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2004 Area
J Alter Cup Eliminations
Seal Beach Yacht Club
Long Beach, California
July 31-August 1, 2004
Fifteen competitors lined up on the starting line to vie for the right to
represent US SAILING Area J in the Hobie Alter Cup finals, which will take
place next spring in Long Beach on Hobie Tigers. The Area J Alter Cup
eliminations is a bring-your-own-boat event raced under the Portsmouth
handicap system, and the entrants comprised many of the top catamaran
sailors from the region.
 Saturday
began with a light breeze, which built over the day in typical Long Beach
fashion until it reached the high teens, making for some exciting racing.
Recent Hobie Tiger North American champions Greg Thomas and
Jacques Bernier dominated, with finishes of 2-1-1-1, closely followed by
perennial favorites Brandon Wallace and James Gumpel on their
Inter 20. Sunday saw lighter conditions, and Wallace/Gumpel kept it close
by beating Thomas/Bernier in 2 out of 3 races. In the end, Greg Thomas and
Jacques Bernier prevailed, but just barely. In fact, it came down to their
3-second winning margin in race 4! Had Wallace/Gumpel won that race, they
would have won the regatta. The top five were rounded out by Keith
and Curtis Christensen on a Tiger in third, Paul Parizeau and
Roger Jenkins on a Hobie Fox in fourth, and Scott and Patty
Miller on a Tiger in fifth.
 Our
thanks go out to Steve Murphy and crew at Seal Beach Yacht Club,
who once again ran a great event. Stay tuned for some major upcoming
multihull events in Southern California, including the Tiger Worlds in Santa
Barbara in March and the Hobie Alter Cup finals in April.
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By Roger Brown
Photo captions:
1-
1st place finisher Greg Thomas &
Jacques Bernier
2-
2nd place finisher Brandon Wallace &
James Gumpel
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