2006 OLD NEWS

Last revised 03/13/2007

2006 Schock 35 National Championship

By D. Michaelis
Photos by E. Bush & J. Murphy

It has been a fun and exciting year for the Schock 35 fleet. We accomplished what we set out to do and that was to race hard, play harder and have fun. Throughout the year we have had boats caught up in lobster pot lines, kelp and marks. We have had days where it was blowing from 0 knots of wind to 25 knots of wind. But it all comes down to the Nationals. This year it was held at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Jenn Lancaster, the yacht club's Race Director, ran a great event from weighing the Schock 35 fleet in to selling t-shirts and setting up a great three day race program.

Friday morning saw everyone down at the docks early for weigh in and last minute preparations. All the Schock 35's where off the dock to start the day, except for Whiplash they had a starter concern. No engine. Lucky for them JoAnn was able to offer a tow. At the designated course a half mile west of the Newport Pier you could see a lot of the boats had their new spinnakers out so it took a few minutes to figure out who was who. The race was postponed do to the committee boat having some engine problems and they had to be towed out to the line.

Race 1 started with a light breeze in the 5 to 7 knot range. Whiplash and Ripple where in their customary dual, flopping places a few times around the course. Some of the boats had a hard time making it around the weather mark. They thought they were laying it then all of a sudden they would get hit with a strong current. Whiplash took 1st place followed by Ripple then Perfect Circle.

Race 2 saw the wind build a little more. This time it was Ripple taking 1st followed by Perfect Circle and Whiplash.

Race 3 was course two twice around the same course that we had raced all day. You would think some of us would get the feel for the current around the weather mark, wrong! This time to mix it up we saw Perfect Circle with a first followed by JoAnn then Ripple.

At the docks we had the pleasure of cold Heineken's being served to us as we where putting the boats away. Class President Steve Murphy had a nice after race event set up for us. He gave each team a Cub Scout Rain Gutter Regatta model to put together in a half hour followed by a rain gutter match race and a contest for the best looking boat up in the boatyard. The winner of the race was team Booyaa who had the ingenuity to split their boat and make a catamaran. The boat that won best looking was Veloce with an Italian theme. A good time was had by all.

Saturday morning the numbers where tallied and the fleet had two boats tied for first: Perfect Circle and Ripple both with 6 points. Third place was Whiplash with 8 points. Fourth was JoAnn with 10 points. Fifth place was a three way tie between MAKO, Power Play and Veloce. Eighth place was Stategem followed by Booyaa in ninth.

Race 4 got under way with similar conditions as the day before. Today it was Steve Murphy and his crew that looked great. JoAnn was launched the entire day. JoAnn won the race followed by Power Play and then Ripple.

Race 5 was underway. On the first approach to the weather mark we saw JoAnn 1st followed by MAKO and Veloce. Perfect Circle felt that they were a bit over stood on the lay line so they came down to MAKO's line with great speed thinking that MAKO was making the mark. MAKO tried to shoot the mark but failed and ended up hitting it. That's when to the surprise/anguish look on Fred Young's face as he executed a perfect turn inside MAKO, and as he passed them, there was the weather mark to starboard of Perfect Circle. Two gibes and two tacks later Perfect Circle found themselves second from last in front of Ripple. Then at the leeward mark Perfect Circle could not get their spinnaker down and ended up dropping out of the race. First to finish was JoAnn followed by Whiplash and MAKO.

Race 6 there was a pre-start infraction between Ripple and JoAnn. Again we saw a strong current at the weather mark. This time as the boats rounded in close formation it was Kim from Booyaa that caught the mark and was dragging it down the course away from the other boats that were still trying to get around it. JoAnn and Whiplash had an exciting drag race to the finish line. With a terrific and aggressive play by Whiplash, they came within inches of beating JoAnn, but ran out of real estate at the finish. First to finish was Ripple followed by Perfect Circle then JoAnn.

Back at the docks we found the cold beer being served to us as we were putting the Schock 35's away for the night. Later, we had a great dinner at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Honorary guest joining us were Tom and Jane Schock, three time National Champion Dick Schmidt and two time National Champion Dave Voss who touched on former years of racing Schock 35's. There was the presentation of the Schock 35 Season Championship Hi Point going to Ray Godwin and crew aboard Whiplash. Rookie of the year went to John Heaney of Veloce. The Good Guy Award went to Fred Young for his service as president of the fleet in 2004 and 2005. The coveted Wooden Spoon Award went to Fred Young and crew of Perfect Circle for wrapping themselves around both gates in the same leg at Long Beach Race Week.

