Gran Dillusion (formerly Grand Finale) Team Photo with Trophy
Hi Folks,Here's a picture of us at the after race party with the red and white striped First Place Trophy Towel from the 2019 "Outlaw Regatta" last evening.
It got it's name because long coastal Labor Day Weekend regatta couldn't get the governing bodies to officially sanction the event, so the small, independent "Windjammer's Yacht Club" went ahead and held the race anyway. The race and the yacht club are now part of the Santa Monica 'Windjammer's' Y.C. where it has morphed into a pirate themed event, but now also very 'sanctioned'.
Despite, most embarrassingly, broaching twice over on our side with the sails in the water, first in Hurricane Gulch, when the Main Sail's sheet got snagged by a cam cleat, flipping the boat on it's side, the second time in the midst of barreling along in a hell bent for leather spinnaker run when we decided that we might, just might not make it across the bow of the gigantic mega sized Carnival Cruise Ship hotel on a hull, that had been blasting it's big bass ship horn for five minutes before we both tried to squeeze thru the "Queen's Gate" harbor breakwater entry at the same time, and I jibe with the spinnaker on the wrong side of the boat, flipping us with the brave bowman hanging on the spinnaker pole and life line, doing backstroke in the water, and the boat rapidly drifting toward the breakwater rocks before we got Stephan back on board and the boat righted, the immense ship slid rapidly past, and we continued on our way towards the finish line (which, to my surprise they'd moved a long way from all the previous years!), docked, hoofed it down to the Seal Beach Y.C. and discovered we'd won the race.
Thanks to my brave, undaunted crew, my well soaked but good humored bowman Stephan who delighted in getting cooled off in the dunking, Roy Cundiff for the well prepared Cal 24-1 and his mentoring, and the SMWYC and SBYC for putting on this perennial event, and Greg, the PRO, and Karen, the PHRF secretary who patiently shepherded me thru 'paper chase' to qualify for this event.
More excitement, OMG! WAYEE more excitment than we bargained for, but...woowhoo! All's well that end's well.Cheers,Jerry Sobel and crew.