Foto copyright Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex
Fuente info regattanews
IMPRESSIVE IRC LINE-UP; ST. FRANCIS YC TO HONOR BLACKALLER
September 2, 2009
With one week until the start of the 2009 Rolex Big Boat Series, St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) Race Office is busy coordinating the many logistical details that accompany running one of the world's most-loved regattas. Racing this year is scheduled for September 10-13, and includes racing in seven one-design classes - 1D35, Beneteau 36.7, Express 37, J/105, J/120, Melges 32 and, for the first time, the Cal 40 class, as well as divisions for IRC-rated entries. At the conclusion of the four-day regatta, specially engraved Rolex timepieces will be awarded to the St. Francis Yacht Club's six Perpetual Trophy winners and to the overall IRC winner as the Rolex US-IRC National Champion. Although the Rolex Big Boat Series will be celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, another occurrence will take center stage, the StFYC's tribute to the late Tom Blackaller.
As is tradition for Rolex Big Boat Series, the classes that will compete for each of the StFYC's Perpetual Trophies will be kept a secret until they are announced at the Rolex Commodore's Reception on Wednesday, September 9. At the reception, hosted by StFYC Commodore John McNeill, the club will pay homage to Blackaller, a member of the StFYC who passed away in 1989, with a special presentation lead by Paul Cayard. "It just seemed logical to do something special to remember such a great personality and great sailor," said Cayard, a StFYC member who refers to Blackaller as his "sailing father, someone who had a huge effect on my sailing career".
As Cayard described Blackaller - known as much for his sailing accomplishments as his larger-than-life personality - he was an ambassador of sailing wherever he went. "Tom was the king of sailing on San Francisco Bay" continued Cayard. "He was a two-time Star world champion and America's Cup skipper, yet he still found time to race locally and to write for Bay and Delta Yachtsman every month. I know we have stars in sailing today, but I don't think we have ever had someone with as much star power as Thomas David Blackaller. He was ahead of his time and, unfortunately for us, he departed too soon."
Cayard plans to team up with Tom Akin, who has chartered the TP52 Flash, and compete in IRC. They will face serious competition from John Kilory's TP52 Samba Pa Ti, the two-time defending champion in the IRC division.
Kilroy, who recently won the Barn Door Trophy in the Transpacific Yacht Race, has his eye on Flash plus the other TP52s competing, Charles Burnett's Braveheart and Ashley Wolfe's Mayhem, as well as Vincitore, the Reichel/Pugh 52, owned by Jim Mitchell (SUI), with Norman Davant calling tactics and America's Cup legend Chris Dickson driving.
"People always ask us 'what is your expectation?' I always say our goal is to do well," said Kilroy. "We will prepare the boat, the crew and the sails as best as we can to have a good shot. The competition this year is likely to be very strong. It looks like everyone has optimized their crew and sails, and IRC configuration. Vincitore was built for IRC, where Samba and the other 52s were not. Instead they were built for the TP52 rule. We beat Vincitore last year. It came down to last race. We've obviously done well under the IRC configuration, but I make that distinction. We have some disadvantages in our hull form. The Samba hull factor as calculated under IRC is not as kind as it is for an IRC-specific designed boat, from what I understand. We've demonstrated that we can be powerful and have won the past few years. I'd expect we will continue to be competitive."
Reflecting on his history with Rolex Big Boat Series, over the past 45 years, Kilroy said. "I consider the Rolex Big Boat Series one of the preeminent regattas in the world. San Francisco is one of the great venues, recognized by anyone who has raced there. There is always great wind, a lot of challenges with the current, and all the variables that make sailing superb. I think it is the best yacht club and with Rolex, the preeminent sponsor, and the magic of San Francisco and the Bay, it brings out the best sailors. Everybody loves being in San Francisco."
Kilroy will have at this side a few Volvo Ocean Race veterans, tactician Stu Bannatyne, fresh from Ericcson Racing, and headsail trimmer Justin Ferris, from Puma Racing. Local knowledge will come from Russ Silvestri, a US Olympian ('98/'00).
Mayhem has had good success over the past year of racing, winning the IRC East Coast Championship in November. "The boat is performing better than it ever has," said Wolfe, who sails with her father Bob onboard as pitman. "Mayhem has had good success because our crew has become more consistent. The boat has been modified, which has improved our upwind performance considerably. We have also moved to a bow sprit which has made running downwind far less complicated, thus less errors in the jibes. We have also sailed together as a team more this last season than in seasons past. All of the above has contributed to a much more competitive boat."
A lot of buzz has surrounded Daniel Woolery's King 40 Soozal for its significant success in IRC racing. For Woolery, the team's goal has always been to work toward a good result at Rolex Big Boat Series. "There is no secret to this (success) really," he said. "I've been doing this a long time and know what it takes. It's been a total program since the beginning with our summer racing about getting our crew together to prepare for Rolex Big Boat Series. We had to prepare the boat and make it a true weapon from the keel to the bottom to the rudder to the mast, and selected every component to make it as light as possible. Before we added anything, we thought about it three times before we did it." Onboard Soozal will be tactician Robbie Haines plus Hogan Beatie, Scott Easom, Greg Felton, Christopher Lewis, Pete McCormick, Rob Moore, Gary Sadamori and Matt Siddens. "You couldn't ask for a better crew."
Principal Race Officer John Craig and the StFYC Race Committee have mapped out a variety of courses on San Francisco Bay - from 8- 32 nautical miles - which will be run on two different areas, the City Front Course and North Course. Competitors race within view of the stunning San Francisco city front, Crissy Field, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. Racing finishes each day in front of the StFYC, set upon the rocky shores of the Bay.
