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After postponing the January Mid Winters due to the pandemic shutdown, the CYC February regatta became the default race 1&2
with plans for a follow up the on the weekend of March 6th & 7th to become races 3 & 4...
The weather gods smiled favorably on the event, with the last of a series of weak systems rolling in and out of the area late Friday and early Saturday.
Behind the system, a significant northerly swept down in the wee hours, and persisted over the course starting area off Knox during the lunch hour and the scheduled start.
57 boats in 7 division boats sailing under covid protocols with masks required for non immediate household bubble contestants.
The fleets were spread out with a fleet heading out the gate to a mark off Diablo Point, returning inside the bay to Fort Mason before heading back out for another
Diablo rounding then back to Blackaller, before heading to Little Harding and the the finish. We will focus on those divisions, as that was where we were, and the other fleets
headed east and were out of range!
The boats enjoyed a glorious Hollywood start with kites launched, riding the dying northerly and remaining ebb towards Lime Point
until the wind all but quite and the boat were ghosting along in questionable conditions, but magically, as the fleet closed in on The North Tower,
a westerly filled in with a bit of attitude! Soon all kites were dropped and white sails employed as the fleet exited the bay for the 1st round.
It is not often that we recall a Mid Winters event incorporating a mark outside the Gate, but there we were!
It is worth mentioning, that a rather robust NW swell in the 7-8' range was running, and when the larger sets would run into the strongest
part of the ebb headed west, the ensuing swell was very menacing looking, but a hoot to surf back out on!
Romeo Uria's Landmark 43' Destin would lead the pack to Diablo and set 1st, heading mid channel for the best winds, before a kite halyard
slip would upset their cart and glorious ride in, yet somehow they managed to reel it back into position and still surf some along the way!
The ride for the following boats seemed less eventful, but enthralling none the less, with white knuckle surf sessions logged in into the memories
of crews happy to once again be united together for a fun weekend of thrills and giggles, even though the masks occluded the ear to ear smiles
The south westerly's inside the bay, were still battling the NE wind aloft and never gained the strength of a typical clearing wind,
and they battled one another the rest of the afternoon, creating a very sizable glass bubble near Knox and Little Harding later in the afternoon,
challenging teams yet again another hoop to jump through before the finish off the CYC
To see who finished where CLICK HERE
To see more select images CLICK HERE
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