J/24 WHARF RAT Crowned Overall Yachting Cup Winner!
(San Diego, CA)- Day 2 of SDYC’s Yachting Cup started with a bit of rain and overcast coastal skies. The race management team was concerned about the forecast conditions – specifically the sea state, which built as a result of an overnight offshore front. A race committee boat went out about 7:30 am to check the conditions on both ocean courses; the decision was made to postpone racing by one hour and to move both courses to more protected areas closer to shore. Here is how the weekend broke down by classes/ divisions.
J/111 Class
Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY continued their hold on the top spot in the J/111 class after winning 3 of 5 races, taking top honors in the class for the second year in a row. SKELETON is also the current J/111 North American champion after their win in January in Key West. Several of the J/111s racing this weekend in San Diego (CREATIVE and GURLI) will be shifting gears into offshore mode to prepare to race to Hawaii this summer in the Transpac Race.
The balance of the podium was determined by a tiebreaker at 12 pts each. Winning that battle on countback was Marty Vogel’s MADMEN to take the silver medal. Meanwhile, John Staff’s OBSIDIAN team had to settle for the bronze medal step on the podium.
J/105 CLASS
The J/105 class also came down to the last leg of the last race. Bennet Greenwald & Dave Vieregg’s PERSEVERANCE held a 2-point lead going into the final race. However, last year’s overall winners, Chuck and Stephen Driscoll on JUICED, were not going down without a fight. “We knew we needed to put one boat between us and PERSEVERANCE going into the last race”, said Stephen Driscoll. We managed to get on the right side of a couple of shifts and pull off the win. It was a challenging weekend, and we are really happy with our teamwork.” Just one point in arrears to take the bronze medal was Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY.
J/24 Class
While the two ocean courses were postponed for an hour and moved to more favorable locations to avoid the bigger swells, the J/24s racing the bay went ahead as planned for 3 races starting at 1130. Course PRO Susi Graff gave the condition report for Sunday. “Today’s conditions at the city front were mixed with periods of squalls and light air. There is close racing among the J/24s, with TAKE FIVE and WHARF RAT duking it out, and others are not far behind.” The final bronze step on the podium went to Mark Thaidigsman’s CHALLENGER.
Christian Seidel and crew on WHARF RAT won the first two races on Sunday and went into the final race with a 2-point lead over last year’s class winner, Susan Taylor’s TAKE FIVE. WHARF RAT just needed to hang close to TAKE FIVE during the final race to win the class this year, and they did just that, finishing 45 seconds and one place behind them to give WHARF RAT the class win by one point. “Our job was just to stick with TAKE FIVE in the last race, which we were fortunate enough to execute.”
In addition to the narrow win in the J/24 class, Christian Seidel and WHARF RAT were selected as the Yachting Cup overall winner by the organizing committee to receive the Overall Yachting Cup perpetual trophy. “We’d like to thank San Diego Yacht Club and all the volunteers involved. We’d also like to thank all the competitors who came from as far away as Arizona to join us in this well-attended event. It is amazing to watch our J/24 fleet improve. Thanks for putting on an amazing event.”
ORC 1 DIVISION
In this six-boat fleet, Mark Stratton’s J/122 CHEEKY took top honors, winning two races and hanging within less than a minute of the race leader in two more. CHEEKY led a clean sweep of the division. Taking the silver medal was John Laun’s J/120 CAPER, followed by Chuck Nichols’s CC RIDER in third place.
Competitors gave many thanks to the SDYC race committee and event chairs, Donica Ryder and Pete Whitby, for hosting a great weekend of racing.
San Diego Yacht Club would like to thank the Yachting Cup sponsors – Maui Brewing Company, Cutwater Spirits, Mount Gay Rum, Baila Tequila, South Coast Yachts, Helly Hansen, North Sails, First National Bullion, Sun Bum, and The Bay Club Hotel & Marina – who help made this signature event special.
Sailing photo credits- Colin Grey
For more San Diego Yacht Club Yachting Cup sailing information
http://www.yachtingcup.com/