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This website gives information about our boat, Lizzie B, and also about the Sunset Series run by California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, California, which is where we compete these days. Check out a photo of Lizzie B rounding the weather mark and setting the chute. We have individual race results and overall series standings as well as class series standings (A, B, C, M242 and D).

Lizzie Who??? - Lizzie B is a Mariah 27 (however, we prefer to call it a G&S 27, referring to the designers Scott Graham & Eric Schlageter). Lizzie is hull #2, launched in 1986 (Lizzie is the second production hull of the Mariah 27 but the third hull of the same shape if you count the original prototype, which was built as a custom boat two or three years before the Mariah 27 started production). The Mariah/G&S 27 was designed under the MORC rule and has a very similar hull shape to several well-known later G&S designs - the S-2 7.9 and S-2 9.1.

There aren't a lot of Mariah 27s around anymore. A while back we came across one named Nemesis for sale on the East Coast and as you can see from the photos she is laid out pretty much the same as Lizzie B except that she has an outboard (we don't know her hull number). As of July 2009, there was a Mariah 27 for sale in the Chicago area. That boat was the original Insatiable from the Chesapeake (Fishing Bay YC) but she was bought and moved to the Midwest about 2007.

Dick Hampikian has been an owner of Lizzie B since the boat was first launched. Originally, he was a co-owner with Mike Braney but Mike died in 1999 and Dick has been the sole owner since then. The boat was actively sailed by Dick and Mike all around the US under MORC in the late '80s and early '90s, winning her class (2nd overall) at the MORC Internationals in San Diego in 1986. Lizzie B has a lot of silverware in the trophy cupboard from the many National, North American and International regattas she did during the years she was actively campaigned around the country on the MORC circuit. Now she is like a retired racehorse - a thoroughbred that likes to show her ablities and relive some of her past glories when she can.

"Lizzie B" is short for "Lizzie Borden," the Fall River, Massachusetts girl alleged to have killed her mother and father with a hatchet. Mike Braney was born and raised in Fall River. According to nursery ryhme:

            Lizzie Borden took an axe
            And gave her mother forty whacks.
            And when she saw what she had done,
            She gave her father forty-one.

In 2007, Art traveled to Fall River, Mass. and visited the birthplace of Lizzie Borden, now a fancy Bed and Breakfast! (Check it out.)

The Crew of Lizzie B

The Regulars
The Semi-Regulars	The Occasionals

PHRF Rating - We have had some issues with our PHRF rating over the last 10-12 years. A description is available here.

New for 2010 - Dick had the deck and interior of the boat painted over the winter and they look really nice (especially the interior!). We also have a new bottom but then that gets done every year anyway. We had a new #1 genoa and mainsail in 2009 so we are all set in that regard.

2010 PHRF C Competition - The class splits are the same as in 2009 so we should see the same boats as last year. In 2009, the "hot" competition was between us and Creeper, with Traveler not too far back. Creeper is planning on coming out in 2010 but the boat is actively for sale so we don't expect them to be spending money on new sails or otherwise. They'll probably be slightly less serious than they were in 2009. They had some equipment failures in 2009 and might be even more prone to that this year. Still, they should be real competition in the right conditions. Traveler has been on a steep learning curve since they first got the boat a few years ago. In 2009 it appeared that their efforts began to gel in a big way. They won a couple of races and got quite a few top-3 finishes. If that kind of improvement continues then we expect them to be tough in 2010.

Beyond those two boats it is hard to predict. In 2008 Avet was dominant and led our class (and the overall!) for the first two-thirds of the season. But then something must have happened as she fell to the middle of the fleet. She didn't do well in 2009 either. However, she certainly has the potential to do well if they put in the effort. Superstar has done pretty well in the past although in recent years the owner has been concentrating more on his young family. Teaser did really well 5-8 years ago but in recent years they haven't come out regularly and aren't putting much effort into the races. Still, they can win when they try. MisQue did pretty well a couple of years ago, finishing 2nd for the season but in recent years hasn't done as well. She has a new kelp-cutter for 2010 so that may help some.

Jubiliation started racing last year and was immediately in the middle of the fleet, which is pretty darn good for a new boat. She'll improve as they get more familiar with the boat but that probably won't be for another year. Redline is another new boat that will undoubtedly get better with time but this is only her second year so we shouldn't expect much for another year or two. As for the rest of the boats, there isn't a lot to say - they are just kind of hanging out at the back. Traveler was part of that group a couple of years ago but her crew decided to make a real effort to improve and it worked. Unless the other boats do the same they are destined to stay in the pack at the back. One brighter spot might be Miss Demeanor, which has slowly improved from the very bottom of the class to the top of the bottom one-third.

One boat to note is Turn Key. She only came out for one race in 2009 but absolutely killed the rest of the class in a very light race. That might have been a fluke but if she comes out in 2010 she could be in contention for a trophy on a regular basis if that one race was an accurate measure of her preformance.

PHRF C was the biggest class in the 2009 Sunset Series, averaging just under 14 boats per race. We expect it to be one of the larger classes in 2010.

Marylyn Ritchie Competition - The Marylyn Ritchie Trophy is awarded to the boat with the best record in the Racing Division of the Sunset Series. The scoring for the Marylyn Ritchie Trophy was modified in 2002 so that class size is much less important than it once was (points table). As a result, the competition has become fierce in recent years and now includes boats from different-sized classes (top boats each year). CYC has a list of prior winners.

King of the Hill - This race is always a lot of fun and we are looking forward to it in 2010! We are one of only three boats to have qualified for this race each year it has been held (full results); the other two are Bandit (Santana 20 - picture) and Ho'omele (J/24). We are hoping to finally win this one some day but even if we don't, it is a fun race to end the sailing season and we are sure it will be lots of fun again this year!!

Visiting Crew - For visiting crew in 2010, directions to CYC and the boat are available here.

Webpages from prior years are available: 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004; 2003.

Last updated: June 22, 2010