Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week Day 2
by Michelle Slade 22 Jun 18:02 NZST
June 20-22, 2025
Day 2 of the 20th edition Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week, co-organized by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) dished up another day of not-so-classic Long Beach conditions.
There was breeze, albeit challenging, and skies were blue with temperatures in the mid-70s. Racing for some 115 boats across ten classes got under way around noon; three races were sailed for most fleets, with the exception of the random leg classes who sailed one race.
Racing today saw mostly top three position lead changes, including in the J/111 fleet. Regatta title sponsor Bruce Cooper, owner of Ullman Sails Newport Beach, sailed on Obsidian owned/skippered by John Staff (California Yacht Club). Obsidian moved up to second position, finishing the day with 14 points. A significant delta remains between them and Peter Wagner's (StFYC / SFYC / NYYC) Skeleton Key, who maintains control with six points.
"It was a good day of racing," says Cooper. "We had a little more going on with the south easterly breeze this morning. Obsidian was set up for a lot of chop and wind in the first race, and we held onto our third place. By the second race the wind started to lighten and the chop stayed. We didn't race the course well and took fourth. We really softened everything up for the chop in the lighter shiftier air in the last race to finish first. So far it's been a great regatta, people on the racecourse are happy, the fleets are interacting and getting to the mark roundings together. The fact that there are this many boats this year on the racecourse on the two circles has been amazing."
New to the J/109 fleet this year is a move to include random leg racing in their regatta. The boats that traveled to Long Beach wanted to do something different than windward-leeward racing, and the compromise that the fleet reached included two days of random leg and one day of round-the-buoys. Blue Crush holds the lead after Day 2 and owner/skipper Bob Little (ABYC), who has sailed Ullman Sails LBRW four times, says the Blue Crush secret to success is that they sail a lot together.
"We're pretty coordinated in our maneuvers because we sail the boat a lot. We have learned from the other boats in the fleet and we have all become better together. We have a good vibe on our boat. Racing was tricky - the J/109s don't really have sail inventory on board to sail reaches and off wind stuff other than dead downwind with our one design kites. It was challenging because none of us had optimal sails for the wind angles, but we're all sailing with the same constraint. I felt like everybody sailed really well. The class compromised and we'll end up with an equal split of random leg and buoy racing; everyone is super happy."
The Beneteau 36.7 fleet gathers at Ullman Sails LBRW to race Saturday and Sunday, and Eric Hanson (NYYC / SDYC / CRA), owner/skipper of Given-Ho, leads after the first day of racing for this fleet. It's Hanson's second year competing at Ullman Sails LBRW; last year he won in class.
"We had three really good races today and three bullets," says Hanson. "We've been at it with this boat and this crew for about three years now - last year was our first Ullman Sails LBRW and we had a great showing. We wouldn't miss the event; it's wonderful, I love Long Beach conditions. The competition is stiff, we have the regular cast of characters here, it's a great fleet. We race against each other regularly and we know what we got. We never get a chance to fly our number 3 in San Diego; we usually bring it here so we're hoping for good breeze tomorrow."
Shawn Bennett (SFYC) returns to home turf this week (he grew up in Belmont Shore and sailed out of ABYC) on a new-to-him Moore 24 Orca which he co-shares with boat partner Rich Bergsund.
Both Bennett and Bergsund are San Francisco Yacht Club members sailing with Bergsund's son Reed (32) and daughter Mari (27) and Bennett's son Connor (21). Orca is in second place in the highly competitive Moore 24 fleet with Kurt Lahr on Safety Third moving up to first today, and Joe Turmel on Firefly moving into third. Bennett is competing for the family trophy against Rowan Fennell on Paramour, who is in fourth and also sailing with his family.
"Rich's wife Marika saw me in the hardware store and told me I should buy half of their Moore 24," smiles Bennett. "I had sold my share in a J105 the day before and it sounded like a great idea, although my wife did note that I didn't last 24 hours without ending up with another boat. I had never been on a Moore before, I knew they were great boats and thought it would be a lot of fun. This is our first regatta together and we're enjoying it."
