the formula – part two
Part two of SurfCityCatamaran’s F-18 Pacific Coast Champ wrap-up…
Barely able to get up after swilling 10 cases of Mount Gay and watching Hobie Intern Andy from France dance the Funky Chicken with some cougars till the wee hours, the F18 sailors hit the water for the final showdown on the City Front. OTWA West was, well, on the water, getting some dash cam video of the F18s sailing down wind to the start. We stayed on the water through the first race and got a few stills of the fleet.
The first lap of race 4 was light and flooding, but increased to the mid teens on the next laps. All said and done, Greg and Jacques aboard their WildCat and Pete and James Melvin aboard the Infusion hit the top two spots; a trend that would repeat for the next two races. In race four, the 3rd spot went to Dennis Key and Jdub and 4th to Dan Delave and Intern Andy. Race 5 saw more tidal current and more wind increasing to the mid teens. OTWA West caught some great, puffy racing conditions on the hard drive. Dan and Dennis swapped spots in race 5 to end up in 3rd and 4th.
For the last race of the day the wind increased to the upper teens and the fleet sought refuge from the current by sailing just off the StFYC. Sailing consistently for the entire event paid off for Jason Moore and Jake Sailor of NorCal Hobie Division 3 who, at the end of the day ended up in 3rd overall behind Greg and Jacques and Pete and James.
Add it up: The scenery and conditions of The Bay, high performance multihulls battling off of The City Front, one tall, blonde German Princess, and the accommodations of the StFYC made for one outstanding event. Oh wait, I forgot to tell you. Hobie Intern Andy imported the German Princess to help de-rig their boats! A Hobie 16 sailor herself, she had the skills to help the fleet break down (and cry). Here she is posing with Jacques, who for a moment thought he was 20 again.
What about On-The-Water Anarchy West’s inaugural broadcast? Well, we gave it our best; batteries died, plugs got pulled, the weak-ass internet sputtered and died every half hour, but overall we persevered in the face of adversity and got some great footage and epic commentary. I had a good time hanging with my bro Adam atop a great Yacht Club talking smack on sailors for two days: that’s a good time! We’ll be at it again I’m sure, and if you have something you think we should cover, give Clean a shout!
Thanks to all of the volunteers, sponsors and organizers that made our time at the F18 PCCs incredible!
