Fast Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race
by J/Boats 3 Aug 2018 22:10 AEST
Fast Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race © Event Media
The prognosis for this year's Santa Barbara to King Harbor race, hosted by Santa Barbara YC and King Harbor YC, was full of gloom and doom.
NOAA's weather forecasts were for no wind all day, holes everywhere, but maybe filling in from the south late in the day. However, as usual, the NOAA models were somehow 100% wrong, again.
The race became a near textbook scenario, a slow build in the morning for sure, but by the time the big boats were rounding Anacapa Island 32nm downstream, the winds were in the northwest 17-19 kts range and by the time the fleet leaders made it across the 10nm dash to Point Dume on the Malibu shoreline, gusts were over 20 kts. Most fleet leaders then gybed onto starboard tack and headed straight for King Harbor, playing the windshifts towards the end of 45nm section.
For the fastest J's on the track, the twin J/125s in ULDB C Division, it was a duel to the finish. Dr Laura Schlessinger's Warrior led at the first turning mark- Anacapa Island- turned left and raced to Point Dume planing most of the way. Then, gybed onto starboard off that point and led into the late evening hours going into King Harbor.
However, after a few gybes, the wind getting lighter, Viggo Torbensen's well-oiled offshore machine, Timeshaver, executed a few slick moves, faster sail changes, and rolled over Dr Laura's Warrior right near the end. Warrior had changed to a Code Zero in the lighter going, but could not change back to the A2 asym fast enough. As a result, Timeshaver crossed the line just 2min 12sec ahead of Warrior, taking second and third in class, respectively. On a PHRF Overall basis, it was so close that Timeshaver took second Overall while Warrior was fifth Overall.
In the ULDB D Class, Bernie Girod's J/111 Rock & Roll was second (slipping into fourth overall between the J/125s), Kenny Kieding and John Vincent's J/111 Argo 3 was third (14th overall), Seth Hall's J/124 Marisol was fourth, and Doug and Jack Jorgensen's J/111 Picosa was fifth.
The ULDB E Class saw Dan Murphy's J/105 Cuchulainn take fifth place, while Doug Stelck's J/100 JIB and Tonic was seventh.
PHRF A Class had Scott Torrance's J/124 Forgiveness hold on to fifth and Tom and Terri Manok's Pole Dancer was sixth. PHRF B Class saw Jack Mayer's J/109 Zephyr take fifth in class. Finally, in PHRF C Class, Fred and Suzanne Cottrell's J/33 Tigger take second, Chuck Spear's J/105 Twelve Bar Blues was fifth place, and Tom Hinkle's J/40 White Light was sixth.
More Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information