2003 King Of Spain Regatta Report

Let's face it: One Design really is the ultimate arena to demonstrate one's skills (and probably why I've avoided it like the plague). And while to me they are pain boxes to sail (I've been out a couple of times), there is perhaps no class has spewed out so many good sailors as the Star. On that note there was a fairly big regatta here in Cali of which our Star stealth, VanFalk was cool enough to file this report on. Enjoy.

The California Yacht Club hosted their annual King of Spain Regatta this past weekend. The KoS regatta is one of the most important regattas on the West Coast Star circuit. Following-up on their award winning performance at last years worlds, CYC did an amazing job hosting the sailors, providing lunches on the water and food and drinks on the docks after sailing, plus free event clothing to go along with it. To support the racing, CYC had 23 RC volunteers and a fleet of support boats to keep things moving. Awards were given for the top five overall and top three in the classic yacht category (hull numbers 7000 and below). Not too shabby for a $35 entry fee.

Attendance at this year's event was a very healthy 26 boats and indicates that there is no decline in Star activity in local district, which is common the year after hosting the World Championships. Most competitors were from the local So Cal fleets, however some competitors traveled from as far north as Olympia, Washington and as far east as Miami. Some of the class's big names came out to compete including George Szabo with Mark Strube crewing, Rick Merriman with Rick Peters crewing, Peter Vessella with Jon Rogers crewing, and Ben Mitchell with Olympic Gold Medalist Hal Haenel crewing, Austin Sperry, on loan from John Kostecki, sailed with Andy MacDonald.

Some sailors arrived several days early to begin preparing for the racing. Many took advantage of the local fleet's Thursday night Twilight series to warm up and those who went out to practice on Friday were rewarded with 18 knot winds and very large swells that made for spectacular surfing on the runs. Two races were completed on Saturday in about 12-14 knot winds and a confused chop. George Szabo/Mark Strube showed why they are among the best by leading race 1 from the start and finishing well ahead of the rest of the fleet. The RC set up a three lap windward leeward course that placed a premium on boat handling. The practiced teams were able to make big gains at mark roundings and starts. Those teams who were not quite as practiced had a tougher time and numerous collisions occurred on the race course. Former US team member Steve Gould finished in second. Race 2 was a repeat of the first with Szabo again dominating. Erik (Oakley) Lidecis finished in second. At the end of the day Szabo had a 4 point lead over Lidecis and the regatta appeared to be in his grasp.

On day 2, the RC again ran two races however the wind was all but nonexistent and the races turned out to be near drifters. Many of the top teams from day 1 had deep finishes in the fluky breeze and ultimately three of the top five after day 1 were out of contention for awards by the end of the day. Argyle Campbell nailed the pin end of the start of race 3 and never looked back. By the end of the race he was well ahead of the fleet. Szabo finished fourth, opening the door for Lidecis who finished second. As race 4 began, the wind was still not cooperating with the entire fleet choosing to go left except for three boats - Lidecis, Nelson, and Vessella. Right was the way to go and those three boats were comfortably ahead at the weather mark. While the fleet eventually closed in on the lead pack, the final finish order was already determined. Lidecis won the race. Szabo finished the race in ninth, having to work his way back after believing he had started prematurely.

Erik Lidecis and Dan Roehl were the regatta winners. This is a tremendous result for this team in their first season of Star sailing. Second place went to George Szabo/Mark Strube, third was Rick Merriman/Rick Peters, fourth went to Argyle Campbell/Jacob Bick, and fifth went to Peter Vessella/Jon Rogers. The winners in the classic division were Barrett Sprout/Randy sprout in first, Marc Skipwith/ Jeep Packman in second, and Tom Hulme/Chrystel Grundewald in third.

King of Pain Follow-Up

Last week we gave you the report of the King of Spain, and a potential rising Star in the class, winner of the KoS, Eric Lidecis. It seems like few regattas are without some drama, and that was certainly the case for Eric. Here are his puckered moments of the KoS. - Enjoy.

It was a good weekend in Marina Del Rey. We competed in the King of Spain regatta in the Star class and got our first win in great conditions on Saturday (10-15 knots of breeze, 2-3 foot chop), and fluky conditions on Sunday (4-6 knots of breeze, 30 degree oscillations). The trophy was donated by the King of Spain, and is the most valuable trophy at California Yacht Club. This was all completed with a big hole on the port quarter of the boat, after an unfortunate ducking situation (or missed duck) in the first race. We limped to the finish in fourth, taking on water. We taped the hole up in between races, but it fell off the second race after the second downwind leg (while leading the race). When we turned back upwind, the chop and heel filled up the aft compartment with about 50 gallons of water in about five minutes. I watched the second place boat sail right out from under us. We bailed it out the next downwind leg, and managed to hold onto second place for the race. The boat was patched up Saturday evening and we were ready to go on Sunday. The second day was light air, and we sailed extremely well both races. It was a great win, against some accomplished competitors, and as you can see, I'm pretty stoked.