­

s5_logo.png

 

Mercury Class Yacht Racing Association

2013 CBYC Small Boat Regatta (Aka Turkey Regatta)

I was going to open this report with "A nice sunny day in SoCal", but I guess I have used that line too much. It was nice after the rain with a mid sixty temp, a smooth sea and a 5-6 knot breeze. There were 16 Mercs entered on the sausage course finishing on the wind.

Race one saw Brad Bergeron and Daniel Kim get off to a good start  and hold off Randy and Katherine Smith and Dave West and Mark Roberts to win on the one lap course.They finished in that order. Fourth place went to Bob Zellmer and Jim Wasti sailing their best race in a Merc. Fifth place went to current National Champ Chris Rabb and Kenny Dair.

Race two was the same course with the wind moving more west as the course was moved, but Greg Dair and Mike Burch were ready to make their move. They held off Raab to win. Raab was second followed by Pax Davis and Gerry Lampert in third. Bergeron was fourth and Smith was fifth.

Race three Raab was showing his stuff by winning on the same course. The wind direction was moving more to the right and Rabb went right from the start. West was in hot pursuit to get second followed by Dair in third. Tom Priest and Damon Guizoz sailed one of their better races to place fourth.Chris Messano and Doug Baird placed fifth. 

Race four was a twice around course with the weather mark being moved more to the right. Raab had to fight off Dair to win, both Mercs going hard right from the start. Dair placed second just ahead of West. Messano was moving faster and placed fourth. Smith won the fifth place. At the end of day one Raab had a lead over Dair with West close behind. 

Day two was a beautiful day with a 5-8 breeze moving slowly to the normal direction with a smooth sea. The race committee delayed the start for about 20 minutes as to let the wind direction settle.

Race five had the fleet playing the right side of the single sausage course. Rabb was on his game again, but he had a new player to fend off. Richard Whiteley and Kate Wall, sailing their best race in a Merc, hung in with leaders and placed second. Dair was leading West and Smith to take the third through fifth places. 

Race six another single sausage course. The direction of the breeze had settled and the normal lifts going into the weather were appearing. There was a general recall that had the race committee use the "I" flag for the next start. Dair had enough of Rabb and went right again, controlled the fleet and won the race. Messano was moving very well making no tactical errors and placed second. Rabb was third followed by Priest who did a nice job of holding off Davis to place fourth with Davis fifth. 

Race seven was a double sausage  as the breeze at times got to the high of the range.Once again there was a general recall and the "I" flag was displayed and worked. Davis and Dair had there own race with Davis getting by Dair on the first run and holding him off to place first. Raab was second as Dair was playing with Davis. but needed more help to overtake Raab to win the regatta. Dair placed third in the race followed by Messano. MCYRA vice president Eric Conn and brother Tracy had their best race of the series to place fifth. 

Congratulations to Chris Raab and Kenny Dair for their regatta win. Greg Dair, sailing with Mike Burch, is a fine young sailor and formidable competitor. Let's keep him sailing with us. They placed second in the regatta.  Not to be overlooked, Randy Smith won the Travel Trophy for 2013. 

Many thanks to the Cabrillo Beach YC for picking up the regatta. The race committee work was excellent. Mike Burch set up the racing, the food and the entertainment. What a greater weekend.

2013 CBYC Small Boat Regatta (Turkey Regatta)
Boat Skipper R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Place Net Total
570 Rabb 5 2 1 1 1 3 2 15 10 1
472 Dair 6 1 3 2 3 1 3 19 13 2
429 West 3 6 2 3 4 14 9 41 27 3
580 Davis 10 3 8 6 6 5 1 39 29 4
408 Messano 9 9 5 4 11 2 4 44 33 5
467 Bergeron 1 4 6 14 8 8 7 48 34 6
543 Smith 2 5 9 5 5 17 17 60 43 7
468 Priest 11 7 4 13 9 4 11 59 46 8
542 Conn 8 8 10 9 7 9 5 56 46 9
475 Clark 7 16 7 10 10 12 8 70 54 10
532 Whiteley 13 15 12 12 2 10 6 70 55 11
572 Densmore 12 11 14 7 14 6 12 76 62 12
565 Erickson 14 10 11 15 13 7 10 80 65 13
455 Zellmer 4 13 15 8 17 17 17 91 74 14
504 Burns 15 12 13 11 12 13 13 89 74 15
477 Lubkemann 16 14 16 16 15 11 17 105 88 16

 


2013 Perry Cup Opener

The weather was not hot nor to cold. I guess it depends how young a sailor is. The sun was out the breeze was 10 -12 for the first race with a mean chop on the port tack of the twice around double sausage finishing downwind.

Fifteen Mercs entered the regatta. it seemed all day that the Merc that got away first held the first position all the way. Dave West and Kris Krueger did just that in the first race. Randy Smith and John Verdoia had a solid second all the way. Doug Baird and Kate Conway won a tight duel with Pax Davis and Dave Morris to place third. Davis was fourth followed by Dan Simmons and Phil McAfee in fifth place. There were a number of place changes in the race.

