Funatic and Afterburner virtually walked away with victories in their sailboat racing classes Saturday as the Ventura Harbor Spring Series got under way.

Funatic, a Chaote 48 skippered by Rod Abbott, won Spinnaker Class A by more than 12 minutes and Afterburner, a 52-foot catamaran skippered by Bill Gibbs, won the multihull class by almost 20 minutes. Afterburner sailed the course in 1 hour, 55 minutes, 49 seconds, almost an hour faster than Funatic's elapsed time of 2:49:41.

The opening race, hosted by Pierpont Bay Yacht Club, attracted 26 entries. Winds were light at the start and filled to about 10 knots as the day progressed, with some major wind shifts. The spinnaker and multihull classes sailed a 17.7-mile course around platform Gail, while the non-spinnaker class went 15.3 miles around platform Gina.

Winners in the Spinnaker B and non-spinnaker class had narrower margins of victory. David Randle's J-29, Coyote, took the Spinnaker B class while Tom Warshauer's Hunter 37 prevailed in the non-spinnaker class.

The series resumes on Feb. 23, with Ventura Yacht Club hosting. It will conclude on March 9, with PBYC hosting.

Results:

Spinnaker A: 1—Funatic, Rod Abbott, 2:38.11; 2—Rival, Dick Velthoen, 2:51.05; 3—The Source, Joe Joines, 2:51.32; 4—XS, John Thawley, 2:53.16; 5—Deception, Alex Blankfield, 2:58.28; 6—Maine Squeeze, Mike Taylor, 2:58.49; 7—Colt 45, Dan Chepley, 3:03.37; 8—Uhambo, Dave Chase, 3:05.20; 9—Sprit Decision, George Moll, 3:12.24.

Spinnaker B: 1—Coyote, David Randle, 2:51.54; 2—Leona Kai, Larry Listing, 2:56.15; 3—Tina, Andy Killion, 3:18.52; dnf—Too Much Fun.

Non-spinnaker: 1—Quiet Times, Tom Warshauer, 2:33.03; 2—Velero, Brent Swanson, 2:36.33; 3—Skye, Warren Casey, 2:41.55; 4—Zuma Jay, Kevin Dickmann, 2:42.58; 5—Zoarces, Shelly Johnson, 2:43.24; 6—Wind n Sea, Jim & Joel Graves, 2:51.35; 7—Alcyone, Gary Goodman, 2:52.12; 8—No Fear, Jeff Stansfield, 3:04.33; 9—R Escape, Verne Haller, 3:14.18.

Multi-hull: 1—Afterburner, Bill Gibbs, 3:06.27; 2—Indefatigable, Colin Gegg, 3:25.37; 3—No Regrets, Brian Stanton, 3:27.56.

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The final lecture in a four-part "Sailing Adventure Lecture Series" will be Thursday, Feb. 21.

The lecture will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at Ventura City Hall. Admission fee is $15. The series is co-sponsored by the City of Ventura Community Services Department and the Ventura Maritime Foundation.

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U.S. Sailing will present a race management seminar at Pierpont Bay Yacht Club on Sunday, Feb. 24. The seminar will begin at 8 a.m. and finish about 5 p.m. It is aimed at principal race officers and race committee workers.

The seminar fee is $45 for USSA members until Feb. 20, and $70 thereafter. The fee is $25 higher for those who are not members of U.S. Sailing. The fee includes breakfast, lunch and all class materials.

Participants should bring a copy of the Racing Rules of Sailing and a completed copy of the basic race management study questions. These questions are available on the U.S. Sailing Web site at http://www.ussailing.org/racemgt/documents/RMStudy-Basic.pdf.

To register, or for more information, contact Bruce Green at 858-273-0602 or e-mail him at bgpa@sbcglobal.net.

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Upcoming sailboat races:

Saturday, Sunday, SCYA Midwinter Regatta. Channel Islands Yacht Club will host the Ventura County portion of the Southern California regatta. There will be racing both days, starting at 12:30 p.m. The skippers' meeting will be at CIYC at 9 a.m. on Saturday. There will be a Santa Cruz 50 class, PHRF spinnaker classes and a cruiser class which will race on Sunday only. The entry fee is $26 for boats 20 to 32 feet and $30 for boats longer than 32 feet. Notice of race and entry form can be found on the SCYA Web site. There will be a Saturday breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. for $6. A Saturday night dinner will be $20. For more information, contact event chair Larry Golkin at 985-2492 or e-mail him at Larry@golkinlaw.com. For slips, contact port captains Bill Cline at 985-1203 or Bob DFeyling at 985-0603.

Saturday, Feb. 23, Spring Series 2. Hosted by Ventura Yacht Club, this is the second of a three-race series. The final race, on March 9, will be hosted by Pierpont Bay Yacht Club. The skippers' meeting will be at 8:30, with the race starting at 11 at the Mandalay buoy. For more information, contact Stan Whisenhunt at 340-1444 or e-mail him at Swhisenhun@aol.com, or Richard Countess at 818-889-2669 or e-mail him at Rcountess@aol.com.

Sunday, March 2, Tune-up race. Hosted by Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club, this event will include on-the-water coaches, at least three practice starts and post-race video of the starts. Experienced crew will be available to assist new boat owners and skippers. The entry fee is $10. The skippers' meeting will be at 9 a.m. The first warning signal will be at approximately 11:25, with the starting area approximately one-quarter mile off the Channel Islands Harbor breakwater. Entry forms are available at PCYC or on the club's Web site at http://www.pcyc.org.

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2008 Ocean sailboat racing schedule:

Saturday-Sunday, CIYC, SCYA Midwinters (PHRF)

Saturday-Sunday, SBYC, SCYA Midwinters (J-24)

Feb. 23, VYC, Spring Series 2

Mar. 1, CIYC, Port Royal Regatta

Mar. 2, PCYC, Tune Up Race (mentors available)

(Fax your race announcements, results and other information to Stan Whisenhunt at 659-3058 or call him at 659-1464. His e-mail address is Swhisenhun@aol.com).