O’Connor, junior crew takes 34th Collier Cup

The 34th Tom Collier Cup sailboat race drew 30 entrants July 11 in King Harbor, the vessels ranging from 15 feet to 48 feet in a pursuit lineup.

The event raised $85,000 for its namesake Cedars-Sinai Hospital laboratory for cancer research.

In a pursuit race format, the slowest-type boats start first and the fastest last. The first to the finish line wins.

For this year’s running, the quickest boat started an hour after the slowest, the whole pack racing for 10 miles. The winner, one of the fast-type boats, crossed the line 37 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, a medium fast-type boat.

Skipper Roger O’Connor and crew Mia Delanty sailed his Melges 15-foot boat “Pressure” to victory. Second place went to skipper Burr Hope on “Deja Vu,” (20-foot) while Ray McVey took third place on “Wave Dancer” (20-foot).

“In some years, the conditions favor the faster boats, however, this year, with early winds, the slowest boats shined, taking the top half-dozen positions,” said Mark Hansen, course designer.

O’Connor and Delanty, age 12, were given the Collier Cup’s perpetual trophy, a dolphin structure by the artist Wyland.

The race’s top female skipper was Katie Priest on “Miss Behavin.’” The top junior (under-18) was Henry Mackender, with Koa Balk on “Fly Away.”

Named after Redondo Beach sailor Tom Collier, who died at age 31 in 1991, the Collier Cup has raised more than $935,000 for cancer research, approaching the committee’s goal of “March to a Million.”

O’Connor is the King Harbor Youth Foundation director/coach. Delanty is a junior student. ER