Sunday morning's tally of the previous two days found Ripple in first with 16 points. Whiplash was in second with 17 points. JoAnn being disqualified in the 6th race still was in third with 22 points. Perfect Circle in fourth with 24 points. Power Play in fifth with 30 points. MAKO in sixth with 32 points. Veloce in seventh with 37 points. Strategem in eighth with 46 points and Booyaa in ninth with 48 points.

Race 7 got underway and Whiplash found tons of speed as they led the rest of the fleet around the course from start to finish. Second was JoAnn and third was Perfect Circle.

Race 8 got under way with Whiplash and MAKO being over early. Ripple jumped to an early lead. MAKO and Whiplash sailed fast and by the time they reached the weather mark they found themselves in mid fleet. On the last downwind leg Whiplash was able to pass JoAnn but could not get by Perfect Circle causing a tie in points between Whiplash and Ripple. The final race ended with Ripple first. Perfect Circle placed second and Whiplash placed third.

This was a close event all weekend first place switched hands after every race between four boats. It was not dominated by one or two boats as we have seen in the past. Without JoAnn and Perfect Circles uncharacteristic mishaps the final race could have been a 4 way shot for the title. The rest of the fleet was within striking distance at anytime of the 8 races. This is class racing at its best.

First overall and winning on a tiebreaker is Ripple congratulations to Jeff Janov and crew for a hard fought victory. Second place goes to Ray Godwin and Team Whiplash for an outstanding job. Third place was won with a tiebreaker as well with Steve Murphy and his crew from JoAnn. Fourth place was Fred Young and The Perfect Circle crew. Fifth place was Steve Arkle and the Power Play crew.

Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week

How many wind conditions can a regatta have?

By D. Michaelis
Photos by Under the Sun Photos

As usual, the event was a major celebration for the first weekend of summer. The competition was even more intense as the Pacific Coast Championship for the Schock 35's got underway in the largest keelboat regatta on the West Coast. Anyone who thinks sailboat racing is dull should have seen Friday's opening day. The wind blew up to 22 knots while boats thrashed through waves of 3 to 5 feet.

Race 1 started out with moderate winds and built from there. Whiplash was 1st to finish followed by JoAnn then Ripple.

Race 2 the wind was stronger with big gusts. It was time to hang on otherwise you would end up in the ocean. The majority of the Schock 35's switched to #3 Genoa's and ¾ spinnakers. Ripple was first to finish followed by Whiplash and JoAnn.

After getting back in and licking our wounds, the day ended with Whiplash in first with 3 points. Ripple in second with 4 points. JoAnn in third with 5 points. MAKO and Perfect Circle tied with 9 points followed by Power Play with 12 points and Strategem with 14 points. Veloce, Booyaa and Outlier dropped out of the last race of the day. It was great to see Outlier back out after the mishap that happened at the Schock Memorial Regatta.

Saturday started with brisk breezes left over from Friday that quickly dissipated with shifts of more than 80 degrees to the right within minutes. At one point in the day's third race the wind shifted from 235 to 315.

Race 3 started out with a good breeze. On the second run life was looking good for MAKO until they put up their spinnaker and they had a nice hour glass in it, it also seemed like an hour to get it out in the meantime Perfect Circle was able to roll them. First to finish was Whiplash followed by Perfect Circle and MAKO.

Race 4 the wind picked up. First to finish Ripple followed by Whiplash and Perfect Circle.

Race 5 the wind was pumping then all of a sudden at the leeward gate the wind just died and shifted 80 degrees. A few boats in the fleet ended up drifting through or into the leeward gate, such as Strategem, after making their penalty turns with no wind and only using the current to move them, Strategem had to duck a starboard boat, and because of the duck, once more they failed to get through the gate. First to finish Whiplash followed by MAKO and Ripple.

Saturday evening after the complete inventory of sails where folded and put away. There was a great party at LBYC and as the results where posted for the day a few changes had been made. The leader was still Whiplash (7) followed by Ripple (12). Perfect Circle (18) moved into 3rd followed by MAKO (20) then JoAnn (24) and Power Play (26). Stategem (38) holding onto 7th followed by newcomers Veloce (40), Booyaa (49) and Outlier (48).

Sunday the breeze showed up late for the noon start and radical shifts forced repeated postponements.

Race 6 the breeze started out light. There was a nice twist to this race involving an upwind finish. As Booyaa was making their way to the finish line their jib halyard parted, however they where still able to pull off a 5th place finish under mainsail alone. First to finish was Whiplash followed by Ripple and MAKO.

