Race report from Team Pegasus
Regatta Prep:
Prep for the 2026 Nationals starts for Team Pegasus in January. We were determined to log moore nautical miles in the boat this year than any team, and we convinced ourselves that would be the difference. So, we set out to get on the Moore 5–6 days a week, even if just for an hour a day. We were able to accomplish that goal, and it paid huge dividends. Max, Philippe, Tom, and Mario pushed all year leading up to the regatta until, just a few days before the race, Philippe was scheduled into a meeting that forced him to miss it. While this threw a monkey wrench into our plans, we have a very deep team and were ready to make changes and we are extremely thankful that Philippe let us use the boat. Tom moved from pit to helm, and Max got on the boat as our pit person. For the 5 days leading into the event, we decided to focus on Vakaros starts. We hit the buttons to make a boat and a pin, practicing about 30 starts every day using only the Vakaros numbers. In our heads, we created some mental charts for closing speed on the start line based on boat speed and wind direction. We had a new main and a new #2 jib for the event, but the rest of the sails were 3–5 years old and we felt pretty comfortable we would have straight line speed.
Day 1:
Our team set our expectations: we wanted one race in the top 3 and to average top 10 finishes. The new crew makeup, with not a lot of recent race practice at our positions, made us a bit nervous. Long start lines and Vakaros know-how allowed us to make conservative starts, set up on port to weather of the fleet, tack below the fleet on the starboard layline, and pass boats that had overlayed. In general, we tried to sail fast through the water, particularly on starboard. We didn’t see much difference in VMG on port tack between high-pointing boats and fast boats. On starboard tack, our VMG seemed much better.
After rounding the top mark on race 1 Mark yelled out the kite is short on hoist. Cole raised the halyard and it slipped back down 3 feet. Max identified the halyard cover had broken. Mark and Tom got nervous but Cole simply said “I got it”. Cole and Max are great at getting a fix in and allowing everyone else on their boat to do their job, and we have full confidence in them. After the first race we had a 2nd and a lot of work to do between races to fix our halyard but we all took a look around. Mark said, “Guys, take a look around, we can do this. When we don't hurt ourselves, this is where we can be.” When Mark talks on the boat, we have two responses: “Yes, sorry,” or “Yes, sir” at least those are my responses. This little pep talk gave the crew a ton of confidence, and it was more of a “YES SIRRRR!” Tom, driving the boat, then declared, “Guys, if we do get a bullet in any of these races, I just might cry.” After crossing the line in the 2nd race and Tom seeing his friend Beau jump for joy on the committee boat, we all found out Tom was not kidding. We exited the day tied with the Tonopah Low team for 1st, and everyone was feeling good. We all spent some time at the yacht club connecting with old friends and making new ones, and the Moore vibes were high at the SCYC.
Day 1 Shout outs: Tonapah Low seemed to always be on the right side of the course moving fast and looking smooth. The Bruzer boat had some real speed downwind and were quick to get on some waves. The always formidable Worm had it going for a bit, and the family on DFZ was really looking sharp, sailing the boat flat.
Day 2:
Moore confidence day. We started conservatively again, much like day one, we were able to tack below the fleet on the starboard layline and lay the mark, for some big upwind gains. We were able to grab the bullet in the first race of the day, sailing the boat well downwind. When the 2nd race called for a distance race, we were feeling good. We’ve always been fast upwind, but we never thought we could hang and even gain downwind like we have been so far. We rounded the windward mark in 1st and stretched our lead a little downwind for a bit. Running down New Brighton, Mark made the call to switch to a #2 jib, which was really nice for 90% of the next leg. We rounded the Cement Ship in 2nd. On our way in toward Capitola, we managed to get back into the lead, and Max and I started thinking about our 4-buoy fiasco race, the one time a year we actually race in that area and the finish is up by SC Start mark. Although we heard the RC multiple times on the radio announce that the finish line would be at the same location as the start, we continued up the kelp bed around Pleasure Point. At one point, Mark looked to leeward and said, “Why is the fleet so low and fast?” followed by, “What’s that motorboat doing way down there? Oh, $#!+…” That was probably our lowest point of the regatta. We switched back to the #3 between races, but the boat was pretty quiet for the first time. Nothing like 25 knots of wind and 75 boats on the line to snap you back into things! 2 minutes before the start we jibed near the starting line and heard a bang. The vang had snapped at the mast. Cole and Max went right to work. Max got the lashing and Cole devised a plan. Cole was off the rail for the first few minutes of the race, but he made the fix happen and we were right back in the swing of things. We picked our way through the fleet, really working the boat hard. We felt fast on everything. We ended the day with what we thought was a 1, 5, 1. Any disappointment from the blown lead on race 2 was gone after doing some quick mental math and figuring out what we needed to do tomorrow to secure the victory. It was within our grasp, but we knew we needed to take it.
