April 1, 2014

The fifth and final race of Sequoia YC's 2013-2014 Redwood Cup series on Saturday had it all: stiff competition, rain, a huge ebb, decent wind, big gusts, and even a little bit of mud. Just a dozen boats entered the fray as only the hardy ventured out in the only race in the Redwood Cup series with inclement weather.

Much was at stake. While Charlie Watt's Antrim 27 Head Rush had the series locked up on points, there was a tough battle for second and third between Mike Reed's Express 27 Magic and Tracy Rogers' J/92 Relentless. Alex Huang on the J/29 L2O was also well positioned to play spoiler and sneak into the top series standings. Who would prevail?

But two new players joined the battle, as Stan Phillips on the Farr 30 Frequent Flyer showed off his new mast and led all boats to take first place honors in this last race with Magic close behind in second to finish out the series. Tim Anto's Melgas 24 Daredevil slipped into third place ahead of fourth place Relentless and L2O in fifth.

But where was Head Rush? Feeling good about their position as they neared the finish, they carried their spinnaker a little too long and found the mud at the entrance to Westpoint Slough, ending the series with a disappointing DNF. The crew of Rick Gilmore's Catalina 34 Mirth earned lots of good Samaritan points as they swung around to provide the power needed to pull Head Rush off the mud.

The throwout in the series made all the difference, keeping Head Rush in first place with 8 points, Magic in second place with 10 points, and Relentless in third with 11.

Congratulations to all racers on a well-fought and fun series!

– Cathy Moyer and Kathy Conte, Redwood Cup Fleet Captains, SeqYC

Race results and series results are available at www.sequoiayc.org. The club's beer can series, which also follows a pursuit race format, begins on April 16.