Opti Heavy Weather

June 22, 2010

What if they gave a 'Heavy Weather' regatta and the heavy weather didn't show up? We'll have to wait to find out, as this weekend's Opti Heavy Weather had heavy weather to spare.

The ship in the background is Japanese Navy training ship TV3508. ©2010 Erik Simonson/www.h2oshots.com

Sailors on boats with instruments reported 35 knots in the Slot on Saturday afternoon. Photographer Erik Simonson called these shots "selects from Saturday's Epic, soon to be re-titled the Sail & Bail."

The Opti sailors were soaked. ©2010 Erik Simonson/www.h2oshots.com

The regatta was hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club on the Cityfront. No shortage of wind there in late June! Almost 100 sailors raced, in blue, red, white and green divisions. The green fleet got going two hours earlier than the others and got in 15 races over the three-day event. At that rate they won't be green long. The other fleets had 11 scheduled and got in 9. Red fleet sailor Kyle Larsen of SFYC and SeqYC was the overall champion with 35 points. See www.stfyc.com for complete results.

Andrew Moreno demonstrates the versatility of the Opti boom, which can be used for a mast in a pinch. ©2010 Erik Simonson/www.h2oshots.com

The sailors got thei weight aft on the run. ©2010 Erik Simonson/www.h2oshots.com