A very windy Sarcoma Cup Pursuit Race led to a capsize, swimmers in the water, a scaling of Alcatraz, and a dismasting. And all involving one small boat.

The pursuit race started at 1100 east of Southampton Shoals. The course took racers big and small around Alcatraz and Angel Island to starboard - no choice of directions as in the Great Pumpkin and Big Daddy Regatta. Like those popular races, the Sarcoma Cup Regatta is run by Richmond YC. It’s a benefit for BeatSarcoma, raising funds for medical research into a group of rare cancers.

The wind built on the upwind leg, holding steady around 20 for long distance, then becoming very puffy and stronger close to Alcatraz, the windward mark. A powerful flood made for a long beat. When the knotmeter read 5, the Speed Over Ground would read 3 knots.

Once to windward of Alcatraz, racers had to leave the red and green buoy nicknamed ‘Little Alcatraz’ to starboard (there be rocks, especially one big one). In order to lay the ‘mark’ against the raging flood, sailors had to go pretty far west on starboard before tacking over to port. Many had to tack back out onto starboard near the buoy (some sailors on Santana 22s, which started first, reported that the buoy hardly seemed to move). The Viper 640 BoomSlang, skippered by Viper dealer Drew Harper, was one of many that had to throw in that extra last tack. The trouble started when they tacked back onto port.

The 21-ft, 749 lb. sportboat heeled over, and just kept going, just like a Laser. First it capsized, then turtled, its keel pointing straight up, its three humans in the water.

While they were all drifting at breakneck speed on the flooding current toward Alcatraz, the three experienced and athletic sailors managed to right the boat. Its crisp sails caught the wind, and the fast little boat took off on its own power-reach toward Pier 39 before its crew could climb aboard. Another race boat had already called the Coast Guard. The Protector Escapade sped to the scene and went to aid the swimmers. Meanwhile, photographer Peter Lyons chased after the runaway sailboat. He could only go along for the ride until a bigger boat than his inflatable could arrive to assist.

One of the men from the Viper managed to crawl up on the seawall on Alcatraz’s west side. The others, another man and a young woman, were getting sucked by the current southbound along the wall and couldn’t scale it. The Protector (aptly named in this case!) reached the swimmers and pulled them out of the water. Once all three were onboard they zoomed off to chase after the Viper.

Not unlike in the Savage Beauty incident, the Marin County Sheriff’s Department Marine Patrol was the first rescue vessel onsite. They were soon joined by the same big aluminum Coast Guard boat that went out for Savage Beauty, and a smaller San Francisco Police boat. Escapade dropped one of the Viper crew back onto his boat, where he attempted to get it under control. Soon he was joined by the other two.

But the drama wasn’t over yet. The top of the mast had already broken. It may have hit something when it was underwater, as the depth was only 16 feet, and there are those rocks… Once the crew trimmed in the sails, the mast broke neatly in two at the spreaders. Still working on the task at hand without panic, the sailors lowered the mast and cleaned up the loose bits so that the boat could be taken under tow.

We’ll have a full report on racing in the Sarcoma Cup, an excellent, fun and worthy event now in its second year, in another day or two.