Sailing his Melges 32 The Baby Screams in PHRF A, Jeff Janov (California Yacht Club) is leading with five bullets after five races, a significant lead over Jack LeMaire (Channel Island Yacht Club) on the Melges 32 Iris who is in second with 16 points. Farr 40 Blade II has moved up to third, finishing the day with 17 points. Janov says he's raced the regatta for some thirty-five years; this is his third year on The Baby Screams.
"It was a terrific day, we started out with medium breeze, it faded to about 7 knots, it was very shifty with a lot of changes in pressure and direction," says Janov. "Good tactical work by our tactician Carlos Robles, and crew work was anticipatory and together in difficult conditions. The competition is tough, the Farr 40s are difficult and the new-to-our-fleet Melges 32 Iris is sailing very strong. We're looking forward to more stable conditions tomorrow."
John Snook, representing Hawaii Yacht Club and racing on his J/120 JIM maintained his lead in PHRF B class, finishing the day with 7 points. He's been racing his boat JIM in Ullman Sails LBRW for the past 20 years and notes that the boat is older than he is. Behind Snook with ten points is Heinz Butner on Raptor II, a J112E, and Timothy Harmon on the J/99 Cirrus is in third with 16 points.
"The racing has been good and now we're at the dock drinking rum, we have shrimp and we're having a good time," says Snook. "The conditions were nice out there, whether we win or lose, it's all about having fun, that's our whole goal and that's what we enjoy; we've always enjoyed this regatta."
In other classes, Robbie King and Karla Reinhardt (ABYC) maintain their first position in the Melges 15 class, finishing the day with 9 points. In the J/70 fleet, Ryan Cox from the Ventura Yacht Club (VYC), racing his J/70 DJ has 5 bullets with a significant 15-point lead on second place Nunuhunu, owned by Arnaud Benahmed (Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club). Chris Orlando (LBYC) also maintains his lead in the Catalina 37s, finishing the day with 6 points, well ahead of Alli Bell (SDYC) in second with 16 points. Daniel Murphy on the J/125 Javelin leads Random Leg A with 2 points, and John McEntire on the Santa Cruz 37 Encore leads Random Leg B with 5 points, after taking first place today to prevail over Mark Stratton on his J/122 Cheeky, who is second with 5 points.
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week, Day 2, finished with a post-race pool party hosted by regatta co-organizer Long Beach Yacht Club. With some 50 boats - Moore 24s, J70s and Melges 15s - hosted at ABYC, an inter club shuttle ferried sailors back and forth between LBYC and ABYC to ensure no-one missed the festivities.
LBRW is open to multiple classes and in 2025 the event is hosting the Catalina 37 National Championship, the J/109 West Coast Championship, the J/111 Pacific Coast Championship, and the J/70, J/105, J/109, and J/120 Southern California High Point Series. For the first time this year, LBRW is hosting the Moore 24 fleet and the Moore 24 National Championship. A perpetual trophy, the Campbell Cup - PHRF Big Boat Class Winner - will also be awarded.
On the final day of racing on Sunday June 22, the first warning will sound at 11:55 AM. Conditions permitting, it is expected that two races will be held in most classes. Prize giving will be given at LBYC on Sunday at 5:00 PM. Competitors are invited to enjoy both clubs' services and amenities. For full details on entry, schedule, mooring requests and more, go to www.lbrw.org
Hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and the Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC), the event is grateful to the generosity and support of its 2024 sponsors including long-time title sponsor Ullman Sails, Evans, Clarke Marine Insurance, Cabrillo Boat Shop, Durant Design and Construction, Mt Gay Rum, Pirates Lair, The Oriana Shea Group, and Tom Walker Photography.
Results can be found at www.lbrw.org/results