St.
Francis Yacht Club's Big Boat Series Presented
By Rolex - Wild
Day Throws New Boats into Lead - Day 2
San
Francisco, Calif., U.S.A. (September 17, 2004)
- Despite a mild start to the second day of the
Big Boat Series presented by Rolex, racing was
anything but ordinary. Somewhat typical September
weather of gentle breezes and fog greeted the
101 boats on San Francisco Bay at the late morning
start of the first race, but by afternoon's second
race, conditions had built to 20-plus knots, giving
many of the competitors in the 101-boat fleet
the ride of their lives.
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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"Today
was by far the most exciting inshore racing we've
ever done," said Ken Read (Newport, R.I.),
the four-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year who
is sailing as tactician aboard Makoto Uematsu's
Esmeralda. "The wind speed was 27 knots and
the boat was sailing 23 knots downwind. We were
totally in control, but it takes a team this good
to push the boat and it's a real credit to them
that we were going as fast as we were."
As
the owner, and driver, of this brand new, Farr-designed
boat, Uematsu-san (as he is called using the preferred
formal style of address in Japan) summed up the
feeling of surfing a 50-foot boat downwind. "The
fastest I have ever gone on a boat is 20 knots,"
he said with huge grin. "And that was driving
my powerboat." Esmeralda won both of today's
races and leads the nine-boat class, four points
ahead of Karl Kwok's Beau Geste (Hong Kong, China).
In
the nine-boat J/120 class, Mr. Magoo, owned by
Stephen Madeira (Menlo Park, Calif.) saw its lead
slip away in the first race when the main halyard
'stretched' and, in effect, decreased the boat's
speed. By the second race, Madeira, who draws
inspiration by the cartoon figure of an unkempt
man who succeeds despite all the hurdles in life,
remained positive in today's challenging conditions
of the second race. "Actually, the first
leg was nice, not outrageous," he said. "We
weren't fast downwind, but we managed to pound
back upwind every time." Mark Varnes' (San
Rafael, Calif.) Valkyrie is tied with Mark Bowman's
(Portola Valley, Calif.) Jolly Mon for second
place.
Standings
in IRC A class remained the same in the seven-boat
class. Nicholas Lykiardopulo's (Athens, Greece)
Kerr 55 AERA won both races. Robert Youngjohns's
(Woodside, Calif.) DK46 Zephyra is in second,
with John MacLaurin's (Los Angeles, Calif.) Pendragon
4 in third.
The
31-boat J/105 class reveled in the extreme conditions
with Tim Russells' s (Novato, Calif.) Aquavit
turning in solid third and second-place finishes
to remain in the lead. Close calls in the middle
of the pack, including some spectacular momentary
broaches due to equipment malfunctions and wind
gusts above 25 knots, delighted the onshore spectators.
Good Timin' owned by Chris, John and Phil Perkins
remain in second place overall, one point out
of the top spot.
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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Among
the other shake-ups in the fleet, the Farr 40
class leader is Fred & Steve Howe's (San Diego,
Calif.) Warpath, which scored a third and second-place
to overtake Slingshot, owned by Chuck Parish (Hillsborough,
Calif.), now in second, and Jim Richardson's (Boston,
Mass./Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad, which dropped
to third overall.
Mike
Garl (San Carlos, Calif.) continued to dominate
the Beneteau 40.7 clas with his White Dove, winning
both races and extending his overall points lead
on second-place White Fang, owned by Mark Howe
(Richmond, Calif.).
The
Express 37 class leader is Golden Moon, owned
by Kame Richards/Bill Bridge (Alameda, Calif.),
while in the Santa Cruz 52 class, Martin Brauns
(Los Altos Hills, Calif. )Winnetou is tied on
points with Tom Sanborn's (Oakland, Calif.) City
Lights.
John
Siegel (San Francisco) leads the 16-boat IRC B
class with his Wylie 42
Scorpio.
Two
races are planned for Saturday, with one final
race planned for Sunday. The Rolex Prizegiving
Ceremony will follow the conclusion of racing
where six historic Perpetual Trophies will be
awarded, in addition to a Rolex timepiece to each
trophy winner.
