If all ocean races were this quick, more people might do them. As it was forty-four boats raced Island Yacht Club’s Doublehanded Lightship Race - the first ocean race of the year - and all but one finished. The race out to the Lightship buoy and back, was so fast that the race committee, stationed at Golden Gate Yacht Club, had finishers coming in before noon.

The first gun for the starting sequence was fired at 0900, and the Corsair 31 R trimaran Roshambo crossed the finish line first at 1124. Ross Stein’s F-27 Origami corrected out to win the multihull division. We were excited to hear that SSS TransPac racer Jeff Lebesch had his trimaran Hecla out. He finished at 1145.

Once all the trimarans got out of the way, the first monohull to finish, and to win in division, was Trevor Baylis’s J/100 Brilliant.

While the finishers were coming in, a drama was developing for one of the race boats still out near Point Bonita. On the VHF, sailors who were supposed to be paying attention to their races in the Big Daddy were catching the shore side of a conversation with Grant Hayes and Bill Schwob on the Hobie 33 Vitesse Too. Island YC Commodore Dawn Chesney picks up the story.

“Vitesse Too lost steerage when something with their rudder or rudder post stopped doing its job about as far out as Point Bonita on their way back from the Lightship. They did have a backup rudder, which, though tested previously, was not effective in the conditions they were in; the drogue they deployed was also not as effective as needed. Vitesse Too was being pushed by current and wind (they had dropped their sails to reduce windage) toward land. The sailing vessel Tutu, which was not racing, was the first vessel close enough to offer assistance and gave them a tow. Unfortunately, that tow had its own risks.

 

“The Coast Guard, who happened to be having a training day, so had ships available nearby, and were standing by due to the IYC Race Committee's Channel 16 call and continued cell phone communication, decided they needed to intervene for safety reasons. The Coast Guard relieved Tutu of their tow and proceeded to tow Vitesse Too to Presidio Marina in Horseshoe Cove. Once docked, the Coast Guard performed a full inspection and determined the vessel and crew met all CG requirements, other than outdated flares. 

“John New (IYC race chair) drove to their location and brought Grant and Bill back to GGYC; after some chill time, John and I then drove them to the Alameda Marina to retrieve their vehicles.  

 

“After the race we learned that Pocket Rocket had also suffered rudder damage during the race. We saw them finish without a spinnaker, just not Brad Cameron's style, so we wondered what was up. They used the sails to steer the boat to some extent and tried not to put much load on the rudder to avoid complete failure. They not only finished the race, but still corrected to win their division!”

We’re glad all crews are safe and accounted for. Complete results are available at www.iyc.org/raceinfo.htm. Thanks again to Erik Simonson for the photos!