Etchells Class 2008 Pacific Coast Championship

by Lynn Fitzpatrick on 18 Nov 2008 The hot and dry Santa Ana winds whipped up wild fires inland and held the sea breeze at bay during San Diego Yacht Club’s One Design Weekend, which doubled as the Etchells Class 2008 Pacific Coast Championship.

There were 27 boats on the line and San Diego Fleet Captain, Chris Busch, sailing four-up with Chuck Sinks, Chad Hough and David Hughes racked up five points in the five-race, one-discard series to hold off Vince Brun, Benny Mitchell, Will Stout and Steve Pickel who posted nine points for the series. Only 14 points separated the next 10 places. Vince Brun and Andy Moulds and their crews each won a race, while Busch and his team won three of the five races.

The general recipe for success this weekend was to stay in pressure on the left side of the beat and avoid the glassy waters close to shore. The line of demarcation between the sea breeze and the Santa Ana was crystal clear all weekend and those who went right, even as the wind went right, later in the day, regretted it.

The Etchells turnout has been on the rise this fall and boats that have been on the hard for years were splashed this weekend so that visiting sailors, juniors and some of the BMW Oracle Racing Team could participate.

Flavio Marazzi, Switzerland’s Olympic Star skipper and quadruple 5.5 Metre Class World Champion, sailed four-up with a crew that included a 110-pound junior. Her spray top, faded by the sun’s UV rays, except where the impression of her PFD was burned in, said it all. This kid is on the water as much as time will permit. The 420 sailor already had a full dance card for the weekend, which included a commodore’s ball, but she sandwiched in her first Etchells regatta. She said, ' I like to sail all sorts of boats, it makes me a more well-rounded sailor.'

There are lots of enthusiastic young sailors like Jennifer Davis enrolled in junior programs. Chances are the juniors have spent a lot more time on the water recently than most crew. Their instructors can, and do, facilitate making arrangements and they understand that juniors can do more than populate the Sabot, Opti, Laser Radial, 420 and 29er fleets. They can help grow the ranks of even one-design keelboats.

'The extra set of hands, pair of eyes and head looking around made weight adjustment and crew work, especially the spinnaker sets and take downs easier,' admitted Marazzi.

The San Diego Etchells fleet sails year round and attracts current and past world champions and young and aspiring talent. This weekend’s regatta was made all that much more enjoyable by sponsors SLAM, North Sails One Design and Point Loma Outfitters.

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