Memorial Day Regatta - Score one for the Long Beach Kiwi connection

by Rich Roberts on 31 May 2010 Memorial Day Regatta.

Ben Leibowitz may not have felt like he was sailing on sacred waters in Alamitos Bay Yacht Club’s annual Memorial Day Regatta Saturday and Sunday, but his coach liked the vibes.

Since enrolling at USC as a business student last year, the 19-year-old Laser sailor from Stamford, Conn., has been living in Long Beach and training under Robb Coutts, a new ABYC member and transplant from New Zealand whose younger brother Russell has been part of winning four America's Cups.

But before that, Russell Coutts earned world acclaim when Long Beach hosted the sailing in the 1984 Olympics. He won the gold medal in the Finn class.

'We've been training here since September,' Robb Coutts said. 'Ben goes to class, then races down here and we're on the water the rest of the day. This place has the best and most consistent breeze you'll find anywhere.'

Wait'll the Kiwis hear that in Auckland.

Competing in the largest ocean class of 13 boats, Leibowitz won four of the seven races over two days to finish a comfortable eight points ahead of Brian Cottrell of nearby Redondo Beach.

The second largest ocean class of 11 Finns was won by ABYC's own Chris Raab, a veteran with no Kiwi connections but considerable international sailing success of his own in boats of all sizes. Raab, sailing a borrowed boat, was three points ahead of local Andy Casey, who won the last race.

Altogether there were 119 boats in 17 classes, including flocks of Naples Sabots sharing the inside bay course with Lido 14s.

The Long Beach breeze that Robb Coutts raves about was OK Saturday when a southwester built briskly into the teens, but it fell short Sunday. After starting at 6 knots from the southeast, it never really clocked west or got any better.

That was fine for Raab, whose worst finish---a discarded ninth Saturday---came with the wind at its height.

'I was tired,' Raab said. 'Four races is a long day. I was definitely thankful to have my conditions [Sunday]. I was also lucky to have Henry Sprague loan me his boat.'

Sprague, a local Finn veteran, injured a hand a week earlier in a San Diego regatta and was unable to race.

Leibowitz's day wasn't over when he returned to shore. A collision with third-place Ryan Hoeven of King Harbor YC led to a protest that was resolved the easy way: by arbitration.

'Ben did his penalty turns,' Coutts said, 'but [Hoeven] didn't.'

But when the judges ashore reasoned with Hoeven that his chances of winning the protest were slim, he withdrew it without a hearing that might have cost him third place.

Robb's kid brother Russell, the BMW Oracle Racing CEO, probably would have preferred that to two years in the New York Supreme Court with Alinghi.

Class leaders
(7 races; one discard)

FINN (11 boats)---Chris Raab, Alamitos Bay YC, 1-3-3-(9)-2-1-3, 13.

HOBIE 16 (9)---Jeffrey Newsome/Michelle Eatough, ABYC, (8)-1-1-1-2-3-2, 10.

LASER FULL (12)---Ben Leibowitz, ABYC, 1-5-1-1-1-(8)-4, 13.

LASER RADIAL (9)---Gregg Kent, Balboa YC, 1-(7)-2-2-2-4-3, 14.

FORMULA 18 (2)---Bill Westland/Alex Westland, ABYC, 2-2-1-1-1-1-(3/DNC), 8.

THISTLE (5)---Ron Smith/Jim Moyer/Jill Moritz, Fremont Sailing Club, 1-(2)-2-1-1-1-1, 7.

PORTSMOUTH (3)---Tim Carter/Grant Hill/Gerri Lampert, ABYC, (1)-1-1-1-1-1-1, 6.

505 (4)---Gary Lee/Dan Downing, Mission Bay YC, 2-1-1-4, 4.

LIDO 14-A (14)---Stu Robertson/Michael Anctil, ABYC/Mission Bay YC, 2-(5)-1-2-1-2-1, 9.

LIDO 14-B (4)---Kathryn Reed/Cindi Martinich/Holly Davis, Navy YC Long Beach, 1-1-1-(5/OCS)-1-2-2, 8.

SABOT SENIOR (6)---Freddie Stevens, ABYC, 1-1-1-(5)-1-2-1, 7.

SABOT-A (11)---Robert Rice, ABYC, 1-1-1-(12/DNC)-1-2-1, 7.

SABOT-B (6)---Johnny Blumberg, ABYC, 2-1-1-(3)-1-1-3, 9.

SABOT-C1 (8)---Ian Brill, Mission Bay YC, 1-2-1-1-(4)-1-2, 8.

SABOT-C2 (5)---Adam Elsharhawy, ABYC, 2-2-1-1-(4)-2-1, 7.

SABOT-C3 (12)---Trevor Petro, Long Beach YC, 2-1-2-(5)-1-1, 7.

Results: http://www.abyc.org/upload/memorialday1.htm
http://www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=386