Acura presents Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week

by Rich Roberts on 20 Jun 2008 Sailing is one of the few sports where women can battle men on equal terms, but when Acura presents Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week June 27-29 that concept may be going over the top.

A leading feature of the event, co-hosted by the Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Clubs, will be the Catalina 37 competition with a current lineup of four women skippers facing off against three men on the same boats sailed by professionals in LBYC’s world-class Congressional Cup every spring.

There will be other women sailing on about 140 boats on three courses, ranging from J/105s and other J/Boats to David Janes’ hot new Reichel/Pugh 77 Akela, but the C37s shape up as a saltwater reality show.

The women include Annie Nelson of San Diego YC, Sue Senescu, Dana Point YC; Camille Daniels, Long Beach YC, and Joan Byrne, Encinal YC of Alameda in the Bay area. At the moment their male adversaries are Richard Brizendine, LBYC; Jin Grubbs, Alamitos Bay YC, and Bill Reiss, Richmond YC.

Three C37s remain available for charter. For information, contact Alec Murray. A C37 is now one of the three boats required for a club to qualify for the Yacht Club Challenge competition within the regatta.

Nelson, a three-time winner of the prestigious Linda Elias Women’s One Design Regatta, is a world champion in other classes and a leading activist in the promotion and development of women’s sailing. Senescu is skipper of the Nauti Chicas team that finished second to Marlyn Hoenemeyer of California YC in last year’s Linda Elias event.

'I’m really excited to be doing this,' Nelson said. 'I love sailing at Long Beach, and the Catalina 37s are fun boats to race.'

But this is just a tune-up for her to compete in next month’s Mayor’s Cup women’s match racing event at Long Beach---a new game for a lifelong fleet racer.

'You never stop learning,' she said, with keen anticipation for a test of her new skills developed in the San Diego YC match racing clinic being offered each Tuesday night through Sept. 2.

Nelson’s crew for this event will be Samantha Treadwell, Julie Mitchell, Stacey Szabo, Jerelyn Biehl, Tammy Fowles, Karen Butler, Michelle Morgan, Summer Greene and Katie Love.

'We’ve been practicing on Stars & Stripes USA 11, one of Dennis Conner’s boats from the 1992 America’s Cup [in San Diego],' said Nelson, who was navigator for the all-woman team on America3 that year.

Racing will start at 1 p.m. Friday, June 27, and at noon on Saturday and Sunday, conditions permitting.

There will be a competitors’ briefing at LBYC at 10:30 a.m., following a speed talk by Dave Ullman at 10 a.m.

Free shuttle service between the clubs is available by land and water.

Entry forms, the current entry list and other information are available at http://www.lbrw.org/