Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta Report - Mike Martin

The 505 fleet had 13 boats show up for the Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta this past weekend. It was great to see several recent additions to the fleet out racing.  Harrison Turner was out in his recently purchased  7875, which looks like a brand new boat.  Harrison teamed up with Rich Mundell, creating a great program.  Another new face was Adam Roberts who teamed up with Reeve Dunn in AJ’s Greenie. Reeve and Adam put on a great show rounding the top mark in 2nd in the final and windiest race of the weekend.  Not only were their new faces, but also all of the top West Coast teams showed up, providing some great racing.

SF Bay delivered the wind that it is famous for, with light shifty races early and breeze building all day to some proper conditions in the afternoon.  StFYC race management of course lived up to its reputation of delivering great courses on the Cityfront with 3 races on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday.  The super team of Steve Bourdow and Michael Menninger in 8714 started off with a horizon job in the first race, asserting their dominance early and making the rest of the fleet wonder if they were going to walk away with the event.  There was a good fight amongst the fleet for the lesser places, with lots of positions changing every leg.   Adam Lowry and Mike Martin were apparently not OK with getting beaten by their spare boat, and responded with wins in the next 2 races.  Steve & Michael, Jeff Nelson & Howie, and Pat & Jeff Miller were hot on their tail providing some tight racing.

Sunday started off with a lots of south in the breeze, which led to some very tricky racing.  Again with a great display of smarts and speed, Steve & Michael walked away with the first race.  As the breeze built, it became slightly more stable, and Adam & Mike were able to pull off a win. This resulted in a tie going into the last race. The stage was set for a show down, but Tommy Fink & JB Turney and Reeve Dunn & Adam started to steal the show with a big lead at the first mark in the super shifty and windy conditions.  Lots of places changed including the lead which changed at least 5 times during the final race. On the final run Steve & Michael, with some great down wind boat speed, snatched the lead to win the event on the water.  Unfortunately there was a minor detail of sailing through the restricted finish line on the first run. (Perhaps reading the sailing Instructions would have been a good idea.)   In true 505 fashion there were no protest, when Steve & Michael learned of the restriction upon returning to shore, without anyone asking them, they did the sportsmanlike thing and retired from the race.  Hats off to them for 1) kicking everyone’s ass on the water, and 2) showing great integrity off the water.  They showed that they are true winners.

Complete Results: http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=10250&show_crew=1

More Photos: https://m.flickr.com/photos/californiasailingphotos/sets/72157652274215396/