Race two, twice around finishing on the wind, it was John Hansen and Tony Basso to do wire to wire in first place. Bill and Katie Worden held the second all the way. With the wind shifting more southerly and the go left plan in effect, the race for third through fifth was up for grabs. Jack and Patti McAleer sailed well to place third. Baird had to come from behind to place fourth. Smith fell in a whole going to far left, but came out of it with a fifth place.

Race three was Baird’s turn to go wire to wire to get first place in a race that had some holes and twenty degree shifts. The course was a three time sausage finishing downwind. The next four Mercs had a great race on the last two laps. Davis was able to hold off the other three, but West went out in the middle on the run to pass the other two to get third place. Meanwhile McAleer was got fourth by a nose over Myron Erickson and Aaron Lee. Erickson sailing his best race placed fifth.
Baird leads going into Day two with eight points over West’s ten. There are four Mercs in within three points following the leaders.

Day two, race four, a double sausage finishing on the wind. Baird took off again was able to do well in the chop on the port tack.Even going to the shore for smoother water and a nice lift on port tack, the chop was there and the wind direction pointed you directly into the seas. Smith was in the chase ,but had to fend off Davis. They finished second and third. On the beat to the finish Davis had all he could handle with Hansen who was a couple of seconds behind in fourth place. West finished fifth.
The wind was holding, in fact blowing a little harder with the port tack seas building a little more for race five. Once again Baird got off quick and was never headed, but definitely challenged by Smith. West placed third followed by Hansen and Simmons.

Race six had only six starters as there were some mishaps and the breeze and seas were at their peak. Smith was off and was not challenged, however the rest of the racers were very close on the double sausage course finishing downwind. Hansen followed Smith to place second followed by West, Davis and Simmons.
Congratulation to Baird for a decisive win taking three first places and to Ben Bradley who won the Silver fleet.
Many thanks to Dick Clark for organizing and running the entire event. Mart Gingras with the help of Steve Kraft set the marks. Chip Wood, John Laughton and Garth Hobson helped on the committee boat. As usual the Wombles were out monitoring the fleet.

2013-2014  Perry Cup                       
Boat No.  Skipper  Race 1  2 3 4 5 6 Tot Day  Tot  Disc  Tot  Plac 
508 Baird  3 4 1 1 1 16 26 26 16 10 1
543 Smith  2 5 8 2 2 1 20 20 8 12 2
429 West  1 6 3 5 3 3 21 21 6 15 3
562 Hansen  9 1 6 4 4 2 26 26 9 17 4
580 Davis  4 7 2 3 6 4 26 26 7 19 5
463 Simmons  5 9 11 7 5 5 42 42 11 31 6
553 Bradley S  6 11 7 8 8 6 46 46 11 35 7
459 McAleer  7 3 4 16 16 16 62 62 16 46 8
538 Russell S  11 10 9 10 7 16 63 63 16 47 9
432 Worden  10 2 16 6 16 16 66 66 16 50 10
548 Nelson S  8 8 16 9 16 16 73 73 16 57 11
565 Erickson  13 12 5 12 16 16 74 74 16 58 12
572 Densmore S  12 13 10 11 16 16 78 78 16 62 13
484 Rienhart S  14 14 16 16 16 16 92 92 16 76 14
524 Chandler  16 16 16 16 16 16 96 96 16 80 15

2013 Joe Logan Regatta
 
The weather in San Francisco this past week has been great. How about 80 degrees plus all week. It was close to that on race day. Not often you have to come in from a day of racing at St. Francis YC and go into shirt sleeves because it was warm.

The races were postponed for almost two hours until our start. The flood Jim Bradley said was going to happen was gone and we had the makings of a nice ebb tide. The breeze might have hit 15 knots, but no more. 

All three races were double sausages finishing downwind. The tide created some chop with a lot was traffic on the bay. Randy Smith and Kurt Hemmingsen had an excellent start in race one and were never headed. Pax Davis and Aaron Lee chased Smith as the two Mercs separated from the fleet. Myron Erickson and Phil Mcafee were a solid third.

Race two was no different Smith was chased by Davis who could not find away to catch him. Smith won with Davis second. Jim and Ben Bradley were third.

Race three Larry Nelson and Terry Bennett made a great port tack start and sailed a great race. Smith and Davis had their private war going. Davis did lead for the first lap, but Smith was too tough and won his third straight race. Davis was second ahead of Nelson.The three finished within 30 seconds.

Race four on Sunday morning was early and the fleet was able to start with the flood tide turning to ebb. The sea was smooth and the breeze about 10 knots for the double sausage finishing downwind. Doug Baird and Zach Hill got the start and were never caught. Smith and Davis had their usual competition with Smith getting the second spot with Davis third. The best course to sail was a couple of tacks to the shore and then to the the windward mark.

Race five Bradley had enough of this and took the start, but Baird showing excellent speed got by Bradley. The wind had come up slightly, but between the ebb tide getting up steam and the bay traffic, the sea was getting lumpy. Baird won followed by Bradley and Smith.

Congratulations to Smith for winning the Joe Logan Trophy easily. Many thanks to the St. Francis Race Committee for the beer and food and the good racing.

