The 2018 El Toro North American Championship Series was held on June 15-17th, at Clear Lake, California. The racing was organized by the El Toro International YRA and was sailed at the Clear Lake Cottages and Marina. The fleet consisted of both Senior and Junior members of the El Toro Class. Race organizer Gordie Nash took the time to explain how the weekend played out.“The Championship was an epic series with conditions ranging from flat water with no wind to big lake chop and 22 knots of breeze. The series consisted of all types of racing conditions. Friday started with a light northerly breeze with small ripple waves. Two races where sailed in ideal El Toro moderate conditions. A few wind shifts where taken advantage of by Nick Nash and Art Lange to win the opening days’ two races.
The fleet got a slow start Saturday morning because the wind was non existent. The first race sailed with ideal El Toro conditions with Patrick Tera leading from the start. As the second race got underway the wind and waves built from the west. By the start of the third race the conditions tested all the sailors with epic wind puffs reaching into the twenties. Almost all the senior sailors finished and all the junior fleet completed the races.
The Sunday winds started nicely for racing with a southerly six knots and flat water. After all the boats were on the course the wind dropped off to almost nothing. Only one boat had the opportunity to get all the way around the course but was well beyond the time limit.
Saturday Patrick Tera was comfortable in a the light, medium and challenging wind conditions to go on to win two of the races and win the series.
There was continuing conversation about the new boats and the older wood boats. The wood boats with wood masts did well in the light and moderate conditions but the carbon masts and fiberglass hulls took the punishment of the high wind conditions. All the racing was done in the open portion of the lake. Usual conditions for Clear Lake sailing is moderate winds. Clear Lake rarely disappoints.”
Seniors, Top Four
Buzz Blackett RYC 15 points
Juniors, Top Four
Chase Inglehart RYC 10 points
Thank you again to Gordie Nash on the words and a successful event.
More than fifty years ago, a need was recognized for a small inexpensive sailboat which could serve as a yacht tender and training craft. The El Toro design was based on the MacGregor Sabot plans which appeared in the Rudder Magazine in 1939. Today, the class has allowed new materials to be used with a considerable improvement in performance. The sassy El Toro now has many of the “go fasts” of larger yachts adapted for lighter loads and the small rig. New El Toros are not as inexpensive as they once were, but the original design considerations have remained. Today’s yachts are satisfactory tenders and sprightly racers.