San Diego Sailors Lead in 2 Classes

Skipper Bill Hardesty of the Mission Bay Yacht Club extended his lead in the Flying Junior class, and David Houser of the Coronado Yacht Club regained first in the Laser single-handed class during the third day of competition at the U.S. Yacht Racing Union/Rolex Junior Championships Wednesday in Newport Beach.

Hardesty finished first in the fifth of the week’s 10 races and second in the sixth to take a 5 1/2-point lead over Jesse Andrews of the American Yacht Club of Rye, N.Y. Hardesty has 9 1/4 points to 14 3/4 for Andrews. Races continue through Friday, when overall winners will be determined based upon a round-robin, low-point scoring system. Winners will become part of the 1990 U.S. Junior sailing team.

Houser used a pair of second-place finishes to retake the Laser lead from Mike Hare of the Houston Yacht Club. Brett Davis of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Yacht Club won both races and is now third in the standings with 20 1/4 points behind Houser (15 3/4) and Hare (17 1/4).

Houser said he regained the lead because, “I was finally consistent.”

A protest is pending in the Laser class but involved racers at the back of the pack and will not affect the leaders.

Jory Twist of the host Newport Harbor Yacht Club held onto first in the four-person Etchells 22 class despite a seventh-place finish in the first of two races.

Brisk late afternoon winds enabled Twist to win the second race, giving him three firsts in the first six races and a 2 1/4-point lead over Scott Elting of the Houston Yacht Club.

The start Wednesday was delayed when a last-minute wind shift forced officials to reset the course. Course conditions varied from eight to 10 knots in the morning to 10 to 15 in the afternoon. Seas were flat until the afternoon breeze freshened and produced a one- to two-foot chop. A strong two-knot current favored boats on windward tacks.

Peter Lorson, USYRU judge from Port Washington, N.Y., said, “Wind was a little light and fluky for the first race, then snapped in fresh for the second race and made it a terrific race. This is proving to be a great series.”