Santana 22 Nationals in the Slot
Fourteen Santana 22s toughed it out in July ‘Slot’ conditions for the 51st Nationals on July 21-23. Encinal Yacht Club hosted the Championship on courses near the Berkeley Pier. Three boats, Patrick Tregenza’s Ecaroh, Stefan Berlinski’s Hamachi, and multi-time champion Bob Comstock’s Rick’s Place, even traded the calmer conditions of Monterey and Santa Cruz to try their hands at keeping the trophy from San Francisco Bay competitors — but that was not to happen. With winds out of the west at 18 knots gusting to 22, and 22 knots gusting to 26 on Sunday, seasoned Bay racers seemed to have the edge. Three of the top five finishers berth in Richmond.
“Survival sailing” was the catchphrase of the weekend, and, just before the first race on Saturday, the Bay had its way with Rick’s Place. The Santa Cruz-based boat broke a halyard and was out until the third race, which it did come back to win. Chris Nicholas’ Fun lost a man overboard right after the starting gun. Fun was able to self-recover the crew, who gallantly continued on to compete in all three of the day’s blustery races.
The course was twice around a windward mark with offset, leeward gates and downwind finish. After the day’s punishment, the sailors thoroughly enjoyed the warm, mellow sail down the Estuary back to EYC for dinner, the annual meeting, and a pool party.
The fog rolled in on Sunday and the wind notched up a few more knots. Only 12 boats competed in Race 4, and then it was down to 10 for Race 5’s shorter course due to the increasing wind and fog. Igor Polevoy’s High and Dry suffered a broken gooseneck and had to withdraw, as did Megan Dwyer’s Mad Max after fouling a jib sheet.
In the end, the spoils went to Chris Klein and his crew John Paulling and Scott Rovanpera on Alegre. Chris said he was “so honored to appear on this trophy with such great sailors.” Next year’s National Championship is scheduled to be held at the Monterey Peninsula YC. Full results can be found on Jibeset, and additional photos will be linked on the San Francisco Bay Santana 22 fleet’s website.