2008 High Sierra Regatta

High Sierra Regatta

July 12-13, 2008

For official results, please visit the Fresno Yacht Club website.

Racers drove from as far away as Seattle, WA and San Diego, CA to race in the High Sierra Regatta - the mecca for Lido 14 racers. It was especially rewarding to see people make the trip despite record high gasoline prices (about $4.50 in California). Hopefully next year we won't be wishing for gas to be that cheap.

Tom Jenkins sailed smart and fast in the unusually variable conditions found on Huntington Lake to win the regatta with a comfortable 6 point lead. Race 1 was dominated from the start by Tom Jenkins. Race 2 was lead from the start by John Papadopoulos and Stacie Brandt until they blundered the rounding at Mark 1 (near the start line) by forgetting to drop down their centerboard. Tom Jenkins, who was close behind, passed into lead and held on to the finish - giving him two bullets and a commanding lead in the regatta.

On Sunday, the winds were very atypical - both light and extremely shifty. The traditional starboard tack drag race to the Boy Scout camp did not occur as shifts caused the fleet to tack onto port mid way there. Some teams went hard right and some continued towards the left. At varying times it appeared that Walter & Terry Johnson and Ken & Sandyi Campbell - both of whom played middle of the lake strategies - were in the lead. But then a strong shift came in on the left and everything started all over again. As the fleet approached the weather mark it was all about Jim and Kay Sterner. They held onto the lead until Mark 7 (the reaching mark across from the start line) when Stu Robertson passed into the lead.

We've all been watching Mark Ryan as he climbed up thru the A fleet over the past couple of years. This time around hi sister Sarah, his regular crew, took the helm and the pair dominated the B fleet with three first place finishes. Needless to say, Sarah is now an A sailor too!

There were a number of new teams on the lake this year, the most notable being Whit Bachelor who finished 6th in the A fleet in what is thought to be his first Lido 14 regatta. Whit is a top level sailor hailing from San Diego who came very well prepared - he had Erin Robertson as his crew and Stu Robertson's championship winning Lido 14 #3113 boat! Hopefully Whit found Lido 14 racing to his liking and will make it a regular part of his racing program. Kelly Buchan and Kelsey Cochran, of Balboa Yacht Club, made their first major regatta appearance at the High Sierra Regatta. I believe Kathy Reed was making her first major regatta appearance at the High Sierra Regatta too.

On a sadder note, Al Perez, a long time member of Lido 14 Fleet 1 (Newport Beach, CA) who has been racing Lido 14s since the early 1960s, announced this was probably his last High Sierra Regatta. As 82, he is believed to be the longest still-active member of the Lido 14 Class.

A	Skipper & Crew	Sail #	R1	R2	R3	T
1^st	Tom Jenkins & Andrew Brown	6244	1	1	3	5
2^nd	Stuart Robertson	3113	4	6	1	11
3^rd	Kurt & Anne Wiese	6240	2	5	4	11
4^th	Jim & Kay Sterner	5110	5	9	2	16
5^th	Bob Yates & Pat Kincaid	5051	3	8	5	16
6^th	Whit Bachelor & Erin Robertson	288	6	3	9	18
7^th	John Papadopoulos & Stacie Brandt	6300	13	2	7	22
8^th	Walter & Terry Johnson	6288	10	4	10	24
9^th	Chris Nesbitt & Dave Swain	6188	7	7	12	26
10^th	Ken & Sandyi Campbell	4509	8	14	8	30
11^th	Dave Carroll	4960	16	13	6	35
12^th	Randy Carper & Pete LaBahn	6100	9	15	11	35
13^th	Phoebe & John Staff	2999	12	10	14	36
14^th	Ryder Nesbitt	4370	11	11	16	38
15^th	Susan Taylor	4834	18	12	13	43
16^th	Roger & Anne Hinton	3906	14	16	15	45
17^th	Tracey Kenney & Robin	4430	17	17	17	51
18^th	Steve & Kristina Potter	6284	19	18	18	55
19^th	Steve & Anne Schupak	6262	15	20	DNC	57
20^th	Steve McJones	2153	20	19	19	58
21^st	Jonathan Carroll	960	21	21	20	62

B	Skipper & Crew	Sail #	R1	R2	R3	T
1^st	Sarah & Mark Ryan	4790	1	1	1	3
2^nd	Kit & Chris Lockwood	5050	2	2	2	6
3^rd	Grant & Barbara Williams	4300	4	4	4	12
4^th	Paul Makielski	6277	3	5	8	16
5^th	Roger Patterson & Kathy	6127	6	3	7	16
6^th	Kelly Cantley & Anne Eggers	5036	5	6	5	16
7^th	Tracy Conn	4029	8	8	9	25
8^th	Kelly Buchan & Kelsey Cochran	4952	10	13	3	26
9^th	Kathy Reed	3747	11	14	6	31
10^th	Terrie Canon	6087	12	9	10	31
11^th	Mark Dawson	6272	7	15	13	35
12^th	Tom Zinn	3606	13	7	15	35
13^th	George Koch	4567	9	12	14	35
14^th	Tom & Karmen Estlow	6195	15	11	12	38
15^th	Chris Kip	5040	16	16	11	43
16^th	Jim Drury	4963	14	10	DNF	45
17^th	Pat Sayer-Handley	6149	17	17	16	50
18^th	Holly Davis	2838	19	18	17	54
19^th	Erik Borrowman	311	20	20	18	58
20^th	Albert Perez	5115	18	DNF	DNF	60