The First Cal 25 National Regatta

I recently was given some old Los Angeles Times articles and results sheets from the first Cal 25 Nationals. They came to me via a mutual friend from Don Taugher  who is now an ABYC member.  I thought my fellow Cal 25 owners and crew would enjoy the following.

The first National Championship Regatta was sponsored by the Long Beach Yacht Club (in Long Beach, Ca) The regatta consisted of three races on October 2nd & 3rd of 1965. The date for the national championship and the first class constitution approved was at a meeting on July 20th 1965.

The annual class dues were  $5.00/year in 1966

From the L.A. Times Article: Transcribed by Bob Daniel, no author or date was visible in the article I have.

Valhalla, 1st Champ
Valhalla, skippered by Bill McFarland of Santa Barbara Yacht Club, was the winner of the first national championship regatta in the new Cal-25 class Sunday. Twenty boats turned out for the Long Beach Yacht Club sponsored event. The first Cal-25 was launched last February and the class has grown to 112 boats.

1. Valhalla, Bill McFarland (SBYC)
2. Aquarius, John Holiday (LBYC)
3. Ensueno, Don Taugher (SMYC)
4. Ventolero, Bill Kitchings (SSSC)
5. Aeolus, john Clark (LBYC)

Addtional notes (added in 2001, updated July 2003)

Not mentioned in the article is there were ties for 6th, 13th places at the conclusion of racing.  On the first day (two races)  the results sheet shows 8 ties. It was a competitive class right from the start!

My boat, Nemesis #290,  had not yet been built and I had not been born. I wonder if Bill Lapworth would have guessed his Cals would still be around? A Cal 40, Willow Wind won the cruising division of the Transpac this year.  In the 2003 Transpac, the 40th anniversery of the Cal 40 there were 10 Cal 40’s entered. They were given the only one design start in the history of the Transpac)

Two members of Long Beach Yacht Club deserve special thanks for their contributions to the Cal 25 fleet, Judy Johnson & Karl Kindrich. Judy joined LBYC in 1965 and worked as a volunteer on the first Nationals race committee. She is an active member at the club and has even delayed her vacation so that she could volunteer for the 2003 Nationals race comittee! Karl Kindrich has been the PRO for many, many Cal 25 events and and has supported the Long Beach fleet for almost as long as Judy. The Cal 25 Fleet V perpetual Championship Trophy is named after Karl Kindrich. The fleet owes both of them our thanks for the many years of support and work to make the Cal 25 fleet such a strong organization.

Judy’s recalled in a recent e-mail that the PRO for the First Nationals was Peter Hogenson also still an LBYC member.
Requirements
From the Announcement for the 1965 National Championship regatta on mimeographed paper:
An entry fee of $5.00 will be required to pay for the Trophies. A completed entry form must be submitted with the $5.00 entrance fee before September 25,1965. Each skipper must be a member of a recognized NAYRU club….

Written August 2001

by Bob Daniel