March 18, 2015

On the first day of the Spring One Design regatta, it seemed everyone was there — 80 boats, 300 sailors, 8 fleets — everyone, that is, but the wind. Early season conditions prevailed, and the lack of breeze resulted in a string of postponements with, ultimately, no racing. “We knew that even if we were able to get off a start,” says regatta chair and Express 27 sailor Peggy Lidster, “we wouldn’t have been able to get around any windward mark. There was no wind in any direction, and we were fighting an ebb.” Sailors made the most of the day by enjoying the sun, admiring the fleets’ many sets of new sails and meeting back at St. Francis Yacht Club for food, drinks, lawn games and even a s’mores pit in the courtyard.

At 1645 on Saturday, the Race Committee posted two amendments to the sailing instructions: on Sunday, up to four races may be run, and no warning signal will take place after 1530. Day 2 launched with a commitment to run as many races as possible, while still beginning at 1100 hours. Luckily, Mother Nature agreed to the plan.

Stephen Bourdow's Moorgasm won the 9-boat Moore 24 division. ©2015 Sergei Zavarin/Ultimate Yachtshots

Conditions varied throughout Sunday, wavering between 7 and 15 knots. The unsteady breeze kept all fleets alert as fresh crew shook off the cobwebs and fresh sets of sails took on their first tacks and douses. Racing on two courses — one off Alcatraz, and one off the Cityfront — the fleets got in four buoy races. The Express 27s and Moore 24s had originally planned on running distance races to Point Bonita, but both came to the consensus that buoy racing was preferable for the now-shortened regatta.

Jon Perkins won the 13-boat Knarr class. ©2015 Sergei Zavarin/Ultimate Yachtshots

Express 27s, Moore 24s, Open 5.70s, and Knarrs raced on the Cityfront course, while the Melges 24s, J/70s, J/111s and J/120s raced off Alcatraz. “Looking around, you could feel a fervor for the start of the season. These are the Bay Area one design keelboat fleets, and everyone brought their A-game,” says Lidster. “The entire Central Bay was filled with sails, from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate to the shore. The number of sailboats and the camaraderie between fleets was fantastic — it felt like days of old!”

— Meredith Laitos, StFYC

For complete results, see www.stfyc.com.