Owen Timms of Seattle has been steadily moving up through the Laser ranks and finished a very impressive second in Laser Midwinters West in Santa Barbara last weekend. He also graciously provided his impressions from the regatta. Here they are:
By Owen Timms
What a great weekend of sailing in Santa Barbara for the Northwest Laser sailors! The majority of us showed up on Thursday, in driving rain and dark clouds, but the forecast showed great weather on the way for the weekend. Friday was light to moderate, with the wind slowly building. Ending the day with a third, I was sitting in second place. Saturday was supposed to be more breeze, but the first race was sailed in under five knots. Then it turned on, and boy did it turn on!! 6 foot swell with breaking waves and 20+ knots of breeze is no joke. I think the biggest takeaway for everyone on Saturday was fitness is key, and dressing warmly (even while in sunny Southern California) is even more important. I got in on Saturday with numb feet, and shaking from the cold and I know everyone felt the same. On Saturday I scored a 3, drop of 13th, and a 4 to end the day. I was still in second place, and with the first place boat (Ed. note: Isabella Bertold) not sailing on Sunday, it was anyone’s regatta to take. Sunday was forecast to be about the same, with just a little bit less breeze. My goal was to stay consistent, play it pretty conservative and keep top three overall for the regatta. In the first two races of the day I managed a 3 and a 4, just what I wanted. After the second race, the wind switched about 110 degrees, blowing directly off the land. The Race Committee hustled, and we got the last start in with just minutes to spare. I never have sailed in a sea-state like that, swell pushing you upwind, wind chop against you. Steering through swell on the downwind is definitely an experience! Getting a tenth in that race, it secured my second place finish, with my buddy Marcus Huttunen from San Diego taking the win.
Of course Timms wasn’t the only Northwest Laser sailor to attend. I count 13 Radials from the Pacific Northwest and at least three more in the standard rigs. There was a significant Northwest presence. Victoria’s Isabella Bertold had a dominating performance of 5,1,1,9,2,2 to start with, sailing knowing she’d miss the last day’s racing because of work commitments. “All good though,” she said. “because it was just a tune-up for the Europeans in May.”
And, lucky fans get to live vicariously through photography. Here are some from Sharon Green that should get a few people to pull their Laser out from the back of the garage and get out racing! To see the rest of her shots, click here. (It’s worth it!) For the shots in the gallery below, click to enlarge. Also check out the great photography by Tom Walker by clicking on either of his photo credits.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.