ABYC's Turkey Day Regatta/Day 1

by Rich Roberts on 23 Nov 2008 You can't see Russia from Long Beach (sorry, Sarah), but on good days you can see Santa Catalina Island 22 miles away. Not so Saturday on the first day of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club's annual Turkey Day Regatta, when at times the competitors couldn't even see the length of the starting line.

A turnout of 319 boats---believed to be a record for the event launched in 1948---was caught by surprise partway through the opening races when a dense fog rolled in from Newport Beach down the coast like a staged special effect (cue fog!).

All three courses---two on the outer harbor and a third for the smallest boats inside the bay---suddenly were sailing in 30 to 40 yards of limited visibility in light southeasterly winds topping at 7 knots, and speed became secondary to finding course marks.

A common lament on shore at the end of the day: 'I was leading the race and got lost in the fog.'

The 19 fleets included sailors from four countries---one each from Germany (Michael Zittlau, Laser), Italy (Stephen Fuccillo, Finn) and New Zealand (Nigel Morris, Laser).

When the fog arrived, the game quickly changed. Don Shirley, the crew for Eric Conn on a Mercury dinghy, and many others became navigators.

'When I saw the fog coming in I took a heading on the jetty, and I started taking all the [compass] headings posted on the committee boat [at the starts],' Shirley said. 'We had to work the compass and navigate. It was a challenge. It was fun.'

Bob Anderson, principal race officer on that course, managed to run all three scheduled races but stopped moving the windward mark off its 160-degree heading to adjust to changes in wind direction because the racers were having enough trouble locating the yellow inflatable buoys without playing hide and seek. However, Anderson did shorten the starting line.

'If we could see the other end [from the committee boat] we could have a race,' Anderson said, 'so we moved it in. It was too short, but we could see that nobody was getting an advantage.'

Pease Glaser, a longtime ABYC member and an Olympic silver medalist in 2000, sailed a Formula 18 catamaran with Damon LaCasella as crew. They won the only race on Alpha course for high-speed boats that also included 29ers, A-Cats, Hobie 16s, International 14s and Olson 30s.

'I've sailed in all kinds of conditions here over the years, but I've never sailed in a fog on Turkey Day,' Glaser said, laughing. 'Turkey Day is an event, not a regatta.'

The fog did in the best of them. Pete Melvin, twice the world A-Cat champion, led early in the only race but wound up third to Pease Glaser's husband, Jay.

'Jay was right behind me when I jibed,' Melvin said, 'but I couldn't see the [leeward] mark and jibed too soon, and he got past me.'

Steve Washburn was PRO on that course, which ran only one race, and LaCasella said, 'I think he did the right thing by not calling the race, not moving the marks---and not having another race.'

Racing concludes Sunday with the sailors competing not for trophies but for turkeys and pies. Competitors may discard their worst finishes after five races. Racing will start at noon, conditions permitting.

Class leaders

Alpha course

29ER (8 boats)---Max Fraser/David Lienberg, San Francisco, 1, 1 point.

A-CAT (9)---Jay Glaser, ABYC, 1, 1.

FORMULA 18 (5)---Pease Glaser/Damon LaCasella, Long Beach, 1, 1.

HOBIE 16 (8)---Rex Miller/Ann Sullivan, Vista, Calif., 1, 1.

INTERNATIONAL 14 (11)---Paul Galvez/Guillermo Leon de la Barra, 1, 1.

OLSON 30 (7)---Todd Downey, Ventura, 1, 1.

Bravo course

LASER FULL (30)---Mac Mace, Newport Harbor YC, 3-1-3, 7.

LASER RADIAL (65)---Chris Barnard, NHYC, 1-1, 2.

MERCURY 18 (13)---Chris Raab/Kenny Dair, ABYC/NHYC, 3-1-1, 5.

CORONADO 15 (4)---Vincent Paternoster/Pat Soria, Marina Sailing, 2-1, 3.

FINN (12)---Peter Connally, NHYC, 1-1, 2.

Bay course

NAPLES SABOT A (25)---Connor Kelter, NHYC, 3-3-6-1, 13.

SABOT B (25)---Steven Hopkins, ABYC, 5-2-1-1, 9.

SABOT C-1 (16)---Richard Bell, ABYC, 3-1-4-1, 9.

SABOT C-2 (17)---Dana Boudreau, ABYC, 3-1-7-5, 16.

SABOT C-3 (23)---Max Brill, Mission Bay YC, 3-2-4-1, 10.

LIDO 14-A (12)---Whit Batchelor/Erin Robertson, San Diego YC, 2-1-8-1, 12.

LIDO 14-B (16)---John Bergan/Liz Bergan, ABYC, 1-3-1-8, 13.