2014-2015 January Perry Cup

The third weekend of the Perry Cup was sailed in 4-6 knots of breeze on a pretty smooth sea. There were mostly small shifts in the north-westerly winds, but in each race  there was a twenty plus that would alter the places on the course. All three races were double sausages finishing downwind.

Race one, Doug Baird with Kate Conway got the start, heade to the dark water and were never headed. Pax Davis with Dave Morris were able to overcome Hal and Anne McCormack’s speed upwind by going a little faster downwind to place second. McCormack was third.

Race two, once again Baird won the start, but he had McCormack to contend with. McCormack was first to the first leeward mark, but Baird got him on the beat to win the race. McCormack was second. Jack and Patti McAleer had a nice comeback to place third. This was there first PC race as they ran the first two PC weekends in place of Dick Clark.

Race three, Baird won the start at the pin,and was leading at the first leeward mark. Then he sailed on the starboard tack to a big shift that took him right to the weather mark and he was never headed and won the race. This also gave him the lead for the series. Dave West with Eric Stassevich  got the big shift on the second leg to go over Davis. The two had avery close finish with West second and Davis third.

Dick Clark was back running the races on TOOT. Jim and Patti Womble, Chip and Joan Wood, Judy Clark and Donna Womble handled all the race committee chores.

Thank you all! 

Perry Cup Update  

We found a hole in the weather between the much need rain storms. Warm sun with a max 5 knot breeze that was not always there. Seven Mercs raced the three scheduled races on a pretty smooth sea.

Race one was a double sausage finishing downwind. The breeze was from the north with some shifts, but in the light air too much taking would be a nono. On the second lap Dave West and Chris Krueger came from far back to pick up a little lift on the port tack and went on to win the race. Jim Bradley and Ben Gerber also had a nice recovery to place second.

2014 Fall Regatta at Cabrillo Beach YC

It could not have been a better day for Mercury racing. The breeze was light for the first two races and increased more for the last two races. Other that a few power boat waves, it was a very smooth sea and nice warm weather. The first race was a single sausage and the final three were double sausages finishing on the wind.

The first race went very fast and lo and behold Mike Burch with Tim Noyen  won as he showed good speed on all legs. Randy and Katherine Smith put up a great race, but were beat at the finish. Eric and Tracy Conn sailed very steady to place third.

Race two Smith sailed his best race of the day holding off Chris Raab and Kenny Dair to win the race. Raab was second followed by Burch.

Race three the wind was picking up. Where it might have logged 6 knots in the first two races, it was now over 8. Raab was off very fast with an early lead. Dave West with Liz 

Hjorth was quick to the first mark, but had to settle for second. Tom Priest with Damon Guizot sailed fine race by playing the right side of the course placed third.

The wind hit the top of its range, 10 knots in the fourth race. Raab once again did his thing, keeping Smith covered and going on to take the race and maintain a lead for the series after the first day. Smith was second in the race. Chris Messano with Doug Baird showed his speed as the breeze increased. Messano was third for this race.

Day two started with Santa Ana winds coming from the mountains, but ceased around 11:30 just as the fleet was ready leave the dock. The breeze shifted to the southwest and remained at 8-10 kn for the day. The sea was smooth and the racing was ready to begin.There were some shifts,but were very minimal. 

Race five was a single sausage finishing on the wind. Smith got off the line fast and was never headed. Messano had to clear a few Mercs, but a nice downwind leg put him in second which he held to the finish. Pax Davis with Gerry Lampert placed third.

Race six was also a single sausage finishing on the wind. Burch had to fend off Raab to get the victory. Raab took second place. Messano came on strong again to place third. 

Race Seven was a twice around sausage finishing on the wind. Raab and Messano had a nice tight race going all around the course. Raab won and won the regatta. Messano placed second in the race. Priest had another good showing and placed third.

Many thanks to the CBYC, stand Race Committee for a great job. Mike Burch organized the regatta, cooked the Saturday night dinner and finished off by washing the dishes. 
 

2014 Perry Cup Opener

Saturday morning ended a very rainy Friday in Monterey as seven Mercs waited for the 

sun to show before launching. This was all done before noon as the fleet assembled around the committee boat until a nice westerly came in. The breeze for the rest of the day was about 8 knots with very smooth water and as much as 30 degree plus shifts.

All the courses for the day were twice around sausages finishing downwind. Race one saw Hal and Anne McCormack take a long port tack off the start, then a couple of small tacks to the weather mark.  Randy Smith and Mike Spitz played the shifts to get second just ahead of Pax Davis with Dave Morris who after the first leeward rounding had gone ahead of McCormack, but could not hold.

