The third event in the J/105 Fall Series 2012 was the International Masters Regatta held at SDYC November 2 - 4, 2012. The prestigious regatta was established in 1979 at St. Francis Yacht Club by Don Trask in honor of his father. Historically, the world's greatest master sailors have competed in this international sailing event on San Francisco Bay. SDYC hosted the regatta this year for the first time bringing the best master sailors from around the world by invitiation. The regatta was sailed in J/105s, graciously loaned to the Master sailors by local boat owners, with new sails from North Sails, adorned with the SDYC burgee on the Main. The racing included buoy racing inside the Bay, stadium sailing style, with ample spectator viewing on the water as well as along Harbor Island and the waterfront, and our Club's most loved race, the Hot Rum race on Saturday in between the buoy racing days.
Ten teams from Southern California, North California, Canada and as far away as Sweden came to San Diego to compete against their fellow master sailors. The weather and conditions could not have been better as they enjoyed sunny, warm, and windy days. The first day of buoy racing on the Bay allowed the Race Committee to get 4 races on the books. The teams rotated boats in between each race, using temporary docks that Bob Vincent and his team of volunteers set up near the race course. The rotations went really well, pit stop style, with as fast a six minutes for a complete rotation! Saturday, the teams raced in the Hot Rum #1, which turned out to be a stellar day for the J/105 fleet. The J/105s had their own start and ended up with 6 Masters teams finishing in the top 8 overall (out of 121 boats!).
Sunday was another great day of sailing, three races were completed in perfect San Diego conditions. Dennis Case, with Team Case, won the regatta with 33 points after 8 races. The field was so tight, the next 6 boats were separated by only 10 points.
The social events off the water were just as fun as the sailing. A Welcome Party was held on Thursday evening after everyone was weighed in and registered. Friday evening afer sailing, Commodore Kyle Clark hosted a fabulous cocktail party in the Frost Room for the participants. The highlight of the regatta was the Masters Dinner on Saturday night. The evening was emceed by Tom Ehman, Vice Commodore of Golden Gate Yacht Club. As well as leading the introductions of the skippers and their teams, Mr. Ehman gave an update of the America's Cup. Those who attended the regatta dinner were treated to the presentation, a slide show of the sailing, as well as fun stories and anecdotes as the skippers introduced their crews, offering a glimpse into their past sailing accomplishments. The regatta proved such a success that it has already been put on the SDYC Racing calendar for 2013, planned to be held October 25 - 27th.