What a good day we had on Saturday!
Yes, the morning was mostly cloudy and yes, we had some misty rain right before the start. But the rain cleared and the steady 15 kt SE wind and comfortable temps made for excellent racing conditions. Ten boats came out for the 2024 Mayors Cup this year, now run by the South Bay Cruising Club. Our Race Committee was John Davis with Bill Wheeler & crew in Bill's power boat "Hare". Dick LaBella joined the team as our photographer. John Davis has a long history doing RC for the Mayors Cup and it was good to have him again officiating. They were on station with the start line set by 11:00 for our 12:00 noon kickoff. Babylon course 8 in reverse was chosen (start, thru the bridge to #6, then to Bay Shore #1, #3, #11, back thru the bridge to #9, finish) which was perfect for the easterly wind. Thanks guys, great work by the RC team!
We had eight boats in the Non-spin class, one in Cruising class and the trimaran Trillium raced in the Multihull class. The Non-spin class had a clean upwind start and Rettsie and Unleashed were first through the bridge. There was enough south in the wind for the fleet to make #6. Then on the long run to Bay Shore #1, Shadow fought hard to catch Rettsie while Moonrise & Pandemonium traded positions in close competition. Shadow came within 3 boat lengths of Rettsie but at the Bay Shore #3 mark Rettsie covered well and forced Shadow to tack to make the next #1 mark. The fleet spread out a bit on the run back to the bridge. The trimaran Trillium took off on this leg, passed the whole fleet and was first back through the bridge, followed by Rettsie. At the Babylon #9 mark it was a jibe and a starboard run to the finish. First to finish was Trillium, followed by Rettsie. Shadow tried but was unable to catch Rettsie and finished a minute behind. Unleashed crossed the line next and the battle between Moonrise & Pandemonium continued, with Moonrise finishing only seconds in front. Some exciting sailing for sure!
See the final Mayors Cup race results attached to this e-mail above along with some great pics from Rich LaBella. There will be more LaBella pictures in the next Masthead!
The SBCC stepped up this year to keep this important annual bay race going and I am pleased we were able to provide another successful Mayors Cup race for 2024. My thanks to Eric Winberry for his continued assistance and to John Davis for his suggestions and for helping re-organize this event. The LIYC was also very appreciative that we came to the rescue of this event. The Mayors Cup trophy is now under the good care of the SBCC Regatta Captain.
Enjoy the fall sailing season,
Charlie Margeson
SBCC Regatta Captain
