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18ft Skiff International Regatta 2010 		Team McLube

 
 


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Aug 23, 2010, 11:04 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta

San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010
Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 16, 2010



Will the 18s show the AC the way?

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

If the powers ruling the next America's Cup want to make sailing a spectator sport, they need look no farther than their own front yard for a primo demo with the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta starting Sunday.

The fast and frighteningly unstable three-person boats winging it in reliably brisk breeze will make that point in the natural amphitheater fronting the host St. Francis Yacht Club and its next door neighbor, the Golden Gate Yacht Club. The latter now owns the sport's top prize through the efforts of its representative, the BMW Oracle Racing team of software tycoon Larry Ellison.

While BMW Oracle dangles the bauble before the world in the insufferable process of determining the best site to defend it, the 18s already know. Take it from Howard Hamlin, the Long Beach saltwater thrill seeker who has won world championships racing on the edge on International 14s, 505s and on 18s' in the JJ Giltinan Trophy classic in Australia.

Heck, Hamlin, 56, won his third in a row here last year leading the only team to keep their wildly overpowered craft upright through all five days. This time, with four competitors from New Zealand joining the fun with a half-dozen locals and Aussie icon John Winning and his mates, there will be as many as 18 boats in the field.

"By far the most we've ever had," said Hamlin, who was already out practicing with crew Matt Noble and Fritz Lanzinger last week. "It's more of an event sailing in San Francisco. Guys around the world understand how cool it is."

Those guys may now include the America's Cup crowd.

The 18ft International Regatta sails a course about 1 1/2 miles long from inside the Golden Gate Bridge to a leeward mark set in the narrow gap between the historic prison site of Alcatraz Island and the city front. At the course's widest mid-point there is only about three-quarters of a mile between the beach at Crissy Field public park next to St. Francis YC and the busy commercial shipping lanes on the north side, but that's not seen as a problem.

John Craig, the StFYC racing director, sets a mid-course gate to merge the fleet, and, he said, "The flood tide [of 4 to 5 knots] creates that minimum alley when you can't go far from shore. It makes the visuals awesome."

And, Hamlin adds, should a few 18s stray too far north seeking stronger breeze, "Freighters are not a problem. We have them in Sydney Harbor [during the Giltinan]. We just sail around 'em."

The 18s, technically monohulls and barely that, reach 30 knots downwind in 25 knots of breeze. That's multihull stuff, which presents another AC option to be settled. Although multis were a non-competitive bust at Valencia, speed freaks like Hamlin are enthusiastic about their prospects at San Francisco.

"Absolutely," he said, "it's better sailing for match racing … more opportunity to pass downwind. You could have four sets of boats sailing on that course at the same time."

With controlled course perimeters and the necessity of playing nature's currents and wind channels, even super-fast boats like multihulls would be forced into close proximity. Hoo-yaw!

"That's why we do it," Hamlin said. "It's always tough here . . . the ultimate in skiff sailing. You wake up in the morning stoked, like going to war."

Russell Coutts, the four-time AC winner who serves as BMW Oracle's CEO, may see those possibilities, too. He mentioned last week that whatever venue were selected he was considering chopping off the sides of the normal windward-leeward diamond to narrow the race track and prevent boats from separating left and right and compelling them to carry out more maneuvers.

Craig noted, "One of the things with the AC is they're trying to keep the multihulls in play. By making it narrower they're trying to force the cats back together. I think Russell understands all that. I could definitely see between here and Pier 39 [off the city front] as another massive viewing area. I'm just hopeful that the city and the state all get on the same wave length in time to make it happen."

Decisions are expected next month. According to the San Francisco Examiner, city leaders have been told by BMW Oracle Racing that a basic proposal is needed by the end of September, according to Kyri McClellan, a project manager in the mayor's office.

