Cat Fight Buoy Races
March 17, 2007
Miami, FL
By: John McKnight

The morning dawned cool and crisp after a front passed through Miami the day before. Long pants and light jackets were the garb de jour during boat set up at the beach the morning of the race. The sky was a blindingly blue cloudless canopy over our heads. Biscayne Bay was its always delightful bluish green shade. We rigged our boats in the bright early morning sunshine and anticipated the day of racing. Greetings among friends were exchanged as we sorted out the maze of wires and lines needed to control these boats. The forecast was a good one. Winds were to be northwest at 15 knots all day. Temperatures were forecast to climb from the morning lows in the low 60s to a high in the high 70s. It was going to be a grand day. We had a committee boat lined up and even the luxury of two chase boats, amenities we normally do not have. Things were shaping up for a memorable day of sailing on the bay. We wouldn’t be disappointed.

Boats that participate in the CABB races come from three locales on the bay and converge on the race course. Two Tornados and the race committee boat come out of the US Olympic Training Center in Coconut Grove. Another Tornado and an Inter 20 sailed out of the Miami Yacht Club on Watson Island. The remaining boats, three Hobie 20s and an F-16 Blade rigged on the beach at the Rickenbacker Causeway. The Blade was sailed by two 16 year olds, Luke Lawrence and Alex Sachs. They are in training for the up coming Youth Multihull National Championships in Long Beach, CA at the end of March. Luke is the current Youth Laser National Champion. He is going to the Youth Laser Worlds in Canada this summer. These young men are hot sailors!

Michael Siau and Inbal Esquivel were the race committee for the day. They did an excellent job of getting off five races on the mile long course. Michael is a very talented Hobie 16 sailor. It was nice of him to pass on racing for the day and give back to the association by running the races. John Esquivel and Ivan Loya have been working diligently to make and buy the flags needed to conduct the races. Ivan volunteered his mono-hull sailboat for the race committee boat. We had the two chase boats manned by the parents of Luke and Alex. Thanks to Dan and Gloria Lawrence and Susan Cocchiano for manning the chase boats. They stayed busy moving marks and helping overturned boats. The race course was a windward/leeward set up with the start line serving as the mid race gate and the finish line. Each of the five races was twice around the circuit.

This would be a day of attrition. Eight boats registered for the races. By the fifth and last race of the day only three boats finished the race. John Esquivel and his crew Max Everett had to bail out after three races so John could make it to work on time. Sarah Newberry sailing with her uncle, Jamie Livingston, had to pull out of the race when a bolt broke on the self tacking jib track on their Tornado. The track bent up and was unusable for racing. Rodrigo Lequerica was sailing with his daughter Mary Jo on their Hobie 20. They flipped over when they got hit with a big gust and they retired to lick their wounds. Rafael Quesada and Oscar Garcia only sailed their Hobie 20 in races 2 through 4 and retired from the 5 race. Jay Sonnenklar was sailing with his 16 year old daughter, Jordon. She hadn’t been on the boat in three years. In the third race, Jordon was driving when I saw them round the port end of the gate and flip over. It was one of those slow motion rollover flips. I think I heard some screaming as they passed the point of no return. Jay admitted he was tending the mainsheet at the time. They retired after that incident. Ivan Loya was sailing with Rafael on Ivan’s Tornado. They also had issues. They flipped in the first race and Ivan lost his contact lenses and couldn’t see too well after that. So, Ivan then turned the helm over to Rafael, who had never skippered a Tornado before. When they flipped, the trap wire bungee cord broke and one set of trapeze wires was flopping around and getting fouled in the spinnaker each time they set it. They also flipped again in the fourth race. This time Ivan fell from the trapeze position and landed on one of the rudders and put a big split in the wood. He got a large bruise on his arm as a result of that high wire act. Even Luke and Alex flipped the Blade in the fifth race. These guys were so fast that they righted the boat and still finished first place. I think Oriol and I, on my Hobie 20, were the only boat not to flip, retire early, or have a mechanical breakdown. We were the only boat to complete each of the five races. It was like carnage and mayhem at times; how come everyone came away with a big smile on their face?

The winds were varying from a low of about 8 knots up to 15 knots. There were lots of gusts and lots of wind shifts all day. It was challenging sailing. That’s what makes it fun on the race course. Aside from the broken boat parts and bumps and bruises, I think everyone enjoyed a spectacular day of cat racing. After the races, Luke and Alex hadn’t had enough so they sailed the Blade down the bay to get some more spinnaker practice. They stuffed it once and went over again. Unfortunately, Alex had his finger wrapped around the spin sheet and badly bruised a finger in the upset. Hopefully he will be mended in time for the Youth Multihull Championships in two weeks.

Congratulations to Luke and Alex, they won the regatta with a total of 5 points. They took first places in all the races they sailed except one. Oriol and I took second place with 9 points. Ivan Loya and Rafael took third place with 13 points despite all their troubles, which goes to show perseverance pays off. The rest of the scores and participants are below.

Come out and enjoy the Bug Light Double Distance Race next month for more fun in the sun.


Crew 1--------- 2---------3---------4---------5---------- T---------P
Luke Lawrence, Blade 9--------- 1---------2---------1---------1-----------5--------1
Alex Sachs

John McKnight, H-20 3----------2--------4---------2----------2----------9---------2
Oriol Cruzeta

Ivan Loya, Tornado 9----------5--------1---------4----------3----------13-------3
Rafael

John Esquivel, Tornado 2----------3--------3---------9----------9----------17-------4
Max Everett

Rafael Quesada, H-20 9----------9--------5---------3----------9----------26-------5
Oscar Garcia

Jay Sonnenklar, I-20 4----------4--------9---------9----------9----------26-------6
Jordon Sonnenklar

Sarah Newberry, Tornado 1----------9--------9---------9----------9----------28-------7
Jamie Livingston

Rod Lequerica, H-20 9----------9--------6---------9----------9----------33-------8
Mary Jo Lequerica