Ullman Long Beach Race Week - Overall
by Long Beach Race Week 26 Jun 2023 23:34 AEST
June 23-25, 2023
The 18th edition of Long Beach Race Week concluded on Sunday with a full complement of races sailed in ten divisions, including seven one design classes and three PHRF fleets.
Throughout the three solid days of racing, conditions ranged from big breeze starting off strong on day one with breeze in the high teens, to light conditions on the final day. Racing took place under sunny blue skies and warm weather which made the fun factor just all the more fun.
"Sunday was a great conclusion to a great regatta with some 80 boats racing including a class new to us - Melges 15 - which we were thrilled to welcome," noted LBYC Staff Commodore John Busch. "It has been a fantastic gathering of old friends and new, of racing and parties. Perfect conditions have made it all the more enjoyable. We are very proud of our unique location which offers such easy access for all boats to world-class racecourses, and our collaboration with Alamitos Bay Yacht Club is a win-win for all."
Podium finishers were many, including Blade II, the Farr 40 helmed by Nick Mercier (KPYC) which won class with five bullets/six points. Boat manager Alan McGlashan commented, "I've probably done fifteen LBRW events and many on this boat. It's been great and this weekend was one of the best LBRW events, beautiful wind conditions, we got all the races in with no problem, it wasn't overly shifty, or foggy, this was one of the better ones I've done for sure. We really tried to get clean starts and we were fast so once we got our nose out ahead, we could just keep sailing clean and stay in similar water to the competition. It makes it easy for the tactician if we sail fast, right?!"
The closest racing across all divisions was in the Catalina 37 class, which was won by Shore Team Racing (LBYC / RYC) who finished with 19 points. Team Kowabunga (HYC / LSFYC) tied with Mike Hanna (SMWYC) and her team, each with 21 points.
Dominic Marchal, who reunited a crew of old sailing friends - Shore Team Racing - to sail together for the first time in 28 years, said, "Today was perfect Long Beach conditions, a little light early but the breeze came in. We had a two-point lead going into the day, we finished last in race six out of five boats and we were a little concerned. But we did the math as best we could and realized that there were four boats with a chance to win it going into the last race. Whoever won out of those four boats was going to win. It turned out that our second place in race seven was good enough for us and it was just a blast. We got the gang back together using sailing as an excuse - I thought, best case we'll get on the podium, the fact that we won is just great!"
Carlos Robles, main trimmer and tactician on the J/70 Nimbus (SDYC) who took first in class, commented, "We had a great regatta overall, today we had to cover our main competition Minor Threat, and although we didn't have great starts, we managed to claw back and stay between them and finish which was the main goal. We took a third and fourth which sealed it for us. Conditions were great again, it was sunny classic Long Beach with the thermal building at the end of the day, you can't ask for much more. We've had a great time and this place is awesome for sure."
Fuzzy Logic (LBYC), the J/109 racing in PHRF B and helmed by Jeff Shew took first in class with 12 points, a tidy five-point lead over second place Sun Puffin, the J/105 skippered by George Scheel. "It was an awesome regatta, especially on Friday when the J/105s were doing great," Shew commented. "We were trying to figure out how to beat them. We adjusted our maneuvers and sail-handling, Bruce Cooper from Ullman Sails did a great job - he was masterful at calling tactics for us on Saturday, and today we went out and finished the job. Conditions were awesome, the parties at LBYC and ABYC were great. It was fitting that Bruce who is the title sponsor sailed with us and we pulled off this win!"
Rode Rage, the Beneteau 36.7 helmed by Peter Cochrane (SLBYC) finished first in class with five bullets over five races. Code Blue, the Schock 35 helmed by Rob Marcus (ABYC) lead in class to win with twelve points. The Melges 15 class raced LBRW for the first time and were the ultimate crowd pleasers as they hurtled downwind at max speed with Brad Thompson (ABYC) on "He's Gone," his new Melges 15, taking six bullets and a second place to win in class.
The Viper 640 helmed by Ed Feo (ABYC) won in class with sixteen points. Racing in PHRF A, Jim Bailey (NHYC) on his OD35 Destroyer won in class for the second consecutive year, although only just beating out Doug Jorgensen (LAYC) on the J/111 Picosa by one point. Racing the Random Leg course in PHRF RL, the J/125 Javelin helmed by Dan Murphy (CYC) took first in class.
Special trophies were awarded in the following categories:
Boat of the Day:
Friday: J/111 Picosa
Saturday: Melges 15 / He's Gone
Boat of the Week
One Design: Catalina 37 / Shore Team Racing
PHRF: Destroyer, Jim Bailey
Yacht Club Challenge:
Team Cal Yacht Club (J70/Minor Threat, Melges 15 / Allie Blecher, PHRF A / Obsidian
Golison & Kent Family Trophy:
Minor Threat, Jeff Janov
Furthest Traveled:
J/70 Nimbus, Eduardo Saenz (Mexico)
Schock 35 Pacific Coast Championship:
Code Blue, Rob Marcus (ABYC)
Catalina 37 National Championship:
Shore Team Racing (Will Benedict RYC / Dominic Marchal ABYC)
Viper 640 Pacific Coast Championship:
Ed Feo (ABYC)
J/70 Corinthian Class:
DJ, Ryan Cox (VYC/ABYC)
Campbell Cup:
Destroyer, Jim Bailey (NHYC)
The event is grateful to the generosity and support of its 2023 sponsors including lead sponsor Ullman Sails, who has been at the fore of the event for more than thirty years, Evans, Clarke Marine Insurance, Cabrillo Boat Shop, The Oriana Shea Group, Tom Walker Photography, Pirates Lair, Durant Design and Construction, and Mount Gay Rum.
Bruce Cooper, owner Ullman Sails Newport Beach and lead sponsor, commented, "Today's racing was right on par with what LBRW offers, lots of changeups on the beats and all the classes had lead changes, super racing. The order of the finish wasn't always the order of the first mark order - it was really good racing. It was a great regatta for Ullman Sails with several boats doing well with Ullman Sails resulting in top place finishes so we were represented very well. We'll be back again next year!"
See you all back for Long Beach Race Week 2024!