"If this is winter sailing in San Francisco I'll take it over summer anytime," remarked one of the competitors in the first race of the Encinal Yacht Club’s Jack Frost Series. The conditions couldn't have been much better, with 10 knots of breeze, flat water, and just enough sunshine to warm up the crew. 

The best case scenario for the RC is two windward/leeward races of 1-4 laps, and as the wind was still around by the second race, they sent everyone off on a three-lap course to end the day. While the first race had a pretty steady northerly, the wind threatened to die after the start of the second race, but instead it clocked around to the west without taking a break, turning the downwind legs into tight spinnaker reaches, and the upwind legs into one-tack beats.

A mixture of one design and PHRF fleets in the four starts showed a sample of the diversity of racing on the Bay during summer. For example, Hobie 33s went up against Wyliecat 30s and one Corsair 27 in PHRF 1. The Olson 25s got a one design start with six boats signed up.

With the competing Berkeley YC and Regatta Pro Midwinters sucking up the majority of boats racing on the second Saturday of the month, the vibe of the Jack Frost was more of a small town "How ya doing?" If this is winter sailing bring it on... Until it starts raining.

The Jack Frost series takes a break in December and returns on January 23. For complete results, see www.encinal.org.