Welcome to the Website.

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.

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. Note that Nemesis has an outboard. We don't know what hull number Nemesis is. As of July 2009, there was a Mariah 27 for sale in the Chicago area. This boat is the original Insatiable from the Chesapeake (Fishing Bay YC). She was bought and moved to the Midwest about two years ago.

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

PHRF Rating - We have had some issues with our PHRF rating over the last 10-12 years. A description is available here. Our current Area B buoy rating (used for the Sunset Series) is 129; that rating will stay in effect through October 2010.

New for 2009 - Other than our rating of 129, the only changes for 2009 are some new sails - a #1 genoa and mainsail. As always, these are North sails, 3DL for the genoa and dacron for the main.

2009 PHRF C Competition - Before the season started we expected the "hot" competition to be among Creeper, Avet and us. At the midway point in the season (after 10 of 19 races), our prediction was two-thirds correct - we and Creeper are in very tight competition for 1st in our class. However, the two of us have a 12-point lead over the 3rd place boat so the battle for 1st in the PHRF C class is likely to remain only between Creeper and us. We have been alternating the lead almost weekly (as of race #10 we lead because Creeper had some bad luck in race #10 and lost their headsail on the windward leg). Creeper has gotten some really good crew this year and is taking the Sunset Series seriously. The effort definitely has produced results and they are tough to beat, having won 5 of the first 10 races.

As of race #10, the 3rd, 4th and 5th-place boats are in a pretty tight battle of their own with just four points separating the three boats. As of race #10, Superstar has a slight lead over the other two. They have Tim Tunks back on board calling tactics this year and it has made a big difference (no more banging the north corner almost every race!). With two discards, Avet is in 4th. This is a bit surprising since she was definitely the top boat (by a big margin) for the first two-thirds of the 2008 season. Then she seemingly fell apart and hasn't ever recovered. This is a bit of a mystery. As the season progresses the winds tend to get lighter, which should favor her but who knows what will happen. Traveler has definitely been sailing better this year - she even tied for 1st one race. They definitely have boatspeed upwind but need to work on windshifts and downwind angles.

One of the bigger suprises the last two years has been MisQue. She was 2nd in the class for the 2007 season. However, she hasn't done as well since. It might be crew issues. Teaser seems to be less interested in racing these days as she hasn't been a regular participant in Sunset for the last three years. But, she can be competitive if she tries. There are a number of other boats that either come out regularly but aren't in contention (such as Agua Cheetah) or only come out occasionally but could do well in any particular race (such as Hitchhiker). Interestingly, PHRF C class is the biggest class in the 2009 Sunset Series, averaging almost 14 boats per race through race #10.

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. Lizzie B was 2nd in 2002, 1st in 2003, 5th in both 2004 and 2005 and 1st again in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

For 2009 through race #10, the overall race is among Creeper (PHRF C), Lizzie B (PHRF C), Piranha (PHRF A), Strange Crew (M242) and Take Five (PHRF D). You can check out the Marylyn Ritchie overall series standings as well as class series standings (A, B, C, M242 and D). We also have individual race results here.

King of the Hill - In 2008, we finished 2nd for the second time (after rounding the windward mark first!). As in prior years, it was a lot of fun. 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 2009, directions to CYC and the boat are available here.

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

Last updated: July 2, 2009