Meanwhile, the 18s will have their days on the bay with two races a day starting at 1 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, except for Wednesday when the 18s will race at 5 p.m., followed by the traditional Bridge to Bridge 7 1/2-mile charge from the Golden Gate past the city to the Bay Bridge when kiteboarders and windsurfers will join in the fun.

2009 high-resolution photo gallery

Complete 2009 results

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
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Aug 23, 2010, 11:05 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta


San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010
Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 22, 2010 - Day One


Sunday's weather: Wind 15k WSW; air temp. 65F.
Monday's forecast: Wind 12k WNW; air temp. 73-78 F.

Aussies show their Winning ways

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

Observing the sailing rivalry between the Winnings, father and son, on opening day of the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta, one could conclude it's intense, but it doesn’t stop there.

John Sr.---or, as he prefers, Woody, 58---has a conventional and successful household appliance business in Australia, while John Jr., 24, or Herman, as he prefers---recently was recognized Down Under as "online retailer of the year," selling similar white goods on the Internet instead of in stores.

"The same as my dad except a newer way," he said.

Well, Herman, with veterans Peter Harris and Euan McNicol as crew, also showed his dad and everyone else the way by winning the first two of 10 races, although his elder was not too far behind in third and second place, with defending champion Howie Hamlin of Long Beach, Calif. (2-4) another point back in third among 13 entries.

As an arriving high-pressure system turned the weather up from chilling to merely refreshing, the wind was only 15 knots---modest for San Francisco Bay---and the gloomy forecast for Monday was for sunshine and a high temperature of 78 degrees F. as the local summer set in following a cooler than usual season.

But the sailing was close, with few flips. Even the rookie all-woman team stayed upright, although skipper Mallory McCollum said, "We didn't finish either race, but it's still a learning process for us. We just tried to stay out of the way. We had a great time … and we didn't flip."

Even Australia's Michael Coxon and his all-star crew of Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas with multiple JJ Giltinan world championships among them couldn't say that. Their hard luck was to capsize while running third in the first race, finishing eighth before recovering with a third place in the second race.

And, by the way, that team is from Australia, not New Zealand, as misstated in an earlier report.

Sailing a 1 1/2-mile windward-leeward course fronting the host St. Francis Yacht Club between the Golden Gate Bridge and the city front, Herman Winning stole the first race at the gun by boldly crossing the fleet of a dozen other boats on no-rights-at-all port tack. The pin (left) end of the line was favored by just a few feet, but the point was to gain a straight shot to the best wind on the right side of the course, while everyone else had to tack when they could to get there.

It also helped that the rivals were less than aggressive in their approach to the start line.

"You want to be on port tack," McNicol said, "and the fleet was generous."

The win was a runaway, while Hamlin overtook Woody Winning with a starboard vs. port cross a boat length from the upwind finish to seize second place in a beep-beep signal by the horn.

Herman Winning said, "We were conservative when we could be," covering the competition.

And by the way, Herman is only John Jr.'s nickname.

His dad explained, "I gave that to him when he was 2 years old. He kind of waddled when he walked, like Herman Munster."

In the second race Woody repeated Herman's tactic by crossing the fleet on port tack, although he couldn't hold off the kid for long. The race was scheduled for three laps, but as the one-hour time limit approached it was cut short to two with a downwind finish.

Racing is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. daily, except Wednesday when the 18s will start at 5 to precede the Bridge to Bridge race for a mixed fleet 18s, sailboards and kite boards.

Current leaders
(13 boats; after 2 of 10 races

1. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1, 2 points.

2. Yandoo, John (Woody) Winning/David Gibson/Andrew Hay, Australia, 3-2, 5.

3. CST Composites, Howard Hamlin/Matt Noble/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 2-4, 6.

4. CT Sailbattens, CT Sailbattens, Alex Vallings/Chris Kitchen/Josh McCormack, New Zealand, 4-5, 9.

5. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trevor Barnabas, Australia, 8-3, 11.

6. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/James Hozack/Tom Anderson, Australia, 7-6, 13.