 

 
2013 Joe Logan
             
 
Race
1
2
3
4
5
Finish
Place
Sail No
Skipper
             
                 
543
Randy Smith
1
1
1
2
3
8
1
580
Pax Davis
2
2
2
3
4
13
2
553
Jim Bradley
5
3
4
4
2
18
3
565
Myron Erickson
3
4
5
5
5
22
4
548
Larry Nelson
4
5
3
6
6
24
5
508
Doug Baird
8
8
8
1
1
26
6
584
Ken Maring
6
8
8
8
8
38
7
 

2013 Labor Day Regatta at Stillwater Cove

Twelve Mercs entered this historic regatta on what looked like a beautiful sunny day. The courses were all sausages finishing downwind. The breeze was at a peak 8-10 knots, but shifty and a little lump in the water.

Race one was started exactly at noon. The course was twice around in a westerly wind. Doug Baird and Tara Whipple tacked at the pin and went right as is the best move. Baird led the group and towards the first leeward mark. Baird was heades toward the committee boat instead of the designated mark, the other end of the starting line. He corrected, but some followed him and the fleet compressed. This allowed Mark and Lisa Chandler to be first to the weather mark. As the fleet sorted out Baird won, Bill and Katie Worden placed second followed by Pax Davis and Steve Kraft. Jim and Kathy Bradley placed fourth as Chandler went too deep on the run and was fifth.

Race two was three times around the course. Jack and Patty McAleer went left and behind Chandler were way in front of the fleet. They picked up a little southerly. McAleer passed Chandler on the run cried the first place to the finish. Chandler held on to place second. Baird was the first of those that went right to place third. Bradley did a comeback job as did Davis to place fourth and fifth.

The fog coming in, delaying the start, and the very light breeze coming from the south on a three times around designated course. Once again McAleer showed his stuff by going left and doing an horizon job on the fleet. The race was shortened as McAleer completed the first lap. Randy Smith and John Hayes were able to hold off the compressed fleet at the finish to place second. Worden had a fine leg to the finish toget third. Bradley was fourth followed by Park Densmore and Pam Weber having their best race since purchasing Merc 572.

There are five Mercs within four points of the top spot after day one with two more races to take place.

The breeze was relatively steady at 8-10 knts with some shifts as you approached the weather mark. There were light spots at the mark also. The races started an hour earlier as planned. This meant both races would finish with some wind.

Race four was the three time around sausage finishing downwind. Baird and Worden got off fast to the right side of the course. Worden was leading until the last lap until Smith passed all at the third rounding of the weather mark. He ran downwind to win the race. Worden held off Baird to place second with Baird third. Davis was fourth followed by Bradley. Clark lengthen the course for the next and final race. 

Race five was a battle between Bradley and Baird. With other leaders falling by the wayside, Baird won the three lap race, but Bradley by placing second won the regatta.Densmore sailing his best race was third followed by Smith and McAleer to fill out the top five.

Congratulations to the Bradleys for winning the Regatta, also to Park Densmore and Pam Weber for winning the Silver fleet.

Many thanks go to Dick Clark and Chip Wood for putting on the races. Charlie Kurtman  was the mark boat and also the head chef for Saturday nights fine dinner. Many thanks to the Stillwater YC for sponsoring the race.

 

2013 Labor Day Regatta        
Sail # Skipper Race 1  Race 2  Race 3  Race 4  Race 5  Total  Fleet 
553 J Bradley  4 4 4 5 2 19
508 D Baird  1 3 12 3 1 20
459 J McAleer  9 1 1 6 5 22
543 R Smith  7 8 2 1 4 22
432 B Worden  2 6 3 2 9 22
580 P Davis  3 5 7 4 6 25
524 M Chandler  5 2 6 8 8 29
572 Densmore  10 7 5 9 3 34
565 M Erickson  6 11 8 7 7 39
538 D Russell  8 9 9 12 10 48
576 M Trela  12 12 10 10 11 55
484 S Rienhart  11 10 12 11 12 56
 

2013 Huntington Lake 

28 Mercs entered the regatta on a lake covered a lot of the time by smoke from a fire several canyons away. The wind was between 6- 12 knots with many shifts and a few holes. 

The first race was on the light side. Ten minutes  or so after the start a big shift from the south came through. Hal and Anne McCormack after an excellent start tacked on this shift and were never headed on this double sausage course finishing on the wind. Jim and Kathy Bradley, Don Whelan and Keith Henry and Pax Davis and Julie Gerwe all caught the shift and had a good dog fight. Bradley placed second followed by Whelan and Davis in fourth place. Doug Baird and Chris Messano had a good recovery and placed fifth.

The second race, the breeze was in the high range for the day and Pat and Brendan Bradley got off very fast, were never headed and won easily. Whelan had to fight with Baird and Jim Bradley to place second and lead the regatta after the first day. Baird was third followed by J Bradley. Myron Erickson and Ben Bradley sailed a great race and placed fifth.

Race three the breeze was a on the light side and P Bradley had to duel with Dave West and Chris Krueger on the double sausage course. Bradley had to beat West and hope West would place second. This would tie Bradley and Whelan for first place if Whelan placed third. This happened and P Bradley won the tiebreaker and the Bill Bradley perpetual trophy. Mike and Kyle Burch placed fourth followed by Baird. Erickson won the Silver Fleet followed by  Tom Priest and Austen Lysight with third place

Friday before the regatta Jim and Kathy Bradley designed an inverted start race with the start times based on the 2012 HL regatta results. It was a long windward/leeward up the lake. Whelan was was the winner, just barely over Mike Wenzel.

