99 bottles of regatta

Lindsay Sandham

With summer just around the corner, Balboa Yacht Club’s annual Beer

Can Regattas are well under way, with Thursday night marking the

conclusion of the ale series, the first of four series.

Ben Benjamin, the club’s sailing director, said “Beer Can” refers

to the casual nature of the race. The titles for the series -- ale,

lager, Pilsner and stout -- are just fun names.

“We get a lot of people that come down that don’t usually sail,”

Benjamin said. “It’s more of a casual event that people do for fun.”

Newport Beach’s Craig Reynolds, the club’s rear commodore, said

he’s sailed in the Beer Can races for the past 11 years.

“We sail in the bay, so we kind of have to operate under a

different set of rules,” Reynolds said. “It’s more challenging in

that you have a narrower area and lots of other traffic.”

He added that the races are intended to be fun, although some

people take them more seriously than others.

In order to enter a boat in the races, at least one person must be

a member in good standing at one of the local yacht clubs.

More than 50 boats compete in the weekly races, Benjamin said, and

spectators can watch from nearby restaurants, Balboa Island,

commercial boats in the bay, or if they’re lucky enough, on one of

the boats in the race.

“The idea is, people come out, sail their boat, have fun, have a

few brews and hang out with friends,” Reynolds said.

After the races, which last only about 40 minutes, everybody hangs

out at the Balboa Yacht Club for beers and a barbecue.

Fifteen-year-old Gunnar Torre of Irvine, a junior commodore at the

Balboa Yacht Club, sailed Reynolds’ 55-foot yacht, Bolt, a couple

weeks ago during the Beer Can Regattas.

Although Torre has been sailing for more than eight years, he

rarely has the opportunity to sail big boats, especially in a

regatta.

“It’s really fun. The rules, they still apply, but it’s not like

you’re out to get the other boats,” Torre said. “It’s just a really

fun time -- sailing until sunset and then a great barbecue

afterward.”