7. JF Hellebrand, Phil Airey/Murray England/Sam Tretheway, New Zealand, 6-7, 13.

High-resolution photo gallery

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
racemgr@stfyc.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net




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Aug 24, 2010, 10:24 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta


San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010
Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 23, 2010 - Day Two


Monday's weather: Wind 15k WSW; air temp. 82F.
Tuesday's forecast: Wind 11k NNW; air temp. 62-80F.

Aussies on a roll with port tack starts

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

There's some gambling going on at the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta, and it's paying off bigtime for the boys from Down Under.

Australian sailors---Herman Winning, Michael Coxon and Winning's dad Woody---have been rolling the waves on port tack starts and now occupy the top three positions in the 13-boat fleet.

Port tack starts with no right of way hoping to cross starboard tackers are risky at best, but when it works the payoff has been huge by eliminating a laborious tack---always tricky on an 18---and launching the perpetrators directly into the best breeze on the right side of the course and victories in the first four of 10 races scheduled through Thursday.

"Port tacks have reached the top mark first both days," said Michael Coxon, who popped out into quick leads to win both races going away Monday. "It was a glorious day. We figured there would be more boats doing it, but we just got out on top of them."

Coxon, a two-time winner of the JH Giltinan Trophy—the 18s' world championship, is sailing with an confident crew of Aaron Links and Trevor Barnabas, who have won three and five Giltinans as crew, respectively, so they understand calculated risks. Their only slip so far was a capsize that cost them an eighth place in the first race, but they'll discard that as one of two throwouts after the fifth race Tuesday and potentially close their seven-point gap behind Herman Winning, who followed Sunday's pair of aces with a solid set of seconds Monday.

Woody Winning (3-2-3-5) and defending champion Howie Hamlin (2-4-5-4) are next.

The St. Francis Yacht Club race committee has tilted the line to slightly favor the committee boat end, but the possible payoff starting from the pin (left) end has been too tempting to ignore.

Herman Winning said, "Some people probably thought port was not a conservative way to start."

His dad said, "The port tack [opportunity] is there. It's whether they close you out or not."

But Coxon, a first-time visitor to The City, said his opening error may have been because "the San Francisco night life was too tempting. We made a lot of mistakes yesterday, but last night I had a good night's sleep."

The fleet is sailing a 1 1/2-mile windward-leeward course past the host St. Francis Yacht Club between the Golden Gate Bridge and the city front. Racing is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. daily, although the first two days were postponed to 2:30 because of unsettled breeze that soon developed into 12 to 15 knots.

Wednesday's race for the 18s will start at 5 to precede the Bridge to Bridge race for a mixed fleet including sailboards and kite boards.

Current leaders
(13 boats; after 4 of 10 races; discards after 5 and 9 races)

1. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1-2-2, 6 points.

2. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trevor Barnabas, Australia, 8-3-1-1, 13.

3. Yandoo, John (Woody) Winning/David Gibson/Andrew Hay, Australia, 3-2-3-5, 13.

4. CST Composites, Howard Hamlin/Matt Noble/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 2-4-5-4, 15.

5. JF Hellebrand, Phil Airey/Murray England/Sam Tretheway, New Zealand, 6-7-6-6, 25.

6. Maersk Line, Graham Catley/Riley Dean/Nick Catley, Australia, 5-14/DNF-4-3,, 26.

7. CT Sailbattens, Alex Vallings/Chris Kitchen/Josh McCormack, New Zealand, 4-5-14/DNF-7, 30.

8. Harken Black, Skip McCormack/Paul Allen/Jodi McCormack, Australia, 9-9-7-8, 33.

9. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/James Hozack/Tom Anderson, Australia, 7-6-14/DNF-10, 37.

