You can view photos from the race at flickr.com by clicking here (note you will leave the SBYRA website)
Sierra Point YC Race Committee Ed Hoff and daughters sent the Spinnaker
Division on a reverse course starting at 1220 hours. Course 2 took the two
divisions up to Channel Marker 2, back to the weather/leeward mark near the
Sierra Point shoreline and then on a short-but-painful leg back to S/F - for
those who could make it that far in the drifter.
In Division A seven boats finished led by Wired, Lazy Lightning and Mist.
Zingara, Osprey and Vita e Bella led the Division B entries.
One significant drama occurred between the last mark at the orange
inflatable and the normally short-hop to the Start/Finish line on this
particular course.
Lazy Lightning rounded this shoreline mark first followed by Wired in slow
motion. The light-weight Choate 27 then ever so slowly passed the heavier
Tartan Ten in a beginning flood with almost no wind. Wired made its own wind
fighting up to within thirty yards of the pin-end of the S/F. As tension
grew many prayers were sent to the wind gods for any kind of a puff as
all-hands hung to leeward on both boats.
Mist and Paradigm then came up behind the two leaders to form a bit of
rush-hour traffic near the RC stationed on its Columbia 45 - with shotgun at
the ready.
At this point things became even more painful than on the other two legs
(dicey as they mostly were) as the four spinny boats were well within
conversational distance of each other and the RC. Throughout all of this the
breathless sun was hammering all.
Anchors were then deployed in 25' of water in order to stop the racers from
drifting back towards the weather/leeward mark.
In her skipper's misplaced optimism Wired deployed hers four times in the
best Chinese-fire-drill fashion as her crew watched untreated sewage flow
down her side while warily eyeing larger boats nearby headed by more
experienced and menacing skippers like Robert, Keith, Tom and Luther.
As this non-earth shattering drama unfolded over a half-hour the Beneteau
First 38 managed to pass the Tartan Ten and next to the Choate 27. Then the
wind gods answered both of their prayers.
Anchors were weighed for the last time and the two antagonists - Wired and
Mist - crept neck-and-neck towards the pin, now fifty yards to starboard
against the building current. "Pleasantries," "shouts of encouragement" and
"recitations" of the sailing rules of the road were exchanged between the
two crews - all in Corinthian fashion of course.
Wired eventually crossed the finish line first while barely escaping the
wrath of the finish mark on her starboard quarter. Mist was just nine
seconds behind in what seemed like a photo finish. RC Ed Hoff finally got to
fire his shotgun and believed his duties would soon end.
Perhaps other dramas unfolded on the Sierra Point race course that Wired's
crew was unaware of as it practiced multiple head sail changes and still
remained friends. (Please make me aware of these so they can be forwarded in
a future email).
In any case all crews got a head-start on their summer tans on this very
summer-like but springtime day on San Francisco Bay. And as the saying goes
around the yacht club, "Any day on the Bay is better than the best day in
the office."
Looking ahead, then, SBYRA's next "encounter" is scheduled for Saturday, May
3rd on the Oyster Point YC race course.
So C U once again north of the airport....