This year’s Turkey Day Regatta, hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, saw a solid turn out of 10 boats, 6 from Northern California, and the rest from the Southern California Fleet. The fleet was greeted to unsettled cloud cover, intermittent rain showers, and the smell of Turkeys smoking in the parking lot. The event was well attended by many classes and the boat park was buzzing with over 156 boats. The club did a great job of organizing the chaos, and even assigned classes to their own rigging areas – not that the 14s don’t already congregate like the cult it is.
Saturday’s unsettled weather meant winds were light and shifty. The Fleet managed to only get one race off after a postponement. Evan and I managed to get off the start line in somewhat of a clear lane leading off to the left side of the course. A header sent us back, sailing from puff to puff. The few boats that ate further into the header off the line seemed to benefit the most with Michael Leitch on 1195 with Terry Gleeson guest helming (while Elizabeth grows a future World Champion) leading the pack into the weather mark. Michael Lazzaro on 1161 and Brad Ruetenick on 1200 were right behind from the left side of the course. Evan and I on 1204, and Cameron Puckey with new crew Max Roth on AUS 681, managed to hold our own and just squeak in front of Michael Lazzaro around the top mark. Downwind wasn’t immediately obvious but we chose to gybe out early which paid off as the folks who dug into the right side hit a wall. From there it was just a matter of keeping the boat moving.Terry and Michael did a great job of staying in the puffs and held on to their lead. The second lap around the course was more or less a repeat of the first, with folks just trying to stay in whatever little micro puff they were in. Sailing these boats in such light conditions is a true test of your focus and flexibility as you attempt to make yourself into the smallest, most uncomfortable ball possible. The race ended with Terry and Michael taking 1st, us in second, and Puckey closely behind us, though the rest of the fleet wasn’t too far behind. Unfortunately, the wind completely shut off and we were all sent in.
Saturday night, ABYC hosted its catered Thanksgiving dinner, and the food was phenomenal! Smoked turkey and all the fixins. It was a great opportunity for the fleet to catch up and mingle. Afterwards, a bunch of the 14ers found themselves at a very solid dive bar in San Pedro where further “debriefing” happened.
We were greeted to beautiful clear skies and warm weather Sunday morning, which meant more normal wind conditions for November. A solid 6 to 10 knots meant we were able to get 3 quick double lap races and a 4th race with a single windward-leeward. There were still some big shifts on the race course that required some vigilance, which made for some good tactical racing. The first race saw a big shift right at the start which made getting across the line difficult. We set up for the mid to pin end of the line (which happened to be the committee boat) and the boats that set further towards the pin ended up piling up with a capsize. It was ugly and to avoid the mess we managed to sail over the line early. Nothing like immediately starting at the back of the pack. We had a good beat but really gained back on the first mark rounding and doing an immediate gybe set allowing us to go from DFL to finishing 5th. Brad and JP walked away with it even though they, too, piled up at the start. 1202 with guest helm Chris Hendo and Patrick Wilkinson got 2nd, and Puckey rounded out the podium.
Race 2 we had a little redemption with a good start leading out to the left hand side with Brad, only to blow it right before a tack due to a miscommunicated mainsheet pass that caused us to go for a swim. But again, we sailed really smart and ended up in 4th. Brad once again took the win, followed by Hendo and Pat, and Puckey in 3rd. The next race was a mirror in conditions and shifts so we managed to repeat our strategy which paid dividends. We sailed smartly and kept the boat upright. We also had a smart gybe which allowed us to get in front of Puckey right before the finish allowing us to get 2nd. Brad and JP once again showed us how it’s done in tricky light air conditions and won by a good margin. The last race of the day was the sprint and we took a gamble on which side of the course was going to pay off on the upwind. We didn’t do terrible, but we didn’t do great either, so we had to settle with a 4th. Should not come as a shock, but Dr Brad and JP finished the day with a perfect score sheet. A little shake up and Terry and Michael got 2nd, and Mike Lazzaro and Robin Kivlen got 3rd. Both boats made huge gains hitting the left side of the course on the upwind.
A huge congratulations to Brad and JP! They are very hard to beat in these light conditions. Consistently fast and smart. They took the prized turkey home. Evan and I were pleasantly surprised with 2nd. We struggle in conditions like these, but as everyone knows, you can’t always sail at the Gorge or Berkeley Circle, so this was a huge learning weekend for us. Puckey and Max took 3rd, though they did tie with us after the throw out. Puckey as always, sailed very fast and was consistent. It felt like he was always right next to us. I also should say that the rest of the fleet was right there. I am seriously impressed with the entire fleet. We have come a long way as a fleet and there is no longer an “A” and “B” fleet. There were many lead changes over the weekend and almost no waiting between races. It’s awesome! I also have to shout out our newest boat to the fleet with Lucca Farrell and Gabriel Rios on their Bieker 3. These guys are new but they are already proving themselves by finding themselves in the front of the fleet at times. Looking forward to seeing those guys grow.
All in all, it was another fantastic 14 event. ABYC did a great job hosting. The fleet comradery was all time and the stoke was high. Now is the best time to be in the fleet, so get your boat out on the water or reach out to us if you want to join! Next up on the calendar is Richmond Yacht Club Small Boat Midwinters.
Remember, “Imitations come and go, but 14s are forever!”
-Mikey Radziejowski
USA 1204