September 14, 2014

A kinder, gentler sailboat race happened on Saturday in comparison to the mayhem that is the Rolex Big Boat Series. The Singlehanded Sailing Society started their Half Moon Bay Race from the Golden Gate Yacht Club race deck, with a finish at quiet Pillar Point Harbor just 24 miles and a world away. The race is usually a light wind affair, and this year was no exception.

Once past the Golden Gate Bridge, the boats saw a 5-8 knot northwesterly breeze that at times was just enough to keep moving forward. Getting off the line and away from a building flood current cleanly was the tactic of the day, and most boats headed straight for the north tower of the bridge for current relief and a bit more wind on the Marin shore. Some, however, chose to go south and got stuck in less wind and a more adverse current by Mile Rock. Jim Quanci and son Stephen sailed the Cal 40 Green Buffalo. "We went waaay inside Mile Rock," said Jim. "Where are the rocks? I've never been in there before. It was light, but at least we weren't drifting and we never parked and never talked about turning on the engine."

Once out on the ocean, everybody enjoyed a peaceful tight reach drag race down the coast while dodging wind holes if they could and trying to eke out the most speed possible. The wind clocked around enough near the end to allow for setting spinnakers for the final push past Mavericks and the big ball atop Pillar Point and the finish.

Even though the multihulls are usually faster, Greg Nelsen, sailing solo on the Azzura 310 Outsider, was first to finish. "I went in a straight line for a long time and then I turned a little bit left," said Greg. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The F-31 Ma's Rover heads for the finish buoy off Pillar Point Harbor and the Air Force tracking station's white ball. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Steen Moller's X-119 X-Dream was the second monohull to finish. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The Santa Cruz 40 Void Star leads the Moores. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Hey, Who's driving? Singlehander Bren Meyer's Wyliecat 30 Uno on cruise control in the light breeze. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Arcadia at the finish buoy. It's where you write down your finish time to hand in to the race committee at HMBYC. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Back at the HMBYC, the racers swapped stories by the fireplace as the sun set and the fog rolled in. No protests were filed, no blood was shed, and you could wear your hat inside the clubhouse.

Trimaran crews from Ma's Rover and Raven meet and greet at the club to compare notes about the days race. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

For results, see www.sfbaysss.org.

A great destination if you're racing or not, HMBYC is a friendly and inviting place to hang out in the fog. ©2014 norcalsailing.com