The Lanzafame band performed for the group after dinner. Many thanks go to Pat Bradley and Peter Baldwin for organizing this regatta. Matt Jones conducted all the racing. It all went well.

2013

Huntington Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail No

Name

Race

 

 

Total

Place

Silver

 

 

1

2

3

 

 

Fleet

560

P Bradley

6

1

1

8

1

 

466

Whelan

3

2

3

8

2

 

553

J Bradley

2

4

6

12

3

 

508

Baird

4

3

5

12

4

 

429

West

8

6

2

16

5

 

472

Burch

7

9

4

20

6

 

580

Davis

4

13

8

25

7

 

463

Simmons

9

8

14

31

8

 

542

Conn

13

11

12

36

9

 

565

Erickson

16

5

16

37

10

1

468

Priest

15

7

15

37

11

2

550

Bricker

12

15

10

37

12

 

432

Worden

10

12

18

40

13

 

583

Koldjeski

14

20

7

41

14

 

454

Lysight

11

19

11

41

15

3

569

Lanzafame

19

10

13

42

16

 

544

Lewis

17

17

9

43

17

4

571

McCormack

1

14

29

44

18

 

532

Whiteley

20

18

17

55

19

5

581

Goodman

24

16

22

62

20

6

582

Baldwin

21

24

19

64

21

 

504

Burns

22

25

20

67

22

7

484

Rienhart

26

21

23

70

23

8

539

Densmore

23

26

24

73

24

9

576

Trela

28

22

25

75

25

10

584

Maring

128

29

29

76

26

 

567

Wenzel

27

29

21

77

27

11

548

Nelson

25

23

29

77

28

12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


2013 Hart Nunes Regatta
 
A typical summer day in Raccoon Straits, the tide changing from ebb to flood and the overcast, fog, coming over the Marin hills. The wind in puffs were up over 20 knots and the remaining ebb tide brought very lumpy water.
 
The course for the first race was a double sausage finishing downwind. There were eight Mercs entered, seven showed up to race. There were five Mercs at the first start.
 
Randy Smith and John Verdora had the pin and were off. Chris and Robert Lanzafame sailed over the top of Smith. Smith waited to tack for clear air and stayed out in the sloppy water. Most Mercs sailed to the smooth water which was the flood tide. When Smith went to the mark he was gone. Lanzo placed second. Hal and Anne McCormack lost their whisker pole alowing Pax Davis and Aaron Lee to finish third.
 
The second race course was a once around sausage finishing on the wind. All seven Mercs were on the line and stayed together up to the first weather mark playing the remains of the ebb. Smith was once again leading the fleet and went on to win easily. The Lanzafames, getting ready to tack to the weather mark, broke their mast in two places. McCormack, who was in second place at the time, sailed over to assist Lanzo.This put Jim and Kathy Bradley, who started late in the first race, to fight it out with Davis for the second spot. Bradley won this duel with Davis placing third.
 
Smith in winning both races won the 2013 Hart Nunes. A very convincing win and he holds a commanding lead in the 2013 Travel Trophy Regattas.
Many thanks to Hal and Anne McCormack for organizing the regatta and to Karen Mason for running the races in trying conditions. Thank you to the San Francisco YC for hosting the regatta.

 

2013 Hart Nunes
Sail # Skipper R1 R2 R3 Finish
563 Smith 1 1 2 1
580 Davis 3 3 6 2
553 Bradley 6 2 8 3
569 Lazafame 2 8 10 4
461 Mueller 5 5 10 5
584 Jeppesen 8 4 12 6
571 McCormack  4 8 12 7

 


2013 NORCAL Series Final Regatta

8 Mercs raced five races on a warm sunny day. The wind velocity might have hit 10 knots in a puff, but it was mostly 6-8. Nice flat water, but very shifty with a direction mainly from the north. All the races were double sausages finishing on the wind.

Randy Smith with John Hayes took off in race one and were never headed. They started at the pin end of the line, crossed to the weather mark on a west shift and won easily. Doug Baird and Steve Jeppesen were in hot pursuit, but had to hold off Jim and Kathy Bradley who placed third.

The strategy was to get to north side of the course to pick up some nice puffs with the north shift. Smith started at the pin and was successful taking more westerly shifts to get to the north side. Once again he had to deal with Baird who was followed by Bradley. They finished in that order in race two.

Enough of Smith getting off alone at the pin end of the line. he was attracting a crowd. Baird did not fall into that crowd and took off on a long north shift in which he overstood the mark, but that worked. Pax Davis with Kevin Booker followed him and this continued   the entire race. Baird won , Davis was second and Smith was third.

Baird got off the same way in the fourth race, but this time he had to deal with Hal and Anne McCormack. They did well starting at the pin, but they had to hold off Baird and Davis. They were not able to hold off Baird, but they beat Davis. Baird won, McCormack was second followed by Davis.

In the final race, Baird, playing the north shift very well, was first to the weather mark. However Smith would not go away and on the second leg upwind Baird prevailed to win the race and the regatta. Smith was second, but his finishes were more than enough to win the 2013 NORCAL series. Bradley finished third in the final race. Congratulations to Randy Smith for winning the 2013 NORCAL Series.

