally get caught in the back of the fleet." Rounding out the crew were a revolving cadre of bowmen, including Jeff Holder, Tim Duffy and Chris Rainey. Wells credits competitors Craig Healy, Bill Melbostadt and Philippe Kahn for keeping the pressure up and the excitement going right up to the last race.
It was Woody Allen who said, "90 percent of life is showing up." It was Jan Grygier who demonstrated it. "[2005 champion] Michael Andrews on Bonita is still faster than me, but not when he doesn't show up!" quips Grygier. That said, there's no doubt that, after two consecutive years of second-place finishes in this re-emerging fleet, it's Grygier's turn to bask in the glory. Going into the season, Grygier wasn't aiming for the top spot. As fleet captain, his priority was getting more boats on the starting line. He found success in that department, too. Working with rookie owner Pete Trachy, the class started a casual racing series at Treasure Island that encourages crew swapping and mentoring by the class's top sailors. The first weekend brought out 17 Tuna 22s, and the next formal race, the Great Pumpkin, had 8 boats on the line. "That's the most boats we've had for a spinnaker race on the Bay in at least five years!" Grygier says. Grygier, a hydrologist for PG&E, has been sailing since he "was an embryo" and has owned Carlos for five years. What made the difference this year, he says, was learning to "listen to my gut, particularly with regards to wind shifts." Grygier sailed with "a cast of thousands" this year. His most consistent crew included Clyde Neisen, Eydee Mazenko and Ru Paster.
2) Mr. Magoo, Steve Madeira; 3) Desdemona, John Wimer. (9 boats)
2) Down Under, Andrew Whittome; 3) Ginna Fe, Mike Laport. (12 boats)
2) Maguro, Pete Trachy; 3) Tchoupitoulas, Stephen Buckingham. (10 boats) December, 2006 •
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