With the heat wave over, the fog and the slam-bang summertime Cityfront racing scene came in fast on Saturday for the YRA series and StFYC’s Stone Cup. The HDA Spring 1 start combined with the ODCA series on the same start line and proved to be a handful for not only the competitors but the race committee also. The weather conditions quickly went from moderate to a nice summer blast of 30 knots of wind. Throw strong ebb into the mix and you get some exciting downwind runs.

George Ellison of the Schumacher 30 Shameless recalls, “Saturday was Cityfront at its finest! We were crewed up for medium air...we could have used two more just to keep the boat in the water. One broach was due to lack of housekeeping in the cockpit; we simply couldn't pull anyone off the rail to do it. We were halfway through a jibe, foredeck was complete, but due to a foul in the runners, mainsheet and helmsman, we couldn't bring the boom across. Took a bit to sort it all out.”

Laura Watt sailed in the ODCA races aboard the Express 37 Bullet. They weren’t even sure the second race would be held, as the fog had become so dense by mid-afternoon, and the radio was busy with competitors calling in to drop out. “And of course, lots of round-ups and round-downs, including a spectacular one on our boat.”

For more of Laura’s photos of the weekend, see www.flickr.com/photos/lawatt/sets/72157605122321536.

Throughout the day the mayhem continued with a dismasting, several crew overboard and a collision between two Alerion 28s that sent one sailor to the hospital. On the docks after the race, the crews swapped stories of damage and white-knuckled racing. It’s not a good thing when the Coast Guard, SFPD and Marin County Sheriff’s boat are all taking reports. To cap it all off the fog rolled in just in time for the second ODCA race and a low clinging cloud cover that made it difficult to see. By then a lot of boats retired because of the conditions, and with the race committee not knowing what happened to some, it took a long time to sort everything out.

George Ellison, who also happens to be HDA president commented, “Oakland Yacht Club did a fine job of running this race [from the Golden Gate YC race deck]. The 100+ participants in the combined HDA/ODCA start overlapped with the Stone Cup racers. There were collisions, dismastings, folks in the water, general recalls etc. They really had their hands full and did a great job, but they were kept overtime because of boats that did not check in when they quit the race. I believe that in light of the mishaps of this spring, race course safety will be increased and enforced. Keep in mind that the RC is thinking about keeping us safe. Be sure to return the favor and check out if withdrawing or call them at the earliest convenience.”

The results of the Cityfront racing can be found at www.yra.org (HDA and ODCA) and www.stfyc.com (Stone Cup).