SCYA Midwinters,

Alamitos Bay YC,

Long Beach California

14-15 February 2004

We seem to take it for granted but, comparing ourselves with other 505 sailing groups, Southern California is a different experience. The midwinters this year exemplify perfectly the unique aspects of sailing in So Cal. Racing out of sight, two miles offshore from an endless urban jungle, post-race activity is so 505-centric that hours long meetings about boat set-up and practice schedules provide the main entertainment (on Valentine's day, no less), the host YC kicks us out of the bar at 6:00, and we share the race course with everything from 20ft performance cats to Cal 20's. All pretty fun, I thought at the time.

11 teams competed – 7 from the LA area and 4 from San Diego. This was a great turn out for San Diego boats. Seems like the guys going to the Worlds next summer are starting to take all this a little more seriously. Wind was moderate from the south all weekend. Nothing weird like during the Turkey regatta last November. It would start out around 8 kts for the first race, and build fitfully during the afternoon. We got in 4 races Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Following the last race Sunday, several boats took advantage of the building wind and early afternoon hour to take a spirited romp around the outer LA breakwater.

In the first race, Mike Martin and Jeff Nelson were very fast on the first beat and rounded the first mark several boat lengths ahead. They pulled further in front of the pack after that and were never seen again. In spite of a start gone terribly wrong, in which we were headed toward the leeward mark as the gun sounded, Team Weasel rounded in second place behind Mike and Jeff. We were able to beat back the rabble and hold onto second until the bottom of the last lap when Howie Hamlin/John Bell and Andy Beeckman/Ben Benjamin both got around us. We actually thought we had passed the Young Bucks back as we approached the finish, but instead were surprised by how skewed the finish line was (not in our favor, of course). That was to be our best race of the weekend. We hung out in 5^th or 6^th during most of the rest of the races, usually playing catch up after a horrible start. But that first race was enough to put us into 4^th place overall. Whatever it takes, ya know?

The wind picked up enough in the last two races Saturday to make the decision to wire-run really even. Strategic puffs and blown gybes were more the determining factor down wind. Good sailing. Race number three was a short single lap. Brad Wheeler and Bill Mais got out in front early and carried into the finish line for a first place. Excellent job, gentlemen.

That evening everyone gathered upstairs at ABYC for a debrief. Discussion covered rig tension, hiking vs trapping, crew weight, gear shifting as the wind built during the second half of the day. Later that night, Team Weasel was joined by American Section president Aaron Ross and brother Bob Merino at dinner, an excellent Mexican repast in the nearby village. The group retired to South Shore YC where dad George Merino is a member in excellent standing. The details area bit fuzzy after that, but please accept my assurances that Dan, Aaron, and I awoke the next morning in separate bunks aboard the Merino family yacht in LA harbor.

The conditions that greeted us Sunday morning promised more of the same. Mike Jue and Marc Winger arrived, late but in time to make the first start. They wasted no time getting caught up on the gossip, and enjoyed hearing about how Dan and I managed to hook the starting pin in our standing rigging the day before (another example of how critical a good sense of timing is to being a good sailor).

For the record, we also had an OCS. I will forever maintain that it was merely the result of zeal to achieve good, aggressive starts. But, for the reading public, it also suggests the flavor of the weekend’s record of starting quality.

The highlight of the weekend came after the last race. The RC ran only two races on Sunday, and the wind was building as the last race ended. The 505s regrouped above the finish line and formed an impromptu tuning session. The course ran out the middle gate of Long Beach harbor, about 2 miles away, then down the outer side and back into Alamitos bay. It was great beat up the harbor, in flat water and the crew completely trapped out all the time. Once through the gate, we all set and ran down the sea side of the wall, trapped out the whole way. While not the survival conditions of Santa Cruz, it was still a lot of fun. Dan and I practiced a few wire-wire gybes in the little swell that came around Palos Verdes. A great way to end the weekend.

See results at http://www.abyc.org/2004REGATTAS/MIDWINTERS/2004midwinters.htm

Bill Jenkins

Of Team Weasel, aboard USA 8411