Bikinis in Mid-Winter

February 8, 2011

Sunday was a hard day for the Richmond Yacht Club Race Committee to look good, but at least the current wasn’t a problem and the weather was terrific. Eighties. (“80s in February!”) And the D-O-Ms were trying not to notice the comely lass in the parking lot putting away her yacht while wearing a pink bikini. With herring spawning, the race course was alive with harbor seals, sea lions and Hitchcockian flocks of gulls gulping eggs and fishies. It was hard to hear the starting signals over the 'orphing' and belching marine mammals.

Sixty-degree shifts in the morning which held long enough to set up a course made life on the committee boats a wee bit difficult. One racer didn’t need perfection, just a few tacks to the weather mark were enough to keep him happy. For the sailors, the constant up-and-down 6-12+ knot gusts added to the complexity. And some of the El Toro Juniors, far away from encouraging shouts on Proud Parent Point, got a little befuddled.

The spectating from 'Proud Parents Point'. ©2011 Richmond YC

After lunch, the winds puffed up into “no winners – only losers and survivors” conditions, and the crash boats earned their keep rescuing mostly adults. The adults report 20+ knot gusts and aching muscles.

While waiting for the completion of salvage operations, the older juniors would claw their way upwind then bear off and plane away on a screaming reach - as light weight, skill, an El Toro, and an infinite sense of fun can allow.

If you are Buzz Blackett you might not appreciate El Toro Maestro Fred Paxton this close to your transom. For Fred, an aficionado of extreme downwind heel, the only problem is getting by Buzz – who knows how a gentleman defends a position. ©2011 Richmond YC

For the El Toro Seniors the day’s honors went to John Pacholski with two firsts saying he used his kid’s sail to sail fast and high. The current leader is Mike Quinn, who holds a substantial lead over Gordie Nash. Gordie, incidentally, sailing his other yellow boat, is leading his Golden Gate YC Midwinter division by one point.

Mike Quinn leads the series. Mike also leads by example, as co-leader of the RYC Junior Program. ©2011 Richmond YC

Chris Nash was coaching a grandchild. Chris with son Nicholas won their Three Bridge Fiasco Doublehanded division the previous week. ©2011 Richmond YC

In El Toro Juniors, three bullets went to Emma Drejes, a chip off the Zan Drejes block. She looked relaxed, fast and in control. Also looking very much at home is Zoe King who has sailed an El Toro for about a month. She was 6-3-2 Sunday. Tactically at the starts she was in the right place. She might find the El Toro a little sedate after sailing the trainer she’s used to back in Great Britain. Current series leaders are Robbie Englehart and Neil Marcellini, who have made all the races, which really helps for a series.

In the Lasers, despite a stick-in-the mud capsize (“the usual death roll downwind’), Christine Neville still leads a tight pack at the top which includes Mark Halman and Mike Bishop. For that capsize, in an informal awards ceremony at the Richmond YC bar with the Super Bowl blaring on the TV, Commodore Bob Branstad presented Christine with a 'Certificate of Mudworthiness.' She also got a medal, but no kiss on the cheek.

- seymour dodds

Results can be found at www.richmondyc.org. The series has one more day of racing, March 6, which is preceded by Sail a Small Boat Day on March 5.