Latitude 38 October 2014
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VOLUME 448 October 2014 WE GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS 2014 ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES — The 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series broad-reached into town on September 11-14, attracting year, only a quarter of the entries raced expensive damage. The Melges 24 Posse 99 boats and hundreds of sailors from in the three handicap classes, while dismasted and retired. Hawkeye, an around the country and beyond, to — there was an all-time high of seven one- IMX-38, also retired after a collision that let’s not mince words — the greatest design classes — including the smallest involved two other boats. Flash Gordon sailing venue on the planet. boats ever to race in the Big Boat Series, 6 and Groovederci came together in the For many, just participating in this the not-quite-23-ft J/70s. Farr 40 class, with the former suffering preeminent buoy-racing event — amid Race Chairman Norman Davant the worst of it. Helmut Jahn and his voiced the crew worked furiously into the night, reality and and the boat was back on the line the frustration next day. BridgeRunner, an SL33 sailing many feel in the multihull division, broke a hiking about this rack while practicing on Wednesday, and trend in one delaminated a daggerboard later. "We’re sentence: good for the local economy," quipped "We work re- owner Urs Rothacher. ally hard to The only signifi cant bodily injuries keep on the that we heard about both occurred on cutting edge the same boat in the same race — and of the sport aboard a veteran RBBS boat with an — but we otherwise sterling safety record. On Sat- can’t control urday’s windy second race, the Express what people 37 Golden Moon’s impeccable demeanor buy." started to unwind when pit person Eliza DANIEL FORSTER / ROLEX DANIEL Fortunate- Paulling fell during a tack and broke her Don Payan made the switch from the ly, while length right arm. After she signalled owner/ J/120 'Dayenu' to the MC38 'Whiplash' and displacement skipper Kame Richards to keep going, last year. Inset: Payan and Scott Easom. 'quantities' might at the next leeward rounding, the crew San Francisco Bay’s strong winds, not be what they tricky currents and spectacular were back in 'the vistas — is enough to check off day', the quality the bucket list. For more serious of the RBBS’s long programs, the Series serves as the weekend in Sep- year’s fi nal exams, graduation day and tember continues to shine brightly. senior prom all rolled into one. The parties aren’t too bad, either. First held in 1964, the BBS shares its This year’s racing followed the tried half-century birthday with such cultural and true seven-race, no-throwout for- icons as the Beatles' fi rst hit, Ford’s mat, with two races per day Thursday Mustang, Dr. Strangelove and Sports through Saturday, and — with two ex- Illustrated’s fi rst swimsuit issue. Back ceptions that we’ll note later — a single then, and for decades after, it really was long 'grand tour' on Sunday. a "Big" boat series, attracting many of the All fleets rotated race days over world's top syndicates, and year by year three different 'circles', with starts at Alcatraz, Fort Ma- son and Berkeley — and all second races fi nished off the race deck of the hosting St. Francis YC. The summer wind ma- chine delivered its usual low teens for the morning DANIEL FORSTER / ROLEX DANIEL races, notching The smallest class in the regatta, the J/70s into the low 20s for most of the afternoon garnered 13 entries in their sophomore outing bouts. The windiest race was Saturday at Rolex Big Boat Series. afternoon, when Swiftsure’s instruments charting the very evolution of high-end recorded a 31-knot gust on the Berkeley sailing. course. But over the last 20 years or so, the While minor gear carnage — torn boats have progressively shrunk in size sails and broken hardware — seemed about average, a few boats suffered more and gravitated toward one design. This FORSTER / ROLEX DANIEL Page 76 • Latitude 38 • October, 2014 THE BIG 5-0 wrapped their spinnaker around the Kiwi-chartered TP 52 Beecom mark. When the boat jibed, mainsheet was heavily favored to sweep trimmer Larry Tuttle got thrown face- the class. first into the traveler. Both Paulling Then, on the second race on and Tuttle soldiered on, and the blood- Thursday, everything changed. Carrying a big lead, Beecom was smoking down to mark #4 only to fi nd. it wasn’t Swiftsure’s instruments there. They called the race recorded a 31-knot gust committee, which rushed a boat out just as Whiplash ar- on the Berkeley course. rived. She and the rest of the fl eet rounded the mark