Into the Blue

September 9, 2013

Away from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco's Summer of Racing, South Lake Tahoe was on the cusp of tourist seasons on Sunday, and the local racing scene was laid back and mellow. Tahoe Windjammers Yacht Club held their annual Late Summer Race on crystal blue water, under blue skies (the smoke from the Rim Fire had mostly cleared), with just enough of a northerly breeze to move the boats smartly around a short triangle course.

With no clubhouse, LTWYC's Rear Commodore Steve Katzman presided over Sunday morning's skippers meeting in the parking lot of Tahoe Keys Marina. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

After a quick skippers meeting in a sunny parking lot at Tahoe Keys, the crews set off to prepare their boats with a little bit of apprehension about the light air forecast. One source predicted as little as 1-2 knots, with gusts to 3!

The crew scrubs The Phoenix's bottom before the race. An ingenious block and tackle arrangement attached to a neighbor's dock allows them to heel the boat over. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

After all that scrubbing, Renee Fields flipped out. "How's the water temperature?" we asked. "Cold!" she replied. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

Some of the boats known to race in the Bay Area during the winter season are Steve Katzman's Express 27 Dianne and the Olson 30s Yankee Air Pirate and Chaos. Joining them this year will be the newly resurrected Express 27 Witchy Woman, now known appropriately as The Phoenix. Witchy Woman had what was thought to be a fatal fall off the hoist at Brickyard Cove in Richmond last year, but with the help of Rufus Sjoberg and new owner Ernie Jones, she lives on and is as good as new. "Some broken ring frames, bulkhead and a slice though the cabin top," is what her crew Dave Young described as just some of the damage. With her new summer home in Lake Tahoe, she plans on visiting the Bay for winter racing.

The Phoenix arose from the wreck of Witchy Woman. New owner Ernie Jones splashed her on May 28. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

The light breeze was enough to start the race. Diane Martin's Santa Cruz 27 Wind Dance took her turn as race committee boat. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

Seven boats showed up for the Late Summer Race, and most were in the sportboat category with the Santana 20 Meiers Run as scratch boat. The committee boat for the day was Diane Martin's Santa Cruz 27 Wind Dance. "We take turns being RC," said Diane. "It's required." Hers is the only SC27 in town. "We are trying to keep up with the others. I do need new sails which may help."

Meiers Run, a Santana 20, was the smallest boat in the race. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

The Olson 30 Chaos. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

Mas Rapido , another Olson 30 at the start. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

The wind on the Lake held steady in pressure and direction, peaking in the middle of the second leg, a white-sail reach. The boats had few tactical choices or passing lanes, but in late summer nothing could be finer than racing in an 8-10 knot breeze on blue, flat, fresh water surrounded by granite mountains and fellow sailors. The two reaching legs may have helped Pete Russell's asymmetrical Melges 24 Zoom Zoom hang on to their first to finish position against the symmetrical competition.

Meiers Run, the last boat to finish, approaches the line. ©2013 norcalsailing.com

Next Sunday, the club will have the 2-3 race Howard Stevens. The Sunday after that, they round Fannette Island in either direction, a popular race known for the fluky wind in Emerald Bay. The season concludes on October 20 with the last of three fall season races, just in time for the avid racers to trailer their boats down to the Bay for the Great Pumpkin Regatta. See www.tahoewindjammers.com.