67th Turkey Day Regatta - ABYC dishes up another special regatta

67th Turkey Day Regatta 2014 - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - Long Beach, Calif. Rich Roberts

67th Turkey Day Regatta 2014 - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - Long Beach, Calif. © Rich Roberts

Last year the event drew 217 sailors on 152 boats in 16 classes, most of whom hung around for the special dinner afterward. The turnout, supported by some 90 ABYC member volunteers, should be greater this year after suffering a bit in 2013 without the usual launching and hoisting facilities being available during reconstruction of the club's basin.

One traditional feature makes this regatta unique: no trophies. Winners will receive stuffed turkeys ready to roast and pies ready to eat, which is fine with the many competitors who have already collected considerable hardware on the national and international levels.

67th Turkey Day Regatta 2014 - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - Long Beach, Calif. © Rich Roberts

Those would include the Laser and Radial sailors competing in the second round of the Ullman-Frost Series, and the young 29er fleet concluding its five-event Southern California Youth Yacht Racing Association (SCYYRA) Hamlin Series.

The latter group would include last year's 29er winner, Max Brill of San Diego's Mission Bay Yacht Club, who this past summer also won the Junior Sabot Nationals.

Earlier, Brill left a special mark sailing a Club 420 with his brother Ian in the 2013 Junior Olympics at the Newport Harbor YC which racing judge Paul Zupan called 'the most remarkable display of sportsmanship I can ever recall.'

67th Turkey Day Regatta 2014 - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - Long Beach, Calif. © Rich Roberts

Zupan was on a committee boat when Brill approached to explain 'how they had been penalized on the water under RRS 42 for the second time the day before, and that their score did not reflect that incident. After returning to the dock on that final day of racing, the jury researched the issue and, in fact, we had made a mistake in scoring that [second] penalty.

'After the race committee made the correction, I realized Max and Ian were comfortably in first place in the regatta at the time they came to us to report that scoring error. The correction put them in third place and out of contention for progression to the Chubb US Doublehanded Championship. Had they simply ignored the error made by the Jury, they would be representing Area J at the US Championships. But instead, they chose to make sure that they were scored properly, and that the proper winner of the regatta progressed to the national event.'
Event flyer

67th Turkey Day Regatta 2014 - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - Long Beach, Calif. © Rich Roberts

Last year's winners

Ocean courses

Laser Full (18 boats)---Matthew Long, Santa Barbara-Cabrillo Beach YCs, (11)-1-1-6-1-2-1, 12.

Laser Radial (37)---Lawson Willard, San Francisco-St. Francis YCs, 1-34-(8)-4-3-1-2, 15.

29ER (13)---Max Brill-Zach Malcolm, Mission Bay-San Diego YCs, (5)-1-3-2-1-3, 15.

Viper 640 (10)---Jay Golison-Marissa Golison, ABYC, (2)-1-1-1-1-1-1, 6.

Finn (11)---Philip Toth, no club, (4)-1-3-1-1-1-2, 9.

Formula 18 (7)---Pease Glaser-Damon LaCasella, ABYC, 1-1-1-(4)-1-2-1, 7.

A-Class Catamaran (6)---Matt Struble, USACA, (1)-1-1-1-1-1-1, 6.

Portsmouth (3)---Brad Ruetnik, San Diego YC, 1-1-1, 3.

Bay courses

Open Bic (10)---Jack Egan, San Diego YC, 2-1-1-(4)-3-1-1-2-1, 12.

Lido 14 A (7)---Stuart Robertson-Sammy Elshahawry, ABYC, 1-1-1-1-1-, 4.

CFJ (2)---Brian MacLean-Eric Carpenter, ABYC, (1)-1-1-1-1-1, 5.

Lido 14 B (6)---Thomas Amarante-Phoebe Staff, California YC, (2)-1-1-1-2-1-2-1-1, 10.

Sabot B (2)---Alex Van Dyke, Long Beach YC-ABYC, (1)-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, 9.

Sabot C1 (5)---Brett Peoples, ABYC, 1-1-(2)-1-2-1-1-1-1, 9.

Sabot C2 (4)---Christina Van Dyke, ABYC-Long Beach YC, (1)-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, 8.

Sabot C3 (11)---Emma Peets, Newport Harbor YC, 1-1-3-3-2-1-3-(5)-3, Event website