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| Anne and Kurt Wiese 2020 Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Champions |
September 26 & 27 Newport Beach Five points area of the harbor. After over 100 races this season 31 participants attend the 23rd annual Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Championships. Racers were greeted by a light south-westerly breeze ranging from 4-8 knots with plenty of sunshine
Being the Fleet Championships there was an abundance of new “freshies” sails up and a lot more focus on the surrounding conditions. On Saturday we were faced with a tide change and spotty wind conditions which most everyone felt was rather challenging. It seemed the top contenders finished in the bottom half of the fleet at least once of the six races sailed that day. We started the day with two of our good friends Debra and Peter Haynes wishing one of our competitors good luck “Good luck guys, I hope you guys win!” Debra Haynes said to team Thompson/Conzelman. Jennifer and I replied “Hey! We heard that?” we caught Debra a little off guard in which Jennifer and I had a good laugh before the event started. Looking up the course I just could not come up with a clear game plan for the first beat and elected to start on the favored end of the line then look for a clear lane over to the right. As normal the first mark rounding was congested and the first race was won 2/3 of the way down the run when the wind shifted to the right and the inside boat was able to gybe first to the leeward gate. Gybing at the weather mark was not paying because of the current, or that’s what I was seeing. After the weather mark staying on the starboard parade was paying at first then the tide changed and the pressure in the middle of the course was non-existent. The quote on our boat was “You are really going to try the middle again?” tough day on the water yet it appeared everyone was challenged equally.
In A fleet Anne & Kurt Wiese sailing “Ping” stayed in the top 5 all six races and had a two-point lead on Diane and Bill Menninger aboard “Dart” at the end of day one. Followed by Team Thompson/Conzelman who struggled in races 2 & 3.
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| Team MacDonald 2020 Harbor 20 B Fleet Champion |
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| Team Bubb/Vandervort 2020 Harbor 20 C Fleet Champions |
Wrapping Saturday up, after 6 races in a light breeze with an overabundance of sun I was fried and a little discouraged. Team Wiese is docked next to us and their energy was contagious so Jennifer and I rallied and went to NHYC for the daily awards and after race party. Something that most people have avoided this year, on our arrival I was immediately excited and infused with the complementary Daou wines and sliders. I never realized how much I had missed the camaraderie of the fleet this year along with NHYC going the extra mile for us along with the hard work from John Whitney putting it all together. I do not know how Whitney does it and he sure does “A hard job well!” A strong attendance also showed up for Sunday Awards presentation with good times had by all attending.
Sundays racing was a little lighter yet more consistent with the breeze. Going into race 9 Team Weise had a 1 point lead on Team Menninger while Weise rounding last at the first weather mark caught half the fleet on the last lap of race 7 to finish is 6th place. Team Weise kept the pedal down on their yellow boat and never let up finishing with a strong 1,3 in the last two races. After Saturday’s races, most people were keeping out of the middle of the course and playing one side or the other while hoping for the best at the weather mark rounding or finish. The traffic played a big role and if you were unlucky with a Duffy, SUP, or someone new to boating one could easily lose a couple of places. After many years of finishing 2nd in three different classes, Lehman 12’s, Lido 14’s and Harbor 20 Team Weise are now Fleet 1 Harbor 20 Champions and never need to be concerned about staying qualified for A fleet any longer. This win was LONG overdue and felt really good to see. In B fleet Jeff Gordon found all the JuJu in the first 3 races of the day with a 1,2,3 but stepped on his tiller extension in the last race finishing third in the regatta. Jon Novak had a strong finish with a 1,3 and grabbed 2nd place while team MacDonald staying in the top five the last four races and winning the last race gave him an invite into A fleet next season. This was long overdue for Team MacDonald because they were just crushing it in the seasons unofficial “Nuts Series” at the beginning of the year winning most of the days in A fleet.
A couple of things to notice and acknowledge is how lucky the fleet has been this year being able to compete while most of all other sailing events had been canceled due to the virus. It goes without saying while reviewing the results 13 out of 30 participants were either
husband-wife teams or father-son teams. I would not be surprised to see a couple of
mother-daughter teams soon?
Can’t tell you how lucky we all are and thank you for coming out and playing in this difficult year!
Sea Ya
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| All photos courtesy of Tom Walker |
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| A Division |
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| B Divison |
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| C Divison |
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| 2020 A Divison Champions Anne & Kurt Weise |
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| B Division Champions Peter & Tyler Macdonald |
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