Six Santana 22s sailed up and down the Oakland-Alameda Estuary on Sunday, in three races, with winds going from gusty to nil, and back, more times than anyone could count. Pretty typical for the Estuary, actually. What made this regatta different from most Santana 22 events was that the drivers and crew on all the boats were female students of Island Yacht Club’s Women’s Sailing Seminar. Tuna owners of both sexes brought their boats so the novice racers could try their hands at what many of us can’t enough of, and some of them got hooked good. The owners, plus additional instructors, provided an extremely high teacher-to-pupil ratio, the race committee set short courses, and all had a delightful time.

After Saturday’s workshops both on and off the water, students could choose the regatta or a Bay cruise on Sunday. The cruisers got to sail on boats like Harp and Golden Moon - top race boats.

As is not unusual in ‘real’ Tuna racing, Michael Andrews’ Bonito won the series (1-2-1). Bonito is a product of Schock’s resumption of Santana 22 production in the 21st century, but she was not the newest vessel in the race. The bright shiny red Ahi had that honor. Tackful took the second place spot, after coming all the way from Sausalito (as did Kelly Shawn, ex-Elaine). The sextet was rounded out by Chopped Liver, a recently revived and repaired older boat from Richmond YC, in third place, and Shinobi from Afterguard Sailing Academy.

Fun, friendly, casual, instructive - yes, but this regatta had all the ingredients of the real deal. Protest flags were even thrown in two races. In the first, one of the boats was late to the start and still motoring. They dropped out after they had to start the engine again to avoid hitting a dock. In the second protest, a different boat hit the weather mark (a soft tetrahedron). They exonerated themselves later by spinning a circle. Bonito had hit the same mark and spun a circle right away, before anyone had a chance to say anything. All was in the spirit of education, not punishment.

At the post-regatta awards ceremony, hilarity ensued as amusing prizes were handed out to every sailor (a Halloween theme prevailed). Students were encouraged to try crewing in local beer can races and midwinters, including Island YC’s own Estuary Midwinters, beginning on November 9, and their Jack & Jill + 1 race on November 2.

For details on the Women’s Sailing Seminar and other Island YC activities, see their site at www.iyc.org.