You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
the beach in between swells and carried the boat to a part<br />
of the beach or boardwalk where it was beyond the reach<br />
of waves.<br />
There was also a tide window that the regatta organizers<br />
needed to consider. At 1.2 meters of tide height, the<br />
launching beach disappears, and on the first day of racing,<br />
daytime high tide was scheduled to happen at around<br />
09:30. So that means that the boats need to be in the water<br />
by 07:30. This was mentioned in the pre-race briefing the<br />
night before the first race.<br />
To make the regatta interesting, a twist was added to<br />
the first race of the regatta. Two of PHBYC’s founders.<br />
Rolly Perez and Louis Casambre passed away in January<br />
and February of <strong>2022</strong>. The first race of Nationals was<br />
dedicated to their memory, both gentlemen had a hand<br />
in the development of the Oz Goose program directly or<br />
indirectly. The race was called the Rolly and Louis memorial<br />
trophy. Rolly was an avid photographer and Louis loved to<br />
race. So, for the first race the photography component was<br />
added. The participants had to take a picture during the<br />
race consistent with the theme “Exciting Bicol” the race<br />
result and the photography contest result are combined to<br />
determine the winner. The race starts at the five-minute<br />
countdown and the racers can take a picture then if they<br />
wish. The racers were tracking with a mobile app called<br />
raceQs anyway so they had a smartphone with them that<br />
they can use to take the photo.<br />
Thom Kleiss’ winning photo that bagged him<br />
the Rolly and Louis memorial trophy<br />
Happy PSA sailors Boyet and Jovel<br />
The conditions in Legazpi were very different from what the<br />
northern sailors were used to from sailing in Subic, Manila<br />
and Taal Lake. The waves had short wavelengths just like<br />
on Taal, but the waves were bigger and sometimes came<br />
from two different directions. Michael Storer, National’s<br />
champion form 2019 said that “The waves were awesome!<br />
Sometimes it felt like a SUV was heading towards you ...<br />
and there was no driver!<br />
All the participants and even the designer was amazed<br />
how the goose handled the conditions well. The wind<br />
was forecasted to blow 8 to 18 kts and sure enough it<br />
was blowing around the 15-knot range most of the time.<br />
Participants were allowed to sail solo or with crew, most<br />
of the single-handed participants took in a reef and some<br />
didn’t. The single-handed sailors that reefed fared better<br />
than those that didn’t. The competition was fierce, Puro<br />
Sailors were jockeying for position against racers who have<br />
been sailing competitively for years.<br />
Participants and Porters helping crews as they come in<br />
Puro Sailors keeping up with the pros<br />
The audience along with curious onlookers were out in<br />
droves all around the Legazpi boardwalk as well as the new<br />
banka jetty, a big tent with an LED wall was set up behind<br />
the Legazpi sign to show VIPs live video feed as well as<br />
drone footage of the races.<br />
A total of nine races were to happen during the series,<br />
the Rolly and Louis Memorial was supposed to be a<br />
long race out to the channel markers. However, the race<br />
17
Change language