Crew Makes Difference in Freefall’s Victory

SAN DIEGO —  Skipper Mark Rinsler proved Saturday that he doesn’t need much to win a yacht race. Just some moderate winds, a clean start and enough guys for a full crew aboard his 26-foot Columbia “Freefall.”

Rinsler had all three working for him--a clean-air start, gusts between 12 and 14 knots and three crewmen--as he won the BMW Sailing Classic at San Diego Bay. His boat covered the 10-mile triangular course in 1 hour, 23 minutes, 33 seconds.

Freefall actually finished fourth. It was passed by two much faster 70-foot yachts, Ole and Katmandu, and the 12-meter Heart of America, a one-time America’s Cup contender, just before the final buoy. But Rinsler’s boat, which was built in 1969, had the best performance according to a modified handicap system.

Rinsler, 43, can thank Chris Busch and Geoff Davis for the fact that Freefall raced faster for its potential than any other yacht on the water.

Rinsler, who lives in Bonita, has raced the 6-year-old BMW regatta many times before, but never with more than two men aboard. Because of that, Freefall never finished better than fifth.

“This is the first time in five years I raced with a full crew,” said Rinsler, who finished 21st in the 1990 race. “What a difference a crew makes.”

That full crew could be heartily rewarded. First prize is a trip to the Caribbean, where an empty yacht will be available to the Rinsler party for a week. Rinsler should make sure John Krase has a plane ticket. He’s the one crewman who has sailed the past five years.

“Prior to today we were double-handling the boat,” said Rinsler. “We sailed pretty aggressively with a full crew. We got started fast. We got clean air. We didn’t have to tack away from any boats. We led for four of the five marks.”

Rinsler had the know-how. He just needed the manpower. He bought Freefall in 1984 and has won 12 events with it. The latest victory came last December when he finished first in Class D in the three-race Hot Rum Series on San Diego Bay. Overall, Freefall was third out of more than 100 boats, one place behind an Etchells 22-footer skippered by Dennis Conner.

Rinsler started sailing in Monterey Bay at 19. He moved to San Diego in 1975. He’s a member of the Cortez Racing Assn. and he owns a yacht outfitting and repair business: Western Yacht Commissioning. Not wanting to sail in tandem again this year, Rinsler got one of his employees, Busch, 29, aboard Freefall. Next he added Davis, 34, to make it a foursome along with Krase, 41. Davis comes from good stock. His brother, Rod Davis, will skipper for New Zealand in the America’s Cup.

Everything fell into place for Rinsler and Freefall.

“The bay was pretty calm, the water was fairly flat and we had the right amounts of breeze for a heavy old boat,” he said.

Conditions were perfect for several old yachts, including 1990 winner Sprig, which finished fifth this year under a different skipper, Keith McKinnon of San Diego. Sprig, six meters long and built in 1930, was one of the oldest boats on the water. Sprig finished in 1:28, nearly 3 1/2 minutes behind Freefall. It might have failed to repeat, but Sprig’s crew had to be satisfied with its fifth place. It was racing for the first since a major overhaul.

“We’ve been sailing like crazy to get the boat back in shape and get it in tune,” said McKinnon of his boat, which was stripped to bare wood on the deck and sides and had the hull replaced. “It’s only been in the water two weeks.”

At 61, Sprig showed that it’s not ready for retirement.

“We were fortunate last year,” said McKinnon, a part owner of the boat. “We reach our maximum speed at 8-to-10 knots. That’s what we had last year and that’s about what we averaged today, with some 12- to 15-knot gusts.”

Bligh’s Spirit, a 36-footer with a 10-man crew skippered by San Diego’s Jay Butler, finished second in 1:27:11. Rhino, a three-man 22-foot Etchells skippered by San Diego’s Bruce Nelson, finished third in 1:27:24.

More than 160 boats were entered in the BMW Classic, which compares itself to an all-comers meet in track and field. The boats need not be affiliated with any yacht club or offer an official challenge to compete. Proceeds from the event--the entry fees plus matching funds by the sponsors--will go to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.