St.
Francis Yacht Club's Big Boat Series Presented
By Rolex - Steady San Francisco Conditions Reward
Competitors - Day 3
San
Francisco, Calif., U.S.A. (September 18, 2004)
- After recovering from yesterday's high-drama,
the 101-boat fleet at the Big Boat Series Presented
by Rolex settled into calm conditions of cool
temperatures, 12- to 18-knot wind and overcast
skies. Today was a welcome relief that gave class
leaders a chance to consolidate their lead or,
as in some fleets, a chance to capitalize and
gain in the standings. The 40th annual regatta,
where six historic Perpetual Trophies will be
awarded among the 101 boats competing in seven
one-design and two IRC classes, continued today
on San Francisco Bay.
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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Maintaining
a consistent scoreline of all first- and second-place
finishes Nicholas Lykiardopulo's (Athens, Greece)
Kerr 55 AERA remains atop of the IRC A class.
With a casual glance of the scoreline, the conclusion
might be that AERA is outsailing its competition,
but that isn't the case according to helmsman
Jez Fanstone (Lymington, U.K.). "We've been
sailing AERA for 18 months and we've gotten to
know the boat pretty well," he said. "The
boat was designed for last year's Admirals Cup.
It's a stiff boat and it sails very well upwind,
especially against a strong current like in San
Francisco."
With
Eddie Warden-Owen (Hamble, U.K.) calling tactics,
a 16-member crew that includes Volvo Ocean Race
veterans and Olympians, and Lykiardopulo navigating
the unfamiliar and tricky waters of the Bay, AERA's
skipper explained that the team's collective Bay
knowledge is increasing with every race. "This
is a new venue for us and it's very interesting
sailing," he said. "Today we struggled
with our speed, but the optimum condition for
this boat is 12-18 knots and we had it in the
second race. We're into our second generation
of sails and fortunate to have our North sail
maker Simon Fry on board to assist us."
Bob
Barton's (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Andrews 56 Cipango
won today's first race, 22 seconds ahead of AERA,
with Zephyra, the class's second-place boat overall,
finishing third.
Santa
Cruz 52 class leader Winnetou, owned by Martin
Brauns (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) almost forfeited
its lead today after a close call with a cruise
ship. The five-boat class split to either side,
with little room to spare. Winnetou seemed to
press its luck with the distance before tacking,
but then slipped away after a short warning from
the ship. Tom Sanborn's (Oakland, Calif.) City
Lights won the last race of the day and with it
took control of the class.
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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John
Siegel's (San Francisco) Wylie 42, Scorpio retained
its lead in the IRC B class by posting two second-place
finishes. Norman Olson's (Wayne, Penn.) Farr/Beneteau
Just In Time dropped down to fourth, to see Animal,
the Sydney 38 owned by French & Lezin (Santa
Cruz, Calif.) pass him into second overall. Jeff
Pulford's (Corral de Tierra, Calif.) Bustin Loose,
with around-the-world sailor Cam Lewis (Narragansett,
R.I.) on board, won today's first race and is
in third overall.
In
the 31-boat J/105 class, Good Timin' owned by
Chris, John and Phil Perkins moved into first
place by winning the day's first race and finishing
a close second in the second, and now has a good
chance of winning the class overall. They will
be challenged by Tim Russells's (Novato, Calif.)
Aquavit, which suffered a ninth today, but rounded
back with a third to second overall. Charade,
owned by Tom Coates, continued with its consistent
form and sits three points behind Aquavit.
Yesterday's
preliminary results that showed Barking Mad, owned
by Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.),
losing its lead in the Farr 40 class, were corrected
when a scoring error was discovered. The Farr
40 World Champion remains in the lead, winning
one race and scoring a fourth in the other. Slingshot,
owned by Chuck Parish (Hillsborough, Calif.),
remains in second overall, with a strong challenge
by Fred & Steve Howe's (San Diego,
Calif.) Warpath.
White
Fang, owned by Mark Howe (Richmond, Calif.), shook
things up in the six-boat Beneteau 40.7 class
with a 3-2, and moved into the lead, despite Mike
Garl's (San Carlos, Calif.) two bullets with his
White Dove, which now is in second overall.
