Disney’s boat tops the field

Rick Devereux

Despite an early start that required the boat to lose valuable time

and turn around, the Roy Disney-owned boat Pyewacket finished second

in both of Sunday’s races to claim the overall Class 1 victory in the inaugural First Team Real Estate invitational regatta.

“It’s a great feeling [to win],” said Robbie Haines, Pyewacket’s

race program manager. “We were quite happy with how the crew

performed this weekend.”

Pyewacket jumped the gun, along with fellow Class 1 boat Magnitute 80, in the second race Sunday, which gave Genuine Risk an advantage

on its competitors. Genuine Risk was first in the class in both of

Sundays races and finished one point behind Pyewacket overall.

“It’s important to perform well any day, but it’s nice to finish

the regatta on a high note,” said Brent Ruhne, a Genuine Risk crew

member. “That’s why the start is so important.”

Genuine Risk, which had seven points, one more than Pyewacket’s

six (the lowest score wins), used a larger sail to help catch the

wind, which reached 3 to 6 knots in the first race and 6 to 10 knots

in the second race.

“We had a better sail selection,” said David Ullman, a Genuine

Risk crew member and Newport Harbor local. “We did what we had to do

[by winning both races Sunday], but we needed Magnitude 80 to beat

Pyewacket [in order to win the class].”

Taxi Dancer was the Class 2 winner with a victory in the opening

race and a fourth-place finish in the second race, giving Paul and

Laura Sharp’s boat 12 points in the regatta.

Rosebud, which was fourth in the opening race and first in the

second, was second in the class with 14 points.

“It was very close,” Paul Sharp said. “Sailing is a lot like

chess. There is a lot of calculated risk.”

Sharp also said there was a bit of luck involved as the boat was

in the right place at the right time when the wind direction shifted

and pushed Taxi Dancer toward the finish line.

“We did really well in the last race,” said Roger Sturgeon, owner

of Rosebud.

Rosebud’s start in the second race actually caused the Class 1

boats to cross the starting line before the signal and return to

restart.

“It was fun to push a couple of the monster boats around,”

Sturgeon said, referring to the 86-foot Pyewacket and the 80-foot

Magnitude 80. Rosebud is 52 feet long.

Sturgeon said there were no hard feelings about causing a false

start.

“It’s totally part of racing,” he said.

Rosebud also finished ahead of other Transpac 52 boats Flash and

Trader to win the sub-fleet competition.

“We took some lumps,” said Mark Jones, owner of Flash, which

finished second in the sub-fleet and fifth in Class 2 with 18 points.

“We sailed our boat well, but second is second and we would’ve

preferred first. But Rosebud is a great boat with a great crew and

I’m happy for them.”

Chayah won Class 3 with eight points. The Long Beach-based boat

finished third and first on Sunday, along with first on Friday and

third on Saturday.

“We started the regatta on a good note and ended it on a good

note,” said Walter Johnson, Chayah’s skipper. “The final standings

are all that matter.”

Johnson said the winds Friday (6 to 8 knots) and for the last race

Sunday (6 to 10 knots) were ideal conditions for Chayah. Winds died

down to 2 or 3 knots Saturday, and the first race Sunday had winds as

low as 3 knots.

“In the first race [Sunday], we didn’t have any speed at all,” he

said. “The most ideal conditions for us is between 10 to 12 knots. If

it drops below that, we start struggling.”

Not all Class 3 boats liked the stronger winds. It’s OK, which

finished third Friday as well as in the second race Sunday, was first

in the class Saturday and the first race Sunday.

“The conditions we brilliant and so were we [in Sunday’s first

race],” said Andy Rose, a crew member for It’s OK.