Tweet
A cloudless sky and predicted winds out of the north were on tap for the last Saturday of the 2nd month
of 2021. There were a few changes in store for the short handed sailors due to COVID 19, mostly the venue and routing.
The Corinthian YC, which usually has hosted the annual Central Bay Tour was off limits at time that permit applications were due,
so the decision to utilize the space in front of the GGYC was opted in as start and finish, and the course would be altered as well:
In order to enable proper social distancing practices for the race committee, the following
modifications to the standing sail instructions will be implemented:
1) The course will start and finish off the Golden Gate Yacht Club rather than the
traditional Corinthian Yacht Club starting area.
2) The total number of entrants will be limited to 150 or to a manageable number
COURSE
From the START,
• to Crissy Field (Blackaller) buoy (yellow cylinder "C" 0.2 nm E of Fort Point), leaving it
to starboard
• then to Southampton Shoal (Iso R 6s 32ft 6M BELL), leaving it to port,
• then to Little Harding buoy (G “1” Fl G 4s), leaving it to port,
• then to Blossom Rock buoy (GR “BR” Fl (2+1) G 6s BELL), leaving it to starboard,
• then to the FINISH.
179 short handed boats signed up for the 15.5 nm race with 26 no shows meaning 153 anxious to get back to
racing boats, 39 of which were single handing the race and all others doubled up.
While the blustery conditions predicted from the weather wonks failed to materialize, a gentle northerly prevailed, and the early boats got the better of it and the last of the flood.
The winds were erratic to put it mildly, with "personal puffs" the rule of the day. One moment you were golden, the next not so much. A split in the fleet with some boats heading east through
Racoon Straits and others a more direct line toward the Berkeley Flats ensued, with most of the RS boats getting befuddled by a generous lack of breeze in the lee of the Belvedere Peninsula.
And while the mid bay boats took a sizeable head start, the mix of building ebb and dying northerly resulted in a 100 boat or so park up/ restart north of Treasure Island which seemed to only get stickier
as the herd moved toward Southampton, where crunch time ensued, lots of bumper boat action, with little to no social distancing between hulls!
The boats which avoided "Horde Mentality" by luck, or timing or just being more smarter worked their way slowly through Racoon Strait in a light NW breeze that slowly
gave way to a westerly as the leaders approach Little Harding. Then suddenly the westerly ramped up as well the ebb and the fun meter. With the very low rated multi's,
Peter Stoneberg's Extreme 40 Shadow and the Open 8.5 Mama Tried skippered by Andy Costello having sprung loose early and finished, the Corsairs and Farriers
battling for top positions remaining in multihull divisions. A trio of mono hulls lead the charge to Blossom, Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault on the J105 Arbitrage, Will and Julie Paxton on the E-27
Motorcycle Irene and Seldom Seen ( Greg Nelsen and TBD) on the Azzura 310 Outsider...
We wont tell you who took the 1st to finish and corrected overall monhull gun, but one had Carl Crawford as crew and the other have a topless woman on their kite...
Selects Gallery
RESULTS
Comment