303 boats registered for the 2022 Single Handed Sailing Societies annual epic of confusion, fun, personal challenges and
a bit of in most cases teamwork, that being double handed and all.
The dawn broke with promise, as the clear skies and chilly north east winds filled the bay, which was coincidently in King Tides mode,
making reading the tea leaves that are the currents very critical.
The savvy sailors know that red is fast, and even faster when wet, as illustrated above!
Weaver And Gutoff dropping some early Stank Eye on the pack as they round Yerba Buena as lead dogs
Blue skies, crisp chilly air from the north and a raging ebb great the CCW fleet as the pass under the Bay Bridge
After the 1st start at 0900, teams broke into two major camps, those heading directly to Red Rock and those choosing the counter clockwise direction,
that being Yerba Buena 1st. It should be noted that the winds at the start area off the Golden Gate Yacht Club slowly backed off, making getting underway, and even greater
challenge for the late starters. The direction of the wind also played a factor as the pressure was amplified as it was squeezed between the city and it massive skyscrapers
and Yerba Buena's natural mass.
All in all, a mere 62 boats managed to succeed in finishing this edition of the 3 Bridge Fiasco, with Moore 24's, Express 27 and PHRF 108 and lower making up the majority
of successful circumnavigations of the bay this particular day!
Team Invictus are also member of the Red Is Fast camp!
Going semi undercover, Motorcycle Irene would use the direct to Red Rock then Yerba Buena route to
win this edition of the 3 Bridge Fiasco
Deathspear, makes a rare appearance. After a short residency in Iowa, team Jetstream has returned to racing on the bay!
With the ebb slowly increasing as the morning progressed, and the wind gradually faded, it was critical to get at least one of the islands in the rear view mirror.
Easier said than done, and in both cases, a wide berth at both locations was needed to pass, and lots of suspended animation was in play. As it would be revealed later,
the direct to Red Rock course proved the fastest, with Dave Liebenberg and Julia Paxton sailing the Express 27' [I]Motorcycle Irene[/IMG] to a decisive 1st to finish victory, taking the checkered
flag at 15:26:37 ahead of Dave Hodges and John Kernot aboard the Farr 38' Timberwolf who's time of 15:54:25 made them the only two boats to finish before 16:00hrs
As the afternoon progressed, the breeze backed off, before switching to a more westerly direction, and strongest in the central bay
Happiness is when they allow you to forward of the mast!
Red Rock was a magnet for this red boat, Bombora was unable to escape the rocks tractor beam,
and with 4 plus knot of ebb and decreasing breeze, the early attempts to get her off, proved futile.
They were extracted by Tow Boat USA later in the afternoon, and taken to KKMI were the good news is the keel
damage was largely superficial!
Not everybody can make a boat named Snot-Rocket
RESULTS
Photo Galleria!
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