August 27, 2005 SoCalCup Long Beach

Report From US500

Light turnout but good wind.

Finally we get wind, a little up and down, 9kts-16kts, but after the wind we have had on race days around in So Cal this year - NO COMPLAINTS. We had plenty of boat company on the race course as LABYC was running cats in the same area as our course. Oh well just more things to maneuver around.

Lasse volunteered to be the first rabbit and a fine rabbit he was, so off we went at just a shade under 7,000 mph dodging cats and other boats, but we had wind and a race. The first race was fairly close at the finish and could have been closer, but Gabor overstood the downwind layline and missed a chance to catch me. The next race I didn't miss the opportunity to tag a Hobbie unwanting to yield to a starboard tacked windsurfer, on the upwind leg. Shortly after I hit his mainsail as I slammed on the brakes and did a some rail damage sliding down his boom, we exchanged some very friendly niceties. Now this little incident didn't slow him down one bit, after
all he was on port, but I ended un in the water just long enough to let Gabor meet me at the weather mark and with his great down wind speed he kicked my but getting to the finish line first, and the rail damage sent me to the showers. So the last race, with this huge fleet now down to 3 racers, was won by Gabor. This is not to take anything away from Gabor who has been sailing very well in big races this year. Now rumor has it the whole cat fleet heard about this collision, in fact some say it made the front page of the "Catamaran Racing Daily News", which is published biannually by the way.

Well that it for this year, thanks all for coming to our little races and hopefully we will get little better wind next year and maybe some of the guys from Nor Cal will be man enough to race us in LB.

Joe R
US 500