Long Beach Race Week

Right up until Dave Ullman’s Friday morning weather and strategy briefing prior to the first start, it was looking as if the 2009 Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week presented by Acura was going to be a light-air affair. Fortunately for the 132 boats in 18 classes, the breeze filled to the mid-teens for day one, built to high-teens on Saturday, and was starting to look a lot like San Francisco Bay — low 20’s and big chop — on Sunday. Throw in some exceptional race management and three great nights of parties courtesy of Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Clubs, and it was a perfect weekend of Southern California sailing.

San Francisco’s Drew Harper and his BoomSlang crew took full advantage of the familiar conditions, posting three bullets and two seconds to run away with the Viper 640 division — the first-ever LBRW one-design start for the emerging fleet. David Voss’s Piranha used a strong Sunday to overcome a DSQ from Friday, and many years’ worth of runner-up finishes, to finally take the Farr 40 crown, after a duel with Ray Godwin’s Temptress. Gary Mozer and Current Obsession2 pummeled the J105 division — the event’s largest at 13 boats — with five bullets in seven races.

The regatta featured two courses of buoy racing near the breakwater and one random leg course for the big boats outside. Tres Gordo Sailing’s Andrews 50 It’s OK took top honors on the random leg track. We were graciously invited aboard Ed Feo’s Andrews 45 Locomotion for the weekend. The boat was fresh off a second overall in Encinal YC’s Coastal Cup and it’s not hard to see why. With plenty of reaching in the mid-teens, it was a blast! With a little chaos and carnage on Sunday — there were several wrapped kites and more than a few roundups — it was an awesome regatta. A good portion of the TransPac fleet practicing near the three courses didn’t hurt the ambience either.

With so many classes, we don’t have the space here to give you a run-down on all the winners, but the regatta results have already been posted. As it was the final event in the Ullman Sails Inshore Championship series, which also includes the Ahmanson Cup, San Diego Yachting Cup, and Cal Race Week, the final standings for the series have also been posted.