Race 7 the wind was blowing 12 knots when the fleet was getting ready to round the last leeward gate the breeze came blasting through with great force causing a few knockdowns. Those that were coming up from behind had a chance to prepare for the wind gusts. First to finish was Ripple followed by Whiplash and JoAnn.

This event ended with Whiplash in first, reclaiming the Pacific Coast Championship that has eluded them for the last 4 years. Followed by Ripple in 2nd and MAKO winning the tie breaker to place 3rd. This is the end of the Schock 35 2006 High Point Series and it is the first time that Whiplash has been able to claim that prize by winning a tie breaker with Ripple.

The battle for the Schock 35 Nationals is on in August at Newport Beach. Just remember Ripple and Whiplash you have JoAnn, MAKO and Perfect Circle knocking at your stern.

"Class Racing at its Best"

Extreme conditions for the Schock 35’s. No wind Saturday afternoon on the last down wind leg and fog on Sundays race.

Cal Race week 2006 saw the Shock 35 class on the same course as the Fast 50’s that ranged in size from 48 to 70 feet, the Reynolds 33’s, Sport Boats and the Fast 40’s. The racing on Saturday finally got under way after a 30 minute delay due to light winds.

Race 1 saw the wind between 5 and 8 knots on a twice around 5.1 mile course. Two boats, MAKO and Perfect Circle, were called over early at the start. After getting back through the start line and getting cleared by the Race Committee, Perfect Circle decided to go right and MAKO went left which turned out to be the better choice. JoAnn, Power Play and MAKO had an exciting finish going through the finish line side by side with JoAnn getting the nod. Whiplash took a first followed by Ripple then JoAnn in third.

Race 2 got under way with the same course called but with a bit stronger breeze. Stategem had a great start at the pin end and worked the shifts up the left side and was the first boat around the weather mark. Rumor has it that Mark yelled out to his crew “free beer for everybody” and it went downhill from there. The race finished with Ripple 1st, Whiplash 2nd and MAKO 3rd.

Race 3 got under way with the breeze lightening up and a change of course, this time it was to be a short course 3.6 miles. It started out light and got lighter and lighter where at one point several boats were drifting backwards for a short period of time. The first boat around the weather mark by over two minutes was our newest class member Veloce who sailed up the left side of the course. Welcome John Heaney and crew. You showed us how it’s done on your first High Point Series. The stage for second place changed hands many times on our down wind drifting contest between Ripple, Whiplash, MAKO and Perfect Circle. The final results Veloce 1st, Whiplash 2nd and MAKO 3rd.

On Sunday morning the marine layer fog was thick. As the fleet powered out of MDR harbor the fog just kept getting thicker to the point where it was about 20 yards of visibility. After over an hour delay the mark set boat stated that it was clearing up at the weather mark and the Race Committee got the races underway.

Race 4 was started but quickly postponed as the Fast 50’s appeared out of the fog to round the leeward mark about fifty yards to weather of the start line. The race finally got under way with the same 5.1 mile course that we had the day before. Once again Veloce was one of the first boats around the first weather mark along with Ripple and Whiplash. The race ended with Ripple 1st , MAKO 2nd and Whiplash 3rd.

The regatta final standings were Whiplash 1st, Ripple 2nd and MAKO making there first debut at the podium in a High Point Series with a 3rd.

Congratulations to Whiplash for winning the following trophies:

1. Schock 35’s 1st place
2. Jimmy Morris Memorial Schock 35
3. Thomas Armstrong California Challenge team

Schock 35 fleet dodges kelp at Yachting Cup

By D. Michaelis
Photos by GTS Photos

San Diego Yacht Club’s Yachting Cup Regatta May 6th and 7th was a great event. The weather was terrific for the Schock 35’s. The weekend wind ranged between 6 to 14 knots. Saturday we had a bit rougher swell than on Sunday. Our course was 5 miles south of the Zuniga jetty or was that 5 miles north of Tijuana. Besides battling each other we where all losing the kelp battle that seemed to plague the majority of us. I kept hearing the battle cry from the bowman “up 2 for kelp” or “down 3 for kelp”. I also heard the frustration from the drivers “how am I to keep this boat moving if I have to keep coming up or down”. Needless to say the kelp poles and flossing lines were kept close at hand.

It was a nice reach Saturday morning out to the starting line a lot of us flew our spinnakers there reminiscing about the weekend before to Ensenada but that’s a different story.

