Last weekend was the busiest weekend of the year to date for local sailboat and powerboat competitors.

There were three local sailboat races, including one from Channel Islands Harbor to Marina Del Rey, a powerboat navigation contest and a bevy of local sailors competed in Long Beach Race Week.

Sailing doesn't get much better than Sunday when 18 boats competed in the Commodore Classic over a 17.5-mile course in brisk winds.

Chuck Stanton, Ventura Yacht Club commodore in 1989, skippered the Jeaneau 54, Baroness to victory.

The course was around oil rig Gail and back to Ventura Harbor. It turned out to be a one-tack beat (close reach for more weatherly boats) and a broad reach home. Eight boats sailed the course in less than three hours and all boats completed the course in less than four.

Every local club was represented except for Ventura Sailing Club. Will Yount of VSC had to bail because his Del Rey 24, Spit Dog, had been damaged the day before in a race to Anacapa Island, which he won.

Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club, absent last year, turned out with two boats and several commodores and went home with a second-place trophy, captured by Jim Curley in the Jeaneau 43, Rumbylowe.

Defending champion Carlos Brea did well, even though he didn't have local sailmaker Deke Klatt aboard this time. Brea sailed his Newport 27, Aeolus, to a third-place finish.

Results:

1—Baroness, Jeaneau 54, Chuck Stanton, VYC, 1:58:55; 2—Rumbylowe, Jeaneau 43, Jim Curley, PCYC, 2:03:44; 3—Aeolus, Newport 27, Carlos Brea, VYC, 2:03:52; 4—Chinook, Catalina 36, Stan Whisenhunt, VYC, 2:06:36; 5—Paloma, Beneteau 36, Michael Raider, VYC, 2:08:24; 6—Sassified, Hunter 40, Dave & Linda Witham, VYC, 2:08:51; 7—Wainui, Cal 48, Jack Borkowski, CIYC, 2:10:00; 8—Too Much Fun, Catalina 34, Dick Mullarky, VYC, 2:10:29; 9—Outpatient, Cal 29, Jerry Roth, AYC, 2:10:41; 10—Fusee, Beneteau 38, Larry Golkin, CIYC, 2:11:41; 11—Wind n Sea, Catalina 34, Paul Swanson, VYC, 2:12:04; 12—Symphony, J-32, Richard & Su Countess, PBYC, 2:13:18; 13—Moonshadow, Beneteau 310, Doug Dodge, AYC, 2:15:25; 14—Talelayo, Cape George 31, Michael Ottevanger, PBYC, 2:16:15; 15—Sisu, Catalina 27, Charlie McNulty, AYC, 2:17:04; 16—Rambunctious, J-30, Martha Jean Geisler, PCYC, 2:20:38; 17—No Fear, Islander 30, Jeff Stansfield, VYC, 2:20:53; 18—Solitude, Catalina 380, Alan Annis, PBYC, 2:24:32.

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Dick Velthoen and Paul DeFreitas of Ventura Yacht Club co-skippered the J-35 Rival to first in class in Long Beach Race Week.

Team Rival, with a crew of Debbie DeFreitas, Jeff Beller, Scott and Sandy Sampson, Chris Thompson, David Boatner and Steve Reed, won the PHRF-4 class over 10 other boats. They tied with a Frers 38, but won on a tie-breaker by defeating Gator in the final race. Rival had a seven-race record of 4-3--1-6-2.

Two other VYC members, Ryan Cox and Garrett Baum, also had strong weekends. Cox served as tactician on Robert Tennant's Melges 24, Where's Bob, helping that boat win all seven races. Baum served as tactician on Kent Pierce's Average White Boat, which placed third with three seconds and four thirds.

Another local sailor, Eric Schlageter of Anacapa Yacht Club, brought home a trophy as his boat, Ruckus, placed second in the nine-boat Flying Tiger 10 Class with a record of 5-2-1-1-2-2-2.

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Wind Dancer and Colt 45 placed third and fourth respectively in Saturday's 47-mile race from Channel Islands Harbor to Marina Del Rey. The race was co-hosted by Channel Islands Yacht Club and attracted 17 boats, mostly from Marina Del Rey.

