J/111 eclipses tough class at San Diego Yachting Cup

San Diego Yachting Cup © SDYC/ Mark Albertazzi

Pair a little bit of experience with a well-adjusted crew and you'll be bound for success at this year's Yachting Cup. After the first day of racing, it's clear that most of these teams made their way to their course intent on defending their title - and the ones that didn't came ready to play.

On board John Laun's CAPER was tactician Alli Bell - a sailor familiar to the boat and the crew that Laun normally sails with. The team was sitting in second place in the PHRF-B class. According to Bell, a huge part of success is sailing with a familiar face and knowing how your crew works together.

Bell said, "To know that everybody knows what their jobs are and that they have been in the position before, I can look at somebody on the boat and know what they're thinking and how they're going to approach the maneuver. From there, I can adjust what I'm going to do. When I call tactics, I can see a situation setting up on the water and I know how John and the rest of the crew are going to handle it. I have faith in how it's going to work out."

Yachting Cup racing was blessed with champagne San Diego sailing conditions on the first day, presenting an average of 13 knots steadily through the day. Visitors from neighboring cities got lucky with blue skies and sunshine. Seven classes sailed on two ocean courses just south of Point Loma, with a special Classics/Navigator course that started in the "near ocean course" and concluded with a Bay tour on the city front.

In high Cinco de Mayo spirits, the J/111 REVO, driven by Yumio Dornberg, finished first in their class with three 1sts and three 2nds. The PHRF-B class was easily the most crowded of the eight classes at the regatta.

Commenting on their win, Dornberg said, "It's the team. Bruce and Chuck are doing an amazing job at getting us around the course and hitting the shifts. We're kind of inexperienced on this boat. Everyone else is stepping in and switching positions a lot to get things done."

J/105 Class

Unsurprisingly, the San Diego J/105 fleet always has spirited, tough competition. The top of the leaderboard was fought hard by two class veterans, Chuck Driscoll's bright, agent-orange-colored JUICED and Stew Cannon's J-OK. Starting with two bullets on the first day, the JUICED team was "in it to win it", come hell or high water! Closing with two bullets after a slow start was Cannon's J-OK. However, that was not enough to close the gap as the orange-JUICED team won with 11 pts total. Second went to Cannon's crew on J-OK with 14 pts. Rounding out the podium was John & Elena Bennett's BOSS LADY with 20 pts.

In the PHRF C Division, Scott Bennet's J/92 FANDANGO took second, while Wayne Zittel's J/105 SCARAMOUCHE sailed to a remarkably consistent third place, with six straight 3rds on the scorecard!

After the races, competitors, and guests were invited to the Awards Ceremony on the Sail Wash Lawn to claim prizes provided by SD Boatworks, Mount Gay, and Helly Hansen.

Regatta Chair Traci Miller was thrilled about this weekend's success on and off the water. "The smiles on everyone's faces said it all. We had sunshine and breeze both days, tight racing on the courses, and great music and food on land. All of these together made this year's Yachting Cup my favorite one to date. Thank you to all of the competitors who came out to sail and allow for an exciting event," said Miller.

More San Diego Yachting Cup sailing information here.