Race 1 started at 11:30 with the Schock 35’s being the third class to start.. As we have seen so many times in the past the first boat to finish was Ripple followed by Whiplash and then Perfect Circle.

Race 2 the wind picked up a bit and some of the boats changed to their #3 head sails anticipating that the breeze was starting to pump up. That was not the right call. The boats that had their Heavy #1 up seemed to move out better on the course. The standings where a little different this time, Whiplash was “launched” and took the bullet in lonely waters with Ripple in the number two spot followed by Perfect Circle.

Race 3 got under way and the race committee added an additional twist to the day by having an upwind finish after the customary two laps. There was an awesome tacking dual between MAKO and Perfect Circle going up the final leg with Perfect Circle giving MAKO a bit of a lesson. The race ended with Ripple first Whiplash second and Perfect Circle third.

After our long ride back from Tijuana and putting the boat away, Saturday night saw most of the fleet at Fiddlers Green for a delicious dinner along with a few cocktails.

On the way out to the starting line on Sunday some of us where lucky enough to see a whale breaching outside of the Zuniga jetty. Others where lucky enough to have Bloody Mary’s flowing or was that just the bow crew on Booyaa.

Race 4 got under way with 6 knots of breeze. Just to mix things up a bit Power Play was the first boat to finish followed by Ripple and JoAnn taking third.

Race 5 the final race of the day saw us with the upwind finish again. Coming around the leeward mark on the final leg of the race MAKO and JoAnn became involved in a heated tacking dual this time it was MAKO that prevailed. The final race saw Whiplash in first followed by Ripple in second and MAKO in third.

Another year, another kelp derby, and we will all be back in “2007”. Thank you San Diego Yacht Club.

2006 Ahmanson Cup Regatta

Schock 35's take on J105's at Ahmanson starting line.
By D. Michaelis

Ahmanson brought eight boats to the line and a belly full of donuts. Richard Fish and crew of Outlier where greatly missed and we hope to have them back soon. Newport weather over the weekend was interesting -- Saturday had a mild breeze of 7 to 10 knots. Ripple had an inauspicious start for the weekend. While motoring to the starting line they caught an unmarked lobster pot. This shut down the engine and firmly anchored the boat to the bottom of the sea. A crew member had to jump in and cut away the offending line. But that did not stop them, and they made it to the start line for the first race.

Race 1 of the regatta saw Strategem as the first boat around the weather mark. The general recalls in the J105 fleet left the Schocks rolling through the start line on the first downwind leg of every race which made for some interesting maneuvering. The race ended Ripple 1st Perfect Circle 2nd and JoAnn 3rd.

Race 2 had similar race with Ripple again finishing with a 1st , JoAnn 2nd, and Whiplash 3rd.

Race 3 found JoAnn over early on the start. Showing great tenacity with the ability to grind down every tack and jibe to move inch by inch closer was able to come up with a 3rd in the final race of the day. But what was even more exciting was the finish for Power Play. As they were laying the finish line on a starboard tack, who should appear on a port tack (and not willing to budge) but Fred from Perfect Circle. Sparkle and crew on Power Play had to perform a crash tack to avoid the impending collision. The race ended with Ripple 1st Whiplash 2nd and JoAnn 3rd.

Newport Harbor Yacht Club put on a great Italian buffet dinner Saturday evening, with the exception of missing lobster from the buffet table. We will have to talk to Ripple's crew about that.

Sunday started out with Ripple in 1st place. JoAnn in second and Whiplash 1 point behind. 4th through 7th place were separated by a point between each boat. The weather was light and variable -- first start was about 5 knots of breeze or so with shifts from 175ish on the quarter hours to 190 on the top and bottom of the hour. Consistent cycling like that through the end of the race with the wind coming in more from the west near the end. Cycles moved up to 190 cycling through 205 or so for the second race in a slightly building breeze.

Race 4 saw Ripple repeat in their customary fashion receiving another bullet. Whiplash taking second and putting Power Play between them and JoAnn giving Whiplash it's lead over JoAnn and giving Power Play the lead over MAKO and Perfect Circle.

Race 5 the final race was the same course of twice around and we did find ourselves battling the J105 and J109 a few times. We had a great weekend of fun. The final race of the regatta found Ripple with their fifth bullet, Whiplash in second followed by MAKO in 3rd.

It was a nice ride back to Newport Harbor Yacht Club and we had cold beer waiting on the docks for us as we put the boats away.

