Tong breaks Long Beach to Cabo race record

by Rick Roberts on 12 Nov 2008 Peter Tong and the crew of his Santa Cruz 70, OEX, finished first in the 2008 Long Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race Tuesday in record-breaking time of 2 days 22 hours 50 minutes 9 seconds, eclipsing the 23-year elapsed time race record by 4 hours 56 minutes 15 seconds.

'It was a wonderful trip,' Tong said. 'The first night was pretty rough and we made a couple of errors. But once we sorted it all out and regrouped we got back on track.

'Sunday morning we were neck and neck with Grand Illusion so we had to figure out how to distance ourselves from them… which we did.

'You know, I used to own Blondie [the SC70 that set the record in 1985]. I bought it from Bill Martin a few years after he and [Tom] Blackaller set the record. So I had a personal desire to break the record of my old boat.

'We had a great time sailing with a lot of old friends.'

One of those old friends is Long Beach Yacht Club Commodore Bobby Frazier who has known Tong for more than 18 years.

'Peter has been working real hard on this boat the last couple of years,' Frazier said. 'This is just a bunch of local guys… friends that have been sailing together for a lot of years now and… hey, we broke the record!'

Tong added, 'We have a major problem now. We provisioned for four days and now have more food than we know what to do with!'

Finishing Tuesday behind OEX and also breaking the record were, in order, Bob Lane’s Medicine Man, Ed McDowell’s Grand Illusion --- which unofficially has first in class on overall corrected handicap time --- and Brack Duker’s Holua. Per Peterson’s Alchemy also finished Tuesday afternoon, missing the record by just over 33 minutes.

Chris Slagerman’s Peterson 68, Cheetah, will be the last boat to finish when it crosses the finish line sometime Wednesday morning.

Doug Baker’s Magnitude 80, the pre-race favorite, was knocked out of the race early on the second day when they lost their mast. Kevin Flanigan’s Ocelot also retired from the race early the same day.

'It was really an exciting race,' Tong said. 'The wind gods were with us.'

Trophy presentations will be hosted by LBYC for all competitors Thursday evening, Nov.13 in Cabo San Lucas.

Unofficial Results/Standings (from Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1700hrs Position Reports)

(time listed in Days:Hours:Minutes:Seconds)

PHRF

Division I

1. Bob Lane, Medicine Man, LBYC – elapsed 3:00:48:15, corrected 3:01:10:05
2. Doug Baker, Magnitude 80, LBYC – retired

Division II

1. Ed McDowell, Grand Illusion, King Harbor YC – 3:00:53:30, 2:21:58:33
2. Peter Tong, OEX, LBYC – 2:22:50:09, 2:22:07:38
3. Brack Duker, Holua, Cal YC – 3 :01:14:42, 2:22:49:40
4. Per Peterson, Alchemy, Oceanside YC – 3:04:20:07, 3:01:48:58
5. Chris Slagerman, Cheetah, South Bay Yacht Racing Club
6. Kevin Flanigan, Ocelot, Corinthian YC of Portland – retired

ORR (not all boats are being scored under ORR)

Division I

1. Bob Lane, Medicine Man, LBYC
2. Doug Baker, Magnitude 80, LBYC – retired

Division II

1. Ed McDowell, Grand Illusion, King Harbor YC
2. Brack Duker, Holua, Cal YC
3. Peter Tong, OEX, LBYC
4. Chris Slagerman, Cheetah, South Bay Yacht Racing Club
5. Kevin Flanigan, Ocelot, Corinthian YC of Portland – retired

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