Day of change greets racers

Bryce Alderton

Sparkling skies and steady, but calm winds provided near-ideal

conditions for sailing Friday on the second day of competition of the

Pacific Life Yacht Club Challenge.

So much so that sailors stayed on the water to make up for lost

ground that came with Thursday’s strong, shifting winds that delayed

the start of match racing.

Such was not the case Friday as teams of amateur sailors from 10

of the nation’s most prestigious yacht clubs, including event host

Newport Harbor, finished 25 races by 4:30 p.m. Friday and stayed on

the water to complete 10 more by dusk.

Sailors finished just 20 races Thursday.

Through 45 total races, which statistics were available, Newport

Harbor Yacht Club, defending champion St. Francis Yacht Club of San

Francisco and San Diego Yacht Club were all tied for first with seven

wins apiece followed by Balboa Yacht Club’s six victories.

Southern, Houston and California yacht club’s all had four wins.

San Francisco Yacht Club had three, Bayview two and Rochester zero

wins.

“They like sailing more races, they are competitive,” said William

von Kleinsmid, who drove one of three spectator boats to observe

racers navigating the leased Catalina 37s around the course staged

west of the jetty point.

He said he reached the course by 12:15 p.m. Friday as races had

begun and stayed until about 3 p.m.

Winds averaged 10-12 knots from the west, Von Kleinsmid said,

giving sailors more consistency than a day earlier, when Santa Ana

gusts blowing from the east and breezes coming off the ocean jockeyed

for supremacy.

“When wind exceeds 18 knots, that is tough on the boats,” said von

Kleinsmid, who has raced boats in the area for several years.

Thursday’s racing took place between Newport and Balboa piers, Tom

Gilbertson, Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s general manager, said.

“[Friday] they cleared from the dock at 10:30 [a.m.] and were

racing by 11:30,” von Kleinsmid said.

Race officials shifted the course south to better align with the

winds and the result was some competitive duels.

“They were all very close, there were no runaways and no major

gear failures, which is good,” von Kleinsmid said.

Despite finishing 55 races through two days, the event is one or

two flights behind schedule, Race Director Jennifer Lancaster said.

Teams go head-to-head in match racing instead of competing against

several boats at once as in fleet racing.

Five races comprise one flight in this championship and all 10

teams, which include seven per boat, will sail against each of their

opponents twice in the double round-robin format.

Each individual race lasts about 20 minutes and requires boats to

sail around buoys spread two miles apart.

The top four finishers advance to the semifinals for a

best-two-of-three series.

Racing concludes Sunday.

The varying weather conditions provide opportunities for sailors

to combine their skills, which adds to the event’s intrigue,

Gilbertson said.

“It’s unmatched competition that tests skills of amateur sailors,”

Gilbertson said. “Some of these people are used to winds off a lake

and then come to Newport where the winds are light and puffy. There

are different sets of circumstances you have to adjust to.”