A strong fleet of 17 boats showed up for the first of 4 container qualifying series at Santa Cruz. The conditions were "classic" Santa Cruz springtime with 12 to 22 knot breezes and COLD water (49 degrees). A strong contingent from Southern California of 6 boats and 2 additional rock star crews rounded out an 11-boat Nor Cal turnout. 4 races were sailed on Saturday and 3 races on Sunday. Contestants were treated to Sue Athman's designed T-shirts and a weekend of classic Dave Wahle’s "Guerilla Race Management" fantastic races.

MORE PHOTOS HERE

Race 1
The "Young Bucks" Beeckman/Benjamin were first out of the gate with some smart sailing on the "Gummy de Milo" and took it to the veterans Nick Adamson/Alan Norman. Adamson/Norman who rounded the first mark in every race Saturday in first place, were dubbed the "Unguided Missile" for their blazing first legs only to succumb to various crash and burns later in the races and take the classic "Surely in Defeat title" for the weekend.

NorCal teams Thad Lieb/Paul Kerner and Doug Hagan/Stuart Park had a slugfest all the way to the finish line and were awarded EVEN points for a tie at the line. It just goes to show how close the racing was all around the course.

Race 2 saw the wind building to about 18 knots, and the local heroes Edwards/Shelton "burgled" the race from Ryan Cox and Carl Smit right at the finish line. Seems the Navy boys got distracted when a Chinese jet fighter buzzed them. In the distraction, the local sleaze dogs got the gun. Ryan was heard yelling at Wahle "we didn't cause the incident".

Race 3 ramped up to about a steady 20 knots and Race Manager Dave Wahle decided to run a triangle instead of the classic Triangle-Sausage to allow for a full race 4. The racing was tight and at the gun the Young Bucks in "Gummy" took the gun again. Danny Thompson and Andy Zinn missed the first 2 races of the day because they were still "Screwing and Gluing" their brand new Waterat boat together in the dinghy park. In their first race in their new boat "New Wood" (replacing Nice Wood, aka Roadkill USA 7201) they almost got the bucks and took a second. Thompson was quoted as saying "This is better than S...." That says a lot for Thompson.

Race 4 was blowing a steady 22 knots with gusts to 25 and Race Guru Wahle set the full course. The slimmed down team of Edwards/Shelton blew past the race leaders off wind and took the gun, close behind was Hamlin/Martin re teamed up for this year sailing the black boat.

Sunday’s racing started an hour earlier at 12 noon. Local Hero's Edwards/Shelton again took the gun just ahead of Hamlin and Martin in slightly warmer 12-knot race. Followed again by the Young Bucks and "New Wood".

Race 6 saw winds cranking up to 16 knots with an eventual slugfest that was won by Thompson and Zinn in the "New Wood". They took the lead on the first beat and never looked back. The first victory in the new boat was a sweet one and they were heard taunting second place finishers and fellow "Team Tuesday" members Hamlin/Martin, over the breeze with the chant: "You going down, the New Wood is in town".

Race 7 of the series was won by the da bucks in "Gummy" rounding out a great series.

One of the most interesting things is that the entire fleet was exceptionally close in all races even considering the higher winds. It was a testament to the overall talent in the class and how high the standard of racing is in the fleet. The final scores and excuses are attached below: