Over two dozen boats flocked from all over the country to Southern California this weekend to compete in the 2021 Etchells Midwinters West, the second regatta of the Etchells West Coast Spring Series. The regatta was hosted by San Diego Yacht Club in conjunction with the Etchells Fleet 13 - San Diego, one of the largest and most competitive Etchells fleets. Experienced and novice sailors alike towed out to the Coronado Roads for seven races over the three day event.
The West Coast Spring Series is the only major series on the west coast for Etchells. It attracts some of the very best Etchells sailors in the nation and provides a competitive playing field for the fleet. The 2020 Etchells Midwinters West, along with most of the regatta calendar, was canceled due to COVID-19. Skippers and crew were eager to return to the race course, including the winning team, Lifted, skippered by Jim Cunningham and crewed by Steve Hunt, Erik Shampain and Serena Village. The team got back on the water for the first time at the the Helly Hansen San Diego NOOD Regatta. It clearly didn’t take long to get hone back into their skillset.
“We hadn’t sailed for over a year. The NOOD Regatta was our first regatta back and we didn’t know what to expect. We came in third place at it and had a solid regatta given that we hadn’t been on the water for a year,” said Cunningham.
The Etchells Midwinters West winning team finished the first day of the regatta in fourth place and slowly made their way into first by the end of the regatta with two bullets on the score sheet. After throwing out an 8 in race three, they stayed consistently at the top four spots in the fleet, finishing with 16 points.
Following Lifted in second place with 19 points was Elizabeth skippered by Chris Busch and crewed by Ben Mitchell and Patrick Powell. The team was unable to sail in the first race of the series, as it conflicted with the NHYC Cabo Race in which Mitchell sailed on Pyewacket, finishing in record time, beating the previous record by 15 hours.
In addition to recruiting record breaking crew members, the Elizabeth team has been practicing with another impressive Etchells sailor, Tom Carruthers.
“We have been fortunate enough to be teamed up with Tom Carruthers for several years, either crewing for Tom, coaching, and now his tuning partner. For the last year and a half, we have been doing two-boat tuning to practice before racing in the One Design Weekends,” explained Mitchell.
Carruthers might have coached them a little too well. His boat, Louise, crewed by Bill Hardesty and Jeff Reynolds came in one point behind Elizabeth in the final results, finishing in third place with 20 points.
It would be remiss to not mention the fourth-place finisher as well, Avalanche, sailed by skipper Chris Snow and crew Roger O’Connor, Brad Rodi and the youngest sailor on the course by far, Anton Schmid.
Schmid, 13 years old, has seen much success sailing in the 29er, which he sailed at the San Diego NOOD Regatta. Schmid jumped at the opportunity to learn new skills and a new boat at the Etchells Midwinters West. “I learned a lot about starting procedures and the tactics of the race course. I’ve sailed Etchells in the past and have had a lot of fun, so when the opportunity popped up, I took it. It was pretty cool competing with the older guys and a lot different than what I’m used to.”
Another honorable mention goes to Marc McMorris’ M2, crewed by Hartwell Jordan and Alex Higby. The boat hit the water for the first time on Thursday after coming new from Ontario. McMorris himself is fairly new to the fleet as well. “I’m relatively new to Etchells sailing, so for me and our team it’s about getting more experience on the water and racing against these fantastic sailors.”
McMorris and his team placed 10th in the final results, reporting a slight struggle in the lighter San Diego winds coming from San Francisco and getting used to the boat. “We’re trying to figure out the components of the new boat. The goal was to end up where we end up, and no matter what it was, it’s fine. We will learn something and be happy to get back on the water.”
While the first six races of the weekend were sailed fair and clean, it seemed the majority of the fleet was getting restless on the final day of the regatta. After a postponement while a light wind stabilized, on the first attempt to start race seven, more than half of the fleet was over the start line 15 seconds early, prompting the race committee to signal a U Flag penalty for the next start. A U flag means boats over the line within one minute before the start would be disqualified from race seven.
“In hindsight, two factors contributed to that behavior,” started Waterfront Director Jeff Johnson. “There was a modest current pushing boats to the west towards the line during the start, so everyone’s timing needed to be adjusted. The second reason was the competitor's aggressive tactics at the start on the final day for better results. Everyone takes risks on moving day. Moving day is when you must take chances to move up the score sheet."
All in all, the 2021 Etchells Midwinters West was full of sailors excited to be out on the water once again. Due to State restriction, there were no formal social events or awards ceremonies. Next up in the West Coast Spring Series is the Etchells Pacific Coast Championship back at the San Diego Yacht Club on April 24-25. The final regatta, the ORCA Bowl, concludes the series on May 15-16.