Consistency pays off for Cal 20 champ

by Rick Roberts on 13 Aug 2007
This year’s Cal 20 North American Championship hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club was won by Mark Gaudio on his boat Magic Bus, putting in the consistent performance needed to take the title. After Saturday’s racing, Gaudio was fourth in the standings and knew what he had to do to get to the top.

'I’ve won this [event] three times before,' Gaudio said, 'and I know you need to be consistent. It went well. We got off the line quick and held our positions. My crew, Eric Heim and Latham Bell, worked hard for me. I usually call the tactics on the boat, but I let them do it this time and it paid off.'

Winds over the weekend were 8-13 knots from the southwest. Second overall was Chuck Clay on Veintiseis.

'After the first race [Sunday] we got four points closer to the leader,' Clay said, 'and knew we had to stay near the top. By the last race of the day we knew exactly what we had to do: go out and win. Mark is a good guy and he deserved to win. It’s just tough getting so close on the last day.'

Third in the event was Stan Gibbs’ boat Clozer 2. Gibbs moved up three spots from Saturday and was pleased with the performance.

'We picked our lanes through the course and through the fleet,' Gibbs said, 'and kept a positive attitude.'

Keith Ives and his boat Rubber Dog, in first place at the end of Saturday’s racing, slipped to finish fourth overall at the end of the day Sunday.

'Hey, it was a great regatta,' Ives said, 'but today we just couldn’t get out of our own way. We were always in the middle of the fleet and couldn’t find any lanes.'

LBYC held an awards ceremony after Sunday’s racing and race chairman Bobby Frazier and LBYC commodore Mike Van Dyke handed out the trophies.

'This was a great event with lots of tight racing,' Frazier said. 'We want to thank you all for making this such a big success.'

Reflecting on his victory, Gaudio said, 'This was a nice day to be on the water. There was a good breeze and everyone here showed good hospitality.'

Top Ten Results

1. Magic Bus,
2. Veintiseis,
3. Clozer 2,
4.Rubber Dog,
5. Rigormortis,
6. Basic Sailing,
7. TJ, John Shadden,
8. Convicts on Tour,
9. Lickety Split,
10. Maniacal,

Complete results and more information is available at:

http://www.underthesunphotos.com/cal20natls-results.htm