Etchells Pacific Coast Championship 2022 at San Diego Yacht Club

Etchells Pacific Coast Championship 2022 © Mark Albertazzi

Etchells Pacific Coast Championship 2022 © Mark Albertazzi

The Etchells West Coast Spring Series kicked off this weekend with the Pacific Coast Championship, the first of four regattas in the Series. Tom Carruthers' Louise set the standard for the Series, finishing 1st with 20 points, 4 points over 2nd place Elizabeth, skippered by Chris Busch. In third, Jim Cunningham's Lifted finished with 27 points.

Typically sailed on the Pacific Ocean course, day one of the PCC's was relocated to South San Diego Bay, due to an elevated sea state. In South San Diego Bay, sailors raced in 20+ knots, unique conditions for San Diego. On day two, the final day of the regatta, the fleet was towed out to their originally assigned course in the Pacific. Today's ocean course saw more traditional San Diego weather with lighter winds and swells.

Jim Cunningham, 3rd: "This weekend was fantastic with a lot of good racing. We ended up having six races with very different conditions. We sailed inside on day one, with up to 20-21 knots, which is really different for San Diego."

Bill Hardesty, 1st Crew: "It came down to getting good starts. We've been focusing on starting on an open part of line and it's been paying off."

Tom Carruthers, 1st: "Last weekend in Miami, we turned a page in the program and in our performance, doing a great job picking shifts. On the very first leg today we missed the right shift and it started us off on the wrong foot. After that, we were consistent with our performance and Bill did a great job picking the shifts. If there was one critical moment, it was the last leg of the last race...we were able to get over to the left and pass everyone."

Carruthers and Hardesty came from sailing in Miami before the Series started, getting good practice for San Diego.

According to the Chair Chris Busch, the race really did come down to the last race.

Chris Busch, 3rd: "We're so fortunate to be out here once again sailing the Series. We had great conditions. It all came down to the last beat of the last race who was going to win. We had a couple point lead going into the last race but had a bad start. We got close, but it was really tight racing. Congratulations to Tom Carruthers for his victory and to Andy La Dow for winning top Corinthian."

The Etchells fleet will return for the second regatta in the series on March 26-27, 2022 for the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series, formally known as the NOOD regatta. The H/H Sailing World Regatta Series will double as the Bill Bennett Memorial Regatta and feature six intense races back in the Pacific Ocean.

Learn more about the H/H Sailing World Regatta Series here.

The Etchells West Coast Spring Series is proudly sponsored by North Sails. Skippers registered for all four Series regattas will receive a reusable water bottle. Look out for future emails featuring North Sails tuning tips and sail inventory recommendations.

Overall Results: