Joan Storer Regatta

October 15, 2012

It was a girls' day out on Saturday with the resurrection of Tiburon Yacht Club's Joan Storer Regatta. In this race only one guy is allowed on each boat and he must stay away from the helm at all times. Although only five boats showed up on the line, race chair Ian Matthew is optimistic about getting more women sailors out next year. "It's the perfect venue really. In the fall the winds are light, the water is flat, and we can set up long upwind and downwind legs to make things a little more relaxing than in other places." The entries varied widely with the fastest rated being the J/105 Joyride and the slowest the Santana 22 Oreo.

The crew of Joyride, which would be first to finish. ©2012 norcalsailing.com

After an almost-not-enough-wind start following a brief postponement at 1300, the fleet were off on a twice-around windward-leeward course in the North Bay. Sailed around permanent marks east of Paradise Cay and south of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the windward leg was a mostly one-tack beat, and the downwind leg a mostly one-jibe spinnaker reach. A strong ebb made things interesting. A nice 10 knots of breeze filled in for the finishes at around 1500, after which the club served up pupus and handed out TYC wine glasses to all the finishers.

For some reason the trophy had cookies in it. ©2012 norcalsailing.com

The top boat of the day was Oreo, skippered by Emily Selke.

Overall winner Emily Selke of Oreo shared with her competitors. ©2012 norcalsailing.com

We're already looking forward to this delightful race next year. See www.tyc.org.