Conrads, Bell win 505 Pacific Coast Championship at Bellingham Yacht Club

by Lexi Pline 16 Jun 23:43 BST June 13-15, 2025

After three days and 11 races, AJ Conrads and Jon Bell captured the 505 Pacific Coast Championship by one point, narrowly besting former World Champion and Long Beach legend Howie Hamlin and crew Jeff Nelson. Bellingham Bay delivered for the fleet, providing champagne 10-12 knots on Friday and Saturday before breeze began to lighten up on Sunday.

It was a close battle in the top three all weekend, with Conrads trailing Hamlin until the final two races - where her light air boat handling skills and sharp tactics helped her put up a 1-1 and win the title with 18 points. Over the three days, Conrads and Bell racked up five race wins - nearly half of all races completed! Hamlin finished close behind with 19 points after an otherwise extremely consistent event, with only one score outside the top three.

Conrads and Bell contribute their success to good starts, fleet management and a deep downwind mode, allowing them to sail a shorter distance to the mark. The pair began sailing together at the North Americans in 2024 after years of sailing 505s, and together this was their first championship win in the class.

Not far behind and rounding out the podium were Mike Holt and Rob Woelfel, who fought to break through but finished in third overall with 23 points. The team had a great rally on Saturday, pulling a hat trick to win the day's final three races.

"It was a great weekend - Bellingham really showed out for everyone," said organizer (and event participant) Blaine Pedlow. "It's great to see a changing of the guard and have some new names on the PCCs trophy!"

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	Pts
1	USA 9091	Eileen	AJ Conrads	Jon Bell	Tahoe	3	1	[4]	1	1	4	[TIE ‑ 4.5]	2	4	1	1	18
2	USA 9266	Larry's last 505	Howard Hamlin	Jeff Nelson	NHYC ABYC	1	2	1	2	[3]	2	3	[8]	3	3	2	19
3	USA 9072	None	Mike Holt	Rob Woelfel	Santa Cruz YC	[6]	4	3	4	4	1	1	1	2	[6]	3	23
4	GBR 9253	Mr. RDL	Eric Anderson	Nic Baird	StFYC	5	5	[11]	3	5	[6]	2	5	1	2	5	33
5	USA 9106	Big Beautiful Boat	Mike Martin	Adam Lowry	StFYC	[11]	6	2	[8]	2	3	7	3	5	4	7	39
6	USA 8576	None	Mike Punnett	Rich Mundell	PCYC	[14]	[16]	7	6	9	7	TIE ‑ 4.5	4	9	8	4	58.5
7	USA 9252	Panic	Douglas Hagan	Paul Von Grey	PCYC	4	[9]	5	[9]	8	9	8	7	8	5	8	62
8	USA 8939	Controlled Chaos	Clark Hayes	Eric Schwab	CYC	2	10	8	10	[11]	5	6	6	[11]	7	11	65
9	USA 9165	None	Pete Spaulding	Ted Conrads	PYC	7	7	6	7	6	8	9	[11]	6	[12]	10	66
10	USA 8829	None	Miles Johannessen	Evan Sjostedt	Penn Cove Yacht Club	10	3	10	5	13	[DNF]	13	9	[14]	10	6	79
11	USA 9027	Dance monkey	Pierre Jeangirard	Elsa Balton	PCYC	8	8	[14]	11	10	10	10	10	10	[16]	13	90
12	USA 9208	Alebrije	Elsa Balton	Blaine Pedlow	Penn Cove YC / StFYC	13	[14]	9	12	7	11	11	[14]	7	9	12	91
13	USA 8864	None	Aaron Ross	Paul Pihl	CBC	12	13	12	14	[16]	12	16	15	12	11	[DNS]	117
14	USA 909	None	Nathan de Vries	Andrea Ciccardi	Alameda Sailing Center	16	15	[19]	13	12	15	12	16	[19]	17	9	125
15	USA 8937	None	Tim Murphy	Pat Diola	SCYC	9	12	15	16	[20]	18	14	19	[20]	15	14	132
16	USA 8782	PEG	Colin Wahl	Ian Reeves	PCYC	[19]	11	17	17	[19]	14	18	13	15	14	17	136
17	USA 8616	Miami Vice	Lee Laney	Nick Blair	PCYC	15	[DNF]	[DNS]	18	14	13	15	12	13	18	18	136
18	USA 9172	Tamaki	Paul Scoffin	Jason Breeden	Navy Sailing Club SD	18	18	13	15	15	16	[20]	17	17	13	[DNS]	142
19	USA 9116	Thank you PVG!	Jimmy Franzone	Bjorn Antell	StFYC	17	17	16	[20]	17	19	17	[20]	16	19	15	153
20	USA 9227	Touch of Grey	Christian Pittack	Anne Fitzpatrick	PCYC	[20]	19	18	19	18	17	19	18	18	[20]	16	162