62nd Cal20 Regatta at Shoreline Yacht Club
by Race Communications 30 Jul 2024 18:05 BST
July 26-28, 2024
Bravura, is the overall winner of the 2024 Cal20 Championship. Skipper Jeff Ives won by one point with a record of 4, 6, 9, 6, 2, 2, 10 in a fleet of 18 other boats © Laurie Morrison Photography
Jeff Ives, sailing Bravura, won the 62nd annual California 20 Class Championship Sunday, July 28. In blustery racing conditions, the three-day regatta was highly competitive with razor-close results.
A single point separated each of the top three places. The win came after 18 years of trying, said Ives accepting the trophy.
Consistency was key for Ives and crewmate Phil Soma, posting nothing worse than 10th in the 20-boat fleet on Sunday's race seven. Ives celebrated the win for Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Sunday, also his wedding anniversary.
At the beginning of day three, 10 boats were in a position to win. However, five early-over competitors in the last race sealed the top spots. The difference between the first and sixth places, for which there were awards, was a mere 11 points.
From left to right, Sail 294, Bill Schopp, Sluggo, 2nd place; Sail 373, Jeff Ives, Bravura, 1st place, and Sail 376, Mike DeBrincat, Bandini Mountain tied for 3rd - photo © Laurie Morrison Photography
2023 Champion Bill Schopp may have finished second overall, but he and the crew closed out the regatta with back-to-back bullets in Sluggo. The win propelled them from 10th place and into second. The Sluggo crew, decked out daily in matching attire, finished just one point behind Ives.
One more point back and tied for third was Bandini Mountain, skippered by Mike DeBrincat, ABYC, and Quick J, helmed by Jason Sumpter & Sawyer Gibbs, for LBYC/ABYC.
DeBrincat would return to the podium twice more; winning the Bristol Boat Award and the highly coveted 2024 Master's title. Kathy Black was honored as the top woman sailor.
Cal20 Fleet President Richard Welsh, skippering Vim, came in fifth, while Veintiseis, sailed by previous Champion Chuck Clay (2009, 2019) in 6th.
Sixteen-year-old skipper Gwendolynn Hildebrand and her teenage crew decisively won the 8-boat bronze fleet. "Give your teenager the tiller and this is what happens," said Cal20 Fleet President Richard Welsh. Talking about how to get more young people into sailing, he remarked "If you want to grow the Cal20 class, give up the tiller to a junior sailor, and pretty soon, they'll be wanting a Cal20 for Christmas."
Hildebrand's Misty Blue posted three bullets, one second, and one third-place finish over two days of Bronze Fleet racing.
Bullit Proof, skippered by John Whalen, and sailing with Race Chairwoman and Shoreline Yacht Club Staff Commodore Deb Kelly, came in second, only three points behind.
With some 29 boats entered in this year's Class Championship regatta (aka the Nationals), the Cal20 is one of the largest keelboat one-design fleets on the entire West Coast of North America and is seeing renewed interest in this benchmark 1961 design. The boat is competitively sailed with either 2 or 3 people & everyone appreciates their simplicity in design.
Six-time Cal20 Champion Keith Ives (yes, related) and boat partner Chuck Stevens were knocked out of the competition in Friday's second race. Rubber Dog and another competitor collided after the start and rendered them unable to compete.
Shoreline Yacht Club hosted the regatta, offering first-class hospitality all weekend to sailors, their families, and the race committee.
View full results
More information can be found here and by visiting Cal20.org.