Sausalito Yacht Club’s Women’s Skipper Regatta took place on Sunday, with three windward-leeward races on the Knox racing area.

Erin Stipulkoski raced Ka-Nina, a Catalina 34 from Paradise Cay, which she owns with husband Gary. “The conditions were good for us; Ka-Nina likes it windy. The wind was strong, but it kept changing. I was short crew. I was originally going to have my two daughters (ages six and eight) and husband Gary aboard. But with predictions for gale force winds, I didn’t want my daughters to race, and I needed Gary to take care of them. But Bill Riley came along at the last minute instead.”  Erin’s been sailing in this regatta for about six or seven years.

Jennifer McKenna’s two crew on her Santana 22 Zingaro had never sailed before going out practicing once before the race. “I felt that it was in the spirit of the regatta to take friends out who weren’t sailors. They’re my aerial dance teacher and her daughter. They dressed up in pirate costumes.” Jennifer is accustomed to racing with very experienced sailors, and it was good for her to have to articulate and explain every procedure.

Rolf Kaiser’s J/105 Donkey Jack was renamed Donkey Jenny for the regatta. Rolf lent this boat to girlfriend Shannon Bonds and stayed behind. Shannon put together an all-girl crew, the only one of the J/105s which raced without guys onboard, and the only J/105 not involved in a protest. “Julia was pumping breast milk between races,” said Shannon. “It doesn’t get much more all-woman than that!”

Vikki commented on the conditions: “Wind was on and off. It built to a steady 18 knots, then shut off in the middle of the last race. It wasn’t too shifty, just puffy. We had some foulies on, but didn’t really need them. It was flooding, so not too wavy. Max flood was right before the first race.”

“We saw white caps at the start of the third race, then it died,” added one of the crew on Rubaiyat.

Gail Ward sailed Rubaiyat, a Newport 30-II, which she and husband J. Rigler have owned for two years. This was her second WSR. “I won All-Woman Team trophy last year - being the only AWT racer!” Gail assisted organizer Susan Blakeley in running the regatta, because of her experience on race committee.

Protests between the J/105s Streaker and Roxanne, plus another in the non-spinnaker division, delayed the results. (Rumor has it that one of the protests involved a male tactician grabbing the helm before the start of one of the races to avoid an imminent collision.)

“The undecided trophy is the Lady Skipper's Trophy which only goes to a Sausalito YC skipper,” explained Gail on Monday. “The Spinnaker Division is undecided because of the protests and a tie.” That trophy has now been decided however, and it went to Roxanne Fairbairn of the J/105 Roxanne. “We may have to have a ‘no protest’ rule next year, or no man can protest rule, so that this doesn't happen again,” added Gail.

More special trophies went to:

Shannon Bonds / Donkey Jenny won the All-Woman Team Trophy for Spinnaker division.

Cathy Stierhoff / Tackful won the All-Woman Team Trophy for Non-Spinnaker division.

Bernadette O'Connell / Shenanigans / Express 27 won the Woman Skippers Regatta Trophy for Spinnaker division.

Cathy Stierhoff / Tackful won the Woman Skippers Regatta Trophy for the Non-Spinnaker division.

Barbara Kavanagh / Gammon / Tarten Ten won the SYC Lady Skipper's Trophy Non-Spinnaker division.

All the results are now final and can be found at www.syconline.org.