The 18-ft Skiff International Regatta was sailed in very windy, often foggy conditions on the Cityfront Tuesday through Saturday, and going into the last day, two teams were tied for first place. The trick would be to stay out of trouble. "The Worlds [in Sydney, Australia] were a lot more tactical," skipper Seve Jarvin of Gotta Love It said. "This was more survival."

In 10 races over five days none of the 11 boats started and finished every race, a thought that weighed heavily on the minds of the world champion Australian team of Jarvin and crew Sam Newton and Tom Clout - all 22 years old but learning fast - when they launched onto the Bay for the last two races Saturday sharing first place with California veterans Howie Hamlin and crew Mike Martin and Paul Allen on Harken - formidable opponents that had won the last three of these events and four of six overall. 

But, on one of the cooler and foggier days of a foggy week, the issue was settled quickly when Gotta Love It won the first race to mathematically clinch the title, with its second throwout still in the bank.

Matthew Searle's Active Air had a hefty lead until capsizing halfway down the second and last downwind leg of the 1.75 nm windward-leeward course. Hamlin finished third behind Grant Rollerson's SLAM.

Gotta Love It, pushing hard earlier, had its worst day of the week Friday when it capsized twice in the buoy race after their tiller extension broke. They borrowed another one from the spare parts collection of a fellow racer, but capsized again in the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge race, which Hamlin and crew won in 22 minutes, 25 seconds (you can’t drive from bridge to bridge in San Francisco traffic that fast.)

The Bridge to Bridge is a novel concept: the Aussie 18s competed with 25 kiteboarders and eight windsurfers in a run from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge. Finishing second and third in the drag race were kiteboarders Chip Wasson and John Gomes. The first windsurfer to finish, Al Mirel, placed 13th overall. In the early years of the event, many more windsurfers raced, but here in San Francisco many of them have taken up kiteboarding instead.

- Rich Roberts & norcalsailing.com

The regatta was hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club; see their website at www.stfyc.com for complete results of both the International 18-ft Skiff Regatta and the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge.

Many thanks to Erik Simonson for the photo contributions, both from the water and from the air; for more see www.h2oshots.com.