2011 Sea Otter Regatta
A
regatta record 53 PCISA teams participated in the Sea Otter Regatta on October
1-2 in Monterey, CA, hosted by Monterey Peninsula Yacht
Club.
Saturday
was a picture perfect Chamber of Commerce day, with sunny skies and consistent
8-10 kt breeze, and a small swell. The race committee took
advantage of the weather and was able to run 20 W - L races. A few
redress hearings later, the results were in.
It should be noted that a number of redress requests were for boats that
were fouled, and felt they should be rewarded with better finishes. The protest committee reminded the
competitors that this would only happen in the rarest of cases involving sportsmanship
or gross misconduct, in the absence of injury or damage.
Sunday
began with a light 4 kt North breeze and overcast skies. One
minute into the start sequence, the sun came out and the wind shut off. During the one hour delay, the B fleet
sailors enjoyed sea lions, seals, and other sea life. One sailor was overheard saying “this is like
a forest, only on the water!” The wind
then came back from the NW at 6 kts, and racing resumed. The rest of the day
saw 6-10 kts, eventually shifting to the West. After 8 races the
race committee called it a day so that the travelers could get on the road at a
reasonable time.
Congratulations
to Gold fleet winners Newport Harbor Varsity, with a 10 point cushion over
second place Point Loma Varsity and Corona del Mar JV1 finishing 3rd. Congratulations
also to Silver fleet winners Crossroads, who dominated the fleet with only 60
points.
Many
thanks to MPYC and CSUMB volunteers, the City of Monterey and the Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary, who donated a beautiful Sea Otter perpetual
trophy. Special thanks to the Green Team
for helping make this a Green Regatta.