Golden
Moon, owned by Kame Richards/Bill Bridge (Alameda,
Calif.) held onto the lead in the Express 37 class,
while in the J/120 class Stephen Madeira's (Menlo
Park, Calif.) Mr. Magoo also held its lead.
Today's
racing in the TP52 class appeared to be a repeat
of yesterday, minus the heavy winds, with the
top three remaining firmly in place. Esmeralda,
owned by Makoto Uematsu (Tokyo, Japan) won both
races, with Karl Kwok's (Hong Kong, China) Beau
Geste in second and Rosebud, owned by Roger Sturgeon
(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in third.
One
final race is 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.
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Photo
© Sean Downey / YachtRacing.com
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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
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
18, 2004 - Day 3 (two races completed, six total
in series to
date)
Top
3 per class
Place, Owner, Hometown, Boat Name, Boat Type,
Race 1-2-3-4-5-6, Total points
IRC
Class A (7 boats)
1.
Nicholas Lykiardopulo, Athens, Greece, AERA, Kerr
55, 1-1-1-1-2-1, 7
2.
Robert Youngjohns, Woodside, Calif., Zephyra,
DK46, 2-2-2-3-3-2, 14
3.
Ed McDonnell, Kilauea, Hawaii, Grand Illusion,
SC70, 6-3-4-2-6-4, 25
IRC Class B (16 boats)
1.
John Siegel, San Francisco, Calif., Scorpio, Wylie
42, 4-1-1-1-2-2, 11
2.
French/ Lezin, Santa Cruz, Animal, Sydney 38,
1-4-4-2-4-1, 16 3. Jeff Pulford, Corral de Tierra,
Calif., Bustin Loose, Sydney 38, 3-3-2-4-1-3,
16
TP52 Class (9 boats)
1.
Makoto Uematsu, Tokyo, Japan, Esmeralda, 1-2-1-1,-1-1,
7
2.
Karl C. Kwok, Hong Kong, China, Beau Geste, 2-1-4-2-3-2,
14
3.
Roger Sturgeon, Fort Lauderdale, Calif., 3-6-2-3-4-5,
23
SC52 Class (5 boats)
1.
Tom Sanborn, Oakland, Calif., City Lights, 2-1-1-1-2-1,
8
2.
Martin Brauns, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Winnetou,
1-2-2-2-1-2, 10
3.
Steven P. Williams, Menlo Park, Natazak, 4-3-4-4-3-3,
21
Farr
40 (9 boats)
1.
James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.,
Barking Mad, 1-3-1-1-1-4, 11
2. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif, Slingshot,
2-2-2-7-2-1, 16 3. Steve & Fred Howe, San
Diego, Calif., Warpath , 9-1-3-3-6-3, 25
Express
37 (9 boats)
1.
Kame Richards/ Bill Bridge, Alameda, Calif., Golden
Moon, 2-1-1-6-4, 16
2.
Mick Shlens, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., Blade
Runner, 1-4-5-3-1-7, 21
3.
Mark Dowdy, San Francisco, Calif., Eclipse, 6-3-9-1-3-1,
23
J/120 (9 boats)
1.
Stephen Madeira, Menlo Park, Calif., Mr. Magoo,
1-1-5-1-6-3, 17
2.
Mark Varnes, San Rafael, Calif., Valkyrie, 8-3-1-5-2-5,
24
3.
Rick Wesslund, Tiburon, Calif., El Ocaso, 3-7-8-4-3-1,
26
J/105 (31 boats)
1.
Chris Perkins/Dave Wilson, San Francisco, Good
Timin', 4-1-2-3-1-2, 13
2.
Tim Russell, Novato, Calif., Aquavit, 2-2-3-2-9-3,
21
3.
Thomas Coates, San Francisco, Charade, 3-3-5-4-5-4,
24
Beneteau 40.7 (6 boats)
1.
Mark Howe, Richmond, Calif., White Fang, 2-4-2-2-3-2,
15
2.
Mike Garl, San Carlos, Calif., White Dove, 7-7-1-1-1-1,
18
3.
Joel Davis, Alameda, Calif., Shaddy Daddy, 3-3-3-5-2-5,
21
Results
and Photos at: www.regattanews.com
