The two day regatta, aboard evenly-matched Catalina 37 sailboats, will see nine all-women teams, from San Diego to Santa Monica, compete for the title of this pre-eminent yachting event.
Newport Harbor Yacht Club returns to defend their title: having won in 2008 and 2009, they are looking for a three-peat. “We love the camaraderie of the regatta and look forward to seeing our friends,” says Skipper Gale Nye Pinckney. They will face fierce competition – both new and old – in their quest for victory in the seven-race regatta.
Jane Hoffner debuts as a new skipper at LEMWOD, having raced as crew several times. Her Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club “Team Pilikia” is the first BCYC entry in seven years. “I was honored to be asked to bring a team to the event, hope to be competitive and would love to win!” Team Pilikia has been actively practicing aboard the Catalina 37s all summer, racing Wet Wednesdays, Long Beach Race Week and the recent Charity Regatta, and is expected to be a strong contender.
Returning to the field is organizer and seven-time skipper Karen Campbell, representing Los Angeles Yacht Club’ Team Novias del Mar. “It was this event so many years ago that gave me the confidence to ask to be ‘pick up crew’ when I hardly knew port from starboard,” says Campbell. Now an accomplished sailor, Campbell continues, “My goal is to pull together a team of friends, new friends, and inexperienced but driven women who want to race and learn and have fun ... and if we get a piece of hardware doing all of the above, it doesn’t get any better!”
This year marks the 19th running of the competition, which was originally called the Women’s One Design Challenge. In 2003 it was rededicated to the memory of three-time champion Linda Elias, a popular Long Beach sailor.
LEMWOD is sailed in a matched fleet of custom designed Catalina 37s, and governed by the 2009-2012 Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) and the Catalina 37 Class Rules. Four windward/leeward races are slated for Saturday and three Sunday, beginning with an 11:55AM warning. Racing takes place inside the Long Beach breakwater adjacent Belmont Pier – providing a prime opportunity for spectator viewing. Parties, trophies, silent auction and entertainment follow each day’s races, at Long Beach Yacht Club.
“I’ve done the regatta as crew four times, and skippered once,” said Karyn Jones, Women's Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay Skipper, “but my highlight was last year, when we pulled together as a team on the second day. I always learn something, and come back to LEMWOD because I enjoy the camaraderie – both of our team and our competitors.”
Jones said her goal during the aggressive two-day competition is, “To do our best, have fun, and of course, get the damage deposit back.”
LEMWOD is hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club, organized by the Long Beach/Los Angeles Women’s Sailing Association, and made possible by the Long Beach Sailing Foundation.
This year’s entrants include:
KING HARBOR YACHT CLUB
BAHIA CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB – TEAM PILIKIA
LONG BEACH/LOS ANGELES WOMEN’S SAILING
ASSOCIATION – SAILING CHICKS
CALIFORNIA YACHT CLUB
SOUTHWESTERN YACHT CLUB
NEWPORT HARBOR YACHT CLUB
SAN DIEGO YACHT CLUB
WOMEN’S SAILING ASSOCIATION OF
SANTA MONICA BAY
LOS ANGELES YACHT CLUB – NOVIAS DEL MAR
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WHO IS LINDA ELIAS?
Linda Elias, who would have been 60 this year, was a well-known sailor in both the offshore and buoy racing circles. She sailed in four Transpacs, one Pacific Cup and numerous races to Mexico, on boats such as Joss, Ragtime and Baywolf; and was a three-time winner of the Women’s One Design Challenge – in 1992, 1994 and 1996. She passed away in 2003 after a nine-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Elias is remembered as a talented skipper, sailor and helmsperson; and celebrated for an enduring sense of humor, yet serious commitment to excellent seamanship and the promotion of women’s sailing.“I doubt that there is a trophy case in any Southern California yacht club that sponsors women’s regattas, that does not have Linda’s name on their trophies,” said longtime friend Camille Daniels.
Since 2003 the LEMWOD has helped raise funds and awareness for the Linda Elias Sailing Scholarship Fund. Established by the Long Beach Sailing Foundation, a 501c(3), the scholarship supports individuals who actively demonstrate a willingness and desire to advance the sport of amateur sailing.
