On today’s show we interview Champion Peter Duncan of Relative Obscurity and the California Yacht Club Commodore Tim Clarke who participated in the race on 1FA.
Through tenacity and persistence, organizers at Cal Yacht Club – led by Chair Marylyn Hoenemeyer – succeeded in hosting 62 boats from 11 nations in the 10-race series, which ran through Sunday August 15.
Commodore Tim Clarke and his wife Lara have been members of California Yacht Club since 2009 after moving to Los Angeles from England and San Francisco respectively. Both are active racers and joined the Club to enjoy great racing and to meet new friends.
Since arriving in Los Angeles, Tim has enjoyed representing CYC in numerous classes and events, including the Farr 40 Worlds & North Americans, Martin 242 North Americans, US Qualifying Series for the New York Yacht Club’s Invitational Regatta, Lipton Cup and many more SoCal regattas.
Prior to the move across the pond Tim began sailing Optis at 8 years old and progressed through to Lasers, 420s and then the 49er. He was fortunate to race J24s at a National, European and World Level. Before moving to Los Angeles, Tim campaigned Big Boats in the UK, Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Most recently he raced on a J/70 with a team from St Francis Yacht Club (where both Lara and Tim are also members). They qualified for the Worlds back in 2019 at Long Beach Race Week and competed in Cal Cup and the Pre Worlds before racing at the Worlds hosted at California Yacht Club.
Tim and Lara enjoy sailing their Beneteau Oceanis 41 Madegan with their children, Madeleine and Morgan. They have completed many trips to Catalina, enjoyed numerous day sails and even the occasional race. Tim continues to race one of the Club’s Martin 242s during the Wednesday Night beer can races and weekend regattas.
Since graduating University in England, he has always been involved in the marine industry, whether it is Marina Management in England or Retail Management at West Marine here in the US. Tim now owns and operates Vela LA, offering Laser sail boats and coach boats for sale and charter.
PETER DUNCAN AND RELATIVE OBSCURITY RETURN TO THE PODIUM AS THE J/70 WORLD CHAMPION AT CALIFORNIA YACHT CLUB
Peter Duncan’s Relative Obscurity has prevailed over 60 other teams and challenging wind conditions to capture the 2021 J/70 World Championship title at California Yacht Club, today.
In a five-day series that tested the skill and patience of top-notch competitors from 11 nations, Duncan – sailing with Willem van Waay, Morgan Trubovich and Victor Diaz de Leon – secured a top five position in the beginning of the regatta and never let go.
“I’m elated!” said Duncan as he returned to the dock, bustling with activity. “That was a tough day out there. We didn’t start very well but had a bit of a break with a header on the first run of the second race that let us get close to everybody and sail through some folks we need to sail through,” he explained. “We have a lot of fun onboard – joke and laugh and keep it light – and that worked in our favor when we had to grind through. Everybody knows what their job is, and these guys do them exceptionally well.”
Duncan is no stranger to the podium. Recently he won the J/70 North Americans in Annapolis and triumphed in the 2017 J/70 Worlds in Porto Cervo, Italy. “This competition was really great, and the Race Committee did a terrific job getting the races in with the breeze we had. I’m really pleased. Cal Yacht Club did an awesome job.”
The race roster includes one half dozen entries from Mexico, in addition to the 42 from the US: plus three from Chile, two from Brazil, two from Great Britain, and one each from Cayman Islands, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and Uruguay.
Gustavo Coll, skipper of Farrista and Commodore of Yacht Club Uruguayo in Montevideo, brought his entire family to the US to campaign their J/70 – and take a bit of a vacation. “It was a unanimous decision to come here with all the family,” he said. “I race with my kids, so when we qualified for this event in the 2019 South Americans, we decided to merge our common passion and come here.”
An entourage of six boats from Mexico made it to the regatta, with Marco Sparvieri of Buena Junta saying, “It was a bit difficult because the border was closed: crossing the border was a bit complex, but we made it. It’s the most important J/70 competition of the year so we all want to be here and do our best; compete, have fun. The nice thing about this class is people of all ages can compete together and be competitive, so it’s a really nice class.”
Mexico has a large J/70 fleet which races in Valle de Bravo, near Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta. “We know each other very well,” Sparvieri admitted, “but this is very competitive: the top in the world, so we are very excited and hope we’ll learn and have a lot of fun.”
Visit Cal Yacht Club Facebook Page as well as the J/70 Class page for images and reports.
For complete results go to: https://2021j70worlds.com/