Make It '70, And Hurry!

Our good lifelong friend Billy Bob Boyes gives an insight into how a '70 custom racer went from drawing board to Cabo is four months! - Ed.

We will start at the beginning with this story and look into conceiving, building, and sailing Peligroso, a new 70' sled in its first race. It all started with an idea that a 70' size was faster than the new breed of 50' and 60' boats but not so big as to deal with the tremendous size of the systems and sails that you would find on boats over 80'. Peligroso was conceived by long time sailors and boat owners Mike Campbell and Dale Williams, who over the years have had many successful programs on their own and were each considering building their own separate boats and programs. These two powerhouse boat owners got together to build a new generation 70 that would not only be fast but have a comfortable interior and well thought out ergonomic deck.

Mike and Dale hired Tim Kernan from Waterplane Design to draw their 70. Tim's background includes working for Bob Perry and Melvin and Morelli with the new Columbia 30 being one of his newest complete designs. After sailing 70' sleds since 1971 my opinion is this guy can draw a fast, well balanced, sea kindly boat, and with more time than was given him before this race will see massive improvements in boat speed for rating. Tim is a very enthusiastic and clever designer who will no doubt be player in the plethora of new designers.

After the designer was secured and some drawings were put down, a builder was contracted to build Peligroso. Dencho Marine was hired and in a short 4 months the boat was in the water and we were sailing in the Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas race. This in the world of yacht racing is an amazing feat and Dennis Choate should be commended for what is one of the fastest builds and one of the most professional looking boats ever to leave his yard. From beginning to end Tim and Dennis worked closely and proved that they are a dangerous team.

Two more people deserve some props putting this one together. One is Aussie Mark Callahan, project manager, who no doubt should have a nickname of Turbo. It was Mark's tireless effort that brought Peligroso to the start line working well enough for us to start the race. I can't even begin to tell you how much Mark has meant to this build. I would say it wasn't a human effort but something way beyond. The other guy is Kevin Miller, and for those lucky enough to have sailed with him or worked beside him, would consider him to be one of the top professional sailors currently sailing in any waters. He is a North sails rep with tremendous talents that encompass setting up boats and sailing them not just fast, but very fast.
This core group brought a 70' boat to fruition in 4 months with amazing perfection that I for one have never been involved with.

With this build nearing completion it was decided the Cabo race would be a possibility so the project went into overtime. The last week before the race there were a number of individual efforts that would have 99% of us calling it quits. Between Mark and Kevin and several others in the last week before the race, probably about 10 hours of sleep was had between all of them. Superhuman! The night before the race it was decided that we would all get off the boat and get a good night of sleep and return with fresh bodies to handle the remaining tasks of getting the boat to the start line.

This would prove to be one decision that would allow us not only to start the race but to complete it.
As time passed on the morning of the race, systems were brought on line one by one until we left the dock. And to all the naysayer who said we would never make it. I say this, IN YOUR FACE! We weren't without our problems but we did make it. On the way to the start line the engine overheated twice. Problem found, repaired and never reared its ugly head again. We made it to the start line with fifteen minutes to spare. At ten minutes to go we put up the main for the first time and with five minutes to go we put up a jib. All looked good so we took a deep breath, looked at each other and made the decision to go sailing. All other sails were still in loft status. Code zero bricked, no furling attached, all kites bricked not banded, and all rigging being led for the first time. So off we went.

This year's race which hasn't been run for ten years saw one of the biggest entry lists in quite some time. I would like to think it was because of the destination, time of year and moon cycle, providing conditions that honestly were some of the most fun conditions that I have ever sailed south in. The race committee should be commended for listening to the drums beat the sound of reason from long standing competitors. This year's race was exceptional, starting in a fifteen knot SE wind we beat upwind for the first couple hours until we got out of the influence of Catalina Island and settled on to a close reach under headsails. Time flew by not only because we were going very fast but we were still working on systems that would allow us to finish the race. One of these systems was the bunks. All attention was given to the owners' bunks before the race but us working stiffs had to build ours before we got some rest; a difficult task when the swell was running between 2 to 3 meters on a reach at 12 to 15kts and slamming headlong into the oncoming swell. A difficult task for even the most seasoned sailor. One by one we all took our turn putting the seasick needle on green. By sunset we all had somewhere to lie down but nothing was complete enough to call a restful area. By the second morning we were sorted out to the point of having fun. The kite was up we were in contact with our competitors and the wind was starting to build from behind. As every minute passed it was more apparent this was one sweet boat. As boats crumbled by the way side

Peligroso was stretching her legs. By the second night we had winds in access of 30kts and we were flying but as some of us have encountered, the more dramatic the conditions and after the moon sets at night, the shit usually hits the fan. Our instruments went out so there we were back to basics sailing by a star off the luff of the kite and looking occasionally at the compass to confirm direction. By now we were looking down the throat of a record by one of the top three boats and since we were just far enough behind the boat beating us on corrected time we had to make a decision to split with them for the win. We did that but it didn't fully work out for us so we ended up second on corrected, middle of the fleet overall because it was a small boat race with the wind being stronger at the end and second boat to finish overall in our first complete race. The three top boats all beat the old record that had stood since 1985. First was the 80'Magnitude which beat us by 3 hours, second new 70' Peligroso by 10 minutes over the 78' Scout Spirit. We were all ecstatic with that performance considering all the obstacles that were set in front of us. One by one we overcame adversity and disorder. In the end we were a team that came together and proved with enough hard work, skill and a lot of luck anything is possible. Much thanks to Mike and Dale for providing us with the tools we needed for proving we are contenders. If you all think the game is easy, you haven't been at it long enough.