“I have not had this happen in 20 years of running races,” said Island Yacht Club Race Chair Joanne McFee. “The Coast Guard called me and said, ‘Are you running your event?’ and I said, ‘Yes’.”

“I got an email,” added club Commodore Lucie Mewes. “Saying, ‘Remember the conditions of your permit? We can’t tell you what to do, but have you been paying attention to the weather?’”

Of course they had been paying attention to the weather, but the Alameda club and most of the women skippers in Saturday’s Sadie Hawkins race decided that yes, it would be okay to take the boats out, and they were rewarded with a great day of sailing on the Estuary.

Fifteen boats sailed and 13 finished in three divisions. The Santana 22 fleet would have had a five-boat one design fleet, but their numbers were reduced by the storm predictions. Those that came over to the Estuary from across the Bay had a wild time going home, but no damage has been reported. Complete results of the race should be posted soon at www.iyc.org/raceinfo.htm.

Conditions were very light at the start off of Alameda Marina, prompting the use of big #1 genoas. By the time the leading boats set their chutes and began to approach the leeward mark up near Jack London Square, the big fan in the sky had been cranked up and set to ‘Gusty’, making for some exciting spinnaker follies. Back toward the finish line, the wind lightened up again. There was no correct sail choice!

Many thanks to photographer Peter Lyons for taking our photographer out on his photo boat.

The Sadie Hawkins is part of the NorCal Women’s Sailing Circuit. For the complete list of events, see www.latitude38.com/YRASchedule/women.html. Can anyone unseat Queen Lucie? Pick your events and give it a try!

Another women skipper event was scheduled for Saturday: Coyote Point YC’s Jack & Jill Race. Jocelyn Reed Swanson reports, “As the club Regatta Chair, I called off the race. It’s rescheduled to September 27. Two boats did go out when the wind was rather sane, but during lunch the rain came pouring in, so I was glad I called it off.”

On Sunday, Berkeley YC was going to hold their Midwinter Champion of Champions, but canceled it due to the gale warnings. It will not be rescheduled. The trophy party was held that evening anyway. See who won at www.berkeleyyc.org/racing/midwinters/index.html.