Crowded Cityfront
Five different races occupied the same square mile on Saturday. Besides the Finns, who had the second day of their Nationals, the Mercuries and Star boats had three races on the first day of a two-day event, the Master Mariners had two races on the first day of the Jessica Cup, and the YRA had three divisions out for three races in one day. The St. Francis YC was responsible for all but the latter, simultaneously running the Finns, Mercuries, Stars and Jessica Cup. Island YC (on the Golden Gate YC race deck) ran three YRA divisions: HDA/PC, ODCA, and WBRA, with a light turnout. It was a little crazy out there in a brisk 15-knot westerly breeze, which built to 22 by the end of the afternoon, and a flooding current.
In the first start of the Yankee Cup, Shameless was as close to the line as you could be without being called over early. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
Seven HDA and Party Circuit champions competed for the Yankee Cup, four ODCA boats sailed their Champion of Champions Regatta, and four WBRA champions (two Knarrs, a Folkboat and an IOD) made it for a champions’ race.
Tom Montoya’s Santana 22 Meliki (right), which won the Champion of Champions Regatta, on her way to Blackaller, crosses courses with Corsair, a Sea Scouts whaleboat finishing the first race of the Jessica Cup. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
You might think that the Jessica Cup is just a beauty pageant, not real racing, but in reality this regatta is so competitive that in the second race, three out of four starts had boats over early with individual recalls.
The second Farallon Clipper start. The middle boat in this shot, Echo, was over early and had to circle back. Bill Belmont’s Credit would win this four-boat division. Note the Mercury fleet in the background headed to their weather mark. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
The three boats in the fourth start, for gaffers, were more stately getting off the line.
Brigadoon, Yankee and Makani Kai. Yankee, skippered by Sophie O’Neal, won this division. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
Another Sea Scouts whaleboat, Viking (seen here about to duck the PCC Robin), could as well be called ‘Phoenix’, as she rose from the ashes - well, the depths of the Bay - after sinking from a collision in the summer of 2006. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
The Finns were not the only Olympic class out with Olympic talent competing (click here to read our story on the Finn Nationals and our chat with Silver Medalist Zach Railey). The Star class was competing in the Calvin Paige Regatta. Mark Reynolds of San Diego, a star among Stars, won Gold in 1992 and 2000 and Silver in 1988. A 1910 design, Stars have been competing in Olympics almost continuously since 1932.
Not too surprisingly, Olympic Gold medalist Mark Reynolds, with crew Hal Haenel, won the Calvin Paige Regatta for Star boats. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
Sailing alongside the Stars was another older-design two-person small keelboat, the Mercury, which boasts a active fleet in California, sailing in the Joe Logan Regatta.
A fleet of 15 Mercuries raced for the Joe Logan trophy. Doug Baird and Jim Taylor won it by four points. © 2008 norcalsailing.com
For more on the Mercury fleet, see www.merc583.addr.com/sail/index.html. For more on the Star Class, see www.starclass.org. For complete results of the Logan, Paige and Jessica Cups, see www.stfyc.com. For more on the YRA championship races, see www.yra.org.
October 19, 2008
Allan Cullen, from Vancouver, tacks away from Andy MacDonald of Newport Harbor (foreground) in the Calvin Paige Star regatta. Andy came in second. © 2008 norcalsailing.com