Many thanks to the Encinal YC for conducting the series and in particular Commodore Michael Andrews, Staff Commodore Charles Hodgkins and Small Boat Fleet Captain Chris Golian. who all ran a regatta in the series.

 

 

 

 

2013 NORCAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Races

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day

Total

Throw

Net

Place

Boat

Skipper

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Pts

Pts

Outs

Pts

 

543

Smith

1

2

2

5

2

3

2

3

7

1

2

4

4

2

1

1

1

3

5

2

12

53

25

28

1

580

Davis

2

1

1

2

3

2

3

4

3

2

4

2

3

3

2

6

5

2

3

4

20

57

23

34

2

584

Baird

8

8

8

8

8

1

5

2

1

6

1

3

1

5

4

2

2

1

1

1

7

76

40

36

3

571

McCormack

5

3

8

1

1

9

1

1

2

5

3

5

7

7

3

5

4

4

2

5

20

80

36

44

4

553

J Bradley

8

8

8

8

8

10

10

10

10

10

5

1

2

1

5

3

3

8

8

3

25

129

50

79

5

550

Bricker

8

8

8

8

8

10

10

10

10

10

6

6

6

8

6

7

6

5

4

6

28

150

50

100

6

565

Erickson

8

8

8

8

8

4

6

5

9

4

9

9

9

9

9

8

7

6

6

7

34

147

45

102

7

574

Skinner

8

8

8

8

8

8

4

5

4

3

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

154

45

109

8

461

Mueller

8

8

8

8

8

7

9

6

9

10

7

7

5

4

7

9

9

9

9

9

45

156

46

110

9

582

Baldwin

6

6

3

3

4

10

10

10

10

10

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

162

50

112

10

535

Rettie

7

8

8

8

8

5

7

7

8

7

8

8

8

6

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

157

45

112

11

484

Reinhart

4

5

4

4

8

10

10

10

10

10

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

165

50

115

12

548

Nelson

3

4

5

6

8

10

10

10

10

10

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

167

50

117

13

563

Simmons

8

8

8

8

8

10

10

10

10

10

9

9

9

9

9

4

8

7

7

8

34

169

50

119

14

524

Chandler

8

8

8

8

8

6

8

8

6

10

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

45

168

46

122

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


2013 Memorial Regatta at the Alamitos Bay YC

They came ,they won and they conquered. Not Julius Caeser, but Randy and Kathryn Smith. Seven Mercs raced in Long beach in the Memorial Day Regatta with 5-10 wind velocity with shifts and a minor lump for waves. The seven races were all sausage courses finishing on the wind.

The Smiths won all the races except the last one which our class vice president, Eric Conn, and his brother, Tracy squeaked out a win to get a second place in the regatta. 

Smith had Kathryn skipper the last race. This extended Smith’s lead in the scoring for the 2013 Travel Trophy. The turnout was pretty light as Smith was the only traveler from the North and many of the Southern sailors wanted to enjoy a family weekend.

Many thanks to the ABYC for inviting us and putting on the regatta.

 

2013 Memorial Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail

Skipper

Race

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Tot

T/O

Total

Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

543

R Smith

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

8

2

6

1

542

E Conn

3

2

2

8

2

2

1

20

8

12

2

504

B Burns

2

3

3

2

5

5

5

25

5

20

3

468

T Priest

4

4

8

8

3

3

4

34

8

26

4

477

G Selvin

6

6

4

3

6

7

7

39

7

32

5

532

R Whiteley

8

8

8

8

4

4

3

43

8

35

6

539

P Densmore

5

5

5

8

7

6

7

43

8

35

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


2013 Cinco De Mayo
Nine Mercs entered the 2013 Cinco De mayo Regatta which was raced on the waters off Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful day with the breeze around 10 knots with a little bit of sea. The races today were all single sausage finishing on the wind. 
 
The nice breeze dropped down and shifted in first race as the fleet approached the weather mark. From then on it was a nice light wind day on the bay. Do to 25 knots of wind on day two, the only racing were the four races on day one.
 
Doug Baird with Katy Worden won three of the four races and easily won the day and the regatta. There were three Mercs tied for second place with 12 points each. Randy and Kathryn Smith won the tie breaker to get second place and hold their lead for the Travel Trophy Regattas. Hal and Anne McCormack won the next part of the tie breaker to place third.
 
The group had the annual class dinner at Cody's on Saturday night. Many thanks to GT for setting up the dinner and keeping the class in touch with the sailing club and the yacht club. We also want to thank the sailing club for conducting the races.

 

 

 

2013 Cinco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail

Skipper

Race

 

 

 

 

 

 

No

 

1

2

3

4

 

Total

Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

508

D Baird

1

1

1

2

 

5

1

543

R Smith

5

2

4

1

 

12

2

571

H McCormack

2

4

3

3

 

12

3

542

E Conn

3

3

2

4

 

12

4

583

G Koldjeski

4

7

5

6

 

22

5

468

T Priest

6

5

8

5

 

24

6

467

B Bergeron

7

6

7

7

 

27

7

504

B Burns

9

8

6

9

 

32

8

484

S Rienhart

8

9

9

8

 

34

9

 


2013 NORCAL Series - Carmiggelt  Trophy

The second race day of the 2013 Norcal Series was held Saturday, April 13th. The race was for the Carmiggelt Trophy, donated by the family in memory of their son, Coen. The direction of the wind, on a nice sunny day, was such that the cross estuary course was the best. Which meant all races were twice around double sausages. The winds were shifty and the velocity might have hit 10kts in the puffs with a low of 4.

