2017 International Masters Regatta at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 2

The action returned to South San Diego Bay on Saturday, October 20th for day two of the International Masters Regatta hosted by San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC).

The twelve master sailors from all over the country focused on the day's four races, trying to improve from Friday, while also trying to keep up their momentum from the first two days of sailing until the regatta's final day on Sunday.

With the wind at a light 5 knots, Race Committee started the first race on time at 11:30am. By race two, the wind was up to about 10 knots, a speed that continued throughout the rest of the day for the most part, similar to Friday. Luckily the weather has worked out largely as forecasted this weekend. Today the breeze filled in from the left and Race Committee got one race in at 250 before the breeze moved to the right.

Race Committee ran course 4 for the first three races of the day and course 3 for the final race because it was much closer to home. Competitors were back to the dock by 4:30pm to get ready for the anticipated Saturday night regatta banquet.

SDYC Waterfront Director Jeff Johnson commented that, "Race Committee has been thrilled to run these races in San Diego South Bay. Having a full race track is awesome. We think it keeps the boats from collisions that they have been plagued by in the past."

Saturday was full of surprises, mainly during race 6 which featured an epic comeback from Bill Campbell (SDYC), and a start that landed the SDYC Commodore in the water. Yes, you read that correctly. The 2017 SDYC Commodore John Reiter, crewing for Dave Perry (Pequot Yacht Club), and the boat rep on board both visited the Masters "dunk tank" during race 6.

2017 International Masters Regatta day 2 - photo © Cynthia Sinclair

Reiter told the soon-to-be-classic tale back at the dock after sailing. "After the start we tacked immediately on to port. We got going and we were cruising along and the next thing you know there was a puff and Dave yelled at us to hike hard. I leaned out over the lifeline, it snapped, and the boat rep and I just went straight in the water. I was holding on to the cushion that goes over the wire so I just started using it as a pool noodle until we were able to get back on the boat."

Once back on board, both sailors dried off in the wind while continuing to sail. Perry ended up finishing 11th that race, and went on to win race 8 later in the day.

Meanwhile, defending Champion Bill Menninger (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) noticed a pattern in the results between the 2016 and 2017 running of the regatta.

"We had a better day than yesterday, but it has been very similar to last year. We were seventh on Friday last year, then fourth on Saturday, and we finished today in fourth. All Bill Campbell has to do tomorrow is get three 10th places and then we will be right there!"

2017 International Masters Regatta day 2 - photo © Cynthia Sinclair

Joking aside, Menninger learned a lot yesterday which he was able to apply to today to help him move up a few spots. "We did a little better today and went a little faster. We learned from what other boats were doing yesterday, basically pulling the jib in tighter and that helps an awful lot. So our boat speed was much better and we got off the line faster."

Bill Campbell proved that his performance on Friday was not a fluke, and he won races 5 and 7 on Saturday. In race 6 he rounded the first weather mark at the back of the fleet and worked his way up to second by the last leg, ultimately finishing second. Campbell is still in the lead by 20 points after day 2, with Jon Andron (St. Francis Yacht Club) in second, and David Irish (Little Traverse Yacht Club) in third.

Results after Day 2:

Racing will continue Sunday at 11:30am and the awards ceremony will take place on SDYC's front deck after racing.

The International Masters Regatta would like to thank its event sponsors: Helly Hansen, SD Boatworks, and Cutwater Spirits.

www.sdyc.org/masters