Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

Los Angeles Harbor Cup - California Maritime Academy Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta - Day 1

by Betsy Crowfoot 11 Mar 2022 21:15 PST March 11-13, 2022

Bright California sunshine and an eight-knot breeze greeted the 90 co-eds racing in the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup - California Maritime Academy Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta today. Defending champion Cal Maritime finished strong with three bullets in four races, but faced tough competition as their rivals dusted off the cobwebs and ascended into top form.

The POLA Harbor Cup is one of the leading intercollegiate sailing invitationals in the nation. Founded in 2008 and hosted by Los Angeles Yacht Club, it features three exciting days of one-design windward-leeward racing about an equalized fleet of Catalina 37 keelboats. In 2021 the event took a pause due to pandemic restrictions but returned today with an enthusiastic field of college co-eds. Racing continues Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13, on the waters off Los Angeles Harbor.

The ten teams of sailors from across the nation kicked off the event with a morning of practice in a building breeze, looking smart and confident in their maneuvers. East Coast crew were decked in shorts and t-shirts, as if to mock the snow-capped mountains in the distance, as the competitors pulled off three lively practice starts. And then at 1:30pm, it was the real deal! Racing began with the fleet all clear at the start of the first of Friday's four races. Defending champion Cal Maritime led at the top mark and extended their lead over the fleet as they lapped the twice-around course to capture the first bullet of the event. University of Hawaii finished second; Univ. of California Santa Barbara, third.

The wind continued to clock and build as Race Two started. Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers overtook the Hawaii Rainbows at the finish to take first, with Hawaii second, and the US Coast Guard Bears third.

The fleet was more consolidated as Race Three began, in a crisp breeze of 15 knots. The Catalinas charged up the choppy course, led once again by the Keelhaulers and followed by US Naval Academy. After a dusty start the Midshipmen were returning to prior form: they had won this event in 2018 and in 13 years of racing often finished in the top three. They clinched second place in Race Three with College of Charleston - another past champion (2019, 2016) - close astern.

The Keelhaulers solidified their day with a final bullet in Race Four as Navy repeated their second-place finish. Univ. of Rhode Island Rams logged their best result of the day, finishing third in that fourth and final race.

"This is our first time being here and we're super-psyched," said Rams team member Ava Wilson. "Everybody's new to these boats and we're a new team as well. We've done as much as possible to prepare, and it is definitely interesting to be out there - especially competing with the other New England schools we commonly race against."

Wilson explained that although the Univ. of RI doesn't own a big boat, the school does have an offshore team. "At home we race FJs and 420s - it was snowing when we practiced earlier this week!" she added. "When we go to regattas we see everything from J22s to Navy 44s, but we haven't sailed the Catalina 37s. I think the real asset of our team is our combined experience. Everybody on this boat has an incredible resume, and I think all that talent coming together in one boat will really be great and we'll get some good results."

In addition to Rhode Island, the Univ. of Maryland Terps made their POLA Harbor Cup debut - encouraged by their performance in the Fall regattas.

"We got a taste of keelboat racing at the Navy McMillan and Shields events," explained Michael Bisson, Terps team captain, referring to the two big boat regattas the US Naval Academy hosts each fall, on a fleet of 44-foot sloops. Rhode Island finished second in the Shields Trophy regatta in September, to Navy's first; and repeated that performance in October's McMillan Cup regatta.

"When we started there, most of our team hadn't raced together on that kind of boat before," Bisson continued. "But we came a long way, and decided we'd like to do it again, do it better, and come to Los Angeles! Our strategy is to start out pretty conservative and get a feel for the boat. Then as it gets going, we can really start nailing the maneuvers."

Racing will continue Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13, beginning at 11:30 each day outside Angels' Gate.

Point Fermin Park on Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro provides an excellent viewing location.

Results after Day 1: (four races)

1 CAL MARITIME 8pts
2 US NAVAL ACADEMY 16pts
3 UNIV. OF HAWAII 17pts
4 UC SANTA BARBARA 18pts
5 UNIV. OF RHODE ISLAND 19pts
6 MASS. MARITIME 23pts
7 US COAST GUARD 23pts
8 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 27pts
9 CAL POLY SLO 29pts
10 UNIV. OF MARYLAND 41pts

Related Articles

J/111 North American Championship
Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key continues winning ways Point Fermin is located just outside Los Angeles Harbor near San Pedro. Since 1905 it has been the location for the Transpac Race start. Posted on 11 Jun
Maine Maritime captures POLA Harbor Cup title
USC & Navy take second and third at LAYC event Not since the introduction of the POLA Harbor Cup has Maine Maritime claimed victory. Posted on 11 Mar
Shakedown on day two at POLA Harbor Cup
USC, Navy and Maine Maritime top leaderboard after eight races With one day of racing under their belts the fleet of the 2024 Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup regatta proved they were all up to speed: today the battle was on! Posted on 10 Mar
Brisk start for Port of LA Harbor Cup
Prestigious intercollegiate regatta brings top co-ed sailors to LA Idyllic conditions greeted the fleet of the 16th annual Harbor Cup Regatta, organized each year by the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Yacht Club and California State University Maritime Academy. Posted on 9 Mar
Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup lineup announced
New and returning teams to include defending champs Univ. of Hawaii and UCSD "Los Angeles Yacht Club is pleased to host the 16th running of The Port of Los Angeles/Cal Maritime Harbor Cup Regatta," announced Tom Trujillo, Harbor Cup Race Chairman and Principal Race Officer. Posted on 23 Feb
Aussies star of the show at LA SailGP
The Australians delivered a blockbuster worthy performance at the opening of season The Australians delivered a blockbuster worthy performance at the opening of the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, securing their seat at the top of the leaderboard. Posted on 23 Jul 2023
Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Regatta overall
Univ. of Hawaii triumph In the final day of racing at the 15th Annual Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Regatta, Univ. of Hawaii unseated defending champion California Maritime Academy and captured victory. Univ. of Rhode Island finished second, with Maine Maritime Academy third. Posted on 15 Mar 2023
Sally Lindsay Honey's bright view of the dark side
Featured speaker at the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup It's not usually big news when someone sells a boat, but then, most boats aren't Illusion, the Cal 40 owned and sailed hard for 34 years by two-time US Yachtswoman of the Year Sally Honey and her (sorry, Stan) one-time Yachtsman of the Year husband. Posted on 13 Mar 2023
Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Regatta Day 2
Racers mix it up after postponement, protests Day Two of the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup saw the leaderboard shuffle after a delayed start: with light air and poor visibility forcing a lengthy postponement. Posted on 12 Mar 2023
Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup preview
Prestigious intercollegiate sailing event is hosted by Los Angeles Yacht Club The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup - one of the preeminent intercollegiate sailing events in the nation - will return to Los Angeles waters March 10, 11 and 12, 2023. Posted on 27 Jan 2023
North Sails Performance 2023 - FOOTERMaritimo 2023 M600 FOOTERSavvy Navvy 2024