Summer is quickly drawing to a close and with it comes the end of our busiest racing season. 1998 has been a great year for many of our members whose achievements for the last quarter are highlighted below.

In late June, S/C Steve Button, sailing with Jr. S/C Tom O’Conor and new member Bruce Fleck, defended the Jesse L. Carr Trophy which he won in 1997 sailing Martin 242’s in Marina del Rey. This year’s event, which is open to skippers over 50 years old with crew over 40, was sailed in Etchells in San Diego. Steve finished third overall in the regatta, a commendable finish considering the complexities of sailing an Etchell in an unfamiliar harbor.

Racing in Marina del Rey during July featured our women members beginning with the Women on Water Regatta on July 18 & 19, an event co-sponsored by SBYRC with Marina Venice Yacht Club and the Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay. SBYRC had six entries in the event, including Commodore Marylyn Hoenemeyer who sailed to a second place finish in the WOW Division on her Martin 242 Blarney with Lisa Hackenberg serving as tactician. The Woman at the Helm Spinnaker division was won by DRYC’s Marianne Wisner sailing the B-32 Zombie owned by the SBYRC team of John Staff, Greg Johns and John Ziskin. The Woman at the Helm Non-Spinnaker Division was won by SBYRC’s Dorothee Etz who sailed her Hunter 34 Wind Pilot to a perfect five point score with the assistance of only one crew member.

Two SBYRC teams competed the following week-end in the Area J Adams Cup Championship. A grueling 11 races were sailed in this round robin event which saw wind speeds in the 15 to 20 knot range and lumpy seas....hardly ideal conditions for Santana 20’s sailing with 155% headsails! Our congratulations go to our members who competed in this US Sailing event including skippers Lisa Hackenberg and Danielle Harvey and crew Ann Tritsch and Pamela Fowell.

August kicked-off with the annual Santa Barbara to King Harbor race which attracts PHRF and IMS racers from all around Southern California, including ten boats which competed under the SBYRC burgee. Unlike the 1998 Ensenada race, the Santa Barbara to King Harbor race will be remembered as one of the slowest races on record. Congratulations to our members who persevered including Michael Leneman who finished first in the ORCA class on his F-31 Delta V, Jr. S/C Tom O’Conor and Commodore Marylyn Hoenemeyer who finished first in PHRF C on their Baltic 38 Chimera with the help of members Lisa Hackenberg and Alex Glascock and Tony Pascone who sailed his J-29 Zipper to a fourth place finish in PHRF C.

Another endurance contest in August was the race for the Outlook Trophy, an open ocean race sailed in centerboard boats. Susan Taylor sailed her Capri 14.2 to a first place finish on a 12.8 mile course which took over three hours to complete! As Susan remarked: "I don’t think there are too many people who like to race a small boat for such a long period of time."

That same week-end was the conclusion of DRYC’s Tannenberg Series, for which S/C Mike Guccione served as PRO. Tom O’Conor and Marylyn Hoenemeyer sailed their Baltic 38 Chimera to first overall in PHRF B, while Jerry & Lea Kaye sailed their CF 27 Sinister Smile to third overall in PHRF C. The month ended with CYC’s Harris Series in which SBYRC racers earned five trophies including Dan Taron who teamed up with CYC’s Doug Johnstone to win the Star class, the team of Staff/Ziskin/Johns who finished second overall in PHRF A on their B-32 Zombie, the O’Conor/Hoenemeyer entry which finished second overall in PHRF B on their Baltic 38 Chimera, Sean Ivie who finished third overall in PHRF B on his J-30 Friction Loss and John Heaney who finished first overall in PHRF C on his S2 7.9 Ariel.

Finally, a very special congratulations to Greg Johns and Beth Bernucci who sailed their Beneteau 36s7 Flyer to a fifth place finish in Division A in the Pacific Cup. The conditions encountered in this year’s record setting Hawaii races provided a test to one’s seamanship not generally encountered in Southern California. Look for Greg’s commentary on this adventure at a later time on this web site.

Be sure to send us your results if we missed mentioning them here!

Based on their performance over the past year, fifteen of our racers have qualified to compete in the ASMBYC Champion of Champions Regatta being sailed on September 26 & 27 in Marina del Rey. This invitational regatta represents the culmination of our racing season as it provides an opportunity for those who qualify to race against the best in Santa Monica Bay and so determine the Champions of 1998. Elliott/Pattison Sailmakers is the title sponsor for this year’s event with SBYRC organizing the on-the-water race management under the direction of our Jr. S/C Tom O’Conor who is serving as PRO and Race Chair. Visit the ASMBYC Web site for more details on the event or contact Tom at 310-472-3577.

While summer may be nearly over, the racing season in Southern California never ends. SBYRC hosts two events before the end of the year, including "Two for the Day" the first event in the 1998 Man/Woman Series being held September 19 and "Matchless Match Racing" offered the week-end of November 7 & 8. Entry forms for the Man/Woman race currently are available on this site and at area yacht clubs while the notice of race for our Match Racing event will be available by early October.

1998 marks the tenth year for our match racing event which is open to all members of One Design Fleets and members of PHRF who are willing to compete against each other "boat for boat." This year’s event will feature a morning lecture covering the basics of match racing, on-the-water judging of the pre-start maneuvers, and a de-briefing session after the day’s races with the judges and competitors discussing strategies that worked and those that didn’t. This is a perfect venue for the smaller one design boats such as the Martin 242’s, J-24’s, Stars, Santana 20’s and Cal 20’s. If you don’t have access to a one design boat, you can still get a front row seat for this educational and fun event by serving on race committee. Contact John Staff at 310-477-9972 for more details.

This year’s watch quickly is coming to a close and our leadership for next year is taking shape. SBYRC’s ability to continue to provide excellent regatta management is dependent on the volunteer efforts of our members. As racers we have all benefited from these efforts both on the race course and at post-race hospitality; as volunteers we can give something back. There are many ways that you can help and still compete in our events, so contact Tom O’Conor at 310-472-3577 or John Staff at 310-477-9972 for more details. Volunteering for as little as one day a year can make a difference!