Race two Dave West with Chris Krueger went on the port tack off the start and tacked after he had good position on the fleet. Then it became a race between Davis and West, with West winning and Davis second. Mc Cormack was third.

Race three the first leg of the race was very spread out, but the downwind leg compressed the fleet very tight. McCormack was very good at picking the shifts and the most breeze. He won the race with Davis on his tail. Smith was right in there for the third spot. McCormack was leading after The first day.

Day two was sunny, but cool with the wind from the northwest 6-8 knots for the first two races. The final race was a twelve knot westerly. The courses were all twice around sausages finishing downwind.

Race four McCormack showed his dominance in the regatta by getting an excellent start ,holding the starboard tack until he crossed the fleet and led the two lap course to the finish. Doug Baird with Kate Conway were closing the gap on McCormack, but had to settle for second place. Davis was third.

Race five Baird did his magic right off the start and he was never headed. Park Densmore with Pam Webber was sailing his best race, especially on the wind. Davis could get by him on the downwind legs, but Densmore had good upwind speed. However the race to the finish was downwind and Davis was second and Densmore in third place.

Race six the breeze came in and brought a little chop with it. Smith played the left side of the course, got the lead and expanded it. West was second followed by Baird. McCormack won the regatta one point over Smith and Davis. Smith broke the tie for second with his fine finish in the last race. This was a Travel Trophy Regatta with one more regatta To go. Smith still has a chance to catch Baird. 

Many thanks to Jack McAleer who ran the races, substituting for Dick Clark. Jim and Patti Womble used their power boat TOOT as the committee boat with helpers Patti McAleer and Chip Wood. 

2014 Joe Logan Regatta

This years Joe Logan Regatta was held at the Encinal YC a week later than originally scheduled. The weather forecast was for 20 plus winds and rain. Come Saturday morning the skies were slowly clearing and the southerly wind maybe had some puffs over 12, but very shifty, sunny and warm.

Seven Mercs showed up to race. Matt Jones was our PRO and did a fine job of adjusting the courses. The first race was a twice around finishing downwind. The strategy was to see which tack the oncoming puff would be and either tack or stay. John Hansen with Tony Basso led the way followed by Randy Smith with Michael O’Callaghan. Dave West with Chris Krueger placed third.

Race two was three times around. The races were all very close especially the first legs. Smith got by Doug and Michael Baird  after the start and led the way to victory. Baird was second followed by Hansen.

Race three was more of the same and three times around. Because of the weather or what ever reason, the was very little power boat traffic and as a result very smooth water. Once again Smith led the way, stating in the puffs and being on the right side of them. Smith won and has the lead after day one. Baird was second followed by Hansen.

A new day on day two, winds 10-12 out of the north-west, but shifting. All the courses were twice around sausages finishing on the wind. The racers were looking for the strongest wind from the right direction.

Race four saw West take control after the second tack off the start sail on to first place. He was followed by Smith who almost caught him at the finish. Baird was third.

Race five Baird took over and was never headed. West was second followed by Hansen. This set race six to determine the winner.

Race six was going to script, but Bill Worden with Larry Nelson and Pax Davis with Aaron Lee found a nice northerly shift and fought the battle to win the last race. Worden had a breakdown on day one so this first place was special. Davis was second followed by Hansen.

Smith won the Joe Logan perpetual trophy. Baird was second and maintaining a nice lead in the 2014 Travel Trophy Standings.

Many thanks again to Matt jones for running Saturdays races and to Chris Polian and Ken Popplewell who did Sundays races. Ken will be the PRO for the EYC Small Boat Series and the Merc Series in 2015.

2014 Pacific Coast Championship Regatta For The Don Lee Trophy

2014 65th Labor Day Regatta

The 65th Labor Day Regatta was started under sunny skies with a very nice breeze that would approach 12 knts. The seas were more like timid swells, but would get a little larger as the day wore on.

The first race was a three lap sausage finishing downwind. The normal strategy in Carmel bay is to sail to the kelp. However this day found Merc skippers playing the shifts. Those who went to the kelp did OK, but those that stayed in the breeze offshore  did well. Doug Baird with Bill Worden went for the shore, but tacked out early. Randy Smith with John Hayes hit the kelp hard and came out right next to Baird. They had a good battle with Baird placing first and Smith second. Jack and Patti McAleer put up a good chase, but had to settle for third.

