Dryland-Eddington Team Wins Sail Race

During competition in the ProSail Spring West race Saturday, Ian Bashford and Russell Eddington were unfurling the spinnaker on their 21-foot Hobie catamaran as they sped around a marker in south San Diego Bay.

This was sailing. The spinnaker billowed, causing one pontoon to rise and the boat to move even faster.

Then, as Bashford attempted to steer the vessel, he discovered the rudder had become unhinged.

The filled spinnaker hoisted the pontoon up and over, sending the helpless Bashford and Eddington into the water and out of second place. This was sailing.

They would finish ninth, and that debacle gained huge importance Sunday, when the two men won both heats but still finished third overall.

Australian skipper Brett Dryland and Russell Eddington’s younger brother, Richard, won the event. Jeff Alter of Capistrano Valley and Paul Parizeau of Carlsbad finished third.

“We certainly would have finished first or second,” said Russell, 29, a lawyer from Corpus Christi, Tex. Third place earned them a paycheck of only $800.

Dryland, of Perth, Australia, and his teammate Eddington received $2,000. The Alter team won $1,250.

Bashford, 29, a marina operator from Sydney, Australia, and Eddington were teaming up for the first time, and it was each man’s first go with the 21-footers.

But Bashford and Dryland have seen plenty of each other, being rivals in Australia.

“Sailboat racing is a much more popular sport in Australia than over here,” Bashford said.

Said Dryland, 28, an accountant and aquatics equipment salesman: “I like the idea of pro races. The only drawback is that many of the racers who are my friends are a little bit distant on race day. It’s a little more cutthroat now that money is involved.

“Both Ian Bashford and myself came a long way (for the event), and yes, we probably were a little more motivated than the rest of the field. . . . We were a little bit lucky.” Dryland finished second in each heat Sunday, and went second, first, second, second and first Saturday.

This weekend’s competitors qualified for championship events in Newport, R.I. (Aug. 11-14), San Francisco (Oct. 6-9) and Miami (Dec. 4-10). The remaining qualifier has been scheduled for July 9-10 near Detroit.