THE RACING
Lexus Newport to Ensenada Race Post-race celebrating at the annual Lexus Newport to Ensenada Race was understandably subdued, as crew from the 160 finishers digested the tragic news that Theo Mavromatis' Hunter 376 Aegean had been shattered to pieces and all four racers on board were presumed to be dead — the first fatalities in the famous event's 65-year history. The initial theory that Aegean was run down by a commercial vessel was discarded after the boat's SPOT transponder track (see Theo died pursuing Sightings) revealed that his passion. This she ran directly into was his seventh North Coronado Island Ensenada Race. at roughly 1:30 a.m. April 28. The bodies of all four crew were eventually recovered. They were Mavromatis, 49, Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, William Reed Johnson, Jr., 57, and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64. Mavromatis had won his cruising class in both '09 and '11.
RICH ROBERTS
MARY LONGPRE
Springtime racing got into full swing last month, starting with the sobering Lexus Newport-to-Ensenada Race. Thankfully that was the last tragedy to date, but the OYRA Duxship and SSS Singlehanded Farallones (changed to the Stand Down Marathon) required some reworking due to the ocean-racing stand-down. Bay races such as the Elite Keel, WBRA, and St. Francis YC's Team Race and Phyllis Kleinman Swifture Regatta (formerly known as the Stone Cup) weren't affected. Check out Race Notes for even more news from around the Bay and the world.
"Can we borrow the car keys, Bob?" Lane's crew gives a victory cheer after crossing the Ensenada finish line.
After a silent prayer in remembrance of the fallen crew, awards presentations took place at the race's new headquarters, Hotel Coral and Marina. Top honors went to Bob Lane's Long Beach-based Page 110 •
Latitude 38
• June, 2012
Andrews 63 Medicine Man. Not only will the boat's name be etched on the President of USA Trophy, but Lane got a twoyear lease on a 2013 Lexus GS 350. According to Press Officer Rich Roberts, "Medicine Man chased Tom Holthus' slightly faster but more heavily handicapped Bad Pak (of San Diego) across the line Saturday morning but appeared to have been beaten out by 10 minutes on corrected handicap time by David Lawson's Beneteau 373, Endeavor." Lawson retired after finishing, however, because he didn't feel right about his engine as allowed within his cruising class. — latitude/andy Complete results at www.nosa.org
Elite Keel Regatta SFYC's Elite Keel Regatta, May 19-20, drew six fleets (Etchells, Express 27, IOD, Open 5.70, J/24 and Knarr) for this annual event. Saturday's marine forecast of 5-10 knots of breeze and moderate ebb was just a little off the mark, as there were steady winds of 20 knots, gusting even higher, and a fairly strong ebb. The new fleet on the block, the Open 5.70s were still getting used to sailing in the higher winds of the Central Bay, but for the most part crews handled the conditions very well, with the exception of Jeff Smith's Impulse, which, while being doublehanded, suffered an MOB at the Golden Gate. Smith tried to douse the kite to regain control, but ended up shrimping it instead. Fortunately the J/24 Rail to Rail, skippered by Rich Jepsen, was able to recover Impulse's crewman. We salute Jepsen's spirit — he didn't even request redress. On Sunday the winds continued, as did the ebb chop. With two races for the day, the Pearce brothers aboard Fjaer in the IOD class and Tom Baffico aboard The Maker in the Open 5.70 class had their work cut out for them in order to
continue their dominance in their respective fleets. Both boats pulled nothing but aces in every race for the regatta. Kudos to the Rail to Rail team though: had they not rescued an MOB they would have joined the nothing-but-aces club as well. — jeff zarwell SFYC ELITE KEEL (5/19-20; 5r) ETCHELLS — 1) USA 1404, Jim Cunningham, 7 points; 2) JR, William Melbostad, 9; 3) Lost in the Fog, John Gilmour, 16. (6 boats) EXPRESS 27 — 1) El Raton, Ray Lotto, 9 points; 2) Peaches, John Rivlin, 10; 3) Wile E Coyote, Dan Pruzan, 11. (7 boats) IOD — 1) Fjaer, Richard & Mark Pearce, 5 points; 2) Stark Terror, Ashley Lyon, 13; 3) La Paloma, Jim Hennefer, 18. (5 boats) J/24 — 1) Rail to Rail, Richard Jepsen, 6 points; 2) Shut Up & Drive, Val Lulevich, 13; 3) Downtown Uproar, Darren Cumming, 18. (5 boats) KNARR — 1) Gjendin, Graham Green, 12 points; 2) Sophia, Tom Reed, 24; 3) Benino, Mark Dahm, 24. (15 boats) OPEN 5.70 — 1) The Maker, Tom Baffico, 5 points; 2) Frolic, Marc Finot, 11; 3) Whale Tale, Barry Demak, 20. (10 boats) Complete results at www.sfyc.org.
WBRA Knox Race Three classes of classic woodies — Birds, Folkboats and Bear Boats — sailed two races in a flood current and 10-18 knots of breeze May 20.