Challenging Moore 24 Pacific Coast Championship
Twelve Moore 24s showed up in Santa Cruz to compete for their Pacific Coast Championship on May 13-15. “Everyone was expecting a crash-and-burn ballistic gear-busting surf-fest — denied!” reports Sydnie Moore of Nobody’s Girl. “The volunteer race committee did a solid job of getting seven races off in three days with challenging light winds, no wind, and conflicting wind directions.”
New Zealand Crusty and Seattle Joe traveled the longest distance. “New Zealand Crusty,” aka Mark Christensen, is a Kiwi pro sailor on Pegasus (they have won the PCCs the most times). Pegasus scored three bullets, but others were able to get bullets too. Seattle Joe Wilderman was on Peter Schoen’s Mooretician with Roe Patterson and Erica Ryan. Peter and Roe have doublehanded and sailed together for 35+ years.
Steve Bourdow’s regular teammate Mike Holt, a 5O5 champion, was racing in the Elvstrom Zellerbach at St. Francis YC. “Steve is a very talented coach and sailed with his new team, with Karen Gosling (they just met the morning of the regatta), to get a bullet too and finished third overall.”
Pete Spaulding, the owner of Foamy, has switched custody of Flying Circus with Bill and Melinda Erkelens, who are using Foamy for the Pacific Cup. “I believe his crew had never sailed together,” commented Sydnie Moore.
The youngest sailors were two 15-year-olds aboard Rust Never Sleeps (they were crazy enough to go swimming between races).
The crews sailing the longest together were aboard Wet Spot (40+ years) and Mooretician (35+).
“Thanks again to Scott Sorensen for hosting a blowout party Friday at his new home, and to event chair and chef Steve Bourdow for Saturday’s fabulous jambalaya feast,” added Sydnie.
Sydnie speculates that what the Moore 24 fleet considers a low turnout could have been “due to a few teams coming down with COVID, proms, high school sailing conflicts, Elvstrom Zellerbach, and gas prices,” and difficulty getting time off from work or school for a three-day regatta. For results, see https://scyc.org/regatta/sxCPZxEaYe/results.