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Louise clinches the Bill Bennett Cup with a bullet in the last race

by San Diego Yacht Club 17 May 00:52 BST May 13-14, 2023
2023 Etchells Bill Bennett Cup © Mark Albertazzi

This weekend, the Etchells fleet sailed the Bill Bennett Cup, the third regatta in the Etchells West Coast Spring Series. Team Louise (Tom Carruthers, Bill Hardesty, Jeff Reynolds) finished first in the regatta, winning a 10-point tie with The Martian (Marvin Beckmann, Ezra Culver, Eddie Adams). Reposada (Steve Wright, Joe Erskine, Joe Markee) was the winning Corinthian team.

The skill level in the Etchells fleet is always strong, and this regatta was no different. Both teams saw scores all over the board and only finished one point ahead of Chris Busch's Happy Ending, and Greg Reynold's Side Piece. The final scoresheet is proof of the tight competition in the fleet.

It was cold and overcast in San Diego for the majority of the weekend. Saturday's racing started with a 3-hour delay due to no wind. Around 1425 the breeze picked up to it's highest average of 8 knots. Sunday saw lumpy seas, which made for good driving and power.

On Saturday, the Race Committee was able to get two of the three planned races in. There were six teams that finished the day with totals under 10 points.

Happy Ending's Chris Busch explained the final day:

"On Sunday, Greg Reynolds on Side Piece drew first blood followed by Marvin Beckmann on The Martian and Tom Carruthers on Louise. Louise was over at the start and had a massive comeback to salvage a keeper.

Bruce Nelson won race four with a pin start and better pressure on the left. Louise was second and Side Piece was third. For the final race for the regatta, it was extremely close between the top four boats. A throwout would factor in once this race was completed and it was essentially "who beat who" for the title. The left side of the race course had paid dividends all weekend and in a no-guts, no-glory play. Happy Ending fought and won the pin and the left side of the course but on the first beat, leader Xavier Shied on Pelikaan came out of the right followed closely by Louise and Happy Ending. There was no change on the first run, but up the second beat, the left side of the course was once again favored, helping Louise pass Pelikaan and helping The Martian get by Happy Ending. The final run with no changes in the top five gave Louise the final bullet and the win for the series."

After the racing, the fleet enjoyed a BBQ in the SDYC Pavilion. Chris Busch provided a debrief with Marvin Beckmann, talking about Beckmann's win in the first race and Busch's win in the second. Busch shared their set up and technique for getting max power. Leslie Bennett and Bill Bennett's sister, Cathy Hervey, were also in attendance! At the Awards Party on Sunday, Leslie presented coveted Etchells quilts to the winning team, Louise, along with the Bill Bennett Trophy.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoYacht NameSkipper / CrewR1R2R3R4R5Pts
1  USA 1481LouiseThomas Carruthers / Bill Hardesty / Jeff Reynolds4532110
2  USA 1378The MartianMarvin Beckmann / Ezra Culver / Eddie Adams1824310
3  USA 969Happy EndingChris Busch / Patrick Powell / Brad Rodi2149411
4  USA 919Side PieceGreg Reynolds / Chuck Eaton / Dave Hochart3413611
5  USA 1234PelikaanXavier Sheid / Parker Mitchell / Carter Cameron6298218
6  USA 986RhinoBruce Nelson / Chuck Sinks / Paula Schmid / Albert Pleskus86111520
7  USA 1394Here We Go AgainEric Doyle / Steve Brown / Erik Lange53515720
8  USA 984Reposada (Corinthian)Steve Wright / Joe Erskine / Joe Markee914125834
9  USA 981Ahui HouMickey Ryan / Charlie Jenkins / Charlie Jenkins / Marnie Buddo7910141740
10  USA 1044Flash Gordon (Corinthian)Dale Gordon / Charles Campbell / Fred Hill10151371141
11  USA 1214MAXFLI (Corinthian)Kurt Tellefsen / Brad Alberts / Jon Mendham13137131043
12  USA 1263Blue Fin (Corinthian)Michael Terry / Jeff Holder / Tom Stanford1610816943
13  USA 905Chomp! (Corinthian)David Janinis / David Janinis / Eric Tecza / Sofie Mravcova1576181846
14  USA 909Mostly Harmless (Corinthian)Summer Greene / George Baird / Louis Tuey14171561247
15  USA 1315Mojo (Corinthian)David Whisenhunt / Mark Ruh / Kevin Green / Joe Holask121116101447
16  USA 1138Jack (Corinthian)Charlie Mann / JC Langlois / Andrea Schlageter111214171350
17  USA 776Bungle (Corinthian)Scott Gordon / Hannah Mconee / Dale Hoffman181618111661
18  USA 1216Zero Gravity 2 (Corinthian)Ivan Batanov / Marvin Lee / Casper Thijssen171817121561
19  USA 1092CoyoteAlex Yakutis / Eddie TrevelyanDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC84
20  USA 1313Triskaidekaphobia (Corinthian)Ian TrotterDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC84

The final regatta of the Series is the Orca Bowl / National Championship on May 19-21.

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