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Basadre/Sottile team win regatta on tiebreaker 
Written by: Rick Roberts
07/14/13
 
2013 Cal 25 Regional Championship:
Long Beach, Calif.—Felix Basadre and Rick Sottile of Seal Beach Yacht Club won the 2013 Cal 25 Regional Championship Sunday going right up to the wire, winning the last race on the last day to win the regatta on a tiebreaker.
 
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In this two-day regatta sponsored by Cal 25 Fleet Five and hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club, five southern California skippers and crews dealt with shifty breeze of anywhere between 8 and 17 knots. From the top of the course to the bottom the wind direction often varied as much as 15 degrees, making tactical decisions critical in this closely matched fleet.
 
“We had to work hard this weekend but we beat the best in the fleet,” Basadre said referring to two-time Cal 25 Nationals winners Art and Scott Melendres (LBYC) who finished second in the regatta on a tiebreaker after Basadre and Sottile won the last race Sunday.
 
“Saturday was interesting with such a wide wind range,” said Basadre. “We started the day using our light #1 and by the last race we had switched to our #2. We also had a different person on bow this weekend and it took a couple of races for the team to gel. Today we were all together, and the last two races we were spot on.”
 
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Second place is not a position that Art and Scott Melendres are used to finishing in, dominating not only LBYC’s summer Wet Wednesday twilight races but local, regional and national Cal 25 class regattas as well. But Art was gracious in complimenting his fellow local class member on his victory.
 
“I really have to hand it to Felix,” said Art. “He did what he had to do today. It was their great boat speed and the great effort from his team that won this regatta. 
 
“There was great racing this weekend,” Art said. “Whenever you have a two-day regatta with five boats that comes down to two tiebreakers deciding the top four positions, that’s close racing.” 
        
Third place in the regatta went to Dennis Diem (LBYC) and his team who were tied at the
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end of the regatta with Donald Reiman (Alamitos Bay Yacht Club). Reiman had to settle for fourth after the tiebreaker was applied.
 
Rounding out the order of finish in fifth place was Don Albrecht (South Shore Yacht Club) and his team from Newport Beach.
 
At the trophy presentation Basadre commented, “You know, you really have a since of accomplishment when you beat these guys [Art and Scott Melendres]. To beat them you have to be perfect. And today, we were.”   
 
 
 
Final Results
1. Felix Basadre/Rick Sottile, Seal Beach YC, Tiburon, 2-2-1-1-1, 7 points
2. Art & Scott Melendres, Long Beach YC, One Time, 1-1-1-2-2, 7
3. Dennis Diem, LBYC, The Iguana, 4-4-2-3-4, 17
4. Donald Reiman, Alamitos Bay YC, Rhyme-N-Reason, 3-3-4-4-3, 17
5. Don Albrecht, South Shore YC, Valkyrie, 3-5-5-5-5
 
 
Complete results are available at www.lbyc.org .
 
 
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Rick Roberts
ricksoffice@sbcglobal.net
562.493.5173
Mobile: 310.367.9079
 
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Long Beach Yacht Club


 

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ongratulations to Felix Basadre, Rick Sottile and the crew of Tiburon for their hard fought victory in the 2013 Fleet V Regionals Regatta.  I'll do my best to describe the event however my memory just isn't good enough to articulate the facts and circumstances of six different races.    However you don't have to rely on me.  You can review each race by going to "www.kattack.com", (click on Browse all Races, click on Long Beach Yacht Club and then click on the 2013 Cal 25 Regionals) and watch it until your heart's content.  Some of you may want to review it more than others but I'm certain you'll all enjoy it when you get there. 

After some low pressure non-wind miseries earlier in the week the dawn broke on Saturday and gave promise of a spectacular weekend.   The promise came to fruition.   On Saturday we saw winds ranging from a  low of twelve knots to a high of seventeen.   Sunday's breeze was reduced to about ten.  The
high winds on Saturday had to be a problem for Dennis Diem's  "Iguana" as they braved the course with a mere crew of three.  It didn't seem to bother them much as they were  hoisting and dousing with the best of them.  Jenna was absolutely on top of her game.  However, the absence of weight caused them to struggle to keep the boat flat when going upwind.  On Sunday they had a full crew but by then they were probably under the influence of bumps and  bruises as well as a few contusions.
  
We had five boats  making it to the starting line:
Tiburon, One Time, RhymeNReason, Iguana and Don Albrecht's "Valkyrie" from Newport Beach. 
Our PRO was the perennial Don Warner and his committee consisted of his wife Jan, Kelly Johnson, Mary Beth Ives, and Mike Stuart.  Rick Roberts and two strong backed individuals named John Koenig and Charlie Legeman took care of mark and line sets. 

After two solid days of back and forth competitive racing we needed two tie breakers to determine the top three finishers.  I don't see how things can get much closer than that.  I wonder when the last PHRF Regatta could make such a statement.  RhymeNReason (Don Reiman) and Iguana (Dennis Diem) utilized a tie breaker to determine the third place finisher and Dennis took it by beating him in the final race.  Congratulations to Iguana and my sincerest gratitude for braving the elements with a short crew on Saturday.

In the battle for first place the competition was hot for both Tiburon and One Time.   When Sunday's racing was concluded each boat had three bullets and two deuces.  Tiburon took the title  based on the fact they won the final race.  It was quite a feat since they were over early on the last race (along with Iguana and One Time) and still came  back to win it.  When the OCS gun was sounded Tiburon was able to get back first, make the correction and then get going while One Time and Iguana  were still struggling to return. 

There was one incident during Sunday's first race when I had visions of losing the remainder of our Wet Wednesday season when during a port/starboard crossing situation Tiburon had to radically duck (and I mean radically)  Iguana.   For a second I thought both boats were going to be limping back to the dock with damages.  Thankfully both skippers reacted properly and the collision was averted. 

All in all it was class racing at its very best. Those of you who were there are going to remember it for a long time.  Those of you who weren't are going to wish you could remember it for a long time.   Once again -congratulations to Tiburon.  You guys have brought your program all the way up to the top.  You've worked hard, dedicated yourselves, built your program and paid your dues.  Now you can reap the rewards.  You've got to be loving life right now.   As for me, I learned a very valuable lesson after the regatta: "You spend a whole lot less money at the bar  when you lose as opposed to when you win."

Our next major regatta is the Fleet Championship on November 3rd. 
The Charity Regatta is Sept 22nd; 
SLBYC's Night Point Fermin Race is Sept 28th; 
Navy Yacht Club's Navy Day Race is   Oct 14th. 
I am told the Navy Day race will actually be two races in the same day; one will be a short sprint race while the other one will be a longer buoy type race.  All competitors will be asked to participate in both.  Sounds like it could be fun. 

For those of you that may want a tee shirt to commemorate the event please get in touch with me as there are several available.