Santa Cruz Yacht Club just hosted the International 14ft Skiff Norcal Championship on June 6-7th. Conditions were epic with 18-25kts+ on Saturday and 15-20kts on Sunday. The fleet of 11 boats was challenged with keeping the bow from digging and the stick in the air in sizable ocean swell just outside Steamer Lane. Needless to say, even the most experienced teams in the fleet had their fair share of getting rag dolled around the forestay.
Friday a few boats went out for a practice sail, but the night really kicked off the killer event with a BBQ at Mikey Radziejowski (commonly known as Polish)’s house, just blocks from the harbor. The USA I14 fleet is a tight knit group of enthusiasts, who take pride in their rigging and composite work as well as their beer consumption. Friday night was no different than most, foils freshly wet sanded, and a good few beers shared around the fire pit.
Saturday morning teams rigged up, anxious for the 12:55 start with a big forecast headed our way. The first race had a competitive start, sail #1206, John Clark and JV Gilmore, won the pin end closely followed by 1200, Brad Reutenik and JP Barnes. Up the course breeze built to a steady 20kts+ and by the top mark rounding, more than half the fleet was upside down and unable to finish. 1202, Michael Pacholski and myself, rounded first, closely followed by 1204, Polish and Evan Sjostedt. Both boats sent it hard on the downwind leg hitting 18kts+ before gybing on layline around the mile buoy. On the second upwind Polish and Evan overtook 1202 and held onto their lead with some expertly executed heavy air gybes on the second downwind to the finish. 1200, Reutenik and Barnes rounded out the top 3 after battling back from an early capsize. The first race set the tone for the regatta, 1204 clearly has big pace and experience in big breeze. Honorable mention to AUS 681, Cameron Puckey and Max Roth as well as 1177, Daniel Roberts and Marcos McGee for finishing while the rest of the fleet called it for the day.
Race two saw 28kts at the windward mark which made the bare aways feel like the old days before T-foils. Only 4 boats finished after multiple capsizes for each team. Again 1204 got the 1, 1202 2nd, 1200 3rd and honorable mention to 1198, James Clarkson and Mehmet Gunay, for sticking it out and finishing 4th. Huge thank you to the SCYC support boats for helping out boats with break downs and getting everyone in safe.
Saturday night SCYC hosted an awesome taco dinner before teams made their way down the street to the other yacht club. If you’ve never sailed in Santa Cruz, you’ve probably never been Brady’s Yacht Club, where most regatta nights end. In classic 14 fashion, the fleet numbed their bruises with a few drinks and shared stories from the day.
Sunday morning, Race Committee opted to move up racing by an hour to try to get some good competitive races off before breeze built too much. We had 3 epic races in spectacular conditions. The term champagne sailing doesn’t quite work in a skiff, but Sunday was the closest thing to it. 12-15kts in the first race built to 15-20kts in the latter two along with ocean swell gave the whole fleet the buzz we’ve all been chasing. The more manageable conditions meant tight racing. More often than not, 4 or 5 boats were getting to the top mark all in a line and setting simultaneously for the glamor runs.
1204 Mikey and Evan proved themselves this regatta with a picket fence, 1,1,1,1,1, and set the tone for the rest of the fleet. We have got some work to do in big breeze to catch those guys. Huge thank you to all of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club volunteers for hosting an incredible regatta. Safe to say we are all looking forward to the next one here in Santa Cruz!