The largest one design class is the J/105 class with over 20 entries. Defending class champion Scott Sellers' Donkey Jack, the 2008 J/105 North American champion, returns and faces competition from Bruce Stone's local J/105 Arbitrage, which won its class in Richmond YC's Sarcoma Cup, in August, the Buzzards Bay Regatta and Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. "Blackhawk and Jam Session have moved up to the top of the J/105 fleet this year, and should be leaders, along with the usual standouts Good Timin, Aquavit, MoJo and RacerX," said Stone. "We have been racing in all of the local J/105 fleet events leading up to Big Boat Series, and have replaced sails, halyards and so forth to get prepared."
Defending Melges 32 class winner Full Throttle owned by John Porter returns to defend his title against class heavyweights Pegasus 32, owned by Philippe Kahn, and class newcomer Rougarou, owned by Burton Benrud and Andy Lovell. Calling tactics on the boat will be four time US Tornado Olympic sailor Johnny Lovell. Rounding out the crew are Scott Nixon and John Bowden from Quantum Sails, Jonathan Colarusso, Michael Danish and Karen Sproul. "We look forward to the chance to get the Melges 32 on a plane in the big breeze of San Francisco," said Benrud. "This is our first big outing and we could have not picked a better location. Look for the bright red boat on the water."
Express 37 Class stalwart Bartz Schneider, who campaigns his Expeditious, summed up the expected competition. "Unfortunately, Expeditious is probably the boat to beat, having won the last two, so everyone will be gunning for us," he said. "But there are five or six boats in the nine-boat fleet that might be up there on the last day. As always, Golden Moon will be tough, with Bay tide guru Kame Richards at the helm. Blade Runner with their name already on the trophy several times, is always a possible threat."
For Mike Maloney and his Bullet team, Rolex Big Boat Series is one he looks forward to and sees Expeditious as the boat to beat. "The Express 37 fleet is one of the strongest big boat one design fleets on the Bay, and I'm very happy to see another great turn out of nine boats," he said. "The fleet is very competitive and loaded with talent; any one of five or six boats could win this regatta. Expeditious is probably slightly favored based on past performance, but Golden Moon, Elan, Blade Runner and Bullet all have programs that can win. Stewball has won under its previous owner, so it's also competitive if well-sailed. Phat Jack has shown significant improvement of late and Spindrift V and Loca Motion don't race much so they are unknown wild cards that could surprise us. As for the crew, most have sailed on Bullet at one point or another, but never all together as a crew. My tactician, Lief Wadleigh, is coming up from L.A. and we've sailed together for the last five years on both the Etchells and the Express, and Jeannette Daroosh has done bow on Bullet for over three years. The other crewmembers have decades of racing experience and have raced several regattas on the boat in the past. We know our challenge is to quickly gel as a team to win against such competition."
In the J/120 class, Barry Lewis's defending class champion Chance is the boat to beat. According to John Wimer, who campaigns Desdemona, the fleet will be tough this year. "We expect very tight racing with plenty of lead changes," he said. "As usual, we have great expectations for a well-run regatta in an outstanding venue. We look forward to this event every year."
The newest one design class to compete at Rolex Big Boat Series is the Cal 40 with a projected six-boat fleet. "We do not have many expectations as the Cal 40s have never raced against each other in this format," said David Holscher, owner of Henry Hannah. "There is not clear favorite as this is our initial regatta. The first beat will be very interesting."
In the 1D35 Class - currently seven boats registered - returning champion Diabilita is the boat to watch according to Stanley Garros, owner of Zsa Zsa. "I expect to most likely finish middle of the fleet," he said. "The fleet is very competitive and I am pleased to race against some very talented crews. I am the old man in my fleet at 67."
The 2008 Beneteau 36.7 class runner-up Summer and Smoke, owned by Pat Patterson, returns for its second try at the class title, noting that Ed Durbin's Mistral is always the boat to beat. Patterson has prepared his boat for this year's regatta, but said that the real story is the crew. "I have imported some of the best crew money cannot buy from the Pacific Northwest. They are tough, scrappy, love-to-sail sailors who are worth their weight in gold."
Durbin is ready with his Mistral. "My crew is all eager, tuned-up, committed and clothed and ready to go," said Durbin. "Most of the crew has been with me for years and the rest have had about six months on Mistral in the YRA and other races. The gear has been checked over, the bottom sleek, the sails are less than a year old and the skipper is keen on this series."
Wilson, owned by Torben Benson, will make its debut in the fleet this year. "We've worked hard to build some synergies in the Bay Area around the 36.7 Fleet and feel there has been positive movement as three new boats have been brought to the Bay Area over the past few months," said Aaron Kennedy, owner of Ay Caliente. "Our local dealership, Passage Yachts, put a charter into the race this year helping us retain the one-design status. I felt that was a strong show of support on a local level. You'll find we are a close knit fleet as most of our crews know one another and the skippers enjoy the sportsmanship and camaraderie of racing these fine boats. We're excited this year to once again be part of the Rolex Big Boat Series. The StFYC's race committee puts on a first-rate regatta that are run exceptionally well, on and off the water. I've been impressed with the level of competition in our fleet as we all strive to move to the top of the rankings. Rolex Big Boat Series is the pinnacle of our racing season and always proves to be a great time for the skippers and crew. I have no doubt you'll find us post race on the docks having a great time reliving the day's events on the course."
