The Moore 24 Biff & Trixie Perpetual Trophy
In the spirit of being more inclusive, Santa Cruz Yacht Club has rebranded the Jack and Jill Regatta as the Mix and Match Bring a Friend Regatta. An enthusiastic turnout of 34 teams, ranging from Santana 22s to a Santa Cruz 50, took up the challenge to sail doublehanded or double-date on September 28. More than 40 women were racing. Everyone was ecstatic to see so many new racers out on beautiful Monterey Bay.
Since 1987, the Moore 24 Biff & Trixie Perpetual Trophy has been coveted by many, won by few. Chris Watts has won it the most times. He graciously donated this new version after the original trophy collapsed under the weight of memorabilia history.
SCYC gave the Moore 24s a separate division start. The race was part of the 2024 Doublehanded Moore 24 Roadmaster Series. Nine doublehanded Moores and one Family/Friends Moore competed in challenging, shifty, light winds on the 7.29-mile course.
Chris Watts and Karen Loutenzheiser had the best start on Watts Moore…, and they led the first lap. It looked like another easy repeat winning performance, like they had in 2022 and 2023. Mackenzie Cook and I had fun chasing them down on Nobody’s Girl. We eventually passed them on the second lap, with a few favorable wind shifts, avoiding kelp. Mackenzie did an absolutely amazing job calling tactics and trimming our very old sails to maximize mojo for us to finish first with a surprisingly substantial lead.
Seven of the teams had won the race in the past and were looking to take home the perpetual trophy. Peter Phelan invited Kaylan Kelson for her first race on a Moore to finish third on Ngellew Fejj. Hilary Hill sailed brilliantly with her dad Scott Walecka on Adios, finishing fourth.
Beau Vrolyk graciously lent Scarlet to Burleigh Charlton and Marina Fennel. They had a great comeback after an OCS [over early at the start] to finish fifth. Peter Schoen sailed a tight race with Betsy Weller on Mooretician, finishing sixth. Scott Nelson and Sara S. on Lowly Worm 2.0 in seventh had never sailed together before. Finishing eighth were Matt Dini and Margaret Kroll on Penguin.
Greg Hood finished second in the Friends Foursome division on UnMoore’d — he had so many new friends that wanted to race with him. Tom Lewin and his 7-year-old son Max did an outstanding job, winning the Family/Spinnaker Division on Philippe Kahn’s J/100 Pegasus. (See complete results here.)
A special shout-out to PRO Bob DeWitt, regatta chair Kris North, scorer Hilarie DeGroot, Kelli and Dan Cook for the appetizers, and all of the other wonderful volunteers who made this event such an epic success. Every team received a trophy or a prize in recognition of their accomplishment of sailing outside of their comfort zone. I encourage all of you to take a friend or your family out sailing soon. It really is a simple pleasure that can be quite transformative!
Readers — Check out the Racing Sheet report on this regatta in the November issue of Latitude 38. — ed.
