Rolex Big Boat series - More Fog brings more challenges

by Barby MacGowan on 18 Sep 2010 Rolex Big Boat series 2010 - Fog prevailed for a second day at St. Francis Yacht Club’s 46th annual Rolex Big Boat Series, but its ramifications weren’t as significant as they were yesterday when some results were upended after protests.

Now each class—four for IRC and five for One Designs (Melges 32s, J/105, J/120, Express 37 and One Design 35)—has completed four out of seven races planned before the event’s conclusion on Sunday, when leaders among 98 teams will have established bragging rights for this time-honored, tightly contested regatta.

In IRC Class A, Jim Mitchell’s (Zurich, Switzerland) RP 52 Vincitore still leads after posting a 3-2 today, but it was Jorge Ripstein’s (Naucalpan, MEX) RP 52 Patches that turned in a stellar two-victory performance after being disqualified in yesterday’s race two for going through an obstructed area of the course. 'Because it’s a brand new boat, we had no instruments working, and we didn’t realize there was a navigational mark we had to honor,' said Patches’s tactician Peter Holmberg (St. Thomas, USVI). 'Today we went and bought a handheld GPS, so it’s amazing we are getting around the track as well as we are. It wasn’t pea soup today, but it was still difficult.'

Holmberg described the team’s 15-second victory in race one today as classic 'come-from-behind.' In fourth on the final leg of a 16-mile race, Patches went north around Alcatraz Island, figuring there was nothing to lose while teams ahead of it went South. Turned out there was everything to gain with better current and wind. 'That’s the really great thing about San Francisco Bay,' said Holmberg. 'There are big gains and losses to be made. It was one of those last-ditch efforts that paid off beautifully.'

Victory in the second race was less luck, more skill, with Patches jumping out in front off the line and then, two or three plays later, extending. 'The boats following us had to take what was left,' said Holmberg, 'and overall we narrowed a six-point gap on first place (yesterday) to three.'

As for Vincitore, Jim Mitchell sees that three-point gap as game advantage. 'Last year we beat Patches by one point (to win the 2009 Rolex US-IRC National Championship held in conjunction with the Rolex Big Boat Series).' This will be Mitchell’s last regatta with Vincitore, which he is selling to a Mexican owner at the conclusion of this event. 'It’s kind of like sending your kid off to college,' said Mitchell, explaining that he built the boat three years ago so he could race the Mackinac with his 78-year-old father, and since, typically sails with as many as three generations of family members aboard.'

But not to worry: Mitchell will be back for next year’s Rolex Big Boat Series with a new boat, if his current building program goes as planned.

In One Design 35 class, Jonathan Hunt’s (Oakland, Calif.) Dark and Stormy also won both of today’s races to lead by five points over Masakazu Toyama (Japan) Ebb Tide. 'Life can be beautiful,' said Hunt. 'We were looking to do well, but this is my first time driving (rather than crewing) in the Rolex Big Boat series, so I’m really pleased.' Having owned Dark and Stormy just about a year and a half, Hunt explained that he finally had acquired enough experience to steer. 'It’s not a large class, but there are a lot of very experienced owners. We won each of today’s races (and race one yesterday) by a couple of minutes, which is substantial in a one-design class.'

The Melges 32 fleet, in which Pieter Taselaar’s (Scarsdale, N.Y.) Bliksem retains its lead, enjoyed a brisk 12-14 knots, with Bob Hughes (Ada, Mich.) and his Heartbreaker program making an aggressive effort to win race one, which also happened to be his first victory ever in the Melges 32 class. 'When you win a race in this fleet, you’ve sailed a really, really good race.' said Hughes, who is in 13th overall. 'What I really enjoyed most was slugging it out with John Porter (Winnetka, Ill.) to the finish like we did back in our Melges 24 days.'

Porter’s Full Throttle went on to win the final race of the day, placing him fifth overall. 'I feel a lot better today than I did yesterday,' said a smiling Porter after submitting a 2-1 scorecard for the day. 'Everyone was far more focused today on their jobs. At the last mark, I was so excited to be rounding in the top five. Yesterday we finished eighth and my guys said to me, ‘we’re ahead of a lot of really good boats.’ That’s the level of competition we are up against here.'

