2016 Campbell Cup - Roy Disney wins fourth year in a row

by Rick Roberts on 24 Oct 2016 Roy Disney and his Andrews 68, Pyewacket, team won their fourth straight Campbell Cup regatta this weekend while Greg Heidt and his Farr 40, Grooverderci, team took first place honors in their class in this event sponsored by North Sails and hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club.

Coming into this weekend’s regatta, Southern Californians were just recovering from temps in the high 80s and low 90s. Who would have believed that by the time the last race was finishing Sunday afternoon, cool winds and rain squalls were beginning to cover the course.

Both days began with little to no breeze and LBYC’s race committee PRO, John Busch, held everyone at the dock for an extra hour each morning to wait for the forecasted three - six knots of breeze to fill in. Sunday was the biggest challenge with the wind changing direction 180 degrees, settling in, and then changing back to where it originally started.

But, regardless of the conditions, Disney and his team showed that it’s no accident that he and his team can find their way to the winner’s podium.

“We have a good boat and good guys that are all a part of the family,” said Disney.

“This has always been an interesting regatta since it’s so late in the season. Over the years the weather has been really good. I guess you could call it Campbell Cup luck.”

When talking about this being four in a row, Disney said, “We’ve been lucky. We’re all pretty equal.

“When the sled fleet started, it was my dad’s vision to create a level class.

“To give you an example, in this year’s Cal Cup, going into the last race, any one of five boats could have won the regatta. We work to keep big-boat racing as level as possible, we just need more people to do it.

“The benefits are great. There are not a lot of sails and there’s not a lot of load. Kids need to know that this is available to them.”

Heidt talked about his win in the Farr 40 class, the regatta and the class itself.

“We had high expectations for this weekend,” said Heidt. “We’ve never raced a Farr 40 before. All of us came from a Tartan 101.”

Take note that this is the same boat that won the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship on these very same waters in September of 2015 with John Demourkas’s Groovederci Racing team, with a win in the last race on the last day of the regatta.

“This was a big step up for us,” said Heidt, “especially having nine Farr 40s on the line. It was really awesome!

“These were tough conditions to race with this weekend. Everyone on the race committee did a great job.

“This is a great class with great people and competitive races. It was a well-run regatta and we are very pleased.”


The regatta, named after legendary sailor and big-boat supporter/owner, Mike Campbell, was organized by him in 2006 as the 70s Invitational. Campbell wanted to sponsor a regatta with the purpose of bringing together big boats for a fall event.

When he passed away in October of 2008 it was decided that in 2009 the regatta would be renamed as an appropriate tribute for the regatta Campbell started.

Victoria Campbell, wife of Mike Campbell, was on hand at LBYC Sunday with sons Zachary and Nelson to present trophies to the top finishers in each class.

Long Beach Yacht Club thanks Victoria for her continued support of the regatta her husband inspired.

Final Results

West Coast 70 Class

1. Roy P. Disney, Andrews 68, Pyewacket, Waikiki YC
1-1-1-1, 4 points
2. Edward McDowell, Santa Cruz 70, Grand Illusion, King Harbor YC
2-2-2-3, 9
3. John Sangmeister, SC70, OEX, LBYC, 4-3-3-2, 12
4. John DeLaura, SC70, Mirage, Los Angeles YC, 3-4-4-4, 15

Farr 40 Class

1. Greg Heidt, Del Rey Yacht Club, 2-1-6-1, 10 points
2. Raymond Godwin, LBYC, 1-2-5-4, 12
3. Mick Shlens, Cabrillo Beach YC & KHYC, 5-3-4-2, 14
4. Martin Meerhoff, Yacht Club Uruguayo, 3-4-7-5, 19
5. Gary Ezor, DRYC, 4-7-2-7, 20
6. Zoltan Katinszky, CBYC, 9-6-3-3, 21
7. Bob Zellmer, Shoreline YC, 7-10/DSQ-1-8, 26
8. Cal Maritime, Balboa Yacht Club, 6-5-8-9, 28
9. Gordon Leon, CBYC, 8-8-9-6, 31