October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38
October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38
October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38
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THE RACING<br />
Whew! The end of August and the month of September were jam packed with<br />
racing on the Bay. Between the Folkboat Internationals, the Windjammers'<br />
Race, SAP 505 World Championships, and Jazz Cup there was plenty to<br />
keep any kind of sailor busy. But we better not forget the Melges 32 North<br />
Americans, the 29er US Nationals, a record-matching Leukemia Cup, the<br />
J/24 Western Regionals, St. Francis18-ft Skiff Regatta, Ronstan Bridge<br />
to Bridge race, Catalina 30 Nationals and, oh yeah, The Great Schooner<br />
Race and the the Rolex Big Boat Series, which you'll find on <strong>pages</strong> 108-110,<br />
and 88-96 respectively. Yeah, it was busy. As always, we've done our best<br />
to bring you the scoop on <strong>all</strong> these events. Enjoy!<br />
Folkboat Internationals<br />
The Folkboat Internationals are held<br />
bienni<strong>all</strong>y on the Bay, and the boat's<br />
strong and loyal following, plus the fact<br />
that more than 5,000 have been built,<br />
means that the racing is competitive.<br />
With a bullet in the final race, '07<br />
winner Dave Wilson from San Francisco,<br />
held off a consistent performance from<br />
another Bay Area sailor, Eric Kaiser<br />
— who had counted nothing lower than<br />
a third in the seven-race, one-throwout<br />
series — to take the title.<br />
Sailing with his father Don, and for<br />
the first two days, Mark Van Crienkge,<br />
who was spelled by Tom Urbania for the<br />
final two, Wilson's final bullet was one of<br />
three that propelled him to a two-point<br />
win at the Corinthian YC-hosted regatta<br />
September 15-19. Following the Bay<br />
Area sailors were a pair of Danes — Per<br />
Jørgensen and Per Buch — and a German<br />
Christoph Nielsen.<br />
Nielsen was the only foreign skipper<br />
who didn't take advantage of the local<br />
Dave Wilson, left, just barely edged out Eric Kaiser for the top spot at<br />
the '09 Folkboat Internationals September 14-19.<br />
fleet's pooling of loaner boats; he shipped<br />
his own Folkboat — they just fit inside a<br />
standard 40-ft shipping container — over<br />
for the event. Nielsen was in position to<br />
notch the Folkboat equivalent of a Grand<br />
Slam, having already won the Swedish<br />
National Championship, Kiel Week and<br />
the class' Gold Cup.<br />
Page 128 • <strong>Latitude</strong> <strong>38</strong> • <strong>October</strong>, <strong>2009</strong><br />
The fleet hit many of the Central Bay<br />
venues for the racing — sailing on the<br />
Circle one day, the Cityfront another and<br />
Knox on two different days.<br />
"In the seven races, we had five different<br />
winners," said Class President Brock<br />
de Lappe.<br />
The boat — Windansea — has been<br />
in the Wilson family since 1981, when<br />
it was brought over for exactly such an<br />
event. Don Wilson is a three-time season<br />
champion.<br />
But the Wilson father/son winning<br />
combo wasn't the only one on the course.<br />
Tom Reed, Sr., a seven-time season<br />
champion, was sailing for his son, Tom<br />
Reed, Jr.<br />
Kaiser's father, Chuck, is also a seventime<br />
season champion. When you see <strong>all</strong><br />
these fraternal connections that come<br />
with some serious credentials, it's easy<br />
to see why Wilson was a bit surprised by<br />
his win.<br />
"We didn't think it was re<strong>all</strong>y going<br />
to happen," Wilson said. "We weren't re<strong>all</strong>y<br />
anticpating that we'd<br />
be winning. We went over<br />
to Sweden for the Gold<br />
Cup last year, and the<br />
Germans won, while we<br />
were 19th. Eric's been re<strong>all</strong>y<br />
consistent this whole<br />
year, so we feel lucky to<br />
have pulled it out."<br />
"When it comes to consistency,"<br />
Kaiser said, "I<br />
look to what my dad used<br />
to say: 'Racing sailboats<br />
is a series of routines<br />
practiced and mastered.' I<br />
certainly haven't mastered<br />
them yet, but I continue to<br />
strive towards that goal.<br />
Ironic<strong>all</strong>y, it was something<br />
Dave Wilson said that has re<strong>all</strong>y<br />
stuck in my head, and that's being obsessive<br />
about balancing the helm, both<br />
up and downwind. That has taken my<br />
sailing to a higher level this past year.<br />
But if you look closely, Dave has the<br />
upper hand when it comes to consistency."<br />
PETER LYONS/WWW.LYONSIMAGING.COM<br />
Like Wilson, Kaiser — who actively<br />
sails his boat Josephine on the Bay<br />
— built his crew around two guys sailing<br />
for two days each, and one pivotal<br />
player.<br />
"The team I put together started with<br />
the one guy I knew would never stop trying,<br />
Sean Svendsen," Kaiser said. That<br />
guy is intense and I loved it. Mike Peterson,<br />
also a Knarr season champion,<br />
understood how to keep both Sean and<br />
I under control. I guess we both have<br />
a tendency to get a little heated in the<br />
moment. He re<strong>all</strong>y did an outstanding<br />
job the first two days of the regatta. The<br />
last two I had my regular crew, Kurt<br />
Hemmingsen."<br />
FOLKBOAT INTERNATIONALS (9/15-19; 7r/1t)<br />
— 1) #106, David Wilson, USA, 12; 2) #122,<br />
Eric Kaiser, USA, 14; 3) #871, Per Jorgensen,<br />
DEN, 24; 4) #926, Per Buch, DEN, 27; 5) #658,<br />
Christoph Nielsen, GER, 32. (19 boats )<br />
Complete results at www.cyc.org<br />
Windjammers<br />
Labor Day Weekend featured the<br />
Windjammers Race from the Bay down<br />
the coast to Santa Cruz. Conditions
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