There were nine Mercs racing of which four mercs had a real scramble to gain a victory. Hal and Anne McCormack, Randy Smith with John Hayes, Doug Baird with Steve Jeppesen and Pax Davis with Aaron Lee. When the day was done Davis had the best score for the day, but with the throwout, he was one point behind the other three. McCormack, last years winner, came out on top again, after digging into the rule book to break the three way tie. They did this with two impressive wins in races two and three. Baird, sailing Ken Maring’s 584, won races one and four. Smith won race five, but a pair beats a single, so it was between the other two.

Many thanks to Chris Golian for putting on the races and taking the pictures that were run on the screen in the bar. It is tough duty to have to postpone to wait for the wind and direction and then set up the course. Once again thank you Chris.

So far the series has had 12 Mercs participating with Davis and Smith tied for first.

However after the racing Bill Worden, Barbara and his mother showed up and informed us of the sad news that Bill’s father had passed away over the weekend. Condolences to the Worden Family.

 

 

2013 NORCAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Races

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day

Total

Throw

Net

Place

Boat

Skipper

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Pts

Pts

Outs

Pts

 

580

Davis

2

1

1

2

3

2

3

4

3

2

14

23

7

16

1

543

Smith

1

2

2

5

2

3

2

3

7

1

16

28

12

16

2

571

McCormack

5

3

8

1

1

9

1

1

2

5

17

35

17

18

3

584

Baird

8

8

8

8

8

1

5

2

1

6

15

55

16

39

4

574

Skinner

8

8

8

8

8

8

4

5

4

3

24

64

16

48

5

565

Erickson

8

8

8

8

8

4

6

5

9

4

28

68

17

51

6

582

Baldwin

6

6

3

3

4

10

10

10

10

10

50

72

20

52

7

484

Reinhart

4

5

4

4

8

10

10

10

10

10

50

75

20

55

8

548

Nelson

3

4

5

6

8

10

10

10

10

10

50

76

20

56

9

535

Rettie

7

8

8

8

8

5

7

7

8

7

34

73

16

57

10

524

Chandler

8

8

8

8

8

6

8

8

6

10

38

78

18

60

11

461

Mueller

8

8

8

8

8

7

9

6

9

10

41

81

19

62

12


2013 Norcal Opener

 

Seven Mercs started racing on a beautiful sunny day with smooth water at the Encinal YC. The breeze was shifty with a velocity of 6 to 9 knots. The first three races were single sausages finishing on the wind. The last two, after a course adjustment, were twice around sausages finishing on the wind.Randy Smith and Mike Spitz got off to a great start and easily went on to win the race.Pax Davis and Aaron Lee had a very good downwind leg to get second having to work to beat off Larry Nelson And Terry Bennett. Nelson sailed even faster off the wind. 

 

Race two there were some mercs over early and this allowed Davis to get a lead that he was able to hold to finish first. Smith, who was over early had to claw his way back to get second. Hal and Anne McCormack placed third.

 

Race three Davis was able to tack clean at the start and was never headed to win the race. Once again Smith did an excellent job of digging himself out of a bad start to place second. Peter and Drake Baldwin were very much in it to place third.

 

Race four McCormack had an excellent start and led around both laps to win the race. Davis got second after beating off a challenge by Baldwin who finished third.

 

Race five McCormack was at it again, with clear air at the start, leading at every mark to win the race. Smith and Davis were going at it with Smith getting by Davis on the second weather leg. Smith was second with Davis third.

 

Davis won for the day. Many thanks to RC Chris Golian for his work running the races.

 

 

2013 NORCAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day

Total

Throw

Net

Place

 

 

Races

 

 

 

 

Pts

Pts

Outs

Pts

 

Boat

Skipper

1

2

3

4

5

 

 

 

 

 

580

Davis

2

1

1

2

3

9

9

3

6

1

543

Smith

1

2

2

5

2

12

12

5

7

2

571

McCormack

5

3

8

1

1

18

18

8

10

3

582

Baldwin

6

6

3

3

4

22

22

6

16

4

484

Reinhart

4

5

4

4

8

25

25

8

17

5

548

Nelson

3

4

5

6

8

26

26

8

18

6

535

Rettie

7

8

8

8

8

39

39

8

31

7

 


2013 Midwinter Regatta

Sixteen Mercs started on a perfect day with the temperature in the mid seventies, a warm sun and the breeze at 7-10 knots on a smooth sea.The course was a sausage finishing on the wind. Race one and four were single laps, two and three were twice around.

Race one had Randy and Katherine Smith taking the start and were never to caught. Smith put up his new sails, played the left side of the course. Hal and Anne McCormack chased Smith around the course to place second. Dave West and Chris Krueger took the third spot followed by Eric Conn and Don Shirley in fourth. Bill and Katie Worden placed fifth.

