Guitar Surf

Santa Barbara to King Harbor 4

Posted on 03 August 2009

I like this race because it is long and there are many boats sailing. The eighty-one mile course takes the fleet around Anacapa Island before turning into Santa Monica Bay and Redondo Beach’s King Harbor.
Bruce and I helped Taylor deliver Maine Squeeze to Santa Barbara under light conditions on Thursday, Aug. 30. After the boat was secure at her berth, we had dinner at Endless Summer. The next day brought the rest of the crew (Bill, Tina, Cherri) as well as the other boats’ crews. Activity picked up sharply between early morning and around 11 a.m. racers were starting to get underway. As we motored out the channel to the start line, we checked in with the race committee boat and hoisted the mainsail. All of the rigging was checked and the number three genoa was made ready to hoist. Earlier, Bruce had gone aloft to make final adjustments, moving the radar reflector and tagging the race burgee.
We had a very good start, charging the line with good speed and clean air. I looked out to the horizon to see most of the 104 boat fleet. Eight classes of boats, including some heavy-duty, pro-crewed yachts that were fun to look at. It was a mild day with little swell, overcast skies. After a little while we set the spinnaker and concentrated on sail trim.
This year there was wind at the start. Good wind that blew us to the West End of Anacapa, around the island and close to Pt. Dume by sunset. The wind slacked, but at least we had wind.
After a few nightime gybes into the Santa Monica Bay, we reached the finish. Dousing the spinnaker, we hoisted the number three for the last, very short windward leg into the harbor to the committee boat. Our crew felt relief and pride as we finished, knowing we had worked well together and made no big mistakes. We finished a half hour after midnight. We had averaged over seven knots, occasionally reaching over ten knots. Race results (PDF)
As well as we sailed, our competition was even faster and we ended up in seventh place (out of eleven).
The next day we delivered Maine Squeeze back to H dock in Channel Islands Harbor. Another easy ride up the coast; the wind was moderate and the swell was small and well spaced. Approaching CI Harbor, we spotted several classic boats heading for the finish line of the McNish Classic Yacht Race. Wood boats: schooners, yawls, ketches cutters and sloops competed in this race which is now in its third decade. Notables included the schooner replica America (Dennis Conor) and The Bill Of Rights; both are 130 footers. Coming into the harbor with these beautiful yachts was a perfect way to end Three Days of Fun!