San Diego’s Cat Fight I
by Steve Stroebel & Bryan Paine
Southern California’s F18 competition is heating up! On April 7-8 Mission Bay Yacht Club hosted the 
2018 Cat Fight 1. A total of 14 Formula 18’s (F18’s) hit the great Pacific Ocean under sunny skies. Saturday conditions were lighter with westerly winds of 5-10 knots while on Sunday the breeze was a little stronger up to 12 kts with large 3-5 foot rollers to surf downwind. The first start was scheduled for 1:00 pm both days so that we would race in more wind.
Overall, this class continues to have a great turnout with fun and very competitive sailing. The starts were very competitive with a relatively short starting line. On the first day a different boat was the winner in each 
of four races while on Sunday Bill Hardesty with Bryan Pain scored three bullets.
The fleet also had the honor of having a special guest appearance from Olivier Bovyn, President and creator of the International F18 Class and his lovely wife Francoise, during their visit from France. They observed the races both days from the committee boat and spoke at the fleet dinner in the evening.
Congratulations to the 2018 Cat Fight 1 champions, Helmsman Bill Hardesty and crew Bryan Paine! They were followed by:
2nd: Brandon Wallace & Marc Umemoto
3rd: The Danish team of Sten Sorrensen and Michael Risoer
4th: Mathieu Marfaing and Paul Galvez on the Zebra Phantom
5th: Steve Stroebel and Alex Mudge
We also had additional recognition trophies of:
Young Team (under 30): Will Suto and Patrick Farrell
Mixed Team: Dan DeLave and Eileen Haubl
Most Improved: Brett Bingham and Trent Stewart (who came from Utah)
Clysdale Team (combined weight over 360 lbs): Scott Miller and Kevin Olenick
Classic F18: Brett Bingham and Trent Stewart
Cat Fight II is around the corner on May 19-20. Some charter boats are available for out-of-towners. NOR and registration is available at RegattaNetwork.com.