The annual awards meeting of the Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco (known to its friends as ‘YRA’) was held at Berkeley Yacht Club on Tuesday evening. Successful racers came to collect their Vallejo Race pennants, daily trophies, and season trophies. YRA Board President Pat Broderick MC’d the festivities, and a new feature was added this year: a guest speaker. Women’s Match Racing star Liz Baylis, a resident of San Rafael and member of San Francisco and Richmond YCs, addressed the crowd about the politics of getting Women’s Match Racing included as an event in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Liz Baylis won the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship this September. ©2007 www.norcalsailing.com

The announcement of the sailing events for 2012 is available at http://sailing.org/21257.php, and Women’s Match Racing did indeed make the cut! For more on Women’s Match Racing, see the Women’s International Match Racing Association website at www.wimra.org.

After Liz’s talk about international sailing at the highest level, the focus shifted back to casual racing at home, but remained with the feminine gender, as the first ever Queen of the Women’s Circuit was crowned. The Women’s Circuit is a list of women skipper regattas and women’s sailing seminars which was published in the 2007 YRA Calendar. The challenge, instigated by Christine Weaver of Latitude 38, was very simple: participate in as many events as possible and collect the evidence. Former Queen of the Beer Cans, Lucie Mewes of Singlehanded Sailing Society and Richmond YC, and incoming Commodore of Island YC, rose to the challenge and was recognized for her accomplishment at the meeting. If we’ve counted correctly, she clocked in six women skipper regattas and three days of volunteering at seminars.

Lucie borrowed the WylieCat 30 Uno for the Jack & Jill + 1 at the beginning of November. ©2007 www.norcalsailing.com

Once the ladies had surrendered podium, the meeting divided up into the YRA associations HDA (PHRF), ODCA (one design) and OYRA (ocean) for the presentation of season trophies.

Changes are in the works for YRA racing in 2008, but for sure you will see the return and expansion of the very popular Party Circuit. Keep an eye on www.yra.org and pick up the 2008 Calendar after we step into the New Year.