The regatta ended with Ripple in 1st, Whiplash 2nd and JoAnn 3rd

2006 W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta

Call it Gremlins, Jinxes, Good Luck or Bad Luck! We had it all going on in the Schock 35 Class the weekend of March 4th and 5th at the annual W. D. Schock Memorial Regatta at NHYC. The Regatta brought nine teams to the line with great Schock 35 sailing conditions and some surprising race results. Friday's rain and associated cold front passed through and left in its wake clear skies, but a forecast for light and variable winds on Saturday.

When Race 1 got underway at midday Saturday conditions had filled in to a solid 8 knots from 230 degrees. The Class President and his team on JoAnn appeared to be having some head foil troubles that delayed their start, but that didn't stop them. The trip up the first weather beat brought a shift half way up the course with widely varying effects across the course. While Ripple sailed high and fast, the shift had Whiplash fast, but down 10 degrees for a time. Ripple rounded the first mark of the regatta in their customary first position. By the downwind leg the once around the long course was a shade one-sided and a parade to the finish was underway - Ripple #1, Whiplash #2 and Outlier #3. MAKO, PowerPlay, Stratagem and Booyaa chalked up this race for their throw out race for the regatta. The NHYC Race Committee had the nine Schock 35's and the five Santana 20's finished and ready to restart within ten minutes.

Race 2 saw the wind build into the 9 to 12 knot range with two laps around the long course. Whiplash took the race, with Perfect Circle finishing second and Ripple in third.

Race 3 started as another 'twice around' with steady wind speed and direction. JoAnn neared the starting gun without a genoa flying. By the downwind leg a snafu in her genoa takedown resulted in a crewmember going up the mast to sort things out. At the finish line Whiplash notched another win, followed by Perfect Circle with another second and MAKO in third. At racing's end on Saturday the three races total showed Whiplash in the leading position with 4 and a tie for second between Ripple and Perfect Circle with 9 points. JoAnn, Outlier and MAKO each sported 14 points.

Sunday looked like a very interesting day for the boats in tied positions. Dinner that night offered excellent hospitality courtesy of NHYC and Schock Boats.

Race 4 on Sunday saw 12 knots of wind on the twice around the short course got underway with a bang. That would have been the sound of Perfect Circle port tacking the windward mark layline - without quite the needed room to fill the water occupied by Outlier approaching the mark on starboard. After the banging came to an end, Outlier was forced to withdraw and Perfect Circle had a tiller bent 6" to port. Whiplash pulled off another first, followed by Ripple and JoAnn. With or without the inevitable DSQ, Perfect Circle fell to third on total points behind Ripple. JoAnn moved one point ahead of MAKO in their tie.

Race 5 saw peaks of 14 knots on the twice around the long course. At the first windward mark Whiplash was beginning to feel confident of its lead - followed by Ripple, MAKO, JoAnn and Booyaa. By the second downwind mark it was Whiplash, Perfect Circle, Ripple, MAKO and JoAnn.

Race 6 had 14 knots of wind on a once around course which would create one throwout race. The mathematicians on Whiplash figured out that the regatta was locked up and a couple of streaks would now fall. After nine years in the 35 class, Ray Godwin and Whiplash would win their first Schock Memorial Regatta! In the process Ripple's awesome winning streak of seven High Point regattas had now come to a close. Great job by Jeff Janov and his crew. Going into a sixth race and counting a throwout in the first five races, Ripple had a one point edge on Perfect Circle and JoAnn and MAKO remained locked in a tie. When the 'once around' final race concluded, Perfect Circle with a bent tiller had the first, Ripple followed and then JoAnn.

"Let it be known that the fight to not be last can be even more vicious than the fight to be first." That is a quote from the great Mark Henrichs aboard Strategem. There seems to be a grudge match this season brewing between team Strategem and Booya.

Final Regatta results: Whiplash 1st, Ripple 2nd, Perfect Circle 3rd.

Once again Paul Taylor from MAKO donated his boat Patricia for family and friends to go out and check out the racing on Sunday. The boat will be at Ahmanson as well if anyone is interested.

The NHYC Race Committee ran a tight event with clean course layouts and timely starts with no wasted time. The Schock 35 Fleet accomplished what they set out to do, race hard, play harder and reach the NHYC docks in plenty of time for a nice unwinding and an early trophy presentation.

Tired of fighting rating battles?  Want to race in a fun fleet?  Want to play with more than a handful of boats?  Buy a Schock 35.  New base boats available at $90,000 and complete ready-to-roll used boats for less.  Send us email for details.