Campbell Cup - New regatta added to big boat race schedule

by Rich Roberts on 12 Sep 2009
A new regatta has been added to the 2009 big boat race schedule, the Campbell Cup, Oct. 24-25, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club and sponsored by North Sails.

Named in honor of sailboat racing enthusiast Mike Campbell, who passed away mid-October last year, the inaugural event is open to the West Coast 70 and Farr 40 classes.

Entries are by invitation only and are restricted to boats that meet the eligibility requirements of the West Coast 70 Association and Farr 40s that meet their local fleet requirements. All entries should be received at LBYC by 1200hrs, Oct. 23, 2009. The Notice of Race and entry form are available at www.lbyc.org .

LBYC Vice Commodore John Busch is enthusiastic about the event and will be pulling double duty on race weekend as the regatta’s principal race officer.

'We’re very pleased to represent this big boat event in Mike’s name,' Busch said. 'He was a long-time 70s racer and huge supporter of the sport. He started the first big boat buoy race we had back in 2006 and it is a privilege to host this event together with the sponsorship of North Sails.'

Tom Leweck, founder of the email and online sailing publication Scuttlebutt, assisted in getting the word out to the West Coast 70 members.

'I’m sure Leo Durocher never met Mike Campbell,' Leweck said. 'If he had, it’s hard for me to believe he ever would have uttered that famous quote, 'Nice guys finish last.' Mike Campbell was definitely a ‘nice guy,’ and Mike was a winner. In every sense of the word. And for a quarter of a century, Mike was one of Southern California’s most traveled, most visible and certainly one of the area’s most successful racing skippers. But more importunately, Mike was a true gentleman who really cared about people and worked tirelessly to promote our sport.

Entries are already coming in and more West Coast 70s are expected to enter before the deadline, including Peter Tong’s Santa Cruz 70, OEX; Tom Corkett’s SC 70 Mirage; Roy E. Disney’s SC 70, Pyewacket III; Ed McDowell’s SC 70, Grand Illusion; Brack Duker’s SC 70, Holua; Chris Welsh’s Spencer 65, Ragtime; Yabsley/Compton/Parker's Reichel/Pugh 68, Taxi Dancer; Tim and Tom Hogan’s SC 70, Westerly; Al Schultz and Vicki Lawrence’s Andrews 70, Vicki; Per Peterson’s Andrews 70, Alchemy and Chris Slagerman’s Peterson 68, Cheetah.

Patrick O’Brien, skipper/tactician of Grand Illusion likes it anytime the sleds get together, but this event has special meaning.

'It’s a great idea to have a regatta in Mike’s honor,' O’Brien said, 'especially since he had been racing 70s for at least 20 years.

'Ed [McDowell, owner] won’t be able to be here for the regatta, but he thinks this is a great race and doesn’t want the boat to miss it… so we’re going to be there.'

Farr 40s expected include Ray Godwin’s Temptress, David Voss’ Piranha, Frederic Scheer’s Far Niente, Dirk Freeland’s Skian Dhu, Wes Huston’s Wooly Bully, Zoltan Katinszky’s White Knight, Steve Murphy’s Jo Ann, Jeff Janov’s Dark Star and Tosh Neminsky’s Ohana.

David Voss, Farr 40 class president for the West Coast fleet, has been working hard to get commitments from his fleet and had great news by mid-day Friday.

'The Farr 40s are honored to be asked to join in the first ever Campbell Cup,' Voss said. 'This also marks a great occasion for the Farr 40 fleet with our newest boat, Jo Ann, joining us for a One Design race for the very first time, bringing us to 10 boats on the starting line for the Campbell Cup.

'We hope this will become an annual event because this fills the void in the Southern California racing schedule where a significant event in the Fall has been something we have looked forward to for some time.'

Campbell was a huge supporter of big boat racing. He owned and raced a series of sleds including his most recent, the Tim Kernan-designed 70-foot Peligroso. In October 2006 he sponsored a 70s regatta at LBYC, bringing together seven West Coast boats; Holua, Grand Illusion, Vicki, Skylark, Alchemy, Westerly and---of course---Peligroso.

The regatta was not run in 2007 or 2008 because of a conflict with the Long Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race. It resumes as an appropriate tribute of the Fall regatta that Campbell started in 2006.

Notice of Race, Race Entry Form and race information is available online at www.lbyc.org