Sabrina takes it all in Balboa YC’s race to Cabo

by Rich Roberts on 4 Apr 2008 When the last finisher was scored Wednesday, Sabrina’s success in Balboa Yacht Club's race from Corona del Mar to Cabo San Lucas was even greater than at first reported: a clean sweep.

The final numbers showed Chris Calkins’ 50-year-old wooden 50-footer from San Diego to be not only first to finish in Class D but first overall in the class and in the 37-boat fleet by both the PHRF and ORR handicap scoring systems.

The latter were the only points in doubt Tuesday night until it became official when the only other boat with any chance of correcting out first---Vance and P.K. Edwards’ Wind Dancer, a Catalina 42 from Ventura, Calif.---didn’t cross the line until 9:15:28 p.m. PDT, about 3 ½ hours too late to beat Sabrina, which owed it about 7 hours’ worth of handicap time.

Earlier Tuesday, Sabrina, finishing at 10:40 a.m., had already eclipsed Tom Garnier’s Reinrag2, a J/125 from Portland, Ore., by 70 minutes, cueing a dockside celebration by Calkins and his crew of navigator Fred Delaney, Doug Peterson, Norm Reynolds, Mike Dorgan, Jim Sakesegawa and Bill White, ages 41 to 65.

The only prize that escaped Sabrina’s veteran skipper and crew was a course record, which they missed by, um, about 33 hours. That went to Magnitude 80, Doug Baker’s Andrews 80 from Long Beach that sailed the 800 nautical miles in 2:10:23:27, an average speed of 13.7 knots.

Others earning major hardware were division winners on corrected time:
Maxis---Mike Campbell and Dale Williams’ Peligroso, a Dencho/Kernan 68 from Long Beach;
Class A---John MacLaurin’s Pendragon 4, a Davidson 52 from Los Angeles;
Class B---Reinrag2;
Class C---Richard Mainland’s Paddy Wagon, a Ross 40 from Los Angeles.

Three boats that had dropped out with broken gear were declared as “did not finish,” as was Predator, the struggling J/35---second smallest boat in the fleet---battling big winds and seas without a spinnaker and still more than 100 miles out on Wednesday afternoon.

Predator’s all-woman crew, the Nauti Chicas, led by co-skippers Sue Senescu and Terri Manok, started the race shorthanded when one of the original crew of seven---most of hem veterans of ocean racing--- had to drop out. After their primary spinnaker blew apart the second day out, they struggled but remained upbeat.

An e-mail message Tuesday: “Hi Babe! All is well. This has been a fun an interesting journey. Miraculously, the masthead light is back on as of last night. No idea why it crapped out or suddenly came on again. Couldn't see any issues re: wiring at all. Jib top pulled out of the foil and now has a crimp in the bolt rope which is not a concern for putting it up but could be a problem getting it down, so we're on the #1. Far too much wind and nasty sea angle for the spins so it's slow going. Thanks so much for your responses and your support!  It's finally starting to warm up. Have lived in foulies for 4 days now! Looking forward to shorts and sandals! See you soon.”

The last official finisher was Bill McKeever’s Reliance, a Nelson/Marek 41 from Grand Terrace, Calif. that came in at 3:07 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Now it’s party time. The Old Hacienda Hotel will host a poolside party late on Thursday afternoon and trophies will be presented Friday at Tesoro Los Cabos, the race headquarters hotel.

Order of finishers
F-Friday starter.
S-Saturday starter.
All times PDT

March 31
1. F-Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore., 9:07:13 p.m.
2. F-Stealth Chicken (Perry Timothy Beatty, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 10:14:42 p.m.
3. S-Magnitude 80 (Doug Baker, Long Beach, 10:23:27 p.m.
4. F-Fortaleza (Santa Cruz 50), Jim Morgan, Los Angeles, 11:40:17 p.m.
5. F-Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana Point, Calif., 11:45:02 p.m.

April 1
6. S-Stark Raving Mad III (Reichel/Pugh 66, Jim Madden, Oyster Bay, N.Y., 3:20:59 a.m.
7. F-Rocket (Santa Cruz 50), Carl Fuller, Newport Beach, 4:22:37 a.m.
8. S-Peligroso (Dencho/Kernan 68), Mike Campbell/Dale Williams, Long Beach, 5:00:56 a.m.
9. S-Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Pico Rivera, Calif., 5:56:07 a.m.
10. F-Bien Roulée (Andrews 39), Glenn Highland, Corona del Mar, 5:58:59 a.m.
11. F-Free Range Chicken (Perry 59), Bruce Anderson, Las Vegas, 6:58:39 a.m.
12. F-Valkyrie (Dencho/Kernan 46), Andy Rasdal, Pasadena, 7:01:59 a.m.
13. F-Mighty Tangaroa (Santa Cruz 50), Edward Ureno, Huntington Beach, 7:11:56 a.m.
14. F-Paddy Wagon (Ross 40), Richard Mainland, Los Angeles, 7:26:06 a.m.
15. F-Ho’okolohe (Farr 55), Alyson & Cecil Rossi, Novato, Calif., 7:37:54 a.m.
16. F-Entropy (Tripp 41), Chris Hemans, Newport Beach, 8:50:28 a.m.
17. S-Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Long Beach, 10:05:23 a.m.
18. F-Tango (J/133), Roy Jones, Corona del Mar, 10:10:13 a.m.
19. F-Sabrina (Calkins 50), Chris Calkins, San Diego, 10:40:30 a.m.
20. S- Holua (Santa Cruz 70), Brack Duker, Pasadena, 10:57:21 a.m.
21. S- Westerly (Santa Cruz 70), Tom Hogan, Newport Beach, 11:12:12.
22. S- Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), Patrick O’Brien, Venice, Calif., 11:15:40 a.m.
23. F- Resolute (J/122), Tim Fuller, Dana Point, Calif., 11:44:00 a.m.
24. F- Katrina (Swan 53), Damon Guizot, Seward, Alaska, 2:00:40 p.m.
25. F- Between the Sheets (Jeanneau 52.2), Ross Pearlman, Marina del Rey, Calif., 2:42:56 p.m.
26. S- Stars & Stripes (Farr 60), Dennis Conner, San Diego, 3:06:42 p.m.
27. S- It’s OK (Andrews 50), Tres Gordos Sailing LLC, Covina, Calif., 3:07:28 p.m.
28. F- Magic (Beneteau 47.7), John Johnson, Sandy, Utah, 3:43:44 p.m.
29. F- Adios (J/120), Peter Bretschger, Newport Beach, 3:52:33 p.m.
30. F- Problem Child (B32), Dan Rossen, Newport Beach, 3:53:26 p.m.
31. F- Tai Pan II (Beneteau 50), Dale Dodge, Marina del Rey, Calif., 8:07:14 p.m.
32. F- Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Vance & P.K. Edwards, Ventura, Calif., 9:15:28 p.m.

April 2
33. F- Reliance (Nelson/Marek 41), Bill McKeever, Grand Terrace, Calif., 3:07:00 a.m.

Did Not Finish:
Bad Pak (J/145), Tom Holthus, San Diego
Aeolos (Beneteau 44.7), George Minardos, Santa Monica
Muneca (Beneteau 47.7), Paul Casanova, Corona del Mar
Predator (J/35), Terri Manok/Sue Senescu, Oceanside, Calif.