(Long Beach, CA)- The Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week (LBRW) concluded
with a ‘splash’ – as classic Long Beach conditions gelled, and a solid
breeze filled in from the west. Ivory cirrus swirled in the blue skies;
steady waves and swell barreled through the courses.After three days of exciting, and sometimes challenging, racing – Bruce Golison aboard the J/70 MIDLIFE CRISIS was awarded One-Design Boat of the Week.
LBRW had its origins in 1980, and is hosted by neighboring Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC). The co-hosts and friendly rivals have traded trophies in the coveted Yacht Club Challenge, which this year went to ABYC.
In
the twenty boat J/70 fleet – the largest of the regatta – Bruce Golison
looked like he’d had his own start and at the mark roundings. With an
indomitable lead over the 19-boat fleet Golison won his division, and
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week Boat of the Week in the One Design
category. Golison only began sailing J/70s in September, winning that
first regatta (J/Fest San Diego) and maintaining a triumphant track
record ever since. He was followed by Jay Janov’s MINOR THREAT from
California YC in 2nd and Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT team from Wayzata YC in
3rd. A fast up and comer in the J/70 fleet also appears to be Chris
Raab’s crew on SUGOI from Newport Harbor YC, taking 4th place. Fifth
was San Francisco YC’s Chris Kostanecki sailing JENNIFER.Curt Johnson’s AVET logged a tidy record of seven straight bullets to clinch the J/80 fleet over Mark Hunter’s IN-APPROPRIATE in 2nd and David Angers’ MISS DEMEANOR in 3rd.
John
Laun’s CAPER also had a dominating performance in the eight boat J/120
class with five 1sts and two 2nds in seven races for a mere 9 pts. “The
Commodores” on Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER from San Diego YC couldn’t
overcome CAPER’s speed and brilliance, having to hang tight for 2nd
overall with 13 pts. Third was Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY with 22 pts.A strong showing of nine J/109s provided excellent, tight racing for the fleet. Nevertheless, it was Tom Brott’s ELECTRA from Santa Barbara YC that took first overall, posting four 1sts in his scoreline for 13 pts. Second was Steve Crooke’s SUGAR from host Long Beach YC and third was Peter Nelson’s SPRAY from California YC.
In the world of PHRF handicap racing, Glenn Griley’s J/111 STAMPEDE managed two 1sts in their seven races, but not enough to crack the top three, settling for 4th in PHRF Class 2. In PHRF Class 3, it was David Boatner’s J/35 RIVAL that just missed out on class victory by only one point, even after posting four 1sts! Finally, in PHRF Class 4, it was Scott McDaniel’s J/105 OFF THE PORCH that walked away with class honors after winning 5 of 7 races for a total of 11 pts. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JOYphoto.com For more Long Beach Race Week sailing information
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