10. Skiff Foundation Red/Hogin Sails, John Gilmour/Pike Harris/Cooper Dressler, USA, 14DNS-14DNF-9-9, 42.

11. Tangles' Harken Express, Patrick Whitmarsh/Joe Penrod/Mark Breen, USA, 14/DNS-8-8-14/DNF, 44.

T12. Chad's Angels, Mallory McCollum-Bozina/Yvonne Galvez/Katie Love, USA, 14/DNS-14/DNF/14-14/DNF-14DNF, 56.

T12. skiffsailing.org, Chad Freitas/Dan Morris/Tangles, USA, 10-14/DNF, 56.

High-resolution photo gallery

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
racemgr@stfyc.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net


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Aug 25, 2010, 10:10 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta


San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010

Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 24, 2010 - Day Three


Tuesday's weather: Wind W 12-15k; air temp. high 96F.
Wednesday's forecast: Wind W 10-15k; air temp. high 80F.

Top four turn the heat on in torrid San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

It was a different look for sailing on Day 3 of the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta on San Francisco Bay.

On The City's hottest day of the year no locals could recall offhand when their thermometers last touched 96 degrees, especially following what they were calling their coolest summer in years. The breeze felt like Waikiki and the beach at Crissy Field overrun with sun-soakers, dogs and joggers looked like Mardi Gras at Rio de Janeiro---but, no, that was the Golden Gate to the west without the usual shroud of fog, and after a two-hour wait for decent wind the most skilled sailors made the most of it.

Three Australians led by Herman Winning, the son, with eight points, Michael Coxon, 10, and Woody Winning (the dad), 13, and the USA's Howie Hamlin from Long Beach, 14, cut themselves a 10-point gap from the other 10 entries with four races remaining over the next two days.

Those include this evening's madcap 7 1/2-mile Bridge to Bridge Race when the 18s will be joined by the best of the local windsurfers and kite boarders. Following the 18s' seventh race at 3 p.m., they'll start all at once from under the Golden Gate and race 7 1/2 miles to the Oakland span around the corner of San Francisco's city front.

Tuesday's races were won by Coxon---his third in a row---and Hamlin, who broke the Aussies' domination and has no finish worst then fifth, which he discarded after five races.

Coxon also cashed in a serious throwout---eighth in Race 1 when he flipped---and young Herman Winning's
uncharacteristic seventh in Tuesday's first race was his only finish worse than second but was rendered virtually painless.

With the high-pressure system hanging over the bay, the wind was only a late arriving 10 to 15 knots, and solving the channels of wind puffs and currents in the week's persistent ebb tide was a challenge. For the second race it produced an odd spectacle of half the boats starting on starboard tack at the committee boat end of the line and half starting on port tack from the pin end.

Although port tack starts had led to all victories up until then, Hamlin and his crew of Fritz Lanzinger and Matt Noble worked their way out of the conventional gang to lead at the windward mark near the bridge. Then, instead of jibing back to the far side of the course, as almost everyone does, they went for the beach, avoided the dogs chasing tennis balls in the water and delayed their jibe before shooting back across the fleet and covered the Winnings, father and son, the rest of the two-lap race.

Lanzinger, whose chores include watching the conditions as guides around the course, said, "We played a few puffs along the shore, and our ability to be patient helps, especially when you're doing 14 knots and the other guy is doing 20."

They made one bold call on the second lap to tack away from their followers short of the layline to the mid-course gate, but it paid off. They rode the ebb tide expertly and sailed higher than their rivals who tacked on the layline but soon were directly behind again.

Lanzinger said, "We have a real high [pointing] mode … that's been our strength. We use it to our advantage."

Current leaders
(13 boats; after 6 of 10 races; discards after 5 and 9 races)

1. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1-2-2-(7)-2, 8 points.

2. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trevor Barnabas, Australia, 8-3-1-1-1-4, 10.

3. Yandoo, John (Woody) Winning/David Gibson/Andrew Hay, Australia, 3-2-3-(5)-2-3, 13.

4. CST Composites, Howard Hamlin/Matt Noble/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 2-4-(5-4)-3-1, 14.

5. Maersk Line, Graham Catley/Riley Dean/Nick Catley, Australia, 5-(15/DNF)-4-3-6-6, 24.

6. CT Sailbattens, Alex Vallings/Chris Kitchen/Josh McCormack, New Zealand, 4-5-(14/DNF)-7-4-5, 25.

7. JF Hillebrand, Phil Airey/Murray England/Sam Tretheway, New Zealand, 6-7-6-6-(8)-7, 32.

8. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/James Hozack/Tom Anderson, Australia, 7-6-(15/DNF)-10-5-8, 36.

9. Harken Black, Skip McCormack/Paul Allen/Jodi McCormack, Australia, 9-9-7-8—(12)-12, 45.

10. Tangles' Harken Express, Patrick Whitmarsh/Joe Penrod/Mark Breen, USA, (15/DNF)-8-8-145/DNF-9-9, 49.

11. Skiff Foundation Red/Hogin Sails, John Gilmour/Pike Harris/Cooper Dressler, USA, 10-(15/DNF)-9-9-13-11, 52.

12. skiffsailing.org, Chad Freitas/Dan Morris/Tangles, USA, (15/DNS)-14/DNF-15/DNF, 15/DNF, 11-10, 66.

13. Harken Grey, (crew names not available), (15/DNS)-15/DNS-15/DNS-15/DNS-10-13, 68.

14. Chad's Angels, Mallory McCollum-Bozina/Yvonne Galvez/Katie Love, USA, no finishes, 75.

High-resolution photo gallery

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
racemgr@stfyc.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net




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Aug 26, 2010, 10:43 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta


San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010
Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 25, 2010 - Day Four


Wednesday's weather: Wind WNW 29k; air temp. high 81F.
Thursday's forecast: Wind W 15; air temp. high 64F.

18s dominate Bridge to Bridge but pay a price

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

Competitors in the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta gathered around John Craig on Crissy Field early Wednesday afternoon as the St. Francis Yacht Club race manager offered fair warning before they launched their swift but unstable craft into the meaner elements of San Francisco Bay.

"Get ready to get wet," he said.

That wasn't the half of it. Before the day was over the 18s' seventh race of the week would be cut short as boats flipped over like in a slapstick film, and then the ensuing Bridge to Bridge Race from the Golden Gate to the Oakland Bay suffered similar catastrophe.

Australia's Michael Coxon, New Zealand's Alex Vallings and Australia's Herman Winning swept the first three places over all of the kite boards and windsurfers, with Herman's father Woody fifth. But only one other 18 finished and two sailors were injured---Maersk Line skipper Graham Catley with a severely cut lower left leg and Chad Freitas, leader of the bay's Skiff Sailing Foundation, with possibly broken ribs.

Freitas' skipper, Paul Galvez, said, "Something happened and he went flying forward. At that point we were done."

The race's defending champion, Howard Hamlin from Long Beach a few hundred miles south, didn't even get beyond the Golden Gate before toppling seconds after the start—his second flip of the day.

A few minutes before they all left the beach Matt Noble, a local resident who crews for Hamlin, spoke about the hazards of the bay.

"My only worry is down by Alcatraz," Noble said, noting the westerly breeze that would blow as hard as 29 knots while opposing a 3.5-knot ebb tide. "It has a working undertow effect, especially with the ebb tide. That's usually the hardest part of the race. The waves back up in there."

Noble was a prophet. Within the hour, one by one, each of the lead boats---first Coxon, then Hamlin and Herman and Woody Winning---would fall victim to Noble's words of warning until six boats lay flipped flat simultaneously near the notorious former island prison.

No cons are known to have safely escaped from Alcatraz, and neither did any of the 18 skiffs in this particular race.

Before it got any worse, Craig fired the cannon to abandon the effort.

