LONG BEACH, CA — This year's Olson 30 National Championships—held in conjunction with the Long Beach Race Week—were packed with competition as four previous national champions attended, along with several pro-driven campaigns. The 22-boat fleet started racing on Thursday last week, with three races and continued with three on Friday, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday.
Long Beach did its best to fool the locals with not-so-typical conditions. The Channel Island boats Perfect Balance and Blue Star started the day off right with each boat winning a race and the Seattle owner-driver of War Canoe, Michael Goldfarb won the last race of the day, starting the dual for the week. The second day of the regatta, racing was held outside in very light conditions and big shifts. Each of the leaders posted a bad race with the exception of Rick Flucke on Perfect Balance. Flucke scored a 3-1-1, taking control of the regatta early on.
On the third day, racing resumed inside the breakwater with plenty of breeze-conditions much more typical for Long Beach. Perfect Balance finally joined the rest of the fleet posting a bad race when she had to accept a 40-percent penalty for an infraction, but she still owned a huge lead despite the bad luck. At the day's end, War Canoe and Blue Star were within one point of each for the second spot.
Day Four saw the fleet return to the open ocean as light wind set the scene for the finale. The leaders were all buried for the first race as Allan Rosenberg and his two sons on board Intense stepped up. When Blue Star faltered, the race for second place became very tight between War Canoe and Intense. The last race was the decider, and War Canoe finished ahead to secure second place, since Perfect Balance remained untouchable for the overall honors.