Last weekend was a busy one on Long Beach waters, with both a major sailing regatta and the annual Naples Swim taking place.

64th Cal 20 Class Championships

In what turned out to be one of the most competitive Cal 20 Class Championships in several years, Keith Ives and Chuck Stevens claimed their seventh title in a 28-boat fleet, according to Cal 20 class secretary Todd Smith.

The regatta, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, took place in Long Beach Harbor from Friday to Sunday, Aug. 14-16. Consistency was the key for the seasoned team of Ives and Stevens, who finished no worse than fifth in the seven-race series.  But it still wasn’t easy, according to Ives.

“You guys really made us work hard to win this regatta,” he said of his fellow competitors during the awards ceremony.

Other top finishers included 2025 champion Chris Vilicich in second place. In third place was Noah Stapleton, who is entering his sophomore year at Brown University.

The Cal 20 field included several past champions and top five finishers from prior years. And each finishing position was tightly contested in what is a close-grouped, tactical form of sailboat one design racing.

“The Cal 20 is one of the largest and most competitive one design keelboat classes on the West Coast,” Ives said.

Despite the boats being out of production for decades, most of the ones in the fleet have been lovingly restored and rigged to competitive racing standards.

The class also demonstrated its age diversity, with the youngest skipper being 10 years old and the most senior competitor being 81 years old. The class motto is appropriately coined as “one design sailing for all.”

Long Beach lived up to its reputation as one of the finest sailing venues in North America, with breezes ranging from 7 to 9 knots on Friday, and building to the mid-teens over the weekend. LBYC deployed the latest technology, with robotic marks that were controlled to maneuver and hold a fixed position for precise location.

In addition to the large Gold Fleet, there were seven Bronze fleet boats racing in their own separate competition. The Bronze fleet is targeted for those newer to racing and those from Shoreline Yacht Club of Long Beach, who participate in their Cal 20 program. The Bronze champion this year was Warren Wolfe, who is one of the Shoreline YC’s Cal 20 leading organizers.

For full results, go to regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=31550&show_crew=1.

Naples Island Swim
This year's Naples Island Swim, which took place on Sunday, Aug. 16, drew more than 800 competitors. (Courtesy of Naples Island Swim)This year’s Naples Island Swim, which took place on Sunday, Aug. 16, drew more than 800 competitors. (Courtesy of Naples Island Swim)

This year’s Naples Island Swim, which took place on Sunday, Aug. 16, drew hundreds of swimmers — some of whom were so speedy, they outran a gondola.

That’s according to Sue Dvonch and Greg Shea, co-race directors of the Naples Swim.

“What an amazing day we had on Alamitos Bay,” they said together. “We had over 800 swimmers, about 80 volunteers and some unbelievably fast and inspiring swims.

“This was the first year,” Shea added, “that a swimmers caught and passed the gondola that leads the way.”

During the event, there were volunteers on the water (including those from Kahakai Outrigger Canoe Club and Long Beach Lifeguards), while others managed the set-up, handled registration, did body marking, did live announcing, distributed T-shirts, or performed various other tasks.

Next year’s swim is planned for Aug. 15.

For additional information and to register, go to shorturl.at/wy2gS.

Naples Island Swim results

3-mile women’s race:

First place: Sharon Guerrero.
Second place: Allison Arnold.
Third place: Vanessa Morales.

3-mile men’s race:

First place: Yohann Guerrero.
Second place: Diego Morales.
Third place: David Alfaro.

3-mile team award:

1-mile team award:

500-yard team award: