19TH
NORTH SAILS RACE WEEK
Long Beach, CA/June 27-29, 2003
Presented by Golison & Golison
and Premiere Racing
www.Premiere-Racing.com
June 28, 2003 For Immediate Release
LIGHT
WINDS SHUFFLE SOME---BUT NOT ALL---OF THE FLEET
Saturday's weather: Temperature
79; wind 6-10 knots, S-SW.
Sunday's forecast: Temperature 74; wind 5-10 knots,
S-SW.
LONG
BEACH, Calif.---Wet and wild or light and shifty,
Dave Hammett is making the most of mixed conditions
at the 19th North Sails Race Week with four wins
in the first five races and Texas just over the
horizon.
Hammett,
sailing DNA for the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club,
leads the J/80 fleet by nine points and two races
remaining Sunday but insists he'll keep sailing
even if he clinches the title.
"I
want to sail every race," Hammett said. "I
won't go home early. We're training to go to the
[J/80] Worlds at Fort Worth in October."
Saturday
he handled light wind almost as well as the 18-knot
breeze on Friday, slipping to second place behind
Taylor and Crosby Grant's Seven in the last race
of the day. That was after the gloomy marine layer
that vanished Friday after plaguing Southern California
most of the month returned and then dissolved
in the early afternoon.
"The
last race I got passed," Hammett said, slightly
offended. "But they're good sailors and were
sailing very well."
Three
boats loved the zephyrs and surged into first
place by winning all three of their races Saturday:
Paul Kent's Farr 395, Chance, in PHRF 3; Bob Marcus'
Santana 30/30, Redline, in PHRF 5, and Fanger
and Mario Yovkov's Sensation in the 1D35s.
One
boat did drop out early. Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket,
after swapping wins with Jim Demetriades' blue
Transpac 52 for the second day, left after four
races because of a prior engagement: the Aloha
sendoff dinner for the Transpacific Yacht Race
Saturday night. Pyewacket will take on Philippe
Kahn's Pegasus 77 in a Transpac "match race"
starting next Sunday.
Kahn
also is here but sailing his Melges 24 on one
of the other three courses where he stands in
sixth place among 16 boats. Kahn did stay for
Saturday's third race before departing for the
party.
Yassou,
taking 51 seconds per mile from Pyewacket, has
corrected out by 15 and 22 seconds in its two
first places and should collect the title unimpeded
Sunday---unless Disney changes his mind and returns
Sunday.
The
Farr 40s have settled into a battle between John
Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti, with 13 points, and Peter
Stoneberg's Shadow with 16. Samba Pa Ti, with
Paul Cayard calling tactics, won Saturday's first
race despite being over the line early and returning
to restart.
There
are 130 boats competing in 12 classes, and two
of the leaders, it seems, have been competing
under assumed identities. Thomas Coates' J/105,
Masquerade, from St. Francis Yacht Club suffered
a hand injury recently and his boat is being sailed---and
sailed very well---by Chris Perkins. With four
firsts and a fifth, Masquerade has a 14-point
lead in the largest class of 25 boats, who are
contesting their Pacific Coast Championships.
Also,
Jed Olenick of the San Diego YC had to turn over
the helm of his J/120, Doctor No, to tactician
Joe Cramer, because of business conflicts. He'll
return Sunday to find himself in a two-boat battle
only one point ahead of John Laun's Cape. The
San Diego rival swept Saturday's three races with
Doctor No second each time.
North
Sails Race Week is co-managed by Golison and Golison
and Premiere Racing. Premiere Racing is the event
organizer for Key West 2004---the annual January
sailing pilgrimage for boats from across the U.S.
and around the world.
Long-time
sponsors North Sails and Team McLube are joined
by official timekeeper and new Day Sponsor Nautica
Watches. J/Boats, Raider RIBS inflatable tenders,
Albertson's, Kaenon Sunglasses and Sailing Pro
Shop are official supporters of North Sails Race
Week.
Event
headquarters remains at the SeaPort Marina Hotel,
also the site of related social activities. In
addition, NSRW has added Ayres Hotels, known for
their European boutique ambience, as the official
luxury hotel for the event.
Official
photographer: Sue Bodycomb / YachtShots.com
Class
leaders (after 2 of 7 races):
PHRF
1 (7 boats)---Yassou (Transpac 52), Jim Demetriades,
Los Angeles YC, 1-2-2-1-1, 7 points.
PHRF
2 (11)---Cita (Schock 40), Cita Lit/George Twist,
Newport Harbor YC, 3-4-1-2-2, 12.
PHRF
3 (8)---Chance (Farr 395), Paul Kent, San Francisco
YC, 2-2-1-1-1, 7.
PHRF
4 (11)---Intense (Olson 30), Allan Rosenberg,
Alamitos Bay YC, 1-1-4-4-4, 14.
PHRF
5 (9)--- Redline (Santana 30/30), Bob Marcus,
Alamitos Bay YC, 6-4-1-1-1, 13.
FARR
40 (9)---Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy, Los Angeles
YC, 3-3-1-2-4, 13.
1D35
(8)---Sensation, Fanger and Mario Yovkov, San
Francisco, 5-4-1-1-1, 12.
SCHOCK
35 (11)---Piranha, David Voss, Channel Islands
YC, 2-1-2-1-4, 10.
MELGES
24 (16)---USA 399, Dave Ullman, Balboa/ABYC YCs,
1-2-3-1-3, 10.
J/120
(6)---Doctor No, Jed Olenick, San Diego YC, 1-1-2-2-2,
8.
J/105
(26)---Masquerade, Chris Perkins, St. Francis
YC, 1-1-5-1-1, 9.
J/80
(7)---DNA, David Hammett, Bahia Corinthian YC,
1-1-1-1-2, 6.
Complete
results and photos at www.premiere-racing.com
CONTACTS
Golison
& Golison: (714) 379-4884 / fax (714) 379-3865
bruce@golison.com
Premiere
Racing: (781) 639-9545
NSRW@Premiere-Racing.com
PRESS
OFFICER
Rich Roberts
(310) 835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com