Day 2 Shoutouts: The Jimmy Riddle was moving in the distance race. I have no idea how they caught us but they were hauling! Good to see our friend on Watts Moore calling starboard on us, Watts is having a heck of a year and when they get going they are always top of the class. Also Patrick Wilkinson and team on Ichiban seem to always find a lane and speed. Pat sails with us a bit on Pegasus and will be a force in this fleet in the future.
Day 3:
Day 3 started with the news of the redress. While the fleet debated what this meant and what was fair, we decided it really did not matter to us. The math was the same: beat Bruzer, beat Tonopah Low, and we are set. Although the forecast was for Sunday to be the breeziest day, we didn't see it early; we thought maybe it would build into the #2 jib, but that was it. Well, of course Santa Cruz delivered and the breeze came in just as strong as previous days. Which was fine for us, we had confidence to keep doing what we have been doing all regatta. We had a few instances where we took our foot off the pedal to play it a bit conservative, but we were fast and we knew it. We got a 3rd in the first race, and Tom whispered to Mark, “We did it, they can't catch us.” Mark turned around and said, “We don't know the details of the redress; we sail the last race conservatively.” While those words came out of his mouth, his eyes and his smile said something completely different, he knew it too. We got off the line in pretty good position; by the top mark, we were between 1st and 2nd, and Mark said, “Guys, take a minute, look around, this is why we do it, enjoy it.” While the crew looked around, Tom said, “Hold on, there's a big set, I'll look in a minute.” 10 seconds later, as Tom turned around for just for a second, Mark returned: “Who the F is driving this boat?!?!” “You told me I could look!” followed by a lot of laughter from the team. As we crossed the finish line, it was total jubilation for the team. We worked hard for this in prep, in focus, in sweat and tears and we were physically and mentally spent.
Day 3 Shoutouts: Hogan and the Jackle team seemed to catch every wave on day 3. Every time we looked at them they were low and fast downwind. The 106 boat Oxymoron looked fast on the day too. We had a long upwind stretch where we just could not shake them. Final shout out to Michael (dont call me Mikey) Scott on Further, who was on a borrowed boat but really had some fast moments moving up the fleet.
Victory: Fittingly, the first person to congratulate us was Mario. Mario spent a majority of the regatta driving around Sharon and Filipe as well as fishing some of the competitors out of the water, but he is an integral part of Team Pegasus. From sail design, to boat work, to off the boat coach and therapist, Mario is always with us every step of the way. Mario was grinning ear to ear when he handed us the champagne bottles. The celebration in front of the Boardwalk was epic. Tom cried a little, we all laughed a lot, and we doused each other both with champagne and with praise. While Mark is used to winning huge events like this, the rest of us knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime weekend. There was absolutely not one single second that was easy. Mark pushed us all harder than we have ever been pushed. There is a quote that I thought about a lot: “On the edge of uncomfortable is where you find greatness.” It felt that way driving the boat, at all times we were right on the edge; we pushed our numbers, pushed the boat, and pushed ourselves from the moment the Vakaros time was posted, until the moment we crossed the finish line. In the end, it was all worth it. So to Philippe, Mario, Mark, Cole, Max and all those who continue to push toward greatness: cheers!
A huge thank you to all who made this event possible, especially the sponsors. It was the largest one-design keelboat fleet any of us have ever sailed in and the largest regatta we ever remember at SCYC. Special thanks to Morgan Larson, Sydnie Moore, Hillarie DeGroot, Mackenzie Cook, Geoff Boraston, Scott Walecka, Ron Moore, Scott Sorensen, Sam Corso, the SCYC staff (especially the bartenders), the countless volunteers who made this event possible, and of course all of our friends and fellow competitors in the Moore fleet who make each and every Moore regatta special. This is one we will never forget, thank you all!
Philippe Kahn - Captain, Leader, Owner, Boss
Tom Lewin - Helm
Mark “Crusty” Christensen - Skipper, Trimmer, Strategist, Boat boss
Max Valdez - Pit, Navigation, Hype man
Cole Kerby- Bow, Engineering
Mario Golsh - Rescue team, Coach boat, Boat work, Spiritual advisor
