July 21, 2015

Every Wednesday night is sacred to the crews of thirty or so boats that enjoy racing in the 75-degree waters of the South Bay. Despite rumors of keel grabbing mud monsters below the San Mateo Bridge, there is plenty of water with consistent winds and freedom from the bone-chilling fog monster living a few miles to the north. The Sequoia Yacht Club Beer Can Series recently passed the midpoint of its 27-race season. Gorgeous sunsets, shorts, and big s*%#-eating grins have been the rule.

One of Spinnaker Sailing's Merit 25s. ©2015 Peter Weigt

The club's goal is to elevate the fun factor while still encouraging solid competitive racing. Individual boats start at a time determined by their PHRF rating. The start line is in the ship turning basin of the Port of Redwood City. On a typical night they'll close reach out along the wharves, harden up to a beat out the shipping channel, pop the chute for a run, beat to a mark halfway to the San Mateo Bridge, hoist the kite again and jibe onto a hot spinnaker reach back into the channel, carrying it as far as they dare while the wind lightens and the sky turns orange.

More Merit 25s. ©2015 Peter Weigt

Great tactical battles rage over the last mile as the faster boats catch up and the fleet compresses toward the finish line. In pursuit, there's no waiting for race committee calculations — first boat across wins!

The Catalina 42 Metridium. ©2015 Peter Weigt

At the moment the season is tied at three flags each between Andrew Rist's Open 5.70, BigAir; Alex Huang's J29, L2O; and Metridium, the big Catalina 42 of John Graves. SeqYC uses an unusual rating adjustment system: first win drops your rating 12 seconds per mile, then 9 seconds, 6 seconds and 3 seconds for subsequent wins. Who knows? The next mug full of beer, bling and signatures on the checkered flag could go to a Folkboat.

The run back to Redwood City. ©2015 Peter Weigt

The club rewards boats for taking pick-up crew, and special themed nights encourage skippers to further mix it up. In the May Ladies Night Race (females at the helm), Jenny Thompson drove the Melges 24, DareDevil, to victory, and on Corinthian Night (under 30s at the helm), Mike Lazzaro earned Jenny's J/30, Friction Loss, a flag.

©2015 Peter Weigt

This year we have raised the stakes on the after-race fun. Beyond the usual assault on the bar, fleet replays on RaceQs, onboard videos, and Peter Weigt's incredible action photos of the evening's race are projected on the big screen over outstanding dinners. Anyone interested in racing is welcome to show up at the Sequoia YC around 1700 hours and we will get you on a boat. No experience required, just be prepared to get hooked.

— Alex Huang, Sequoia YC Beer Can Fleet Captain

©2015 Peter Weigt

See more of Peter Weigt's excellent photos here, and learn more here.