Negotiating the conditions

Dana Paxton reports from day three of the Rolex Big Boat Seroes in San Francisco

For the 115 boats competing in the 'Big Boat Series Presented by Rolex' the key to doing well on this third day was to master the challenging San Francisco Bay. Those in the know will tell you that there isn't a tougher condition around than the 6-knot current that churns past the Golden Gate Bridge and St. Francis Yacht Club. Add to that the remarkably consistent strong breeze that sweeps over the region mid-day and you've got a regatta renowned as one of the world's best. There is one race remaining to be sailed in the 39th running of this legendary regatta and tomorrow will decide the winners in each of 11 classes and of the St. Francis Yacht Club's five perpetual trophies.

In the Americap II A class, Roger Sturgeon's Rosebud has a good chance of besting its competitive group of fellow Transpac 52s and the new Farr 53 Talisman, owned by Marco Birch, John McLaurin's Davidson Pendragon 4, Charles Burnett's Braveheart and Sy Kleinman's Swiftsure II.

Gary Evans, a Rosebud crewmember, credits the choice in courses for Rosebud's success. "If the course is longer, then we do quite fine," he said. "We will do very well tomorrow if the bay tour course is long. We should walk away with the title."

Over the past year Rosebud underwent significant modifications and was optimised for buoy racing. "The boat is dialed up and working phenomenally well," said Evans, who has sailed for years with Rosebud's owners Roger and Isabel Sturgeon. "We have prepared for tomorrow' race, what to do at each mark, etc. We are ready for it."

John Wimer's Desdemona is also a near bet to win the small and competitive J/120 class. Wimer, is a past J/35 North American champion and recently switched into the class he calls the best around. For today's two races, Wimer stuck to a plan that clearly worked for him. "We covered our competitors just like we've done every race," he said, "but at this point in the series we are making sure to stay ahead of our main
competition Chance."

Chance, which is owned by Barry Lewis is in the running for overall class honors, scoring a 4,4 today and is two points behind Desdemona.

See more of Dan Nerney's photos on page 2

Preliminary Results: September 13, 2003

Day 3 (Two races) Top Three per Class

Boat name, Boat owner, Hometown, Race 1, Race 2, Race 3, Race 4, Race 5,
Race 6, Total Points

Americap II Class A (9 boats)
Boat name, Boat make, Boat owner, Hometown, Race 1, Race 2, Race 3, Race 4, Total Points
1. Rosebud, TP52, Roger Sturgeon, Santa Cruz, Calif., 1-1-5-3,-5-1, 16
2. Alta Vita, TP52, Bill Turpin, 4-2, 6 Los Gatos, Calif., 4-2-2-6-6-2, 22
3. Talisman, Farr 53, Marco Birch, New York, N.Y., 6-6-1-2-1-7, 23

Americap II Class B (8 boats) includes boat make
1. Scorpio, John Siegel, Wylie 42.23, San Francisco, Calif., 2-1-1-1-2-4, 11
2. Chance, Farr 395, Paul Kent, 4-3-2-3-1-2, 15
3. Cita, Cita Litt, Schock 40, Newport Beach, Calif., 4-2-3-2-5-3, 18

Americap II Class C (6 boats)
1. White Dove, Beneteau 40.7 Mike Garl, Sequoia, Calif., 1-1-1-11-1, 6 points
2. Just in Time, J. Feller, Beneteau 42.6, San Francisco, Calif., 2-2-3-3-2-2, 14
3. Mistral, Andrew Costello, Beneteau 36.7, 3-3-2-2-4-4, 18

Santa Cruz 52 (5 boats)
1. Winnetou, Martin Brauns, Los Altos Hills, Calif., 1-3-1-1-1-1, 8 points
2. Natazak, Steve Williams, La Selva Beach, Calif., 2-1-2-4-2-4, 15
3. Elyxir, Skip Ely, La Selva Beach, Calif., 3-2-3-2-4-3, 17

J/120 (8 boats)
1. Desdemona, John Wimer, Half Moon Bay, Calif., 1-1-4-2-1-6, 15 points
2. Chance, Barry Lewis, Atherton, Calif., 2-3-2-3-4-4-, 18
3. Dayenu, Payan, Jermaine, 4-7-1-6-2-3, 23

1D35 (11 boats)
1. Windquest, Dick & Doug DeVos, South Haven, Mich., 1-5-3-3-3-3, 18 points
2. Victory, Buddy Cribb, 3-2-6-7-1-2, 21
3. Wild Thing, Busch/Pape, 5-4-1-2, 12

Express 37 (9 boats)
1. Eclipse, Mark Dowdy, San Francisco, Calif., 3-1-1-3-1-3, 12 Points
2. Bullet, Brendan Busch, La Honda,Calif., 2-3-2-4-2-1, 14
3. Expeditious, Bartz Schneider, Crystal Bay, Calif., 1-2-8-2-6-5, 24

Farr 40 (15 boats)
1. Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy, Los Angeles, Calif., 8-2-3-2-5-1, 21 points
2. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, Boston, Mass., 12-6-2-1-7-4, 32
3. Warpath, Steve Howe, San Diego, Calif., 7-3-6-5-9-3, 33

J/105 (35 boats) 3 races
1. Masquerade, Tom Coates, San Francisco, Calif., 1-1-1-13-3-12, 31 points
2. Aquavit, Tim Russell, Novato, Calif., 3-2-14-2-9-1, 31
3. Good Timin', Perkins/Wilson, San Francisco, Calif., 6-8-7-1-15-14, 41

Beneteau 40.7 (6 boats)
1. Blue Agave, Thomas Sponholtz, Sausalito, Calif., 3-1-2-1-4- 12 points
1. White Fang, Mark Howe, Richmond, Calif., 1-2-6-2-2-3, 16
3. Shaddy Daddy, Joel Davis, Alameda, Calif, 4-3-1-3-5-7, 23

America's Cup Class Final
Team, Skipper, Race 1, Race 2, Total Points (Races held September 11-12)
ACC (2 boats)
1. ORACLE BMW Racing 1-1, 2 points
2. Alinghi 2-2, 4 points