Wind slows regatta sailors

Rick Devereux

Upon further review, the conditions Friday for the First Team Real

Estate invitational regatta were not that bad.

Friday, which saw winds between 6 to 8 knots, was downright

blustery compared to Saturday’s competition. The winds were around 5

or 6 knots at the start of the race at 1 p.m., but died down

considerably to around 2 or 3 knots toward the end.

The conditions were so light, race officials shortened the course.

Instead of two races, there was one, and instead of two laps around

the buoys, there was one.

“Yesterday it was slow at the start and started to pick up,” said

Nathan Prather, a crew member on the 55-foot boat Bolt. “[Saturday]

it was slow at the start and got worse. The wind just shut off.”

Bolt, which finished second among Class 3 boats, was fourth out

four boats in its class Saturday. The elimination of a race Saturday

puts heightened importance on the races today.

“[Sunday] will be a full-on street brawl,” said Walter Johnson,

skipper of Class 3 boat Chayah.

Chayah, which finished first in its class Friday, was third

Saturday.

Chayah is tied with It’s OK, which finished third Friday and first

Saturday, for the lead in Class 3 with four points each. Stark Raving

Mad and Bolt are tied for third with six points each.

Johnson also said swells in Pacific Ocean added to the difficult

conditions.

“That’s probably the most painful [swell] in the world,” Johnson

said. “It’s like climbing a mountain out there. You have to find your

rhythm, but then a big swell takes you out of your game plan.”

The conditions did not affect the Class 1 boats, which are the

biggest in the regatta at 80 to 90 feet in length. Pyewacket, owned

by Roy Disney, repeated as first in the class and leads with two

points. Magnitude 80 and Genuine Risk are tied for second with five

points each.

“We did better [Saturday],” said Ernie Richau, a crew member of

Magnitude 80. The boat finished third Friday but was second Saturday,

due in part to a bigger sail. “We have been working with [the bigger

sail] and testing it and found it is more efficient in the lower

winds. It really paid off for us.”

Not only was there lower wind speeds, but there was a shift in the

direction of the wind about midway through the race.

“We missed the big shift coming downwind,” said David Ullman, a

crew member of Genuine Risk. Genuine Risk was second Friday and third

Saturday. “That [wind shift] was the race for the Class A boats. It

was fairly close headed upwind, but that shift going downwind really

hurt us.”

In Class 2, Grand Illusion sits atop with three points after

Saturday’s winning race, and Flash is second with five points after

Friday’s third place and Saturday’s second.

“The main thing you want is to get ‘clean air,’ ” Flash owner Mark

Jones said, referring to wind not disturbed by opposing boats. “Plus,

we got the shift. We were last around the [first buoy], but that

shift sent us straight downwind. There is some luck in that, but you

also have to act on the circumstances when they arise.”

Jones said that lighter winds can actually mean a more intense

race.

“There are more tactics and racing in a weird way,” he said. “You

have to anticipate the shifts. When the conditions are perfect,

everyone knows what to do and when to do it, but with winds like

these, you have to react and anticipate.”

In third place in Class 3 is Taxi Dancer, which followed up

Friday’s fourth place finish with a third place showing Saturday.

Co-owner Laura Sharp said a strong start helped the boat improve on

Friday’s standing.

“We were great upwind, not-so-great downwind” she said. Her and

her husband Paul are Newport Beach locals and used their familiarity

to their advantage. “We have local knowledge and know where the wind

is and when it shifts. But we still need heavier winds, and you’re

not going to find it in Newport.”

The heat wave -- it is expected to reach 84 today -- is not

conducive to generating winds.

“The heat is caused by a high pressure zone, which sucks all the

wind out of the air,” race spokesman Rich Roberts said.

The conditions could be lighter today, leaving some wondering if

any racing will be held.

“I hope we can get a race off tomorrow,” said Richau. “The weather

is tough and it doesn’t look like it’s getting better.”

But some said the conditions should not be that big of a problem

for the level of sailors entered into this race.

“We’ve all seen this before and we’ve all raced in these type of

conditions before,” said Fred Detwiler, owner of Trader, which is

tied for sixth with 14 points in Class 2 after an eighth place finish

Friday and a sixth place finish Saturday. “We all love it. It’s still

sailboat racing.”

Even if the conditions don’t improve, the sailors are happy with

the regatta.

“They need to take the manual of how this regatta is being run and

photocopy it to all the other races out there,” Detwiler said. “I’ve

been in a lot of races and this is a first class race. It has set a

new standard of how races should be run.”

The competitors were also impressed with the amount of attention

the public has given the event.

“I haven’t seen this many people at any other races,” said Cambell

Rivers, a Flash crew member. “There are a lot of people on the pier.”