St.
Francis Yacht Club's Big Boat Series presented
by Rolex will be featured in the television program
"The Spirit of Yachting," to be broadcast
internationally beginning January of 2005. For
sailors worldwide, the Rolex "Spirit of Yachting"
films convey the exciting highlights of the racing
season. Each year, from a host of locales that
offer spectacular conditions and intense competition,
Rolex produces a series of 30-minute films capturing
the racing action.
The
Big Boat Series presented by Rolex joins other
prestigious Rolex-sponsored events in 2004 including
the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship,
Rolex Fastnet Race, Maxi Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle
Sea Race, the Rolex Miami OCR and the Rolex Sydney
Hobart Race.z
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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Founded
in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of
the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of
over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club
is renowned for its expertise in running world
and national championships.
For
results and additional information on the Big
Boat Series presented by Rolex, go to www.stfyc.org.
Preliminary
Results - Big Boat Series presented by Rolex September
17, 2004 - Day 2 (two races completed, four total
in series)
Top
3 per class
Place, Owner, Hometown, Boat Name, Boat Type,
Race 1-2-3-4, Total points
IRC
Class A (7 boats)
1. Nicholas Lykiardopulo, Athens, Greece, AERA,
Kerr 55, 1-1-1-1, 4 2. Robert Youngjohns, Woodside,
Calif., Zephyra, DK46, 2-2-2-3, 9 3. John McLaurin,
Los Angeles, Calif., Penragon 4, LD52, 3-4-3-4,
14
IRC
Class B (16 boats)
1. John Siegel, San Francisco, Calif., Scorpio,
Wylie 42, 4-1-1-1, 7 2. Norman Olson, Wayne, Penn.,
Just In Time, Farr/Beneteau, 2-2-3-3, 10 3. French/
Lezin, Santa Cruz, Animal, Sydney 38, 1-4-4-2,
11
TP52
Class (9 boats)
1. Makoto Uematsu, Tokyo, Japan, Esmeralda, 1-2-1-1,
5
2. Karl C. Kwok, Hong Kong, China, Beau Geste,
2-1-4-2, 9
3. Roger Sturgeon, Fort Lauderdale, Calif., 3-6-2-3,
14
SC52 Class (5 boats)
1. Martin Brauns, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Winnetou,
1-2-2-1, 6 2. Tom Sanborn, Oakland, Calif., City
Lights, 1-1-1-2, 6 3. Steven P. Williams, Menlo
Park, Natazak, 4-3-4-3, 14
Farr
40 (9 boats)
1. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath
, 4-1-3-2, 10 2. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough,
Calif, Slingshot, 2-2-2-6, 12 3. James Richardson,
Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 1-3-1-8,
13
Express
37 (9 boats)
1. Kame Richards/ Bill Bridge, Alameda, Calif.,
Golden Moon, 2-1-1-2, 6 2. Mick Shlens, Palos
Verdes Estates, Calif., Blade Runner, 1-4-5-3,
13 3. Bartz Schneider, Cyrstal Bay, Nevada, Expeditions,
5-2-2-5, 14
J/120
(9 boats)
1. Stephen Madeira, Menlo Park, Calif., Mr. Magoo,
1-1-5-1, 8 2. Mark Varnes, San Rafael, Calif.,
Valkyrie, 8-3-1-5, 17 3. Mark Bowman, Portola
Valley, Calif., Jolly Mon, 2-2-7-6, 17
J/105
(31 boats)
1. Tim Russell, Novato, Calif., Aquavit, 2-2-3-2,
9
2. Chris Perkins/Dave Wilson, San Francisco, Good
Timin', 4-1-2-3, 10 3. Thomas Coates, San Francisco,
Charade, 3-3-5-4, 15
Beneteau
40.7 (6 boats)
1. Mike Garl, San Carlos, Calif., White Dove,
1-1-1-1, 4
2. Mark Howe, Richmond, Calif., White Fang, 2-4-2-2,
10
3. Joel Davis, Alameda, Calif., Shaddy Daddy,
3-3-3-5, 14
Results
and Photos at: www.regattanews.com
