Competitve racing and epic parties await at Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week 2023
by Long Beach Race Week 23 Jun 2023 09:50 NZST
June 23-25, 2023
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week 2023 © Tom Walker
83 boats racing in eleven divisions including eight one design classes and three PHRF fleets will be on the start for the 18th edition of Long Beach Race Week (LBRW), which starts Friday with a first gun at 1:00pm.
Bringing together many long-time participants of the event, and others who will be racing LBRW for the first time, the message is clear: Long Beach Race Week always delivers!
Racing in PHRF A is the Cape 31 M2, an exciting boat relatively new to the west coast and owned by Marc McMorris (San Diego Yacht Club). Hartwell Jordan, who will trim main on M2 for LBRW, commented, "We're looking forward to sailing back in California after having the boat in the Caribbean over the winter. We're also really looking forward to sailing with Dirk Freeland (Santa Barbara Yacht Club) racing his brand-new Cape 31 Full Send. Dirk's boat is less than a month old and is one of the reasons we came down to sail with him, he'll come up to Big Boat Series later in the year to sail with us. It should be fun!"
The J/70 Sandpiper will be racing LBRW for the first time with owner Courtney Clamp (Richmond Yacht Club) at the helm, and her dad Tom White trimming main and calling tactics.
"I am mostly looking forward to getting out in a larger fleet for close one design racing with lots of boats on the start," she said. "It will be a good experience to see where we need to improve." Crew Jeff Holder who has raced LBRW multiple times and will be trimming jib and spinnaker on Sandpiper, encouraged Clamp to make the trip to Long Beach to compete this week. "We're fortunate to have a female skipper and the racing should be great in a deep competitive fleet. LBRW is one of the epic sailing events on the west coast and the parties are always fantastic!"
David Boatner will be back to defend his title after taking first in PHRF C last year on RIVAL, his J/35. "We're looking forward to some nice weather, good wind, and excellent competition," Boatner smiled. "I expect the First 38 Topa to be quite difficult and Raptor is a J/109 will be a tough go." Boatner, who has done some 18 LBRW events, added, "We're probably the most winning boat in LBRW history, mostly because we've been to so many of them, but we have won our class a lot!"
Race Day one begins with a weather briefing at 10:15 AM by Ullman Sails, and a skipper's meeting at 10:30 AM upstairs at LBYC. The first race warning will sound at 12:55 PM on Friday, and at 11:55 AM on Saturday and Sunday. Conditions permitting, it is expected that two races will be sailed in most classes on Friday, three races on Saturday, and two races on Sunday.
"We look forward to seeing competitors at the Ullman Sails weather briefing on Friday morning, and assisting the fleet with their sails wherever we can," Bruce Cooper, owner of Ullman Sails Newport Beach, said. "I know that this will be another great LBRW event!"
LBYC Staff Commodore Chuck Clay has been involved in the regatta since its early days when it was known as Golison Race Week; he was a volunteer running the whaler. He's been on the organizing committee since 2011 and knows the event better than most.
"We're sitting at 83 boats and we're happy with that given it's a Transpac year when we lose a lot of boats," Staff Commodore Clay said. "It's still a big event, we want to treat it with respect, and we're really paying attention to making it worthwhile because we know things are changing. LBRW really has two components: great sailing in Long Beach and the parties, and we know that's what people like. We really look forward to it each year because it's like a reunion for everybody - it's great sailing, excellent race management and the parties are super fun.
Long Beach Race Week (LBRW) will be hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and the Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC). LBRW is open to multiple classes and this year is proud to host the Catalina 37 National Championship, the Schock 35 Pacific Coast Championship, the Viper 640 Pacific Coast Championship, and the J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, and J/120 Southern California High Point Series. Competing for the first time is the Melges 15 class, and the event is thrilled to have them on board.
The event is grateful to the generosity and support of its 2023 sponsors including Ullman Sails, Evans, Clarke Marine Insurance, Cabrillo Boat Shop, The Oriana Shea Group, Tom Walker Photography, Pirates Lair, Durant Design and Construction, and Mount Gay Rum.
Parties featuring music and dancing will be hosted by ABYC on Friday night, then Saturday and Sunday night at LBYC. Prize giving will be held at LBYC on Sunday at 5:00 PM. Competitors are invited to enjoy both the clubs' services and amenities including the ice machine, and free water taxi service between the clubs until 9:00 PM Friday and Saturday. For full details on entry, schedule, mooring requests and more, go to www.lbrw.org.