Nine race ready Victory sloops braved the near perfect conditions of 12-15 knot winds, south of Zuniga Jetty, San Diego, California. All the competitors had the same strategy; sail their best, enjoy the day in the sun and hopefully win the "Trophy". The race course consisted of a mile long leg to windward, then down to the leeward mark (start line), back again to windward, then 3 reaches zig-zagging the ocean at all angles of sail only to round the mark with one last windward/leeward dash to the finish line. Brian Evans #618 showed he was ready to go by winning the first mark closely followed by Keane, Carter, and the pack of hungry Victory sailors.
By the time the boats arrived at the leeward mark for the first time, Keane #641 and Carter #500 had slipped by and began to go at it. It was clear that after the dramatic finish of last year's race, there was no love lost between them. A tacking duel ensued. The race continued with boat #500 edging out #641 at the windward mark. The reaches proved to be a turning point for many sailors, but Keane sailed well enough to pass Carter again and extend his lead to about ten boat lengths at the bottom turn. The race was an on-the-water dog fight to the weather mark with Keane covering and holding on to his advantage as Carter began closing fast. The downwind legs seemed to be Carter's forte as he began closing in on Keane on the way to the finish line. With only a few hundred yards to go, a jibing duel ensued and after several attempts, Carter was able to squeak by Keane to cross the finish line by a boat length. A Victory well deserved for a long day on the water!
Boat # Finish Skipper/Crew 500 1 Kim Carter/Dave Love 641 2 Michael Keane/David Wright III 618 3 Brian Evans/Brad Morford 610 4 Roscoe Anderson/Gary Baldwin 615 5 Larry Fitzgerald/John Zenari 631 6 Jeff Pint/Ken Blum 634 7 Kathy Romero/Jacquie Levi 633 8 Greg Anderson/Jesse Powell 565 9 Helsel Team |