The second race was the same course. McAleer, Baird and Smith started at the pin end of the line on the port tack and with a little more south in the wind were gone. As the second lap was being completed the race committee signaled a course change. The three leaders thought it was a shorten course and sailed through, what they thought was the finish and waited for the rest of the fleet. The rest of the fleet was not sure, but went on to complete the third lap.Hal and Anne McCormack sailed fine race to win. They were followed by Jim and Kathy Bradley. Third place went to Park Densmore with Pam Webber.  Smith came out of early retirement to complete the race.

Race three was a twice around sausage finishing downwind. The breeze was taking a break and shifting more to the south. The swells were a little higher and with very little breeze it was slow. The race was shortened to one lap. Baird won on a tight race with McAleer followed by Bradley.

At the end of day one Bradley was leading followed by Baird. Day two started with a 8-10 knot dying breeze that shifted more southerly as the day went on. Both races were a three time sausage finishing downwind.

Race four definitely looked to favor the right side. There were shifts on the starboard tack that made it seem this was the place to be with the smooth water. As the race went on the the shifts went away and the were holes in the wind. Meanwhile outside McCormacks and Smith were doing just fine with a relatively steady breeze. They lead the way. McCormack was first, Smith second and McAleer, eventually joining them out side was third.

Race five, the course was changed to a more southerly direction, the breeze was more in the 5-6 range with a funny lump on water. McCormack tacked off the line to the kelp and this was the way to go. The rest of the fleet tried to recover and some did. Bradley took over the lead on the downwind leg and was never headed. Baird needed another lap to get by McCormack to finish second with McCormack third. Their finishes were their final regatta places.

Congratulations to the Bradleys for winning the Labor Day Regatta and to Densmore who won the Silver Fleet Trophy. 

Many thanks go to the Stillwater YC for sponsoring the race, but it was Dick Clark with Chip Wood running the races. Ashore was our old friend Charlie Kurtman who did the cooking, ran the new hoist and was on a mark boat.

2014 Mercury Class National Championships

With a pretty steady breeze between 8 and 10 knots and a slighty lumpy sea, twenty one Mercurys entered to sail on the waters off Santa Barbara. The weather started sunny, but a slight overcast set in as the day went on. There was a pretty good current running up the coast.

There were three races that were all double sausages finishing downwind. The first start  

had two general recalls. The race committee wisely put up the “I” flag and the problem was solved for the rest of the day. Chris Rabb with Kenny Dair went right immediately, the recommended way to sail on the coast. Jack McAleer with Remy Margerum played the suttle shifts up the middle and had a nice battle with Rabb. Pat and Brendan Bradley joined in on the battle. Meanwhile keeping right up with the leaders Dan Simmons with Blair Wallace did there best to hold off Brad Bergeron with Daniel Kim. Rabb won the 

Ray Johnson perpetual trophy  followed by McAleer, Bradley, Simmons And Bergeron.

Race two more of the same action, but those that stayed more on the left side of the course had the best results. Jim and Kathy Bradley took the lead never to give it up and won the Densmore perpetual Trophy. Paul Cayard with Kenny Maring were in a battle with Doug Baird and Jim Taylor to place second. Baird was third. Bergeron moved up a place to get a fourth and was followed by Randy and Kathryn Smith.

Race three, the wind was at the top of the range with a little more wave action. Rabb went right and Bergeron went left. Rabb tacked early to go out. Bergeron crossed the entire fleet, but Rabb caught him at the windward mark. It was all over, Rabb went on to win the Jenkins perpetual trophy. Meanwhile Bergeron continued his fine racing by placing second.Pat Bradley sailed up the middle on the second beat and got another third. Dave West with Chris Krueger had broken a side stay before the first race, were towed in, made the repair, raced the third race and placed fourth. Cayard hung in there and placed fifth.

The standings after the first and three of the five scheduled races had Rabb comfortably in first with 8 points. Bergeron having his best Nationals was second with 11 points. Newcomer Cayard was third with 18 points.

Day two, races four and five.Race four was a triple sausage course finishing downwind.The breeze for race four about 8 kn with suttle shifts. The sea was relatively smooth under sunny skies.The first start was a once again to the right however those who punched a bit to the left and then went right made out over those that went hard right from the start. West took a very good lead over Greg Dair with Alec Caterson, sailing Mike Burch’s Merc. However West went to a wrong mark and Dair won the Holden Sanford perpetual trophy for winning the fourth race. Raab and Cayard were dueling with third place going to Raab and fourth to Cayard. Smith captured the fifth spot.

Race five was a triple sausage finishing on the wind. The right side of the course payed off this time. Jim Bradley led the way in the first turns as the breeze was picking up to 10-12 and a there was a little shop on the water. Baird, in second place was able to power through and win the John Koenig perpetual trophy. Bradley placed second.West eased out Raab to place third. Raab being fourth with Cayard fifth.

