norcalsailing.com weekend racing
Great Pumpkin
007: License to Sail
Two beautiful days, one of sailing, one of not sailing, but having fun anyway. That pretty much describes this year’s Great Pumpkin Regatta, hosted in its usual format by Richmond Yacht Club.
The regatta was prefaced by a Friday night pumpkin carving contest for little goblins. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Saturday
Saturday’s racing took place on three different courses: Southampton Shoals, Berkeley Circle, and Deep Water (west of the Circle). The IOR Warhorses chose a Bay tour instead of the usual three buoy races, and lived to regret it as the wind died completely in the North Bay.
Bob Izmarian’s Olson 911s Jane Doe takes off on the first leg of one of three windward-leeward-windward races on the Circle. Going all the way left to the Berkeley Pier seemed to be the correct choice in all three. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
After a postponement, racers on the Circle were treated to a nice, steady westerly. “I’m pretty envious that you guys had wind,” said Michael Radziejowski, bowman on Infinity, one of three boats on the Bay tour. “We kept hoisting and dousing. Aleta caught a whisper and walked away.” For more on young Michael, see our previous report.
Approaching the leeward mark, Jane Doe’s bowman gets the jib ready. To Jane’s port, Charlie Pick’s sistership Elusive will have inside overlap. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
The Express 27s had the second largest one division class, and sailed on the Circle. Larry Levit’s Strega topped the 17-boat fleet.
Expresses make a run for the leeward mark. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
The largest fleet of all (25 boats) sailed on the Southampton course. The Great Pumpkin is the final race in the Moore 24 Roadmaster Series, won yet again by Grand Roadmaster Brad Butler’s Morphine. Butler travels from the Seattle area, won the series in 2003, and placed second in the intervening years.
The bows on Sparrowhawk, Tortuga and Cal keep an eye on each other as they prepare to start. Photo by Rich Hudnut, Jr. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Synthia Petroka douses the kite down the forward hatch on Sparrowhawk. Photo by Rich Hudnut, Jr. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Close, but not exactly close, racing in the Moore fleet. Photo by Rich Hudnut, Jr. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Tom Condy drives Sparrowhawk while a formerly pink flamingo watches from the pushpit. Photo by Rich Hudnut, Jr. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Sharing the Southampton course were the J/22 Tinseltown Rebellion and the Olson 25 Balein. Photo by Rich Hudnut, Jr. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
Many thanks to photographer Rich Hudnut, Jr., and the Moore 24 Sparrowhawk for providing us with shots of the Southampton course.
Saturday Night
The theme for the party, 007: License to Sail, inspired Bond lookalikes, Bond girls, Bond villains, and assorted other disguises.
These belly dancers served up margaritas, while another drinks table provided martinis (shaken, not stirred, we presume), and a dancing belly dancer entertained diners. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
A mermaid and Octopussy, with their respective male counterparts. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
We found this pair out on the dance floor. The one on the left gets our vote for best tatas, but something tells us they’re not real. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
On the same day, just up and across the Bay, Tiburon YC was hosting the Red Rock Regatta and Halloween Party. A slide show of the Halloween party is available at www.tyc.org.
Sunday
Sunday’s pursuit race (handicap start, sail around Angel and Alcatraz Islands in either direction) started with a postponement. Fortunately some boats provided entertainment for others.
(Left) a swimmer climbs back aboard an Olson 30. (Right) Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder seems to have some extra body parts, which were plentiful among the crew on Mike Warren’s Beneteau Jitterbug. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
One of at least two Viking Wabbits, Miss July. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
A trivia quiz kept many of the waiting-to-racers busy. Dave and Jackie Liggett’s Jackrabbit ended up the winner with a perfect score.
Sailing close to the RC boat, this reporter was first to spot the abandonment flag, which would soon replace the postponement flag. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
The Race Committee fired the shotgun three times at 1:30, putting everyone out of their misery, or interrupting their sunbathing, depending on perspective. But there was still competition to be had in the hunt for the pumpkins which had been strewn about the starting area.
The gold pumpkin garnered the grand prize of a case of Richmond YC’s own Cabernet Sauvignon. ©2007 norcalsailing.com
So Goldpumpkin’s evil plot was foiled, and we all lived to sail another day.
October 29, 2007
Soren and Liga Hoy’s Crazy Diamond leads the J/109s on a downwind leg, while George Ellison’s Schumacher 30 Shameless sails through to windward. Diamond went on to win the new four-boat J/109 class, while Shameless won the nine-boat SF 30 division. ©2007 norcalsailing.com