BAYS in Paradise

September 9, 2011

Last Saturday and Sunday, Tiburon Yacht Club hosted the Bay Area Youth Sailing (BAYS) #5 Regatta. This was the last regatta in the BAYS 2011 Summer Race Series.

One hundred and two local youth, ages 18 and under, sailed 29er, c420, cFJ, Laser and Optimist sailboats in the San Francisco Bay waters just east of Paradise Cay in Marin. Fleets were split onto two race courses, a windward-wing-leeward course for the 42 Optis and a windward leeward course for the remaining fleets.

Conditions varied, starting off light on Saturday after the overcast burned off in the late morning, turning into a full on blow by mid-afternoon with gusts in the mid to upper twenties. Sunday's conditions initially appeared to be a repeat of Saturday, but the big winds never materialized. A strong building flood current added to the tactics.

Saturday's gusty winds presented the fleets with challenging conditions. Preventing submerging of bows was the order of the day. Despite being a test of skill and perseverance, many skippers were seen with grins from ear to ear as a result of the planing conditions. (See a short video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuNDOZ7Q8VE.)

Saturday was also filled with amusing spills. One Laser skipper was seen sliding across the deck, from the cockpit all the way forward and across the bow when her bow dug in during one downwind run. Several of the c420 and cFJ sailors attempted the same gymnastic maneuver but only made it as far forward as the mast.

When it was all over, sailors got in 4-5 races on Saturday and another five races on Sunday. This allowed for one race to be discarded. Final results for Lasers were split into Full and Radial, and Optis into White, Blue, Red and Green based upon age and experience. Final regatta results are posted on TYC's website http://tyc.org/BAYS.html. Season championship results are posted here: http://bayarea-youthsailing.com/results/2011/2011-results.html.

One sailor, whose birthday happened to fall on the the last day of racing, received the best present one could imagine - a trophy for first place in the fifteen strong Laser Radial class. Of course everyone sang Happy Birthday at the awards ceremony!

When the regatta was all over, it was clearly evident that BAYS achieved their mission, "... to foster improved communication and cooperation among existing and aspiring junior sailing programs in the region; generate excitement and enthusiasm for junior sailing and its ideals; facilitate the linkage of aspiring junior sailors to available resources; and provide a forum for the collection and dissemination of ideas and best practices in support of junior sailing."

- Peter Schoen, BAYS #5 Race Chair