It was a little like a mini-meeting of AYC at Long Beach Race Week this year.
The AYC boats that participated were:
- Tony Chapman’s Viper 640 Little Wing
- Mike Hester’s Viper 640 Nectar Sled
- Mike Grijalva’s Newport 41 Shockwave in the PHRF Random Leg Fleet
- Paul Liszewski’s Hobie 33 Rolling in the Deep in the PHRF Random Leg Fleet
- Rob Gibbs’s Catalina 37 Team Cactus League
Conditions were light on Friday but by the Summer Solstice picked up dramatically. Afternoon winds Saturday and Sunday topped 20kts and even the big heavy C37s looked fast! The Vipers spent the whole weekend on the Ocean courses while the C37s whizzed around the marks behind the breakwater.
It takes 8-10 to crew the Catalina 37, and nine of Team Cactus League were from AYC. The team this year was Helmsman Joel Hurley, Main Trimmer Dave Rawstrom, Lead Trimmer Josh McClain, Trimmer David Newland, Grinder Matt Baker, Grinder Toby Ambrose, Pit Master Grant Younger, Mast Princess Heather McClain, and Bowman Rob Gibbs. Our local knowledge expert and coach from the Long Beach area was Matt Rustigan. There were shore crew as well…Kim OlsonGibbs, Andi Baker, and Kaitlin Bowen managed “on shore operations” for the team.
Vipers crew with at least three and Mike Hester sailed with his daughter Sarah and John Mayall. Tony sailed with Amerson Woods and Glenn Van Hell from the Long Beach area. Unfortunately Tony had damage to his mast track and was not able to race on Sunday.
In the Random Leg Fleet, Rolling in the Deep had Owner Paul Liszewski at the helm and Arizona crew Sean Brown and Bre (owners of the Olson 25 Stargazer) along with Keena, Tyler, and Ann from the Long Beach area. Shockwave‘s crew consisted of Mike Grijalva and his wife Jo, Frank Grijalva, Ricky Gilchrist, Jim Brock and Kevin Edwards.
Everyone left tired and looking forward to next year – June 26–28, 2020. Make your plans now! Let’s add to the number of AZ boats that show up to this WORLD CLASS event!