J/Teams Sweep Aldo Alessio Race & Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta

ByStuart Johnstone

J/105 sailing on San Francisco Bay

(San Francisco, CA)- The St Francis YC hosted their annual Aldo Alessio Race and Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta this past weekend. Sailed from August 19th to 21st on the western end of San Francisco Bay between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge- a.k.a. “the city front course”- the fleet experienced classic Bay weather with fog, intermittent sun, and plenty of breeze on! Two J/classes participated- J/88s and J/105s- plus an ORC handicap division.

Aldo Alessio Race
Sailed on Friday, the eight-boat PHRF fleet was treated to a sweep by J/Teams for the entire top five! Winning was Nesrin Basoz’s J/111 SWIFT NESS, followed by Dorian McKelvy’s J/111 MADMEN in second, David Halliwill’s J/120 PEREGRINE in third, Dave MacEwen’s J/90 LUCKY DUCK in fourth, and Zach Berkowitz’s J/100 FEATHER in fifth position. 

J/105s sailing off San Francisco, CA

J/105 Class
As has been the case for decades, the twenty-five boat J/105 Class most often has very close, tactical racing amongst the top of the leaderboard. However, there are exceptions and this year’s regatta was one of them. Blasting out of the starting box on the first day to lead with a 2-1, Ian Charles’ MAVERICK never relinquished their lead over the next two days. In fact, they posted an “eye-opening” three 1sts and three 2nds over the six races for a 9 pts total! It may be safe to say that no one has ever seen such a dominating performance over what is arguably the toughest J/105 fleet on the planet! 

Behind the runaway winners, it was another story, as one might have expected! Different regattas, different protagonists. In this case, it was Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK dueling with Doug Bailey’s AKULA for the next step on the podium. Both boats had less than stellar opening sequences to their regatta, BLACKHAWK with a 6-6, AKULA with an 11-2. Thereafter, having dusted off all the rust, the two boats literally traded all podium finishes for the rest of the regatta. In the end, it was Simmon’s BLACKHAWK getting the better of the two, posting a 6-6-1-1-3-2 for 19 pts to take the silver. Bailey’s AKULA racked up an 11-2-3-3-2-3 for 24 pts to take the bronze. Rounding out the top five was Rolf Kaiser’s DONKEY JACK in fourth and John & Mike Rivlin’s PEACHES in fifth place. 

J/88 sailing San Francisco Bay

J/88 Class
Despite the small fleet size, the six-boat J/88 class saw an epic battle breakout for the top of the leaderboard. The three players dueling for class supremacy were Dave Corbin’s BUTCHER, Andrea Ciccardi’s PELAGIA, and Jim Hopp’s WHITE SHADOW. Starting with a promising 1-1, top woman skipper Andrea Ciccardi was hoping to maintain their blistering pace. However, a third-race DSQ destroyed their chances for an easy win. Undeterred, she closed with a 1-3 to finish second with 13.0 pts, just a half-point off first place! Winning was Corbin’s BUTCHER, posting a 2-2-2.5-2-4 for 12.5 pts. Hopp’s WHITE SHADOW improved every race to compile a 4-4-2.5-3-1 tally for 14.5 pts, good enough for the bronze medal. 

ORC Class
The eight-boat ORC Division was treated to a clean sweep by J/Teams! Coincidentally, the J/Mercenaries leading the way were two top J/120s on the Bay. Winning was David Halliwill’s PEREGRINE with a 4-5-2-1-1 for 13 pts. Fellow 120 skipper Barry Lewis on CHANCE took the silver one point back with a 3-6-1-2-2 tally for 14 pts. Then, much to the surprise of everyone in the class, Dave MacEwen’s J/90 LUCKY DUCK, the smallest and lightest boat in the class, took the bronze with a 2-3-7-6-3 scoreline for 21 pts.   For more Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta information