San Diego Yacht Club

The San Diego Yacht Club posted Saturday, Sept. 3, as the date of the first race of a best-of-three series to defend the America's Cup with its catamaran against New Zealand's 124-foot monohull from the Mercury Bay Boating Club. Dates for the second and third (if needed) races were listed as Sept. 6 and 8. New Zealand has said the first race should be Sept. 19 but has indicated a willingness to adjust to avoid a conflict with the Olympic Games, which run Sept. 17-Oct. 2.

Under a sunlit sky, amid caviar, the tinkling of wineglasses and the blare of trumpets, Doug Peterson stood surrounded Monday by members of the San Diego Yacht Club, who might be wise to give him a second look. An American citizen--a Vietnam veteran even--and a 37-year resident of San Diego, this lifelong sailing enthusiast who was born in Los Angeles could have--and many say should have--helped the yacht club successfully defend the America's Cup.

The San Diego Yacht Club today announced that it will appeal a New York judge's ruling that forfeits the America's Cup to defeated New Zealand challenger Michael Fay. The nine-member SDYC board voted unanimously to take up the appeal after Saturday's recommendation by its organizer, the America's Cup Organizing Committee, to pursue the action. "As trustee, we feel our overriding responsibility is to protect the future viability of the America's Cup," yacht club Commodore Patrick Goddard said.

Old pals Paul Cayard, formerly of San Francisco, and Rod Davis, who grew up in Coronado, will be sailing their second America's Cups for foreign entries in 1995. Jim Reichel and Jim Pugh, the San Diegans who helped design Bill Koch's America 3 winner in '92, will join Australia's Iain Murray as principal designers for the boat Davis will sail for Australia, and other members of Koch's team will work for New Zealand and Australia.

The San Diego Yacht Club, observing its centennial this summer, is a survivor. After drifting with the wind for decades, it is comfortably established in a permanent headquarters in Point Loma. For a while back in 1934, in fact, the clubhouse floated on a barge. The bad old days are remembered, if not celebrated, in a centennial year. Joseph Jessop, 86 and the club's patriarch, was the commodore in 1929, when only 11 of 200 members could pay dues during The Depression.

The San Diego Yacht Club will be host of the 1987 Olympic pre-trials regatta for Star and Soling class yachts, to be contested Monday through Friday. The pre-trials regatta is important for U.S. skippers, as it is their only chance to sail competitively in conditions similar to those in Pusan, South Korea, where the pre-Olympic regatta will be held in September and where the 1988 Olympic competition will take place. The wind conditions and water off San Diego closely approximate those off Korea.

New Zealand's America's Cup legal team fielded a barrage of sharp queries from New York's highest court Thursday, while rival San Diego slid smoothly through the final court session of a two-year battle for yachting's grand prize. The one-sided questions from the seven-judge state Court of Appeals left some observers predicting the panel would send the Cup winging back to San Diego.

Chuck Nichols, a senior vice president at Science Applications International Corp., was named president of America's Cup '95 by the San Diego Yacht Club.

The Italian America's Cup challenger is threatening to pull out of the 1995 event if San Diego Yacht Club doesn't agree to change the date by which competitors must officially declare which yachts they will use.

Dennis Conner and Gil Knudson are among 410 entries in 17 classes that will start the 46th Newport-Ensenada International Yacht Race off Newport Beach at noon today. Gil Knudson? He's the owner-skipper of Tigress, the Hinckley 38 that last year won the President of USA Trophy for posting the best corrected time in the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet.

The Long Beach Yacht Club's 29th Congressional Cup starting today features America's Cup veterans Eddie Warden-Owen of Wales, Chris Law of England, Bertrand Pace of France, Pedro Campos of Spain and Rod Davis of many countries. Davis, who grew up in Coronado on San Diego Bay, might be the first to sail for three nations.

The Italian America's Cup challenger is threatening to pull out of the 1995 event if San Diego Yacht Club doesn't agree to change the date by which competitors must officially declare which yachts they will use.

Picture an America's Cup with boats not only from San Diego but Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and other American cities, all competing to play host to the next defense. That's a big part of the picture Bill Koch tried to draw Wednesday night for members of the San Diego Yacht Club. Koch's America 3 team retained the Cup for San Diego last year, and that's the first thing he would like to change--the part about for San Diego.

A little-known yacht club with only 700 members Thursday became New Zealand's second challenger for the 1995 America's Cup. The Tutukaka South Pacific Yacht Club, formed in 1989, was celebrating after being accepted by the San Diego Yacht Club. "The San Diego Yacht Club has obviously completed a very detailed assessment of our club and capabilities and now accepts that we have passed every test to be accepted as a competent challenger," media officer Frits Visser said.

A fast boat, a strong crew and better luck was a winning combination for Mike Campbell's Victoria in the Los Angeles Yacht Club's race to Cabo San Lucas. The year-old Andrews 70 from Long Beach Y.C., which had broken masts twice this year, was first to finish by 4 1/2 hours--a runaway among the highly competitive ULDB 70s.

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Russia has submitted the fifth foreign challenge for the 1995 America's Cup. Commodore Vladimir Koulbida filed the Holy Russia challenge last week and posted the $75,000 entry fee with the defending San Diego Yacht Club.