Race two once again had Smith playing the left side and taking a nice port tack lift to the weather mark and led all the way to take a first place. He was followed by Worden, Who placed second. Kristen and Mike Burch led two other LA fleet Mercs to place third. Geordy and Mike Hershman were fourth followed by Brad Bergeron and Daniel Kim in fifth.

Race three West had enough of this Smith stuff and led the way to place first by taking more of the middle of the course and won the race. Smith still playing the left placed second. McCormack always in the hunt was third followed by Don Whelan and Alan Johnson in the fourth spot. Tom Priest and Dan Schiff had their best race placing fifth.

Race four had Smith on the left side of the course getting another first and carrying a big lead into day two. McCormack keeping pace came in second. Burch was third followed by Whelan and Conn to complete the top five.

Day two brought more 5-8 breeze with very minor chop, but the direction swung about 60 degrees to a more southerly direction. There were two races, both single sausages finishing on the wind.

Race five saw Burch head to the breakwater from a long port tack from the start. This paid off as he held high on the run and was first to the leeward mark and was first to finish. West was second followed by Smith. Conn was fourth followed by Pax Davis and Kyle Burch in the fifth spot with their best race.

The sixth and final race had most Mercs heading to the breakwater on the first beat with Burch, Smith and West rounding mark one very close together. Davis got by the three of them at the leeward mark. However West was first to finish followed by Burch, Davis,Smith and Chris and Nancy Lanzafame. Who had their best race.

Congratulations to Randy Smith who won the series which had one throwout. Many thanks to the Cabrillo Beach YC for hosting the regatta. There were eight family teams racing. This had to be a perfect weekend for the Merc Class.

 

 

2013

Midwinters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail No

Name

1

2

3

4

5

6

Total

Discard

Total

Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

543

R Smith

1

1

2

1

3

4

12

4

8

1

429

D West

3

7

1

6

2

1

20

7

13

2

472

M Burch

13

3

13

3

1

2

35

13

22

3

571

McCormack

2

9

3

2

17

9

42

17

25

4

466

D Whelan

6

8

4

4

6

6

34

8

26

5

432

B Worden

5

2

8

10

7

7

39

10

29

6

542

E Conn

4

14

6

5

4

10

43

14

29

7

468

T Priest

10

6

5

8

9

12

50

12

38

8

580

P Davis

9

11

14

17

5

3

59

17

42

9

546

G Hershman

15

4

11

9

8

11

58

15

43

10

569

Lanzafame

11

12

7

17

10

5

62

17

45

11

475

G Clark

12

10

12

7

12

8

61

12

49

12

467

B Bergeron

14

5

9

11

11

14

64

14

50

13

504

B Burns

7

15

10

17

13

13

75

17

58

14

583

G Koldjeski

8

13

17

17

17

17

89

17

72

15

477

J Kennard

16

16

15

12

14

15

88

16

72

16

  


 2012-2013 Perry Cup Finale

There was a high fog along with a cold temperature, no sun, and very light breezes that had a tendency to drop to almost nothing. There were maybe 20 degree shifts  that kept the 11 Mercs on their toes.

There were three races scheduled with an extra race to finish the series at 15 races. All the courses were double sausage finishing downwind except the final race which was a single sausage.

Race one had all looking for wind and sometimes you were in the wind ,but on a bad shift. There was a bothersome lump that added to everyones speed problems. Doug Baird and Mike Dick were first to the weather mark and with good boat speed were never to be caught. Randy Smith and Mike Spitz sailed an excellent second leg and placed second. Myron Erickson and Steve Kraft also had strong second leg going to the north side of the course to finish third. Jack and Patti McAleer placed fourth and Pax Davis and Dave Morris placed fifth. This was not helping their series lead.

Race two, Baird was off like a shot at the start and won the race easily. Smith placed second with Jim and Kathy Bradley coming in third. Dana and Kane Russell, new to the class, showed that they know how to sail a Merc by placing fourth. Once again Davis was fifth.

Race three, Baird did it again with an excellent start and good speed to capture his third first place of the day. Smith got his third second place of the day. Mark and Liz Chandler made some good moves on the second weather leg to place third. Bill Worden and Beeper Moore sailed their best race and placed fourth. Davis finished with his third fifth place. After this race Baird was leading the series.

Race four was a good race between Baird and Smith with Smith taking first place and Baird second on the once around course. Davis placed third followed by Bradley and Russell.

Baird won the series with a bang at on the final day. Smith also moved up to finish second in the series. Erickson won the Silver Fleet with Russell taking second. Congrats to the winners. They sailed the best.

Many thanks to organizer, race committee and all else Dick Clark. His helpers were Judy Clark, Babbett Bradley, The Wombles in Toot and Marty Gingras setting the Marks.

We also thank the Monterey Peninsula YC for letting the Mercs use the facilities.