The day ended with Coxon and Herman Winning each with 11 points but Coxon owning the tiebreaker with four first places in seven races. There was no immediate decision on whether there would be an attempt to complete the 10-race schedule with three today.

Whatever is decided, the bay may get its way. The forecast for Thursday was for a steep drop in temperature, which usually means big winds.

Current leaders
(14 boats; after 7 of 10 races; discards after 5 and 9 races)

1. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trevor Barnabas, Australia, (8)-3-1-1-1-4-1, 11 points.

2. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1-2-2-(7)-2-3, 11.

3. Yandoo, John (Woody) Winning/David Gibson/Andrew Hay, Australia, 3-2-3-(5)-2-3-4, 17.

4. CST Composites, Howard Hamlin/Matt Noble/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 2-4-5-4-3-1-(15/DNF), 19.

5. CT Sailbattens, Alex Vallings/Chris Kitchen/Josh McCormack, New Zealand, 4-5-(14/DNF)-7-4-5-2, 27.

6. Maersk Line, Graham Catley/Riley Dean/Nick Catley, New Zealand, 5-(15/DNF)-4-3-6-6-15/DNF, 39.

7. JF Hillebrand, Phil Airey/Murray England/Sam Tretheway, New Zealand, 6-7-6-6-8-7-(15/DNF), 40.

8. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/James Hozack/Tom Anderson, Australia, 7-6-(15/DNF)-10-5-15/DNF, 51.

9. Tangles' Harken Express, Patrick Whitmarsh/Joe Penrod/Mark Breen, USA, (15/DNF)-8-8-145/DNF-9-9-5, 54.

10. Harken Black, Skip McCormack/Paul Allen/Jodi McCormack, Australia, 9-9-7-8-12-12-15/DNF, 57.

11. Skiff Foundation Red/Hogin Sails, John Gilmour/Pike Harris/Cooper Dressler, USA, 10-(15/DNF)-9-9-13-11-15/DNF, 67.

12. skiffsailing.org, Chad Freitas/Dan Morris/Tangles, USA, (15/DNS)-14/DNF-15/DNF-15/DNF-11-10-15/DNF, 81.

13. Harken Grey, (crew names not available), (15/DNS)-15/DNS-15/DNS-15/DNS-10-13-15/DNF, 83.

14. Chad's Angels, Mallory McCollum-Bozina/Yvonne Galvez/Katie Love, USA, no finishes, 90.

High-resolution photo gallery

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
racemgr@stfyc.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net


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Aug 26, 2010, 12:31 PM

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August 25, 2010

It blew doors. At 2pm it looked like idyllic conditions of 80 degree 16-18 knot winds and blue skies. By the 5:30pm starting gun the fog had overrun the sun, the wind had jumped to 25 knots and the 3 knot ebb tide had turned the San Francisco Bay in to a cauldron or mini mountains for the record breaking 57 competitors in this year's 2010 Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race.

Hosted annually by the St. Francis Yacht Club the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge is a unique event that is part of the San Francisco International Skiff Regatta. The event is actually race #8 in the 5 day skiff racing series and while on the score card it's just a single race it's unlike any other event in the world. The race is a 7.5 mile all downwind speed dash between two of the Bay Area's iconic bridges.

First up the Golden Gate Bridge serves as the starting line while the Bay Bridge is the finish line. Well sort of that is. Actually due to the obvious difficulties of spotting the line inflatable boats and buoys are set as close as possible to the bridges to serve as start/finish lines. This year's wild conditions saw only 33 of the 57 competitors make it to the finish line.

In years past the Kiteboards had been given a bit of an edge in that, for safety reasons, they were slotted to the North end of the starting line while the Formula Windsurfers and Skiffs started together on the south end. This placed the Windsurfers and the Skiffs at a bit of a disadvantage in that they would need to make one extra jibe and generally had poorer water and wind conditions off the line. This year however, given the years of experience of running the race, and the high caliber of the competitors the race organizers opened the line up to a single starting line for all.

