Hardesty Moves Into First, but Houser Slips in Sailing Championships

Bill Hardesty of San Diego’s Mission Bay Yacht Club moved into first alone in the Flying Junior class, and David Houser of Coronado Yacht Club fell from first to second in the Laser class as the U.S. Yacht Racing Union/Rolex Junior Sailing Championships continued at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Hardesty began the day tied for first with Jesse Andrews of American Yacht Club in Rye, N.Y. but moved up with a third-place finish in the competition’s third race and a first-place finish in the fourth. He has 6 1/2 points to 8 3/4 for Andrews.

Races continue through Friday, when the winners will be determined based upon round-robin, low-point scoring system. Winners will become part of the 1990 U.S. Junior sailing team.

“We had really good speed upwind and had a long upwind leg,” Hardesty said. “And we have more experience sailing in swells and know how to handle them.”

Andrews, who is sailing unfamiliar waters, said he had difficulty with the swells and lost boat speed as a result. Gately Ross, crew for Andrews, said that the duo also had too much weight for the Flying Junior class.

In the Lasers, Houser has 11 3/4 points to 9 1/4 for the leader, Mike Hare of Houston Yacht Club. In three races Tuesday, Houser finished second, out of the top three and third.

“I didn’t do so well today because I couldn’t always follow the wind shifts and I got caught going the wrong way too often,” said Houser. “My best leg was upwind.”

Hare said the conditions were perfect for him. “It was shifty, but not so shifty that I couldn’t predict it. I was very fast down wind, but I really did well by taking advantage of the mistakes of others.”

A collision and protests delayed the results of the second of Tuesday’s two Etchells 22 class races for the Sears Cup portion of the event.

Jory Twist of Newport Harbor Yacht Club, in third Monday, swept races three and four Tuesday and could move up to first overall depending upon the outcome of the protests.

They involved, among others, the class’s first- and second-place boats, skippered by Scott Elting of Houston Yacht Club and Manning Montagnet of Pass Christian Yacht Club in Mississippi. Four boats are affected by the protest, and the outcome of the ruling could have a major effect on the class’ standings. Jonathan Mosely of St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco and Sam Vineyard of Beverly Yacht Club in Massachusetts collided in the fourth race.

Competitors described sailing conditions on the course as perfect, with westerly winds of eight to 10 knots and flat seas.

Times staff writer Rich Roberts contributed to this story.