April 21, 2014

Epic racing conditions greeted Formula 18 sailors in Redwood City on the weekend of April 12-13 for the inaugural Sequoia F18 Open. There was a little bit of everything in the four races PROs Dustin Fox and Heather Ouellette pulled off: memorable gusts, tight starting lines, a few ebb-tide waves, fights with marks, a 360 penalty turn and a capsize to top it all off.

F18s sailing into the sun. The 396-lb performance catamarans sail 12 knots upwind. ©2014 SFF18.org

San Francisco winds were pumping a brisk but manageable 10-16 knots in the South Bay. High performance catamarans like F18s eat up that type of breeze and spit out speeds over 20 knots downwind.

Fleet Captain Phillip Meredith and Erwan Griziaux on Aurora dominated the downwind legs of every race. ©2014 SFF18.org

Skipper Phillip Meredith and crew Erwan Griziaux dominated the day taking bullets in all four races, but Dan Peake and crew Shawn Hwang were only seconds behind. Peake's upwind speed was almost unbeatable, but Meredith played his traveler downwind, eking out every morsel of speed and regaining the lead on the downwind legs.

Dan Peake drives Flipper into a second place finish. ©2014 SFF18.org

With seconds separating the competitors, every maneuver counted. A second faster tack equals one boat length; a second slower jibe costs two boat lengths.

Frank Ternullo and Brian Hearn, on For Play, chase down the fleet. ©2014 SFF18.org

Cherie Sogsti and crew Greg Retkowski battled Frank Ternullo and Brian Hearn for an overall third place. They eventually tied, but not without some drama. As they closed in on the last lap for the final race, Sogsti capsized her boat in a dramatic fashion. Apparently she wasn't getting enough attention. Depending on who you talk to, she tacked too fast or the crew went across the trampoline too slow. The punishment? Being soaked, sloshing around in waves, watching their competitor cross the line in front of them. Upside down is not fast. Ironically Sogsti's boat is named This Side Up. Perhaps she should take her own advice.

Husband-wife team Greg Retkowski and Cherie Sogsti have been sailing F18s for about a year. "We used to sail big boats – but we've never had more fun than when we're blasting around on our F18," said Sogsti. ©2014 SFF18.org

What's the best way to end a day of high speed F18 chases on the water? A warm sunset and cocktails with fellow racers at Sequoia Yacht Club.

This Side Up tacks out and opts for the right side of the course while For Play and Aurora stay left with the ebb tide. ©2014 SFF18.org

The F18 fleet is one of the fastest growing fleets on SF Bay with more than twenty local boats. Some credit the inclusion of the Nacra 17 in the next Olympics, a similar high-performance racing catamaran, for the local F18 growth spurt. Others claim the draw is the active fleet managed by Phillip Meredith, which hosts races and practices twice a week out of Redwood City. Or maybe sailors just want to go fast? For more info, see www.SFF18.org, and for a short video of the Sequoia Open go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ2kJRIlZek.

– Cherie Sogsti, F18 This Side Up