Thirty seconds before the gun went off the audible crunch of two skiffs coming together rang across the fleet. Unfortunately New Zealander Kiwi skiff skipper Graham Catley was injured in a crash just after the gun. The kiwi's leg was severely cut and we hope he is OK. In another smash up Chad Freitas thought at first he had broken his ribs but was looking much better at the awards dinner and it looks like just bruised and battered body parts for him. -- Waterhound, read on for full report, photos, and GPS track: http://www.waterhound.com/wild-and-windy-carnage-laden-2010-ronstan-bridge-to-bridge.html


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Aug 27, 2010, 9:04 AM

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18ft Skiff International Regatta


San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 22-26, 2010
Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club

Aug. 26, 2010 - Day Five


Thursday's weather: Wind W 18k; air temp. high 64F.

Coxon wins on stormy day in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

The Australian arrived a stranger in town but made himself right at home with the familiarly frisky winds and tides and fog and even an unfamiliar mid-regatta heat wave to win the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club Thursday.

On his first visit to San Francisco, Michael Coxon, overcame a stumbling entrance with five wins in the last eight races to hold off by one point another young Aussie, Herman Winning, who won three.

Howard Hamlin, an original organizer and two-time winner of the event, won the other race in a mid-regatta move before falling victim to the nature of the class that lives on the edge of catastrophe--- in this case three crashes including one instigated by Winning and, indirectly, Coxon.

"I'm really impressed with Michael Coxon's sailing," Hamlin said. "He's never been here and he comes in and figures it out right away."

Under a blanket of fog exclusive to the bay, Coxon was again unbeatable. A two-time winner of the JJ Giltinan International Trophy, the 18s' world championship, he sailed the Thurlow Fisher Lawyers-sponsored skiff with a confident crew of Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas, who have won three and five Giltinans as crew, respectively.

"Boat handling," he said. "It's hard to overtake boats …there are no passing lanes. But the biggest thing is staying upright."

He learned that while running well in the week's first race when a flip turned first place into eighth, which he would discard later as he figured out the 'Frisco scheme of sailing---as Links said, is "which way to go in the tide … go right. Jibe when it's not too breezy. It's real different than Sydney, which is more shifty."

Early on his team also pulled off some daring port-tack starts to beat the rest of the 14-boat fleet to better breeze on the right side of the course, and their wins included a grand slam of sorts: first place overall in Wednesday's 7 1/2-mile one-way Bridge to Bridge Race from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge amid a madcap mob of windsurfers and kite boards.

"It's a different thing over here," Coxon said. "It's great to beat these guys in their home waters … and it was really special winning the Bridge race."

The 10-race series became nine because Wednesday's first race was abandoned when the waters off Alcatraz Island were churned into a minefield by a 3-knot ebb tide crashing into 29 knots of westerly wind. With the Bridge to Bridge Race scheduled to follow and travel schedules a concern on the final day, no effort was made to re-try a 10th race.

That set up Coxon and Winning for a showdown deadlock, each with 11 points, going into the last race. The pair had overtaken an apparent runaway by Hamlin in the first race Sunday when the latter sailed into a dead zone after rounding the last mark as Coxon and Winning went the other way.

Then, moments after the final start, all three were sailing on starboard tack toward the sea wall fronting the St. Francis Yacht Club when Hamlin, on starboard right of way, and Herman, on port, collided, flattening Hamlin's CST Composites-sponsored skiff with the crew scrambling in the water.

Back at the Crissy Field staging area, Herman explained: "What happened was we had Michael Coxon to leeward of us, and normally when you get close to the shore you can call 'water,' which means the boat above you has to tack, and he was calling it on us. I thought it was too early, but we then called it on Howie [because] it's a basic rule and we all have to abide by it."

Awaiting Hamlin's return to shore, Herman said, "In hindsight, we definitely should have ducked Howie."