boat itself — by which time Beecom spattered boat fi nished — in fi rst place. was headed back to the dock. FORSTER / ROLEX DANIEL Here’s how some other boats ‘earned To the astonishment of many, Beecom The J/111s 'Aeolus' and 'MadMen' – which it’ this year. was denied redress by the international fi nished the series fi rst and second respectively jury and scored DNF. – sail out the Gate to the mark at Point Diablo. HPR Suddenly, it was a whole new ball- thirds. As with all good edge-of-your- Going into this year’s series, Whip- game. Some quick calculations aboard seaters, this one came down to the fi nal lash’s Don Payan didn’t have high hopes Whiplash, an MC38, showed that Beecom race, the 25-mile Bay Tour on Sunday. for a win. Although he feels HPR is "an could be beaten, even if she sailed a Whiplash and Hamachi went into the excellent rule for high-performance perfect series from then on. start tied on points, and the game of boats," by size alone, Anatole Masfen’s For the next three days, while Beecom ‘stretch and reel’ began — Whiplash’s The TP52 'Beecom', a Japanese boat chartered scored her expected bullets in the last blazing downwind speed would stretch by Kiwis, roars through a gate off Crissy Field. four races, Whiplash and Greg Slyngs- out her lead, only to have it reeled in by She could've won the HPR class, if only… tad’s J/125 Hamachi traded seconds and Hamachi, which could sail higher and 2014 ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES — Lesley, Rick Shuldt, Julia Paxton, and Will Paxton calling tactics. At the start of the fi rst race on Thursday, a three-boat collision threatened to end Encore’s series before it even began. Contact between Swiftsure and Hawkeye threw the latter boat into Encore. With minimal damage — a bent pulpit and stanchions on the aft port quarter -— Koide and crew kept sail- ing and eventually won both Thursday races. In the protest room, Encore was absolved of blame. Swiftsure took a DSQ. Hawkeye incurred so much damage that owner Frank Morrow retired the boat from further competition. WWW.NORCALSAILING.COM As if her fi rst day didn’t offer enough 'Encore' and 'Deception' work the shore for score totalled 18, which beat Hamachi by drama, the ORR series came down to the current relief. Inset: 'Encore's owners, Suzie one point, and Beecom by four. Whiplash fi nal race. Encore had only a one-point and Wayne Koide, with tactician Will Paxton. skipper Payan was quick to credit the lead over Jeff Pulford’s Sydney 38 Bustin faster upwind. guys who made it happen. In addition Loose. Due to a race committee timing On the second-to-last beat, as the to Easom, they are Pete McCormick, error and subsequent throwout of a race fl eet was heading toward the weather Gary Sadamori, Matt Siddens, Ernie earlier in the series, the ORR class was mark and Hamachi was once again Rodrigues, Steve Marsh, and "boat whis- given two buoy races on Sunday instead coming up fast on their weather hip, perer" (navigator) Christopher Lewis. of one long grand tour. Whiplash tactician Scott Easom decided "After four days of racing, we were it was time to do or die. Whiplash tacked ORR The Farr 40 'Plenty' goes through the wash onto starboard and forced Hamachi to do Wayne Koide’s Sydney 36CR En- cycle. Inset: Tactician Terry Hutchinson and the same, sending them into the building core was third in her handicap divi- skipper Alex Roepers from NYYC. fl ood, then tacking back. When Hamachi sion in 2012, tacked back, Whiplash did it again. As and second in the opportunity for a third engagement 2013. One of developed, Easom spotted a huge shift the things that over near Sausalito. elevated her "At that point we just threw the yacht game in this racing book out the window and went year’s 10-boat for the right," he says. With the combi- ORR division nation of breeze and favorable current, was partici- Whiplash put three minutes and several pation in this hundred yards on Hamachi at the top summer’s Pa- mark, which the J/125 could never re- cifi c Cup. After cover. more than a Whiplash won the series without win- week of down- / CHRIS HEAD SHOTS LATITUDE ALL ning a single race. Their 4,2,3,3,2,2,2 wind driving, Although they didn't make a big deal of it, Koide says, someone off the J/111 'MadMen' took an un- "the boat and planned swim. I got to know each other a lot better." An- other big fac- tor was his crew: Ben Bur- bridge, Casey Gray, Kelsey Tostenson, Suzie Koide (Wayne’s wife and Encore’s pit person), Cherie Scha- LESLIE RICHTER / WWW.ROCKSKIPPER.COM mun, Randall Page 78 • Latitude 38 • October, 2014 THE BIG 5-0 Boat Series? Well, if you’re Bruce Stone, "You marry a really smart tactician." That Championship in Long Beach.