Cry of the Valkyrie Rings Out as Rasdal and Team Take Home the Melges Gold Cup in San Diego

San Diego, California, 6 April 2011 – San Diego Yacht Club was proud to host the second stop of the Melges California Cup (http://www.california-cup.com) this past weekend. Thirteen boats made the trip from across California, and as far away as Mexico and Utah.

To help teams better prepare for the Corpus Christi Worlds (http://www.melgesworlds.com), SDYC selected the relative flat waters of the famed South Bay for the weekend’s racing. On Friday, Races One through Three saw an average of 8 knots from 200 to 220 degrees under sunny skies. SDYC member Andy Rasdal and his Corinthian team aboard Valkyrie (USA 492) jumped to an early lead, with a 3-2-1, followed by another set of locals, Tony Beale and Mike Roberts of Southwestern Yacht Club, aboard Scotch Bonnet (USA 52) with a 2-5-2.

Saturday, the weather was less stable with a frontal system moving through Southern California. Under cool cloudy skies, the breeze settled again at 200 to 220, with an average of 12 knots – although a squall punctuated the start of Race Five with 20+ knots. Three more races gave a total of six for the series and the scoring throwout became a tactical factor. Beale/Roberts on Scotch Bonnet had an impressive day with a 1-1-2 for 8 points overall. Valkyrie moved to second with 12 total points. Both teams showed a 4th place throwout.

Sunday the sun returned as a thermal breeze developed over the course. Races Seven and Eight were run in 8 to 12 knots at 245 degrees. Rasdal's team was launched by the finish of Race Seven and finished second in the final race to claim the series with 15 points total. Scotch Bonnet suffered some hard luck at the hands of increasingly tough competition and finished the day with two fifth place finishes and a total of 18 points for second place overall. Also with 18 points, but losing the tiebreaker, were Kent Pierce and Eric Stokke from Santa Barbara aboard their Average White Boat (USA 303), who took home third.

Many thanks to our host for the weekend, the San Diego Yacht Club (http://www.sdyc.org), and to all the boats who traveled from across California and beyond. Special thanks to our sponsors:

Coral Reef Sailing Apparel (http://coralreefsailing.net/california_cup_2011_series1)
Melges Performance Sailboats (http://www.melges.com/)
North Sails One Design (http://www.northsailsod.com/)
Velocitek (http://www.velocitek.com/)

Next up: TYC Tahoe Melges Race Week | Trans-Tahoe Regatta, 7-9 July. To learn more, visit: http://www.california-cup.com/

RESULTS: SAN DIEGO MELGES RACE WEEK. TOP FIVE (13 BOATS).

1. USA 492 Valkyrie, Andy Rasdal: 3-2-1-3-(4)-3-1-2 = 15
2. USA 52 Scotch Bonnet, Beale/Roberts: 2-(5)-2-1-1-2-5-5 = 18
3. USA 303 Average White Boat, Pierce/Stokke: (4)-3-4-2-3-1-4-1 = 18
4. USA 524 Bandit, Mike Wolfe: 1-4-(5)-5-2-5-3-3 = 23
5. USA 556 Lounge Act, Loren Colahan: 5-1-(8)-4-5-4-8-4 = 31

Full results available at: http://www.california-cup.com/

Photo courtesy of Mark Burge. For more, visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdyc/sets/72157626437334204/with/5592984911/

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