YACHTING CUP NEWS

There were plenty of high-fives, handshakes and celebratory cheers back on the docks after the final day of the San Diego Yacht Club’s Yachting Cup. Congratulations were exchanged and camaraderie was shared, but one class stood out this weekend and made its mark on the 2019 Yachting Cup. The Farr 40 class, fielding an international fleet of seven for their season opener, made the most of three ideal Pacific ocean sailing days at SDYC’s premier multi-fleet regatta. Wolfgang Schaefer, owner of Struntje Light, dominated over eight races this weekend, earning him and his crew the title of Overall Yachting Cup winners.

Day two, North Sails Race Day, of San Diego Yacht Club’s Yachting Cup was really day one for the majority of the competitors. Nine more classes joined the Pac52s and Farr 40s in the Pacific today for their first opportunity to place on the scoresheet. This year, only two ocean courses are housing over 70 vessels, making for some tight racing… literally. Rounding the marks alongside a boat over double his size didn’t bother Jeff Janov, owner of J/70 Minor Threat. “The race committee did a great job keeping things separated as well as they could. We saw some of the boats some of the time, but it never caused a problem. It has the potential of causing tension, but it went well. We picked up a good shift towards the end and our crew did a great job…”

The Yachting Cup, San Diego’s premier inshore regatta of the season, kicked off today with a big boat show on a wide open Pacific Ocean course. The high-performance Pac52 and Farr40 classes lead off today, and are also using this regatta as a part of their class series. Tomorrow, these two classes will be joined by the four others on the Far Ocean course, and five more classes filling the Near Ocean course. Both courses are located just south of Zuniga Jetty in the Coronado Roads and compete through Sunday.