The Berkeley Yacht Club Midwinter Series got started this weekend with racing both days on the Olympic Circle course west of Berkeley. Race Chair Bobbi Tosse reports:

On Saturday, we started and finished 49 racers in 7 divisions. The sky was overcast; the wind was about 10 knots from about 200 degrees most of the time. A light rain shower wandered across the course during the race.

 

Since the northern corner of the Olympic Circle is frequently very shallow, we have devised some courses that don't use either buoy "H" or "A". These courses have been designated NoAH and are signaled by a numeral pennant over the "Q" flag. (I've heard rumors that in this case, "Q" stands for "Quirky"?) As it turns out, even though there was enough water, these two buoys are missing. Therefore, we sent the fleet to "E" on a Q course.

 

The goal was to provide the windward/leeward course the racers long for.  However, the wind gods can not be fooled for long, heh, heh. The wind shifted slightly and the weather legs turned to almost fetches for many of the racers. Sigh.

 

Sunday: Sunny! The day started out as one of those clear, crisp days with about 10 knots of breeze out of the north. As the start time neared, the wind shifted enough left and we were presented with a perfect course to G. Off went the eight entrants of Division 1. The wind immediately shifted another 45 or so degrees. We paused, moved, and sent the remaining 19 boats off to F. 

 

Sure enough, within 30 minutes, the wind had gone another 50 degrees to the south and had become agonizingly light. Just as all was looking lost, the winds gods took pity, picked up speed to 15+ knots, and swung back to where we had started. All the boats were able to run, beat and -best of all - finish.

 

There were no broken bones or boats - just a fun weekend for all!

 

- Bobbi Tosse

For results, see www.berkeleyyc.org/racing/midwinters/index.html. The Berkeley Midwinters continue on the second weekends in December, January and February, with a Champion of Champions race on March 1.