2005 Mayor's Cup Coverage - 2005 Mayor's Cup Day 1
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A DAY OF POLAR OPPOSITES IN FIRST DAY OF INAUGURAL MAYOR’S CUP
Long Beach, CA – Competitors for the inaugural Mayor’s Cup proved that you cannot rule anything out when it comes to match racing.
On a day of mixed winds ranging from 5-15 knots, the six teams completed four flights of a double round-robin. As the wind was light at the beginning of the day, so was the aggressiveness of the skippers.
Many of the teams have never sailed on the Catalina 37’s, the same boats used in the Congressional Cup and operated by the Long Beach Yacht Club Sailing Foundation. It did not take long for them to get into the swing of things though.
Protest flags began to fly in earnest as the competitors grew bolder, however, the first real penalty came from a simple mistake. Louise Bienvenu was penalized by the on-the-water umpires for starting from the wrong side of the line, effectively locking her out of a race three win.
By the fourth flight, the start sequences were very heated. The closest start resulted in both boats being above the line and having to dive back down below the starting line before they could commence their joust upwind.
In the same race, Lord vs. Hayes, Jessica Lord was given a penalty for luffing an overlapped boat at the windward mark. Lord’s team gained an advantage due to the infraction, so were given the red flag, which meant the team had to take a penalty turn immediately (normally penalty turns can be taken at any time during the race).
Lord continued without completing a penalty turn so was given a black flag by the umpires, which meant the match went to Hayes. This loss broke Lord’s winning streak, but left her in first place after the first day. Lord remarked, “I wasn’t aware of the red flag rule.”
Next in line, locked in a two-way tie for second, are Liz Hjorth of Marina Del Rey, and Katy Lovell from New Orleans.
Racing resumes on Friday, July 15 with six flights remaining in the double round-robin. The event will culminate in a best of three final on Saturday, July 16.
Spectators are encouraged to visit the Belmont Memorial Pier where live commentary and viewing of the races are presented free of charge to the public.
Standings after four flights:
Place Skipper
1 Jessica Lord
2 Liz Hjorth
2 Katy Lovell
4 Sandy Hayes
5 Louise Bienvenu
6 Samantha Treadwell
About the Skippers
Liz Hjorth is from Marina Del Rey, California and a member of California Yacht Club. She has extensive buoy, offshore (taking a 3rd place overall in the 1997 Transpac as skipper of a Perry 56), and one-design racing experience including the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship.
Samantha Treadwell is from Coronado, California and a member of Coronado Yacht Club. Sam started racing dinghies as a child and continued through college at UC Berkley where she led her team to the national championships. Upon graduation, she moved back to San Diego where she placed second in the Sundance Cup as tactician. She continues to stay active with the dinghy classes as a coach for Coronado High School, and races keelboats as well.
Jessica Lord is from Sausalito, California and a member of St. Francis Yacht Club. She was awarded the St. Francis Yachtswomen of the Year award in 1999 and from 2001 to the present has participated in the Sundance Cup and Santa Maria’s Cup. In 2004 she was the winning tactician for “Bouncer” in the PHRF 6 fleet of Key West Race Week.
Louise Bienvenu is from New Orleans, Louisiana and a founder of the Lake Pontchartrain Women’s Sailing Association where she served as the first Commodore. She placed fifth in her first Sundance Cup in 2003 and has gone on to compete in the 2003 US Women’s Match Racing Championships and the 2004 Sundance Cup. She also took a second place in the Southern Yacht Club One Design Women’s Keelboat regatta in 2004.
Katy Lovell is also from New Orleans, Louisiana and is married to Olympic Tornado Class Silver Medalist Johnny Lovell. She grew up racing scows on Lake Minnetonka, MN, raced competitively for the University of Hawaii and the College of Charleston, and was a member of the US Sailing Team from 1993-1995. In 2002 she was the tactician for a forth place in both the Sundance Cup and the Women’s International Match Race. In 2003 she was the winning tactician for the Sundance Cup and in 2004 a forth place skipper for the same event.
Sandy Hayes is from Newport, Rhode Island. She has been active in international match racing since 2002 and has been ranked in the top twenty of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Women’s Match Race Rankings since 2004. In 2004 she won the Rolex Women’s Match Race and finished second in the 2003 and 2004 Sundance Cups.
About Match Racing
A match race consists of two identical boats racing against each other. With effective boat handling and prudent use of wind and currents, a trailing boat can escape the grasp of the leader and pass. The leader uses blocking techniques to hold the other boat back. This one-on-one duel is a game of strategy and tactics. There is only one winner.
The racing starts on the start/finish line, an imaginary line between a committee boat and a flag with the “top” of the course upwind. The boats will enter the starting area by passing through the start/finish line sailing downwind, then come together below the line into the “dial-up” which means both boats are bow-to-wind with the sails flogging. This is usually where the point of advantage begins.
When the race committee fires the start signal, the boats will sail upwind to the first floating mark, completing numerous “tacks” or turns to maintain or establish an advantage over the other boat. Once at the windward mark, the boats will set their spinnakers (large beetle wing-shaped sails) and sail downwind to the “leeward” or downwind mark which is just above the start/finish line.
There the boats will pull down their spinnakers, re-hoist their headsails and sail back up to the windward mark. Depending on the course set by the race committee the boats will once again round the windward mark and either go back around the leeward mark, or finish under spinnaker at the start/finish line.
About St. Mary Medical Center
Affiliated with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the largest non-profit health care system in California, St. Mary Medical Center strives to provide state-of-the-art healing to every person they serve. St. Mary is rated in the top 4 percent of all hospitals in the nation by the leading healthcare accreditation agency -- the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
St. Mary also serves as the regional teaching hospital for the UCLA School of Medicine. Their patients benefit from access to this advanced healthcare in a comfortable setting.
St. Mary's unwavering commitment to "state-of-the-heart" healing has consistently been recognized by patients and professionals alike. From guiding the miracle of birth to providing dignified assistance to aging adults, St. Mary deeply believes that it shares, cooperatively with God, the responsibility to provide for the whole person -- body, mind and soul -- through all stages of life.
Their Services Include:
• 24-Hour Emergency Services
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• Community Health Classes
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• GI Laboratory
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• Passages: A Mental Health Program for Older Adults
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About The Mayor’s Cup
The Mayor’s Cup was conceived in 2004 as an event for the annual Sea Festival in Long Beach, California. Fore many years Long Beach Yacht Club has wanted to host an all-female match racing event much like the Congressional Cup. The Sea Festival presented and opportunity to bring this idea to fruition and a partnership was formed between the city of Long Beach and Long Beach Yacht Club.
Both sides presented the idea to Mayor Beverly O'Neill who loved the idea of an all-female match race and it was placed on the calendar as an annual addition to the six week-long festival.
The winner of the Mayor’s Cup will qualify to race in the Ficker Cup. The winner of the Ficker Cup wins a seed in the Congressional Cup, one of the most prestigious match race events in the world.
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Note to Editors:
On race days, press releases and low resolution photographs will be distributed. High resolution photographs will be available upon request.
A press boat will be available on each day of racing. Space is limited to a first come first served basis, so members of the press are urged to contact Sean Downey to reserve a space. At least twenty-four hours notice is strongly requested.
Contacts:
City of Long Beach
Kathy Parsons
Public Information Officer
Mayor’s Cup Media
Sean Downey
Blast Reach Communications LLC
714/296-9955 mobile