Chris Raab won his Sixth Mercury National Championship. Jim Bradley was second followed by Cayard. Baird was fourth followed by McAleer in the fifth spot. The Jack and Jill perpetual trophy was won by Jim and Kathy Bradley

The silver fleet was won by Bergeron followed by Dair in second. Simmons placed third.

 Class President Eric Conn did an excellent job of presenting the awards. Several years ago Eric suggested the current format. Three races on Friday and two on Saturday and the annual dinner and the awards at the end of the regatta. Great idea, we get 100% attendance at the final event.

Many thanks go to the Santa Barbara YC for putting on the regatta. GT Koldjeski arranged all the dinners and boat and trailer storage. Bill Lannan was the PRO and provided the great racing.

2014 National Championship Results 

2014 Hart Nunes

On this day a strong flood was running in Racoon Straits, with nice warm weather and a breeze not much above 10kts. There were wind shift puffs and as the day went along they were about 30 degrees in the flood currents, but the sea got a little sloppy at times. One did not want to tack on them because of the current.

All the races were windward-leeward finishing downwind except race three which was twice around. The weather mark was set next to Angel Island with the starting line in the cove off Tiburon.

Race one saw three Mercs go directly across the current to get to a back eddy on the other side, next to the island. Randy Smith with John Hayes led the way followed by Dan Simmons with Mike Whiting and Pax Davis with Anne McCormack. Hal just had his second knee operated on and Anne needed a break. The rest of the fleet tried the other side of the course, bad news by a long shot.

Race two the entire fleet tacked directly for the island. With all the wind shifts and velocity changes the fleet was relatively close at the weather mark. There was kind of an ebb current at the weather mark making for slow roundings. Simmons had the answer going up the side of the island and rounding the mark. He won race two followed by Doug Baird with Bill Worden and in third was Smith.

Race three was twice around as the conditions were changing. There was more west in the wind on the legs over to the island. Baird took advantage of it. There was Simmons again in second place having one of his best regattas. Jim and Ben Bradley finally got it going to place third.

Race four had the flood slowing and the back eddies increasing. Smith led the way with a very tight rounding at the weather mark. He was able to hold on and win. Davis was second and Chris and Robert Lanzafame were third.

Race five had the tides and wind direction changing. Pal Mueller with Mike Bilafor tacked on the Marin side and then crossed and led the fleet to the weather mark. Mueller’s best race in a Merc. However Baird passed him downwind to win. Mueller was second and Smith was third.

Smith won the regatta by one point over Baird and Simmons. These two were tied, with Baird winning the tie breaker. 

Skip McCormack ran the races and did a great job. He presented the trophies on the deck of the San Francisco YC along with the free beer. See what you all missed.

2014 NORCAL Final Regatta

Eight Mercs finished the Norcal Series in beautiful weather on a warm sunny day with 4-8 knt winds. With big shifts, it was like a lake with the smooth water. The course, for all five races, was a windward-leeward finishing on the wind.

The first race was won on the first weather leg as Jim and Kathy Bradley passed Doug and Michael Baird at the first mark and held on to win. Baird was second and Pax Davis and Aaron Lee were third. Race two had Davis leading at the weather mark followed closely by Bradley. Davis had enough lead downwind to win the race. Bradley was second followed by Baird. Race three Baird had enough of this and went on to win easily. Davis was unchallenged in second place. Bradley passed several Mercs on the downwind leg by staying in the breeze and placed third.

Race four had Davis leading at the weather and leeward marks. Bradley and John Hansen with Tony Basso were right on his tail. Davis tacked to starboard with Hansen. Bradley waited and picked up a big shift that took him to the finish in first place. Davis tacked too soon and Hansen beat him to the finish by about a second. Davis settled for third. Race five was all Davis as he picked up some nice shifts and won the race. Randy Smith and Barbara O’Niel fought it out with Hansen and Bradley. Smith placed second followed by Hansen.

Davis won the day and the NORCAL Series. Bradley was second with Baird third. The advantage for Davis was attending all four regatta days.

Many thanks again to Chris Golian, Encinal YC small boat captain, for putting on the series for us.

2014 Cinco de Mayo Regatta in Santa Barbara

Typically beautiful Santa Barbara weather, warm and not a lot of wind. In fact the races were delayed about an hour. The wind did come up and ranged from 4-8 knots. All courses were single sausages finishing on the wind. There were two weather marks one farther than the other.

