Olson 30 / 30th National Championships

Four hard days of racing are over and the verdict is in: Blue Star is still Queen of the course with a dominating performance at the 2008 National Championships held at Channel Islands Yacht Club, Oxnard, California. Co-owners Larry Spencer and Todd Downey sailed an impeccable regatta, with five first places, but they needed to, as the second placed boat Shadow, sailed by Tom & Ray Corbett and Joe Burian was always a danger, especially in the light stuff. Perfect Balance with Richard Sharpe at the helm sailed a consistent regatta to take third place and had the pleasure of being first to the windward mark on several occasions, but was off the pace downwind. Excellent crew work combined with solid tactics proved unstoppable for Blue Star, but don’t think it was easy! There were 9 hot boats sailing this regatta, all capable of winning. The starts were fierce with one general recall, three “over earlies” and two protests. However, as usual in this well mannered fleet, the racing was conducted in a great spirit.

CIYC pulled out all the stops and must be congratulated for running a faultless regatta. The on the water organization was first class with tow boats, mark boats and photography (click on www.ciyc.com) and spectator boats. Four US Sailing judges were in attendance with Stan Betts as the “out of town” PRO. All the Olsons were berthed in the same marina, right in front of the superb clubhouse.

Off the water organization was also first class with free breakfast, live evening entertainment and three course dinners for $10.00. Oh! Did we have a great time?

Quotable Quotes

Garrett Baum, tactician and pit on Ned Tsunami.
“I also wanted to thank you and all of the people that were involved with the event at Channel Islands Yacht Club.  The "on-the-water" organization and handling of the event was spectacular, probably the best I've seen locally”.

Andy MacFie skipper, Hoot.
“I agree with all of the "excellent" ratings!  CIYC is a class act.  We had a marvelous time, and it was also a pleasure racing in a fleet with sportsmanship as a priority. We enjoyed battling it out with you guys, and I must say job well done”.

Results