By Nancy Mellon
Each year at the Balboa Yacht Club, a competition is held for the major prize of a reserved parking spot for the Club Championship team for the following year. It is a very sought-after win.
Among the events the weekend of June 17-19 were the Harbor 20 Midsummer Regatta and the Area J Sears Qualifier – as well as the Masters Championship, the Family Championship and the Club Championship. All but the Harbor 20 regatta were sailed in the fleet of Gov Cup 21 boats.
Among this year’s sailors were many of BYC’s competitive young racers, including Chris Nesbitt who has been racing in many competitions all over the US. Members of past and future BYC Governor’s Cup teams were racing as well
Racing in all three of the championships was the Gov Cup 21 designer, Alan Andrews with his wife, Molly Lynch. For the Masters, he raced with Molly and Judi Gorski, Vice Commodore of BYC. For the Friday evening family event, his mother joined Molly and Alan. On Saturday, for the Championship, Molly and Alan were joined by Greg Newman of BYC. They won the Masters Championship and came in second in the other two events. What a busy weekend for them and for the club.
Len Bose, the event chairman, added the family event this year, which was very successful, with 10 teams racing. Len raced with his wife and son, placing fourth. The Davidson family, with son Ryan Davidson as skipper, won the four-race series with a total score of 10, including one first, a second, a third and a fourth. Gary, Nancy and sister Bayley were crew for Ryan. Placing second was the Andrews family with 12 points, including two firsts. Steve, Diane and Greg Kent came in third with 13 points.
A special highlight of the Friday events were the race finishes right by the club, with Jim Wentz handling the cannon that loudly recognized each first place boat as it crossed the finish line. In addition, Paul Blank, BYC Fleet Captain, described the events on the water adding his usual humorous touches for those watching from the deck and the bar.
The weather cooperated beautifully, with winds of 10 to 12 knots on Saturday. The sky cleared and the conditions were ideal. Complete results are available at the balboayachtclub.com web site under On the Water, then Past Race Results.
