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US SAILING Championship for the Alter Cup  --  Day Two

Wow, day 2 and here we go, first we get in six races in almost perfect catamaran sailing conditions. The winds were from 200 to 210 degrees all day, always swinging right, around 6 knots in the morning to 12 and 16 knots in the afternoon. Several capsizes and a few close calls made the day
      In the 6th race of the day team Camp/Goethert port tacked the entire fleet, fully trapped out going full speed as they hit the line perfectly. What a gutsy call but a sight to behold.
      Race 9 proved to be an equipment saver for the entire fleet as team Lambert/Bishop abandoned the race in favor of saving their mast. After getting to the first windward mark they discovered an equipment failure so prudent sailors that they are decided to retire. Turns out seven of ten boats had the same problem. They took their DNF and started the next race only to have a mast failure again. This time the mast had to be replaced and every rig got a thorough once over. Two DNFs in one day. I left the yacht club before the hearing for redress and have no doubt the jury will act appropriately.
      The judges for this event are Kim Kymlicka, Latham Bell, Chuck Fuller, Bruce Miller, Doug Campbell and Margaret Caddle. So far only one protest has been filed and a request for a well-deserved redress for equipment failure. Catamaran sailors have a reputation for not filing protests allowing most problems to be settled on the water rather then a hearing room. Maybe the America Cup racers should try racing cats. That way they wouldn’t have time to waste in protest meetings.
      Keith Christensen and Shala Youngerman are having a great series. Keith has only sailed the Hobie 20 since last Thursday. That’s right, I said last Thursday. He is a 3-time Hobie 16 National Champion who doesn’t like the Wild Thing. He lives in Long Beach and has only been out a very few times on the 20. His crew is a sailing instructor from the San Diego area who teaches on J/80s and has worked for Hobie in the past. What a team they make as they are in first place as of today. Three bullets, two seconds and a fifth. I can’t wait until tomorrow.

Arthur Stevens
Crew member on Patience
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club
Committee boat

From Roger Jenkins:

Day 2 of the Alter Cup saw 6 races run. The first three were held in light air. Then the Long Beach that we all love kicked in a bit and we had great wind in the afternoon. They were about to run a 7th "sunset" race when they called it due to the fact that Brian Lambert broke two boats in a row, so they decided to stop and inspect the boats. It seems the new jib downhaul system was causing a problem.
      Keith Christensen seems to still be the front runner. This was a first time for him on a Hobie 20. After seeing all of Keith's success, Jeff Alter said that he now knows how to train for the Hobie 20 Continentals to be held in Santa Barbara this year. Sail the heck out of a Hobie 16, since that is Keith's boat. If you can make a Hobie 16 go fast then sailing these board boats is easy.
      Keith Christensen posted a 1-2-1 on the second day of racing. Greg Scace, Tornado sailor, lost the lead to Alex Shafer when Greg's wife slipped and was drug face first through the water. She said the key was not to let go. They held on, literally, to take a second to Florida sailor Alex and wife Patsy. The "Streak'n Rican", Enrique Figueroa won two races to move up in the competition. The other first of the day was had by Robbie Daniel and Glen Ross.