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Stark Raving Mad III, Rosebud and Magnitude
80 (l-r) converge on a downwind leg with
spinnakers full
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Rosebud enjoying
the ratings game in FT
Regatta
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June
9, 2007
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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Sailboat racing is not always
as it appears to be, like when hundreds of spectators on
Newport Pier and a flock of private boats see high-tech
racing machines such as Magnitude 80 and Stark Raving
Mad III running away with races and 15 young adults
trouncing their elders, all without their success showing up
on the scoreboard.
So it's been for the first two days of the First Team Real
Estate Invitational Regatta for the Hoag Cup where the
trophies will be awarded Sunday night not necessarily to
those who finished first but to those who correct out best
on handicap time.
That's how the game is played with unequal boats,
theoretically rewarding the ones that were sailed nearest
their potential, regardless of where they finished.
One excerption through the first four of five races has been
Roger Sturgeon's new STP 65, Rosebud, which has been
pushing Doug Baker's Mag 80 and Jim Madden's Stark
Raving Mad III hard enough to lead Class A by two points
over Mike Campbell and Dale Williams' Kernan 68,
Peligroso.
But Roy E. Disney, the event's honorary chairman,
doubts that any boats have been sailed better than
his Transpac 52, Morning Light, with a crew ranging
from 18 to 23 in age that has beaten all but the four
Class A boats in three of the last four races, yet
stands only fifth in Class B.
Disney, getting his first look at his team under fire
this weekend, said, "I'm amazed, but it's frustrating.
They're beating all of the Santa Cruz 70s boat for
boat and losing to them on [handicap] time---a little
52- footer! I'm so proud of these kids, they're
handling the boat so well and thinking their way
around the course. You can't fault their sailing or
boat handling."
The team has been selected and trained to sail the
Transpacific Yacht Race next month, a process that is
being recorded for a documentary feature film to be
released next year. So far it looks more than
promising.
Disney's son Roy Pat, also a Transpac veteran, said,
"What took us 35 years they've done in four months."
And yet they lost ground Saturday when race
officials discovered an error in their handicap rating,
meaning they'll now be giving even more time to
their rivals.
No matter, says Jeremy Wilmot, the 21-year-old
skipper from Australia.
"I'm just thrilled with the performance of the crew,"
Wilmot said. "The guys behind me [tactician Charlie
Enright and navigator Piet van Os] are putting me in
the right places around the course, and I could go on
through the whole crew. There hasn't been one slip-
up. Everybody on the team is having a lot of fun. It's
great to be sailing against such good sailors . . .
some real pros. I don't know what they expected---
maybe, oh- oh, here come the kids, put the fenders
out."
Mag 80 continued to finish first in every race, although it
had to come from behind both Stark Raving Mad III and
Rosebud to win Saturday's second race. Nevertheless,
Rosebud, with Jack Halterman on the helm, officially
swept the day on handicap time to extend its string to 2-1-
1-1, despite losing the hydraulic power so important for
trimming the sails under the boat's heavy loads, even
when the breeze is only 6 to 10 knots as it was Saturday.
Rosebud, launched only this past week, had limited
hydraulics for the first three races but then it all blew out,
spewing fluid around the boat and leaving the crew to
perform strictly on manpower.
Tactician Kevin Miller said, "It's a good boat. We're going
well and we don't even have our hydraulics going. When
they went completely out we thought about dropping out,
but Roger said, 'No, let's finish it,' and then we got this
huge wind shift and won our class in the race."
Various reports measured the shift from 30 to 40 degrees,
shuffling the results dramatically.
Madden said, "It was unbelievable---all over the place."
As for the ratings, Madden said, "That doesn't matter.
We're having fun out there, anyway."
The final race will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, conditions
permitting.
First Team Real Estate is the title sponsor. Other
sponsors include Accretive, Bank of America,
Countrywide, Warmington Homes, Wells Fargo Bank,
Mellon Bank and MKA Capital. West Marine is also a
supporter.
Standings (by corrected time, after 4 of 5 races)
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Roy E. Disney tracks the
Morning Light team
Westerly sails past Newport Pier
Westerly leads charge to the starting
line
(starting Friday night)
Event information
Visit
the title sponsor
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Class A
1. Rosebud (STP 65), Roger Sturgeon, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,
2-1-1-1, 5 points.
2. Peligroso (Kernan 68), Mike Campbell/Dale
Williams, Long Beach, 1-2-2-2, 7.
3. Stark Raving Mad III (Reichel/Pugh 66),
Newport Beach, 3-4-3-3, 13.
4. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker,
Long Beach, 4-3-4-4, 15.
Class B
1. Grand Illusion (SC 70), Patrick O'Brien/Ed McDowell,
Redondo Beach, Calif., 1-1-2-2, 6.
2. Holua (SC 70), Brack Duker, Marina del
Rey, Calif., 2-4, 6.
3. Westerly (SC 70), Tim and Tom Hogan,
Newport Beach, 4-5-3-1, 13.
4. Skylark (SC 70), Doug Ayres, Newport
Beach, 3-4-5-3, 15.
5. Morning Light (Transpac 52), Jeremy
Wilmot, Waikiki, H.I., 5-2-6-4, 17.
6. Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin,
Encino, Calif., 6-6-4-6, 22.
7. Trader (Transpac 52), Fred Detwiler,
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 8-7-7-7, 29.
8. It's OK (Andrews 50), Tres Gordos Sailing
LLC, Balboa, Calif., 7-8-8-8, 31.
Class C
1. Valkyrie (DK 46), Andy and Camille Rasdal, San
Diego, 1-2-2-1, 6.
2. Chayah (1D48), Oscar Krinsky/Chris Redman,
Long Beach, 3-1-1-2, 7.
3. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Chris Welsh, Newport
Beach, 2-3-3-3, 11.
Click for…
Results
with elapsed/corrected times
Photo
gallery
Longpre photos
Video highlights
About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
(www.hoaghospital.org) is a 511-bed, not-for- profit, acute care hospital located in Newport
Beach, Calif. Fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
(JCAHO) and designated as a
Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Hoag offers a comprehensive mix
of health care services,
including Centers of Excellence in cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics and women’s
health services. A recent
study released by HealthGrades placed Hoag among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation and a recipient
of the 2007 Distinguished
Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s
most preferred
hospital for the past 10 consecutive years. And for an unprecedented 11 years, residents of Orange County
have chosen Hoag as
the county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey.
About First Team Real
Estate
As the number one independent in California,
First Team Real Estate is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the
country. According to the last National Real Estate and Relocation Magazine Power Broker Report, First
Team is the #11 independent
real estate company in the nation for overall sales. Founded in 1976 with five agents in one office,
First Team is now home to over
2,000 sales associates and over 300 employees in 38 offices across the region.
General Media Contact
Amy McKibbin, Hoag Hospital
949/244-3234
Rich Roberts, Press Officer
310/835-2526
cell 310/766-6547
richsail@earthlink.net
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TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
