May 5, 2014

If one were to vote for the most bipolar race of the year award the Singlehanded Sailing Society's Round the Rocks Race on Saturday would be the front runner so far. Starting out on the Berkeley Circle and winding its way around the North Bay via Alcatraz, Harding Rock, Red Rock and the Brother Islands and finishing at Richmond Yacht Club, this race proved to be more challenging than anticipated, with lots of room for errors, glory, expectation and frustration at each rock.

The Santana 27 Arcadia and the Azzura 310 Outsider in the roughed-up water of the Berkeley Circle starting area. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

At the start at 1030, the boats saw 15+ knots of wind on chopped up water, with 25 knots predicted for the afternoon.

Al Germain on the Wyliecat 30 Bandicoot shortly before the start. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

A trio of trimarans: eventual Doublehanded Multihull winner Roshambo, Peregrine Falcon and eventual Singlehanded Multihull winner Try 'n' Fly. The multihulls started first. ©2014 Leslie Richter/www.rockskipper.com

PHRF 111-159 start. ©2014 Leslie Richter/www.rockskipper.com

The Newport 30-II Zeehond rounds Rock #1. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Singlehander Charles Casey's Cal 40 XL follows close behind. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The upwind slog to Alcatraz and then Harding was an uncomfortable bash in a dying ebb, and the boats that played the right side towards Angel Island on the first beat saw flatter water and better current and got out in front. Once up at the Harding Rock Buoy the trick to getting around in a building flood was to stay high and give the mark plenty of room.

Zeehond and XL chase Walter George's Olson 911S Wahoo around Harding Rock Buoy. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Five Olson 25s and seven Santana 22s racing in the YRA Spring #1 intersected the SSS race at Harding Rock. Here Byte Size follows Meliki to the leeward mark in the first race. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Once the boats were on the run past the Tiburon Peninsula towards Red Rock and the Brothers, all they needed was to find the best wind and current and stay in it. As the boats started spreading out in a long line parading up the North Bay, the wind got lighter and the current stronger.

A fishing frenzy strung out across Raccoon Strait, adding to the challenge for shorthanded sailors. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Once around the Brothers in the dying breeze, the majority of the divisions inched their way towards the next mark by heading straight for a large black hole of no wind and big adverse current to the west of Red Rock. Once the parade had stopped and all the boats were mingling around or getting swept downstream back under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, a fickle southwesterly wind reached the lead boats, allowing them to escape the Hell Hole and they scooted off to the finish. Just as soon as it looked like that breeze might reach the rest of the boats, it died to nothing. Those left to watch the escape of their competitors while drifting backwards was the height of the frustration for the day. Quite a while later a cold northwesterly breeze pushed down from San Rafael and finally filled in for the last of the boats, sending them off to the finish in 15 knots of wind on a nice fast beam reach.

Back at the dock other racers recalled that while all of this bashing, running, beating and drifting was going on that it was blowing like snot in the Slot all day long. And they said, "Can't we just have had a little more of the rational instead of the unsteady with our sailing relationships?"

The SSS racers were treated to a free keg of Pacifico back at RYC, where they fraternized with YRA sailors. For more on Saturday's YRA racing, see our next story. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

For results and more info on SSS racing, see www.sfbaysss.org. The awards party will be on Wednesday, May 14, at Oakland YC in Alameda, starting at 1930.