Only thirty miles from the Richmond Riviera but as different as it gets is Tomales Bay. The area is more like a lake than the Bay, with wind shifts, the favored side changing by the minute, and gusts coming from nowhere. Nature laid it out perfectly though, set up for windward-leeward by the San Andreas fault and the northwesterly winds.

This Saturday an assortment of dinghies raced the first of a summer series at Inverness Yacht Club. The diversity of the boats makes for challenging math for finish times: International 110s, Flying Scots, a Hobie 18 beach cat, a Weta trimaran and more all racing under Portsmouth rule. By the finish, the fleet is all spread out. The 110s and Flying Scots also have their own one design regattas throughout the year.

The only condition is the race has to be completed within three hours or the tide will go out and the course will turn to mud. Water levels can make for leisurely start times (Saturday’s race started at 3:20 p.m.) and plenty of time for bench racing after the real racing.

For more, see www.invernessyachtclub.org.