Race one was a typical go right off the starting line and Hal and Anne McCormick led the way around the course and had a close finish with Pax Davis and Aaron Lee. They went farther right on the last beat to make it close. Tom Priest and Damon Guizoz  hung in there and placed third.

Race two the high side of the breeze came in the course was to the longer weather mark. Going right was still best for the first tack. Doug Baird and Bill Warden led the way after dueling with GT Koldjeski and Mickey Gray. Greg Clark and Val Gelineau had  sailed a very good race as both he and Koldjeski had excellent weather legs.

Race three was thrown out after protest over which course was to be sailed. There were two courses designated during the five minute start. This created some confusion. Bill Lannan, a Merc National winner, was the protest committee. He will be the PRO for our 2014 Nationals at the Santa Barbara YC

Race four the wind was dropping and becoming more southerly and those on the high side of the run did quite well. Baird got it going again and won the race. However McCormack tacked into the southerly shift and placed second. Jim Bradley and Ben Ellsworth placed third.

Day two started on time in a very weak kind of east wind. The course was to the short weather mark. With the little current there was, it was tough to get across the starting line. McCormack went right off the line and Baird, Davis and Bob Burns and Gordon Miller followed. The first two boats carried the slight wind farther. Baird passed McCormack  on the run and won the race shortened at the leeward mark. Burns, sailing very well, passed Davis to place third with Davis fourth. They both were very close to the max time allowed to finish behind the winner. That was all the racing for the Mercs.

Many thanks to GT for setting up our Saturday dinner and also to Dave Bernal, PRO for the racing.

2014 NORCAL For The Homecoming Trophy

The first MCYRA Travel Trophy Regatta of the year was a huge success sponsored by the Cabrillo Beach YC. The weather was excellent with 20 participants and the was some of the best race committee work.

All the courses were windward leeward finishing on the wind. Races 1 and 2 were twice around, race 3 was three times around and race 4 was one lap. The seas were pretty small all day. 

Race one saw Mike Burch with John Stapleton go right from the start in the eight knot breeze and won the first race. David West with Kevin West followed and held off Chris Raab with Kenny Dair to place second. Doug Baird with Richard Walsh hung in with the top group to place fourth. Don Whelan with Alan Johnson took fifth. 

Race two Tom Priest with Damon Guizot sail their best race and power home to a first place in the increasing winds. Randy and Kathryn Smith had their best race of the day to place second. Whelan was third followed by West and Mark Comings with Geordy Hershman to round out the top five. 

Race three the wind was at a peak of 12-14 knots, but the strategy was hit either corner.Playing shifts up the middle was not a successful game plan. Comings made very few tacks by hitting the edges and was a solid first. Baird hit the right corner and got off fast. placing second. Greg Clark with Val Gelineau was having his best race in a major regatta coming in off the right corner and placed third. Chris and Robert Lanzafame pulled off a fourth place followed by West. 

Race four was a one lapper in a dying breeze and Baird jumped on it, going right from the start and winning the race. West was second followed by Raab, Comings and Priest to round out the top five. 

Going into day two West is leading Baird by one point. If we get six races in there will be a throw out. depending on the finishes in races 5 and six, this might change the order. 

Day two and race five started with about 5 knots of breeze. This was a windward-leeward finishing on the wind. Raab jumped on it and took off and won easily. Burch had to hold West off for second. West was third. GT Koldjeski and Mickey Gray sailed their best race and were an easy fourth followed by Brad Bergeron and Luke Sayer in the fifth spot. Bergeron had a mast problem on day one. This was a nice comeback. It did not seem to matter which side of the course one took from the start. The breeze was steady . 

Race six was the once around course again. Same breeze, but moving more West. Smith got off fast to the left and held to the finish to win the race. Raab was heating up and paid attention to West as these were two of the front runners for the regatta. Rabb was second and West was third. Whelan was fourth holding off Baird. Having this race meant we had a throw out in the series.

The seventh race was twice around. There were shifts but not big ones. The important thing was to stay where the wind pressure was. Dave West led wire to wire holding a nice lead to win the regatta. Rabb was second and he was also untouched and was second in the regatta. Eric and Tracy Conn sailed a very good race to beat Pax Davis with Gerry Lampert to place third. Davis had to hold off Burch to get fourth. Burch was fifth.

Not enough can be said about the race committee work. They minimized the time between races and continually reset the course as needed. And they made a big effort to notify over early Mercs. 

We had 14 out of 20 who placed in the top five in the seven races. Very close racing. A recommendation might be to have leeward gates if possible. 

Many thanks to the Cabrillo Beach YC for conducting a very fine regatta and the dinner.