Other leaders from yesterday still leading today are: Donald Payan’s (Hillsborough, Calif.) Dayenu in J 120s; Kame Richards’s (Alameda, Calif.) Golden Moon in Express 37s; Bruce Stone’s Arbitrage (San Francisco) in J 105s; Dale Williams’s Wasabi (San Francisco) in IRC C; and Frank Morrow’s (San Francisco) Hawkeye in IRC D. In IRC B, Daniel Woolery’s (Alamo, Calif.) Soozal overtook Sy Kleinman’s Swiftsure II (Saratoga, Calif.).

Rolex Big Boat Series 2010
Day 2 (after four races)

Melges 32 (One Design - 27 Boats)
1. Bliksem, Melges 32, Pieter Taselaar, Scarsdale, NY, USA - 2, 1, 8, 2, ; 13
2. B-lin sailing, Melges 32, Luca Lalli, Milano, ITA - 5, 3, 4, 3, ; 15
3. Red, Melges 32, Joe Woods, Torquay, Devon, UK - 1, 12, 6, 5, ; 24

J 120 (One Design - 8 Boats)
1. Dayenu, J 120, Donald Payan, Hillsborough, CA, USA - 3, 1, 5, 1, ; 10
2. Desdemona, J 120, John S. Wimer, Half Moon Bay, CA, USA - 1, 5, 2, 4, ; 12
3. Mr. Magoo, J 120, Stephen Madeira, Menlo Park, CA, USA - 7, 2, 1, 3, ; 13

Express 37 (One Design - 8 Boats)
1. Golden Moon, Express 37, Kame Richards / Bill Bridge, Alameda, CA, USA - 2, 1, 1, 2, ; 6
2. Eclipse, Express 37, Mark Dowdy, San Francisco, CA, USA - 1, 4, 3, 3, ; 11
3. Elan, Express 37 Bill Riess, Oakland, CA, USA - 4, 2, 6, 1, ; 13

J 105 (One Design - 24 Boats)
1. Arbitrage, J 105, Bruce J. Stone, San Francisco, CA, USA - 1, 4, 2, 3, ; 10
2. Mojo, J 105, Jeff Littfin / John Case, San Mateo, CA, USA - 4, 2, 7, 4, ; 17
3. Racer X, J 105, Phillip Laby / Richard Pipkin, Alameda, CA, USA - 8, 6, 3, 2, ; 19

IRC A (IRC - 5 Boats)
1. Vincitore, RP 52, James Mitchell, Zurich, Switzerland - 1, 1, 3, 2, ; 7
2. Patches, TP 52, Jorge Ripstein, Naucalpan, MEX - 2, 6/DSQ, 1, 1, ; 10
3. Flash, TP 52, Mick Shelns / Mark Jones, Diablo, CA, USA - 3, 2, 2, 5/SCP, ; 12

IRC B (IRC - 7 Boats)
1. Soozal, King 40, Daniel Woolery, Alamo, CA, USA - 4, 1, 2, 2, ; 9
2. Flyer, Reichel-Pugh 47, Rob Sjostedt, Foothill Ranch, CA, USA - 2, 4, 1, 3, ; 10
3. Swiftsure II, Schumacher custom 54, Sy Kleinman, Saratoga, CA, USA - 1, 3, 4, 7, ; 15

IRC C (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Wasabi, Kernan 44, Dale Williams, San Francisco, CA, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 4
2. August Ice, J 125, Richard Ferris, Tahoe City, CA, USA - 2, 3, 3, 2, ; 10
3. Double Trouble, J 125, Andy Costello / Peter Kreuger, Pt. Richmond, CA, USA - 3, 2, 2, 3, ; 10
IRC D (IRC - 7 Boats)
1. Hawkeye, IMX-38, Frank Morrow, San Francisco, CA, USA - 3, 1, 2, 6, ; 12
2. Tupelo Honey, Elan 40, Gerard Sheridan, San Francisco, CA, USA - 1, 4, 3, 4, ; 12
3. Inspired Environments, Beneteau, Farr, First 40.7, Timothy Ballard, San Rafael, CA, USA - 2, 3, 5, 2, ; 12

One Design 35 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Dark and Stormy, 1D35, Jonathan Hunt, oakland, CA, USA - 1, 2, 1, 1, ; 5
2. Ebb Tide, 1D35, Masakazu Toyama, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, JPN - 2, 1, 5, 4, ; 12
3. Alpha Puppy, 1D35, Alex Farell, Mountain View, CA, USA - 3, 4, 2, 6, ; 15