August 25, 2014

The International 110 District III Championship was held at Inverness Yacht Club over the weekend, and ten of the slender boats showed up on the line in unusual southerly, shifty, puffy winds in one of NorCal's prettiest places.

Racers saw downwind starts on Saturday. Timing your run to the line was critical and no over-earlies were called. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

You can think of the 110 as the Wylie Wabbit's grandma with the skinny hull, small keel and crew hanging off of a trapeze. Designed in 1939 by C. Raymond Hunt, the boat is not a one design but a development class.

Dead downwind to the "windward" mark. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Some of the boats racing over the weekend sported symmetrical kites and some asymmetric, and a lot of boats are now tricked out with many sail controls and bits of carbon fiber here and there.

The crew usually never goes up on the foredeck. But a spinny halyard wrap around the forestay calls for a trip to the pointy end. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The breeze never turned to the typical Tomales Bay direction on Saturday. coming from the south all day instead of the northwest. Because of shallow water on the south side of the club, the race courses are always set up with the windward mark up north, in the direction of the ocean. And because the water gets thin quickly at the dock with the outgoing tide, the races must be done in an efficient manner.

The crews had a workout in the shifty conditions hiking out on the wire in the puffs and laying low in the lulls. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

"We need to start on time at noon," said Chris Longaker, race chair at Inverness before the start of the first race. "So we'll have a downwind start and maybe it will be reachy for the second race and upwind at the end, but it is what it is." With three races scheduled each day, the rush was on to beat the tide in the sometimes light wind, and on Saturday the course was shortened after the first race.

Fluky conditions made for big separation in the fleet. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Inverness YC is a secretive group when it comes to finding results posted, but our spies can confirm that Robert Cardwell was first, Phil Macafee second, and Annie Lewis, Cardwell's sister, was third for the weekend.

Annie Lewis and Tauna Coulson concentrate on sail trim after the start.
©2014 norcalsailing.com

For more see, www.110class.com and www.invernessyachtclub.org.

Milly Biller and her hot pink 110 have been a mainstay in the Inverness racing scene. ©2014 norcalsailing.com