 

 

2012-2013

Perry Cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day

Series

Discard

Total

Place

Silver

No

Skipper

R.1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Total

Total

 

 

 

 

508

D Baird

2

1

3

11

3

3

3

9

4

4

5

1

1

1

2

5

53

25

28

1

 

543

R Smith

8

3

1

3

8

4

6

1

8

1

6

2

2

2

1

7

56

24

32

2

 

580

P Davis

1

7

2

4

6

1

1

3

2

5

1

5

5

5

3

18

51

18

33

3

 

553

J Bradley

4

5

4

1

5

6

8

7

1

2

8

7

3

10

4

24

75

26

49

4

 

54

M Chandler

7

4

7

7

1

5

2

5

5

8

3

11

8

3

10

32

86

27

59

5

 

565

M Erickson

3

11

10

8

2

9

5

6

6

3

4

3

10

9

8

30

97

31

66

6

1

432

B Worden

9

2

5

5

7

2

10

10

10

10

10

6

9

4

6

25

105

30

75

7

 

459

J McAleer

12

12

12

12

12

12

4

2

3

6

2

4

6

7

9

26

115

36

89

8

 

538

D Russell

5

9

9

9

10

10

9

8

7

7

9

10

4

8

5

27

119

30

89

9

2

571

McCormack

6

6

6

2

4

7

10

10

10

10

10

12

12

12

12

48

129

36

93

10

 

550

K Bricker

10

10

11

6

9

8

10

10

10

10

10

9

7

6

7

29

133

31

102

11

3

548

L Nelson

12

12

12

12

12

12

7

4

9

9

7

8

11

11

11

41

149

36

113

12

4

461

P Mueller

11

8

8

10

11

11

10

10

10

10

10

12

12

12

12

48

157

36

121

13

5

 


January 2013 Perry Cup Results and Series Update

Nine Mercs competed in 5 races on a day forcasted for rain late in the day. The nice part of the day was the sun while rigging to sail. This warmed the day into the 50’s.Because of the wind direction the seas were relativley smooth all day. The wind direction was swinging 180 degrees, but the change came between races. The race committee with Dick and Judy Clark and John Laughton had to make a number of adjustments, great job. All the courses were double sausages finishing downwind.

Race one had a 6-8 knot breeze from the northeast, but a very short starting line. This tended to spring the leaders and trap the rest. Jim and Kathy Bradley were off very fast and led on the first lap to the first leeward mark. However the race committee had changed the course and Bradley did not see the change and lost his lead to Pax Davis and Dave Morris. They went on to win followed by Mark and liz Chandler. Doug Baird and Mike Dick made a great comeback from the start and placed third.

Race two the wind changed 180 to southwest, but the puffs came in at least at 12 knots dying down as the race progressed changing more to an east direction.Randy Smith and EJ Rowland were off very fast and were never caught to win the race.Jack and Patti McAleer were avery solid second. Davis had to struggle to place third. Larry Nelson and Terry Bennett had their best race and placed fourth.

Race three Was back to the northwest breeze 6 knots, course and starting line adjusted. There seemed to be a shear forming on the second leg upwind. Davis took the outside and had nice lead going to the finish, But Bradley went a little farther to weather and passed Davis to Win. Davis was second and McAleer was third.

Race four was the same course direction and breeze and Smith got off fast again never to be headed. Smith won, but it was very challenging for second place with Bradley hanging on to it. Myron Ericson and Steve Kraft taking third place in a very close finish.

Race five was the same course, but the wind was fading. McAleer was able to cross the shear and was first to the weather mark. Davis stayed on the east side of the shear with Chandler right behind coming in from the other side. McAleer went out to get wind on the run, Davis went directly to the mark in a little better than drifting conditions. As he got down the track, Davis got the first of the southwest wind to place first on the shortened course.McAleer was second and Chandler was third.

Davis won for the day and took a lead in the series. The rain finally started as the fleet hit the dock. Many thanks again to the Wombles and the Woods on Toot in helping the race committee and Marty Gingras running the mark boat.  

 

2012-2013

 Perry Cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day

Series 

 Discard 

 Total 

 Place 

 Silver

No

Skipper

  1  

  2  

  3  

  4  

  5  

  6  

  7  

  8  

 9 

  10  

11  

 Tota l

 Total 

 

 

 

 

580

P Davis

1

7

2

4

6

1

1

3

2

5

1

12

33

13

20

1

 

508

D Baird

2

1

3

11

3

3

3

9

4

4

5

25

48

20

28

2

 

543

R Smith

8

3

1

3

8

4

6

1

8

1

6

22

49

16

33

3

 

553

J Bradley

4

5

4

1

5

6

8

7

1

2

8

26

51

16

35

4

 

54

M Chandler

7

4

7

7

1

5

2

5

5

8

3

23

54

15

39

5

 

565

M Erickson

3

11

10

8

2

9

5

6

6

3

4

24

67

21

46

6

1

432

B Worden

9

2

5

5

7

2

10

10

10

10

10

50

80

20

60

7

 

571

McCormack

6

6

6

2

4

7

10

10

10

10

10

50

81

20

61

8

 

459

J McAleer

12

12

12

12

12

12

4

2

3

6

2

17

89

24

63

9

 

538

D Russell

5

9

9

9

10

10

9

8

7

7

9

40

92

20

72

10

2

550

K Bricker

10

10

11

6

9

8

10

10

10

10

10

50

104

21

83

11

3

548

L Nelson

12

12

12

12

12

12

7

4

9

9

7

36

108

24

84

12

4

461

P Mueller

11

8

8

10

11

11

10

10

10

10

10

50

109

22

87

13

­