More than 1,000 sailors on 97 boats in 11 classes are competing Thursday through Sunday in the Rolex Big Boat Series hosted by St. Francis YC. Jim Mitchell’s Vincitore (Italian for ‘winner’) won the IRC A class on opening day. “I wouldn’t miss this regatta for anything,” said Mitchell, a Chicagoan who now lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

 

The IRC class leaders – Kjeld Hestehave’s Velos, Daniel Woolery’s King 40 Soozal, and Gerard Sheridan’s Elan 40 Tupelo Honey – all local boats – joined Vincitore in the two-bullet club today. All four divisions of IRC handicap-rated boats are competing for the Rolex US-IRC National Championship. 

Also vying for their national championships are the Express 37 and Melges 32 classes. For Burt Benrud of the Melges 32 Rougarou, this is not only his first Rolex Big Boat Series, but also his first season in the class. “This is our first big outing and we could have not picked a better location,” he said. The entry from New Orleans won the day’s first race, took a second in the second and now sit in first overall in the six-boat class.  Don Jesberg of Mill Valley, the recent winner of the class’s North American championship, is in second place overall on his Viva, followed by Stephen Pugh’s Taboo, another Marin boat.

 

“We had our first Express 37 National Championship regatta in 1986,” said Bartz Schneider, the class fleet captain and president, and skipper of Expeditious, currently in fourth place overall. “This is our 20th national championship at the St. Francis. In 1990 we had our first National Championship as part of the Big Boat Series, and except for 2001, we have had it as part of the regatta every year.” Leading the nine-boat class is Kame Richards’ Golden Moon, with Elan, owned by Bill Reiss, in third. Schneider summed up the fleet leaders: “Golden Moon will be tough, with Bay tide guru Kame Richards at the helm. Elan will be very competitive.  And Blade Runner (Mick Schlens, from Los Angeles), with their name already on the trophy several times, is always a possible threat.”

 

The largest one design fleet is the J/105 class with 25 boats. Returning champion Donkey Jack, owned by Robert Conrads, took 13-6 in two races and is now eighth overall. Bruce Stone’s Arbitrage won the day’s first race, while Adam and Guillemette Spiegel’s Jam Session won the second, putting them into second overall behind class leader, Jeff Litfin and John Case’s Mojo.

Other  one design divisions are Beneteau First 36.7s (led by Aaron Kennedy’s Ay Caliente!), One Design 35s (led by Gary Boell’s Diablita with a pair of deuces), J/120s (Steve Madeira’s Mr. Magoo is in the lead) and Cal 40s. We’re excited to see six Cal 40s, designed in 1963 by Bill Lapworth, in the regatta. William LeRoy’s Gone with the Wind is in the lead with two bullets. Although the majority of Cal 40s are based in SoCal, these are all Bay Area boats.

 

While many of the competing boats are from the Bay Area and California, some hail from ports across the U.S. and abroad. Lorenzo Berho and his J/145 Raincloud from Mexico City, Mexico, are in sixth overall in IRC B. “Raincloud is a Mexican family and friends boat that has changed our lives, and also has helped us fulfill several dreams,” said Berho, who only started sailing five years ago. “We had a great experience in last year’s Rolex Big Boat Series that we decided to come back in spite of the difficult economic times, and for most of us that means traveling from Mexico City. The organizers are great and the competing boats are really friendly. Last year we got fourth place in our fleet, so we would love to get a third place this year. We know that most of the fleet is very competitive and there are many experienced sailors with local knowledge. I am turning 50 years old on September 15, so I chose this regatta as my birthday present. There is nothing better than sailing with my family and best friends in the most outstanding Bay of the world.”

There’s no shortage of event coverage. To see more, see www.regattanews.com, www.big-boat-series.com and www.stfyc.com. We’ll be onsite starting Friday, shooting video and stills, and shooting the breeze with the sailors. Also see www.h2oshots.com for more of Erik Simonson’s photos from Day 1.