Our Capri 14.2 dinghies are the “worker bees” of the CSULBSA — reserved for beginner instruction 9 months every year. But on December 27, 2014, the Capri fleet stepped into the ring for the first time and competed at the ABYC’s Boxing Day Race.

Four Capris and eight club members entered the annual “pursuit” race — a one-course competition that gives slower boats (such as Sabots and Capris) a time-measured head start over faster boats (such as Lasers, 29ers and Etchells).

Out of 59 boats, our Capris officially finished #42nd, 43rd, 47th and 48th, though it’s hard to put any stock in the ABYC results. A 49er won the overall race easily, but club skipper Kyle Henneberque and crew Brianna Maloney topped the Capri class leaderboard. 

See the full gallery of photos on the CSULBSA’s Facebook page, here.

The race course sent boats on a zig-zag path around Alamitos Bay. Check out the course map here. The committee called for a course of S>Yp>Cs>Dp>Bs>Fs>Vs>Xp (p=port rounding; s=starboard rounding).

Once boats rounded the X mark to port, they restarted the same course for Lap 2. Light winds — 4-5mph from the Southwest — made for a very slow trip around the course.

The Start

Since this was a pursuit race, Naples Sabots started at 12:35pm, a full 42 minutes ahead of the next group, the CSULBSA Capri Fleet. (The handicap is based on the Portsmouth yardstick handicapping system.)

The Capris were scheduled for a 1:17pm start, but a slow trip from Leeway to the starting gate forced the fleet to arrive three minutes late. As a result, the Capris started their race seconds ahead of the Lido 14 and Mercury 18 fleets, which quickly passed them after the first mark.

Capri 14.2 Results

Skipper Laurel Skinner and crew Kenia Garcia on Boat 6 (“The Jenny”) took the early Capri lead on the first downwind leg to mark Y. The rest of the fleet caught up soon after the mark though, and Mike Fratantoro and crew Michelle Moss on Boat 5 (“The Queen Anne’s Revenge”) had the early advantage and a two minute lead after the first half of Leg 1.

But when Boat 5 got stuck in dead air in the channel near B mark, Boat 4 (“Serenity”) with Kyle and Brianna took a better line to the mark, rounded it, and pulled ahead.

Despite Boat 5 charging after them for the next hour and a half, Kyle and Brianna on Boat 4 led the remainder of the race until the committee boat blew the whistle around 3:15pm. Boat 5 finished in second place, while Boat 7 (“Seven”) with Commodore Tatiana Misares and crew Liz Luna officially dubbed themselves the “camera boat” and spent most of the race chasing down the other boats and snapping pictures of the fleet.

ABYC Boxing Day Race, Final Results – 12.27.14

1st – “Serenity” (Sail #4)
Kyle Henneberque (S), Brianna Maloney

2nd – “Queen Anne’s Revenge” (Sail #5)
Mike Fratantoro (S), Michelle Moss

3rd – “Seven” (Sail #7)
Tatiana Misares (S), Liz Luna

4th – “The Jenny” (Sail #6)
Laurel Skinner (S), Kenia Garcia

Next Race

The CSULBSA’s Shields Fleet 20 will enter the Southern California Yacht Association’s MidWinter Regatta on February 21st and 22nd, 2015.