Snipes start on final day of ABYC's 4th of July Regatta, which was their PacificCoast Championship

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club

Fourth of July Regatta

and Snipe Pacific Coast Championship

July 12-13, 2014 Long Beach, Calif.

Sunday's weather: Wind8-12k SW; sunny, high temp. 78F.

July 13, 2014
Glory for grown-ups in 4th of July Regatta
LONG BEACH, Calif.
The message sent by AlamitosBay Yacht Club's Fourth of July Regatta was that little boats aren't just for kids.
The two most prominent winners were Aine McLean Fretwell, who will celebrate her 40th birthday next Wednesday, and Chris Raab, a small boat master who may not still remember that milestone.
Fretwell, although measuring 5 feet 2 1/2 inches in height, is a mother of three from Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego. With teenager Matt Cappetta as crew, she won the Snipe class Pacific Coast Championship linked into the regatta with four second places, winsin Sunday's last two races and an earlier fifth-place she was able to discard.
She was the only female skipper in the 10-boat fleet. And, by the way, her last name was misspelled Pretwell in Saturday's report. It will be remembered next time.
Raab, with Scott McKeiver as crew, won the last six of nine races to bury the Lido 14 dinghy competition in a buildup to that class's Nationals at ABYC next month.
Fretwell said: "I'm thinking I may wake up from one wild dream. This is the big one for me. I've done well in some women's events, but I like to compete with all the sailors."
She beat out three-time PCC winner and current Snipe district champion Doug Hart by 17 points and first-day leader Eric Heim
by 21
"We weren't aggressive enough in playing the conditions," Heim said. "Aine was just fast all weekend. She owned it."
The breeze rose just to whitecap level at 10 to 12 knots Sunday, and she and Cappetta thrived in it.
But it was interesting that she came up short of a crew only two days before the event.
"She called me Thursday," said Cappetta, 18, who learned the ropes with Fretwell as his coach at The Bishops School in La Jolla last year.
Someday soon her own kids may join her on the boat. She has a daughter, 9, and twins son and daughter, age 6. They may be back.
"This is really fun," she said. "I love sailing out here."
So does Raab, who has also excelled in Cal 20s and Lasers.
"We put in a little training, with the Nationals coming up," he said.
Three fleets---Viper 640s, Cal 20s and Tempests---were eliminated from competing because of an electrical breakdown in the boat hoists earlier in the week. The smaller Snipes were able to launch manually using ABYC's small hoist.
All others---16 Lidos and 29 Naples Sabots---launched from the ramp.
The regatta is one of ABYC's four traditional holiday sailfests, following May's Memorial Day Regatta and preceding the Labor Day and Turkey Day (Thanksgiving) regattas yet to come.
Regatta information
Class winners
Ocean classes
(7 races; 1 throwout)
SNIPE (10 boats)---Aine Fretwell/Matt Cappetta,
Mission Bay YC, 2-(5)-2-2-2-1-1, 10 points.
INTERNATIONAL 14 (3)---Cameron Puckey/Jake Sokorsky, AlamitosBay YC, (1)-1-1-1-1-1, 5.
Bay classes
(9 races; 1 throwout)
LIDO 14 A (13)---Chris Raab/Scott McKiever, ABYC, (4)-2-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, 10.
LIDO 14-B (3)---Stephen Mueller/Liz Perry, ABYC, 3-1-1-1-1-1-1-(4/DNC)-4/DNC, 13.
NAPLES SABOT-A---(2) Erik Hou, NewportHarbor YC, (2)-1-2-1-1-1-1-1-1, 9.
NAPLES SABOT-B (3)---Brett Peoples, ABYC, 1-(2)-1-1-1-1-2-1-1, 9.
NAPLES SABOT-C1 (4)---Tara Rogers, Long BeachYC, 1-1-2-2-2-(3)-1-3-2, 14.
NAPLES SABOT-C2 (10)---Bobby Little, ABYC/CYC, 1-2-2-2-3-3-(7)-1-1, 15.
NAPLES SABOT-C3 (7)---Julia Carpenter, ABYC, 1-1-4-2-2-1-3-4-(6), 18.
Complete results
Hi-res photo gallery
CHAIRPERSON
Theresa Cornwell

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
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Snipe PCC champion skipper
Aine Fretwell (c.) with crew Matt Cappetta and ABYC commodore Jennifer Kuritz

Fretwell (l.) crosses competitor
Eric Heim (below) finishes
just ahead of I-14 start


Christina Van Dyke (l.)
placed third in Sabot C1s

Chris Raab (l.) won last 6 races
to run away with Lido 14 title

Some prefer rowing to sailing
Hi-res photo gallery
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