Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week

by Rich Roberts on 23 Jun 2006 It will be a major celebration of the first weekend of summer: more than 2,000 sailors on as many as 165 boats in 17 classes from 43 yacht clubs from San Francisco to San Diego competing at Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week Friday through Sunday.

The largest keelboat regatta on the West Coast this year represents the philosophy of dozens of volunteers from the combined resources of the Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Clubs---as well as the title sponsor---in giving back to their sport.

In placing his support behind the event Dave Ullman even gave back some of the countless trophies he has won as a world-class competitor over half a century as perpetual prizes in the 50+, Fast 40 and Sportboat classes, and the tradition continues.

'I've been a proponent of recycling trophies for a long time,' Ullman said. 'If you have something special it should be recycled, not sitting in a trophy case somewhere. In fact, in my case, they’re actually sitting in a warehouse.'

Smaller boats will be berthed at ABYC, across Alamitos Bay from LBYC, joined by free water shuttles. Racing will be on three circles, one inside and two outside the Federal breakwater. Seven races are scheduled---two on Friday starting at 1300, conditions permitting; three Saturday at 1130 and two Sunday at 1130.

The competition is boosted in various classes by serving as the Pacific Coast Championship for Olson 30s and Schock 35s, the Southern California Championship for Beneteau 36.7s and the Southern California High Point series for J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/120s. It's also a world ranking event for Melges 24s, and others will compete for the Catalina 37 U.S. National Championship on boats chartered from the Long Beach Sailing Foundation.

The J/105s are the largest one-design class with 19 boats. The 10 biggest boats in PHRF 1 include the Mike Campbell/Dale Williams Dencho 70, Peligroso, and three ULDB 70s---Doug Ayres' Skylark, Ed McDowell's Grand Illusion and Paul and Laura Sharp's Taxi Dancer.

The top 50+ competitor's name will be engraved on the award Ullman received, with Tom Linskey as crew, for winning the 470 Worlds at Brazil in 1980---the nearest he ever came to racing in the Olympics.

'It was a little more important because it was the boycott year,' Ullman said, recalling President Jimmy Carter's decision to keep American athletes home from the Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet Union's action in Afghanistan. 'Since there were no Olympics for Americans, it was our major regatta that year. We had won basically every major event in the world. [But] I actually supported the boycott. I thought it was right. Looking back in retrospect, no, it wasn't right.'

The Fast 40 winner will be immortalized on the cup Ullman won for the first of his three 470 world titles in Japan in 1977. The Sportboat winner will be noted on one of nine Lido 14 National prizes Ullman won---the 1982 title in his hometown of Newport Beach.

Ullman, 60, returns as defending champion in Melges 24s and finds among his stiffest competition former world champion Samuel (Shark) Kahn, now 16, and veterans Bruce Ayres and Argyle Campbell.

But first Ullman will offer a 'speed talk' of sailing wisdom at Long Beach YC at 10 a.m. before Friday's start of racing. He remains as competitive as ever. He won the Melges 24 class here last year and was second by one point in the recent North American Championship at Santa Cruz. What will he tell the sailors?

'Local knowledge,' he said.

In other words, the conventional wisdom: Go right at Long Beach?

'No, I'm not a hard believer in that,' Ullman said. 'I'll tell 'em when not to go right.'

And after a lifetime of watching sailing weather, he says the notorious 'June gloom' will be overpowered on this first weekend of summer.

'I think we'll have [brisk] breeze,' Ullman said. 'The forecast is for the gloom to go away by Friday, and that means breeze.'

Special perks include the Yacht Club Challenge prize for three boats in different classes from the same club or geographic area and the Kent-Golison Trophy for the best performance by a boat with a minimum of three family members on board. There also are the Satariano Family Trophy for Boat of the Week, the prize for PHRF Boat of the Week and the Travel Trophy for the entry from farthest away.

A new sponsor, the City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Dept., is picking up the tab for mooring fees, and three sprightly Martin 242s from Santa Monica Bay will test local waters.

The regatta also is the last of four stops on the Ullman Sails Inshore Championship series, following the Ahmanson Cup at Newport Beach in April, Yachting Cup at San Diego in May and Cal Race Week at Marina del Rey three weeks ago.

Complete schedule of events and more at www.lbrw.org