October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38

ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES
The 'Vincitore' brain trust — from left, Chris Dickson, Jim Mitchell, Norman Davant, Rodney Keenan
and Colin Booth put it all together against a competitive fleet of TP 52s to take IRC A.
Vincitore's second in what would prove
to be the final race.
When Sunday's race was abandoned
with Flash leading on corrected time as
the fleet parked at the southeast corner
of Alacatraz, the regatta win — and 2009
IRC National title — went to Mitchell's
electric-blue speedster.
Although the racing was generally
tight — four of the five boats were often
within boatlengths of each other on the
first beats of the races — Dickson said he
felt Vincitore had a speed edge sufficient
to overcome its higher rating.
"We were definitely the quickest boat
downwind in both the light and the
heavy," he said. "In light air, I think
we were quickest upwind, but in the
breeze, Samba Pa Tí and Flash were a
bit quicker."
For Mitchell, the win, which came
with the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy,
was especially gratifying as his father
Jim Sr. — who introduced him to the
sport — was there to see it happen.
"This is a very emotional win for me,"
the younger Mitchell said. "At the end
of racing, when I looked at my dad, who
was out on the chase boat, we both had
a tear in our eye. The speech I gave on
the first day was that we have a passion
for sailing, a passion for friends and family,
and we will let the results speak for
themselves."
That they did. If Mitchell's crew, which
also included David Blanchfield, Colin
Booth, Mike Buckley, Hayden Goodrick,
Martin Hannon, Nathan Hislop, Rodney
Keenan, Dallas Kilponen, Simon Minoprio,
Brent Ruhne, Chris Skinner and
Jack Toliver made any mistakes, we
missed them. According to Mitchell their
effort wasn't a two-shot deal.
"We are bringing Vincitore back again
next year," he promised.
Page 90 • Latitude 38 • October, 2009
PETER LYONS/WWW.LYONSIMAGING.COM
IRC B
IRC B was hands down the wackiest
division of all. Featuring everything from
a pair of Farr 36s to the division winner,
and biggest boat in the regatta, Kjeld
Hestehave's San Diego-based Tanton
73 Velos, IRC B was a mish-mash of
displacement and planing boats pretty
much covered the last three rating rules
and the last four decades. The scratch
boat was Chris Welsh's IRC-optimized
Spencer 65 Ragtime, but it was all Velos,
all weekend.
"This win is 12 years in the making,"
he said of winning the City of San
Francisco Trophy and culminating in
a four-time Rolex Big Boat Series ef-
Inset, from left — Kjeld Hestehave, Chuck
Skewes and Will Stout, seen here with what
would be a fitting Rolex for the biggest boat this
year; Spread — Hestehave's Tanton 73 'Velos'
dwarfed IRC B, spare the scratch boat, Chris
Welsh's Spencer 65 'Ragtime' (not pictured).
LATITUDE/ROB
fort. "We were here in '97 and '98, and
we got two second places that year. We
were here two years ago and got killed
by everyone."
The IOR design used her relatively
prodigious waterline to break away from
the rest of the 10-boat pack at the start
line and never looked back, sailing in
clean air the entire time and giving her
afterguard — comprised of San Diegans
Will Stout and Chuck Skewes — any lane
they wanted.
The duo took full advantage, and with
the help of the generally non-planing
conditions and some crisp boathandling
from the 22-person crew — got the big
boat around the course fast enough to
reel off six-straight bullets. But Stout felt
their size did carry some limitation.
"On the starting line, we're really not
that manoeuvrable," he said.
LATITUDE/ROB