It was an excellent Friday night for the Babylon Cup Invitational Race last week. The weather cooperated, the Babylon YC Regatta chair Kim Carolselli had their clubhouse and refreshments all ready for the post-race awards party and the pizzas & salad were delivered right on time- TGIF!
The Race Committee consisted of myself, Eddie Anderson who arranged for use of the BYC crash boat and Kim who also joined us. The wind was a steady SW at 12 kts but died as we set the starting line at 6:30 pm. We picked Babylon course #2 (start, 9, 6 and finish) and we had 7 boats show up ready to race. We were worried about the lack of wind, however just 5 minutes before the start the wind suddenly freshened! The countdown began in a 15-20 kts SW wind with boats jockeying for position and trying to keep control in the gusts. The start was very exciting, especially for us sitting in the RC boat! But all racers did well and found their slots at the start. Then it was a tight reach in gusty winds to the first mark and Vantage was first to round followed by Rettsie & Kickin' Back.
The fleet sailed through the bridge, rounded #6 and as the first 3 boats came back through the bridge the wind shifted west. Rettsie, Vantage & Kickin Back tacked north but the rest of the fleet were becalmed on the east side of the bridge. They waited 10 minutes for the SW to finally fill back in.
The race took about 1 hour with the finish at the Babylon YC dock. Line honors went to Kevin Padden & crew in Rettsie, followed by Dave Hyer (3 generations) on Vantage and Marty O'Connell & team Kickin' Back. The final Handicap results are:
Babylon Cup Invitational Race 2025
Final Results:
1st - Vantage
2nd - Rettsie
3rd - Kickin' Back
4th -Jewel
5th - Pandemonium
6th -Wind Bound
7th - Sovereign
The Babylon YC provided dock space for the racers and we had about 25-30 people at the Babylon YC bar enjoying the sunset overlooking the bay. After the awards ceremony everyone slowly headed home around 9:30 - 10:00 pm.
I would like to thank the BYC Board for their hospitality and generosity in hosting this event and to Kim Carolselli- BYC Regatta Chair for all her work organizing this event with the SBCC this year. Thanks also to my friend Eddie Anderson who helps with the Babylon Cup RC duties each year and who arranged for our use of the BYC crash boat this year. I also want to thank John Holst for taking Rich LaBella out in his powerboat to photograph the race. Watch for Rich's photos of the race here and more in the next Masthead.
We still have the Babylon Twilight series which begins June 19th and the Commodore's Cup on Sunday, June 29th. I look forward to seeing you all at the next race.
Regards,
Charlie Margeson
SBCC Regatta Captain
