Hjorth wins 31st Collier Cup
by Garth Meyer
The 31st annual Tom Collier Cure Cancer Cup drew 36 sailboats in a pursuit at King Harbor July 15.
Racing on two 10-mile courses at the same time, divided by different start times, the slowest-class boats went first, and the fastest last. The first to the finish line was the winner.
Overall top boat on the “racer course” started 44 minutes after the slowest boat, the latter making the finish nine seconds before the winner.
Liz Hjorth of Redondo Beach finished first on a 26-foot monohull, “Scooter,” followed by Jim Haskell of Manhattan Beach on “Mandy K,” and Curt Johnson of Marina Del Rey on “Avet,” a 26-foot monohull keelboat. Derick Prelle of Manhattan Beach sailed “Tiger” to fourth and Marina Del Rey’s Ryan Weller finished fifth on “Zulu.”
In the Cal 20 (20-foot monohulls) Division, Burr Hope, of Torrance, took first on “Deja Vu.”
For the Martin 242 class, a singular design of 24-foot boat, Len Abbeduto, of Redondo Beach, won on “Another Bad Wolf.”
In the cruiser division, Mike Devine of Redondo Beach took first place on the 26-foot “Meimi II”. The top youth skipper was Rafferty Wright of Manhattan Beach, on “Sunday Flyer,” a Martin 242. Top Woman Skipper was Dorian Harris of Redondo Beach on “Lil Kohola.”
The courses were marked by Coast Guard-approved yellow spars. The sailboats spanned 18-40 feet.
King Harbor Yacht Club members – which sponsors the race – viewed the action from the upper deck of the clubhouse, the final downwind leg aimed at the main windows, the boats colorful spinnaker sails pulling them to the finish.
Sailor Tom Collier died at age 31 in 1991. His namesake event has raised more than $750,000 for cancer research, the proceeds funding work at a Cedars-Sinai laboratory, which has been named for the event. ER