Grand Illusion leads SC 70s back to Hoag Cup

by Rich Roberts on 6 Jun 2009
For a quarter-century high-tech ocean racers have come and gone but Santa Cruz 70s remain the heart and soul of West Coast big boat racing---an appropriate role for next weekend’s 2009 Invitational Regatta Hoag Cup that benefits Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute and is organized and hosted by Hoag Hospital and the Balboa Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Ed McDowell's 23-year-old Grand Illusion returns as defending champion of the three-day June 12-14 event. With seven boats as of this report, the current entry count is down in a reflection of the world economy, but it represents the top half of past fleets.

'It's going to be very competitive,' said Patrick O'Brien, who drives Grand Illusion. 'We have some good boats and good people. It's going to be a tough regatta.'



The fleet to date:
Entry Type Skipper Home

Port
Grand Illusion SC 70 Ed McDowell Redondo Beach
Pyewacket III SC 70 Roy Pat Disney Los Angeles
Westerly SC 70 Tom&Tim Hogan Newport Beach
Ragtime Spencer 65 Chris Welsh Newport Beach
Stark Raving Mad TP52 Jim Madden Newport Beach
It's OK Andrews 50 Tres Gordo Sailing Balboa, Calif.
Valkyrie TP52 Andy&Camille Rasdal San Diego

The biennial regatta was conceived in 2005 to feature large and fast monohulls adaptable to inshore or offshore racing. Sponsorship for the most successful of single charity regattas has raised more than $700,000 for the non-profit hospital in the first two events and could approach $1 million with this event.

Five races are planned---two each Friday and Saturday and a finale Sunday---starting at 1 p.m. on windward-leeward courses with start and finish lines off the beach adjacent to the Newport Pier for spectator convenience.

The Hornblower spectator boat also will follow the fleet on Saturday. Reservations are $125 per person and include lunch and beverages provided on board, along with commentary from a sailing expert.

Under the Offshore Racing Rule (RRR) for offshore boats, Santa Cruz 70s dominated the event in 2007, sweeping the first four places among 15 boats. Grand Illusion was followed by Tim and Tom Hogan's Westerly, Doug Ayres' Skylark and Brack Duker's Holua.

The top three are back, although Skylark has reverted to its original name of Pyewacket III when Roy E. Disney sailed it to a Transpacific Yacht Race record in 1999. Disney, now a Newport Beach resident and honorary chairman of the Hoag regatta, has turned the helm over to his son, Roy Pat Disney, whose crew will include four members of his dad's Morning Light team of young sailors that finished fifth with their TP52---the top non-SC 70---in the Hoag and then successfully raced the 2007 Transpac---an adventure now available on DVD.

The SC 70s' impressive showing in 2007 didn't rest well with some rivals who suggested the handicap ratings were skewed.

O'Brien, who has sailed on Grand Illusion since 1991, said, 'There was some grumbling over our handicaps basically because we were winning so much. But, as it turned out, we've had the boat re-measured for the ORR handicap system and it came out slightly better than what it used to be.'

The ratings vary even among SC 70s.

'Some of them have longer spinnaker poles than we do by three or four feet' O'Brien said, 'and that can make quite a difference in the rating.'

Hoag Hospital Foundation is the event's overall manager and also its beneficiary. Newport Harbor Yacht Club (NHYC) and Balboa Yacht Club (BYC) are combining resources to manage the races and on-the-water activities. Proceeds from the three- day event will benefit Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute and will be added to the more than $700,000 raised during the Regattas in 2005 and 2007. The $400,000 generated in 2007 is believed to be the largest amount ever raised by a single charitable sailing event.

About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is a 498-bed, not-for-profit, acute care hospital located in Newport Beach, Calif. Fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and designated as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Hoag offers a comprehensive mix of health care services, including Centers of Excellence in cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics and women’s health. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for the past 13 consecutive years. And for an unprecedented 13 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey. http://www.hoaghospitalfoundation.org/

http://www.hoagcupregatta.com