Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One-Design Challenge
The Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One-Design Challenge sailed out of Long Beach on October 12–13, with check-in, practice racing, and a party on Friday the 11th. Ten all-female teams — the most entries in recent years — took to the racecourse to vie for the trophy. Long Beach Sailing Foundation’s matched fleet of Catalina 37 one-design monohulls provided the platform for seven races.
Teams came from as close as Long Beach Yacht Club (the hosting club) and Long Beach Sailing Foundation, and from as far away as Sloop Tavern YC (in Seattle) and Hawaii YC (in Honolulu). Additional teams hailed from California YC, Del Rey YC and the Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay in Marina del Rey; San Diego YC and Southwestern YC in San Diego; and St. Francis YC in San Francisco. A guest PRO (principal race officer), Becky Ashburn from SDYC, umpired the fleet-race regatta.
Sailing for Hawaii YC, Allie Tsai and her crew of Katie Pettibone, Megan Thomson, Nora Harris, Patricia Bazan, Beth Winton, Tatiana Mimbella, Tammy Fowles, Julia Jaynes, Jennifer Simonsis, Sam T. and Holly Davis topped the 10-boat fleet with 25 points. With a score of 28, Elizabeth Weiler’s StFYC crew came in second. Derby White’s California YC team, with three first-place races, was just one point behind to take third.
An accomplished sailor, Linda Elias raced in several Transpacs, one Pacific Cup, and numerous regattas in Southern California. She won LBYC’s Women’s One-Design Championship 1992, 1994 and 1996. Elias passed away in 2003 at the age of 52 from ovarian cancer. You can read her obituary in the Los Angeles Times here.
