THE RACING Racing Sheet ranges far and wide this month with visits to the Antigua Classics Regatta in the Caribbean, the Yachting Cup and Berger/Stein in SoCal, the Resin Regatta on San Francisco Bay, the Singlehanded Farallones and OYRA Duxship west of the Golden Gate, and the J/24 Nationals in Seattle. Race Notes ventures to Europe, and Box Scores rounds up more results from NorCal. Antigua Classics Regatta It's one thing to race in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta aboard a gorgeous old wooden boat. It's another thing to hold your own and hit the start line strong beside the likes of Adix, a 218-ft Holgate three-masted gaff schooner, Columbia, a 141-ft production of W. Starling Burgess/John W. Gilbert & Sons, and the 138-ft Herreshoff gaff-rigged schooner Mariette of 1915. Making her Caribbean classics racing debut on April 18-24 was former San Francisco Bay resident Eros, a 103-ft 1935 staysail schooner from William McKeek. She was helmed by one of her new owners, Cameron Riddell of Manhattan Beach, and joined by crewmembers from Southern California, the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest. "What a way to start off our plans to compete in the classics circuit within the Caribbean and New England!" said Riddell. "Of the four days racing, day two was definitely electric — one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I and everyone onboard will not forget. It's a privilege to compete beside such talent. It's amazing to be close enough to catch spray from the competitors' hulls and feel that rush of race energy." To recap, Riddell shares that roughly
MARTHA BLANCHFIELD / RENEGADE SAILING
The Antigua crew of 'Eros' included West Coast sailors. Pictured here, left to right, are Gordon Cook, Ron Perkins, Richie Tatum, Rich Snyder, Cameron Riddell, Scott Rosen and Jon Turner.
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two minutes before the gun Eros was on approach to the line on port tack. Adix, Columbia and Mariette were upwind; Mary Rose was to starboard with overlap toward the bow. Eros tactician Oliver Heer held firm in a stare-off as the Mariette bowman initiated overlap at Eros's starboard stern, eventually forcing Mariette to luff up, fall off hard to starboard, then tuck under Eros's stern. Adds Riddell, "Meanwhile, Mary Rose continued to sail closely on Eros's lee side, at one point within 30 feet, which seemed incredibly close in those circumstances." In Vintage Class A, Eros placed third. Joining Eros in that class was the 1925 Nathaniel G. Herreshoff Mary Rose, which spent more than 30 years on the West Coast and lists as owners a holding company based in Portland, OR. This 64.5-ft Herreshoff sailed to 1-1-2 after a first-day DNS — a mere two points behind Mariette of 1915, which started all four days. Shares skipper Gerald Rainer: "While practicing right before the race, we had a serious rig failure. The team pulled together and worked hard for 28 hours nonstop. The local craftspeople worked all night to produce the right replacement parts. We missed the first day of racing, but were on course day two, just five minutes before the official starting time with all yachts blowing their horns and crews clapping." Mary Rose will return to race again next year
— her tenth year to participate. Not racing but docked alongside competitors was the 1949 Bermuda yawl Bolero. A sleek contender, among her many accomplishments Bolero set a Newport-Bermuda Race record that lasted for 18 years, crossing first in 1950, 1954 and 1956. We caught sight of onboard guest and St. Francis Yacht Club member Nick Raggio. Nick and family were spending a week in Antigua, then Nick assisted with the boat's journey to Tortola. In 2010, this Sparkman & Stephens-designed racing yawl received finishing touches on an 18-month restoration completed at Rockport Marine in Maine. The Antigua Classics, 30 years in the running, attracted more than 45 Vintage, Classic and Spirit of Tradition yachts ranging in length from the 30-ft John Alden 30 Calypso to Adix. The oldest yacht was Anne Marie, a classic Edwardian gaff cutter built and launched in 1911 by the Harris Brothers Boat Yard. Purchased recently in Canada by Simon and Katie Allan, she journeyed down the West Coast, past Mexico and through the Panama Canal. She will next sail across the Atlantic for a complete restoration. See www.antiguaclassics.com for results and more. — martha blanchfield Pac52 Rumble in San Diego Four boats in a fleet race generally don't garner much attention, unless they're the first four boats built in an The 1925 Nathaniel G. Herreshoff 'Mary Rose' on the heels of 'Wild Horses' moments after the start of racing on Day 2.