Wind Dancer, a Castalina 42, skippered by PK Edwards of Ventura Yacht Club, had a third place corrected time of 7 hours, 1 minute, 32 seconds. Colt 45, a Tripp 40 skippered by VYC's Dan Chepley, had a corrected time of 7 hours, 5 minutes, 58 seconds.

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Maine Squeeze, Spit Dog and Wind Raider were winners in Saturday's 29 mile Frenchy's Rum Run race hosted by Ventura Sailing Club.

Seven boats turned out for the race, which started with light, shifty breezes building to 15 knots later in the afternoon. First boat to finish was the Nacra 20, Team Chums in 4 hours, 49 minutes. The first monohull to finish was Three Little Birds, in 5 hours, 24 minutes, 19 seconds.

Results:

Spinnaker class: 1—Maine Squeeze, Mike Taylor, 4:49:09; 2—Three Little Birds, Mike Holbert, 4:53:52.

Non-spinnaker: 1—Spit Dog, Manley & Yount, 4:32:36; 2—Halona, Norbert Hirsch, 4:47:52; 3—Red Wing, Paul Marx, 5:07:19.

Beach cats: 1—Wind Raider, Thomas Hundley, 7:10:11; 2—Team Chumbs, Brad Smith, 8:07:21.

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Ivan Cox skippered his powerboat, Voyager, to a first-place finish Saturday in the third event of the Santa Barbara Channel Series of cruiser navigation contests. Cox edged out fellow Ventura Yacht Club skipper Bill Varie.

Six boats participated in the event.

Results:

1—Voyager, Ivan Cox, VYC, 1.411081 percent error factor; 2—Varie Suite, Bill Varie, VYC, 1.501223%; 3—Valkyrie, Frank Sullivan, CIYC, 1.993919; 4—Ta-Keel-La, George Arglen, CIYC, 2.955726%; 5—Nunziata, Jim Cline, VYC, 3.131788%; dnf—El Nino, Doc Bandy, PCYC.

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Ventura County High Point Standings:

Velero, Islander 29, Brent Swanson, 53; Funatic, Choate 48, Rod Abbott, 49; Perfect Balance, Olson 30, Richard Sharpe, 47; Rival, J-35, Dick Velthoen, 44; XS, Mull 30, John Thawley, 34; Colt 45, Tripp 40, Dan Chepley, 32; Quiet Times, Hunter 37, Tom Warshauler, 32; Hillbillies 2, Zap 26, Paul Moore & Avery Stewart, 32; Zuma Jay, Cal 25, Kevin Dickmann, 30; Maine Squeeze, Schock 35, Mike Taylor, 29; Fifty One Fifty, Santa Cruz 50, Mike Warns, 29; Deception, Santa Cruz 50, Alex Blankfield, 29; Fusee 23, Pangea 20, Zoarces 19, The Source 19, Blue Star 18, West Wing 17, School's Out 16, R Escape 15, Jaded 14, Tortoise 13, Coyote 13, Scooter 12, Afterburner 11, Indefatigable 10.

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Upcoming sailboat races:

n Saturday, Platorm A Race. Hosted by Anacapa Yacht Club this is part of the Anacapa Island Series and scores double points in the Ventura County High Point Standings. The course is 40 miles, starting at the Mandalay buoy, but the race committee has indicated it may offer a shorter course for some classes. The skippers' meeting is at 8:30 and the first start is at 11. Entry fee for this race is $30. For additional information, contact Gene Beville at 985-7921.

n Saturday, July 12, Milt Ingram Trophy Race. Hosted by Pierpont Bay Yacht Club, this has traditionally been the area's most popular race year after year. The 42-mile course has enough reaching legs so that even non-spinnaker boats have been overall winners over the years. The skippers' meeting is at 8:30 a.m. and the first start is at 11 a.m. near the Mandalay buoy. There will be a champagne breakfast and trophy ceremonies starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday. For more information, contact Race Chair Richard Countess at 818 889-2669 or e-mail him at Rcountess@aol.com.

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2008 Ocean sailboat racing schedule:

Saturday, AYC, Platform A race (Anacapa 2), double points July 12, PBYC, Milt Ingram Race (Land Rover 2) July 19/20, CIYC, Olson 30 Nationals July 19, PCYC, Yachting Cup (Pacific Cup 3) July 26/27, VYC, J-Fest/J-24 Western Regionals Aug. 2, PCYC, McNish Classic

— 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.