Bolero, Tim Murison's late 1940s Island Clipper, and Erik Menzel’s Wylie Wabbit won Richmond YC’s Tri-Island race on Saturday, in the non-spinnaker and spinnaker divisions respectively. The ‘right way’ to go around the islands was counter-clockwise, Red Rock first, for the spinnaker boats and clockwise for the unspinnakered. Everybody made it back to the club in time for the lobster dinner. The lobsters were hoping for a reprieve.

Here’s what Eric Menzel had to say about winning: "Relaxed - ha. We made it from Treasure Island to the finish in just around 25 minutes with about 3" of water down below. Around the Berkeley Pier we were parallel to the waves, and when we were in a trough in front of a particularly large one, Attila hit the wave and got washed back behind me, still on the trap.  My daughter, who had her eyes closed from the spray when all this happened, looked forward and said in a panic "WHERE'S ATTILA?!” We dug him out of the stern wave and swung him forward. And he shortened his trap line to stay out of the waves."

The pursuit race course gave racers the choice of going around Treasure Island, Alcatraz and Red Rock in either direction, starting and finishing at Richmond YC.

Erik describes the race from the beginning: "Heading out of Potrero Reach, a lot of the RYC brain trust was calling it clockwise, so with slight trepidation we stuck with our original plan (usually don't) and contrary (usually am) and turned right. All this was predicated on keeping the Wabbit cracked off the wind as much as possible - this theory (our theory) was to have us us tight-reaching from Angel Island to TI and then more of that on the long leg home.

“The wind when we went around Red Rock was 5-8 knots, but we were on a headstay reach, so plenty of pressure. It picked up to trapping conditions on the way to Raccoon Strait. We had a lovely, light spinnaker reach to Red Rock - with Vent Vitesse and us around the Rock at the same time and dueling tacks all the way to the top of Angel Island. But then, with our trusty and unbreakable friend Attila on trap and two 15 year old girls shrieking at the spray, the Wabbit picked up its skirt and under white sails off we went.

“Much of the fleet going the other way gave us friendly waves as we wove through them around Alcatraz. We had a brief spinnaker set after Blossom Rock with a beer, sandwich, and cookie break thrown in to keep the slow sail around TI entertaining. We swung wide to avoid the lee and funky winds, dropped before the Bay Bridge, and then straight-lined it home on what has so far been the best firehose reach of the season.” 

Fifteen non-spinnaker boats and 23 spinnaker boats sailed - not bad for a little club race. See full results at www.richmondyc.org.

In other RYC news, Mark Howe’s new-to-him Farr 36 War Pony has broke free of the stable. The boat is extremely fast off the breeze. Dock chat has it that War Pony will race in the Sarcoma Cup before the Big Boat Series.