Hjorth Deals Four Of A Kind --- All Aces

Photos and Story By Rich Roberts

As Published In the Long Beach Press-Telegram

Liz Hjorth and California YC team, winners of all four races Saturday, prepare to hoist spinnaker at windward mark.

LONG BEACH, Calif.---Returning to the dock at the Long Beach Yacht Club Saturday, Liz Hjorth recalled that when she won the Women's One-Design Challenge in 1997 she was headlined as an "unknown."

This time she isn't sneaking up on anyone. Hjorth (pronounced yorth) and her California Yacht Club team from Marina del Rey won all four races on the first day of competition in the Long Beach outer harbor behind the breakwater. Was she surprised?

"Yes and no," Hjorth said. "We've had some practice and the crew work was good. Some of us sailed in the first Women's One-Design 10 years ago."

Bow-women point the way for their skippers at start in the Women's One-Design Challenge.

The last three races were scheduled Sundaystarting at noon, conditions permitting. Eight all-woman teams are sailing Catalina 37s, 10 to 12 to a boat. Winds Saturday were 5 knots building to 14 through the afternoon.

The only rival consistently close to Hjorth was the veteran Colleen Cooke from San Diego's Southwestern Yacht Club. They were 1-2 in every race, which left Cooke in contention for the title with eight points to the leader's four. Next at 16 is Carla Thorson of the Women's Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay.

Colleen Cooke and her Southwestern YC crew, second in all four races Saturday, charge around windward mark in pursuit of Liz Hjorth.

"There's a little room [behind], so maybe we'll play Sunday," Cooke said, a wicked gleam in her eye.

There was some match racing between Hjorth and Cooke as the scenario became apparent Saturday, but Hjorth was always able to gain control.

"Our plan was to start conservatively---but not so conservative as on the first start," Hjorth said, laughing.

On that occasion, she seemed to be out of contention at the gun, lagging several boat lengths behind in the disturbed air of the fleet before tacking to the right side of the course as everyone else continued left. By the first mark she was in third place and went on to win the two-lap race by a bit more than a boat length.

The odd thing was, she said, that "we wanted to be on the right side," which is normally favored at Long Beach.

Laura de Legorreta of Mexico's Puerto Vallarta YC drives a Catalina 37 off windward mark ahead of Lisa Marie Kackowski.

Hjorth's tactician, Kathy Patterson, said, "We played that card all day. We wondered why other people weren't doing the same thing."

Valerie Navarro, the '98 champion, was in third place with three fourth-place finishes until Race 4 when she committed two fouls that forced her to do penalty turns, dropping her back to seventh.

Standings (after 4 of 7 races):

1. Liz Hjorth, California YC, 1-1-1-1, 4 points.
2. Colleen Cooke, Southwestern YC, San Diego, 2-2-2-2, 8.
3. Carla Thorson, Women's Sailing Assn., Santa Monica Bay, 5-3-5-3, 16.
4. Laura Legorreta, Puerto Vallarta YC, 6-5-3-4, 18.
5. Valerie Navarro, Long Beach/Los Angeles Women's Sailing Assn., 4-4-4-7, 19.
6. Christine Robertson, Bahia Corinthian YC, 3-7-7-5, 22.
7. Lisa Maria Kackowski, Women's Yacht Racing Fleet, 7-6-6-6, 25
8. Annie Taylor, Women's Ocean Racing Sailing Assn., 8-8-8-8, 32.