Preview of ECSA Class Two by Mark Kondracky With racing just over one month away, here is a preview of Class 2.  While I am not a prognosticator by any stretch of the imagination since picking Liberty to beat Australia and even picking the Red Socks to win, here goes.  Currently the class has about 28 boats registered.  Last season Euphoria, a Pearson 30 won the Class.  Presently there are two Pearson 30's registered, two Catalina 30's, two S.2's and 2 Oday 34's.  The Mudhead's Leukemia Cup hosted an entire class of C+C's.  Looks like there will be hot competition again this year with three registered so far.  Close behind Euphoria was Checkered Demon and Golden Rule.  I predict Checkered Demon will edge out Euphoria this year and Legacy will slip into third place.  Resolute, a C+C 34, owned by Roger Bauman is the dark horse which could break into this pack.  It scored well last year, but lost points in the aborted Rum Challenge.  .

Division four consists of the small High Performance boats such as J-24's and J-30's. Last season EnCharette won the division by one point on the last race of the season (See article in division winners) just edging out One Up.  At this point the class has 11 boats signed up.  There are three J-30's ( Madcap, Sling Shot and Surprize).  Things could get interesting with all three of these on the same starting line.  There are two Carpi 25's (Diablo and Anneliese) but one races in the East, the other in the West. Hopefully They could meet somewhere in the middle to do battle.  Perhaps Duck Island or Niantic Bay's races could be a suitable venue.  In Addition there is a Soverel 26, Bruja and an Evelyn 25 which could mix it up.  Rounding out the division are a Holder 20 (Firefly) that rates 181 and a Kiwi 22 (Cosmic Debris) rating 217. So far no J-24's have registered, but Bad Dog and Fun will add to the competition.  Calling this class is next to imposible.  If there is light to medium air Encharette may have an advantage over One UP.  Mudslide could prove to be trouble for the two of these boats as well.  Anyway you look at it the competition should be hot.

Preview Division Three At this writing Division three has 29 boats.  This is a huge class that is wide open.  The elimination of division six (sport boats) has made this quite the eclectic class.  Also there has been an increase in the number of Mumm's (30's and 36's).  Last Season Tomahawk won division three, followed by Hooligan and Dr. Evil.  However Tomahawk (J29) has been replaced by One More Time a Mumm 30.  Division six was won by Spanish moon followed by Xsnrg and Relentless.  So the combining of division three and six will make for some interesting match ups.  Some of the boats to follow include Dragonfly a J105.  She is carrying a hit with a larger jib to improve light air performance.  Dragonfly is well sailed and will be at an advantage in heavier air conditions.  Winds above 12 knots should allow her to take advantage of her longer waterline.  In winds below 12 knots the Soverels can give the J boats a run for their money. (Slainte Soverel 33, Wings Soverel 30, and Locura a Soverel 30.)  Heavy air will help some of the super sleds. These include Bottle Rocket a Cheetah 30, Orca an Antrium 27, XLR8 a Carrera 280 and Xsnrg an Antrim 27.  Another boat to watch is Snowbird a Schock 35.  She is a well sailed boat that will enjoy mixing it up with the J35 Seraphin.  The J 29's including Wallbanger and Hustler should be in the mix.  Picked to win the class is Dr. Evil followed by Xsnrg.  Dragonfly and Snowbird could also place.

Class Three as of May 23 Animation                       J-29 Amethyst                        J-27 All Right                         J105 Aspire                            Farr10/20 Aura                              J-80 Bottle Rocket                 Cheetah 30               Boondoogle                     Frers 30 Brilliant Disguies              Impulse 26 Coyote                            Spoyer Cup                                 J-105   Caliente                          Tripp 36 Diamonde Noir                 J/N33 Dr. Evil                           Olson 29 Dragonfly                         J105 Dreamleand Express        J 80 Gremlin                          Tripp 36 Gut Feeling                     J 109 Hustler                            J 29 Impetuous                       Farr 40 J'aitu                               J-35 Jennymoon                      Frers 38 Locura                             Soverel 30 Love that Chicken              J 109 Mad Dog                          J120 Maximus                           Mumm 36 Off Beat                            J109 One More Time                  Mumm30 Orca                                 Antrim 27 Overlap                              Beneteau 40.7 Otro mundo                        J-120 Picanti                                NM 47 Relentless                            J-27 Ricochet                             J-120 Ripple                                 ID 35

Slante                          Soverel 33 Snowbird                      Shock 35 Spqr                             J-80 The Cat Came Back       J-120 Wasabi                         J-29 Wahoo                         Sidney 41 Wallbanger                   J-29 Wild Horses                 Mumm 30 Wings                          Soverel 30 Wild Card                      Olson 30 Quantum Leap              Quest 30 Xlr8                             Carrera 280 Xsnrg                           Antrim 27 Zorro                            J-35