This weekend, the San Diego Yacht Club hosted the 2018 IKA Formula Kite North American Championship off Crown Cove State Beach in South San Diego Bay. Twenty nine kiteboarders from twelve different countries gathered to sail in a series of nine races for three days. The regatta also seconded as a Pan American Games Qualifier.

With 6 of the 11 teams being driven by past regatta winners, this years’ event was a difficult regatta to control.  Winds on the practice day ended up being twice what we actually sailed in so, as usual, Long Beach delivered a crap-shoot of conditions where consistency and scoring no more than 21 points ended up winning the regatta. Team SDYC was represented by Kris Zillmann, Julie Mitchell, Stacey Szabo, Sandy Vissmann, Lisa-Marie Terhaar, Tiffany Billings, Alexa Cavalieri, Kim Standford, Kym Kapalla, Lois Harrington, and Gigi Mitchell and finished fifth in the event. 

San Diego Yacht Club invites you to join us for the 2018 Hot Rum Series, fun and family-friendly races with tradition dating back over 60 years. The Hot Rum races are open to all types of sailors from expert to novice racers, in a wide variety of boats from cruisers to sleds that are a minimum of 20 feet long with a PHRF rating under 229. See the Notice of Race for details and register online.

This weekend’s impressive fleet of determined sailors came to the 2018 International Masters Regatta ready to race. Five time Match Racing Champion Dave Perry came to race too, but like a true Master, his preparation began the moment he received his invitation. Perry started the regatta off strong and in the lead on Day One. Finishing the day in a tie with Tad Lacey, Perry’s win in Series Race 3 was the tiebreaker that put him in first place and set the bar for the rest of the weekend. Come Day Two, Perry never let the momentum die. Numerous sailors jumped the gun and were forced to restart while Perry’s seasoned skillset and stacked San Diego crew got off the line clean and kept Perry at the top of the score sheet.

There’s an old adage in sailing: If you’re not over early every once in a while, you’re not pushing hard enough. Day Two of the International Masters Regatta was full of action, particularly at the start line. A handful of boats jumped the gun and were penalized with OCSs. At this point in the regatta, the Masters are looking to put points on their competitors by getting a good start and an early lead. But, this strategy took a toll on second place sailor, Tad Lacey.