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| Express 27 Nationals at Corinthian Yacht Club | October 9 - 11 |
| Story |
| Nationals Day 1 Recap: 0 to Hero.
Steve Katzman and Dianne (Hull #0) won the long distance race. After 18 miles of racing, over 4 hours, all 22 boats finished within 8 and a 1/2 minutes of each other. Will Paxton's Motorcycle Irene and Ray Lotto's El Raton were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Racing was tight all day between Berkeley Circle and point Bonita there were lots of lead changes. John Rivlin's Peaches stepped left and then went right out of the start to lead the fleet past Angle Island, under the gate, and most of the way to Bonita. With the rest of the fleet nipping at their heals the all the way. A quarter mile from the mark Peaches hit a some bad current and sat helpless as Motorcycle Irene and El Raton sailed past. At Bonita Motorcycle Irene led and despite a strong ebb headed out into the channel for more breeze. El Raton, Peaches, Shenanigans, and most of the fleet gave chase. But, Steve and the crew of Dianne won the day by splitting with the lead boats and heading inshore along the Marin headlands for current relief. When they turned the mark at Bonita they were 15th, By the time they went under the Gate they were in First Place! They were able to hang on to that advantage all the way to the finish. Bill Sumerfield's Moxie, from Oregon, followed Dianne up the headlands and was in second at the gate. But the peloton ground them down. Any mistakes in this fleet costs you. Motorcycle Irene passed with a little local knowledge at point blunt, taking the inside track past the buoy. El Raton snuck past a few minutes latter with pure speed and finesse of sailing expresses for 30 years. Congratulations to Steve and team for a great race. Nationals Day 2 Recap: Its a Dog Fight Out There!! After 5 races, five different teams have a bullet. At the end of the second day it is Will Paxton's Motorcycle Irene at the top of the leader board with Nick Gibbens' Shenanigans just two points back. But, it is not by picket fencing as these two boats have done in years past. This is a dog fight and almost any of the 23 boats in the fleet has the ability to win a race. The fact that Motorcycle only has one bullet and Shenanigans has none, is proof of the competitiveness of this fleet. Third place in the overall standings is Paul Deed's Magic Bus. All three of these boats are previous National Champions. After an hour long postponement, the first race of the day got off with a big right shift. Ted Lohr's Monster Express, down from Oregon, owned the race. Right all the way up the first beat and no one could touch them. Ron Kell's Abigail Morgan was 2nd and Shenanigans took 3rd. In the second race the wind was to the right again. Motorcycle Irene, won the pin, stepped left and then went right. They barely crossed, Shenanigans and Peaches. But they did get to the windward mark first and held the lead for the rest of the race. Shenanigans took 2nd and Magic Bus took 3rd. The third race favored the right again, Peggy Lister's Athena won the boat and never looked back. Boats met on port-starboards across the fleet. Despite a strong star, Shenanigans got pushed back a few places and had to work their way through the fleet. Motorcycle Irene was quick to capitalize and slid into second place chasing down Athena. On the second windward mark, the peloton came together. In 18 Knots of breeze carnage happened as many overlapped boats turned down together. Wile E. Coyote lost their trimmer overboard and had to circle back to pick him up. Every one was recovered safe and sound. Meanwhile the race at the front continued. Irene pressed Athena, the two ladies dueled all the way down the course. The upwind was no different, Both took the left gate and went right. Neither giving an inch. In the end Athena took the win by a few feet, with Irene in 2nd and Shenanigans 3rd. Back at the dock the fleet drank free beer courtesy of Corinthian Yacht Club, gave out season awards and had a great BBQ. Another great day of racing. Thank you Matt Krogstad for organizing such a great event Nationals Day 3: All the skippers started their day with a new red hat provided by Zhik. The skippers of the two front boats went for an obligatory swim to clean their hulls and headed out to the course. The day started with Motorcycle Irene with a two point lead over Shenanigans. The first race got off after a short postponement. Shenanigans and Paul Deeds Magic Bus got off to great starts and drive hard to the left. As the fleet crossed the line it was clear Motorcycle Irene was not in a good place. Having to go right and take most of the fleets stern. Knowing they were in a bad spot Irene sailed a hard beat catching 5 or 6 boats on the way to the mark. Meanwhile The Magic Bus and Shenanigans were launched out front. Irene continued to gain boats on the downwind but was still 12th at the first leeward mark. Despite hard sailing Irene could only claw back two more boats over next two legs. The race ended with Magic Bus First, Shenanigans Second, and Peaches Third. Motorcycle ended up 10th. This is really a testament to how competitive the 23 boat fleet was this weekend. The peloton was always waiting to strike. Now the standings were reversed Shenanigans had 15 points and Motorcycle Irene had 21. Similarly the race for third place was also tight Magic Bus had 23 points and Peaches had 28. In the final race of the day and the regatta Peaches, Shenanigans, and Motorcycle Irene all got off to a good start. Motorcycle was being aggressive and trying to find a way to get back to the top of the leader board. Irene loose covered and then smacked Shenanigans a coupe of times up the first beat. Trying to push Nick and team back into the fleet. But Shenanigans was smart they stepped out of range from Motorcycle Irene and stayed between them and the fleet. With those boats battling Peaches stepped out a little further, putting them clearly in front. Magic Bus was nowhere to be found, they had a terrible start and were fighting it out with peloton. The final race ended with Peaches 1st, Motorcycle Irene 2nd, and Shenanigans 3rd. Magic Bus finished 14th. Six races completed and 6 different winners. Shenanigans won the regatta through clean racing and consistency. They were always near the top, and kept their cool. This is Shenanigans 3rd time winning the Nationals. Nick Gibbens' Shenanigans is the 2015 Express 27 Nationals Champion. Will Paxton's Motorcycle Irene is Second and John Rivlin's Peaches is 3rd. |
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