He expected even the easy going Hamlin to be steamed, and he was right. After Hamlin and his crew hauled their skiff ashore, Herman approached and was first met by veteran crew member Fritz Lanzinger as Hamlin tidied up some gear. They all engaged in several minutes of animated discussion of the incident, and then parted with cool handshakes.

Hamlin said later he would not protest---which might have been a precedent in the 18ft Skiff class---because "it's not going to change anything, so there's no point."

Herman said, "At the end of the day, if it was really serious Howie would be protesting us and we'd be protesting Michael. But hopefully we can all be friends."

Final notes on Wednesday's Bridge to Bridge Race when the 18s swept the first three places---Coxon, New Zealand's Alex Vallings and Herman Winning. Twenty-two of 58 starters finished---5 of 14 skiffs, 7 of 30 kite boards and 10 of 14 sailboards. Coxon's time for the 7 1/2-mile run from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge was 24 minutes 41 seconds, about a minute ahead of Vallings. . . . Maersk Lines skipper Graham Catley withdrew from Thursday's racing after sustaining a 40-stitch gash in his lower left leg when his skiff crashed in the wake of a power boat trying to avoid him at the start of the Bridge race. He watched the action from the StFYC veranda. . . . Harken Grey's Chad Freitas, the Bay's 18 skiff leader, showed up wincing with an injured rib and was replaced by Charlie Smythe on Paul Galvez' team.

Final standings
(14 boats; 9 races; 2 discards)

1. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trent Barnabas, Australia, (8)-3-1-1-1-(4)-1-2-1, 10 points.

2. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1-2-2-(7)-2-(3)-1-2, 11.

3. Yandoo, John (Woody) Winning/David Gibson/Andrew Hay, Australia, 3-2-3-(5)-2-3-4-(6)-3, 20.

4. CST Composites, Howard Hamlin/Matt Noble/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 2-4-5-4-3-1-(15/DNF)-3-(6), 22.

5. CT Sailbattens, Alex Vallings/Chris Kitchen/Josh McCormack, New Zealand, 4-5-(15/DNF)-(7)-4-5-2-4-4, 28.

6. JF Hillebrand, Phil Airey/Murray England/Sam Tretheway, New Zealand, 6-7-6-6-(8)-7-(15/DNF-5-5, 42.

7. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/James Hozack/Tom Anderson, Australia, 7-6-(15/DNF)-10-5-8-(15/DNF)-7-7, 50.

8. Maersk Line, Graham Catley/Riley Dean/Nick Catley, New Zealand, 5-(15/DNF)-4-3-6-6-(15/DNF)-15/DNS-15/DNS, 54. 8.

9. Tangles' Harken Express, Patrick Whitmarsh/Joe Penrod/Mark Breen, USA, (15/DNF)-8-8-(15/DNF)-9-9-5-9-9, 57.

10. Harken Black, Skip McCormack/Paul Allen/Jodi McCormack,
USA, 9-9-7-8-(12)-12-(15/DNF)-8-8, 61.

11. Skiff Foundation Red/Hogin Sails, John Gilmour/Pike Harris/Cooper Dressler, USA, 10-(15/DNF)-9-9-13-11-(15/DNF)-10-15/DNS, 77.

12. skiffsailing.org, John Gilmour/Dan Morris/Tangles, USA, (15/DNS)-(15/DNF)-15/DNF-15/DNF-11-10-15/DNF, 92.

13. Harken Grey, Paul Galvez/Charlie Smythe, Trevor Bodina, (15/DNS)-(15/DNS)-15/DNS-15/DNS-10-13-15/DNF-15/DNS-15/DNS, 98.

14. Chad's Angels, Mallory McCollum-Bozina/Yvonne Galvez/Katie Love, USA, no finishes.

High-resolution photo gallery

St. Francis Yacht Club

RACE MANAGER
John Craig
415.563.6363
racemgr@stfyc.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net


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