Two low-key yacht club midwinter series wrapped up on Saturday. We’ll head south to San Francisco’s South Beach for the first.

With only three out of five races completed, South Beach Yacht Club's Island Fever winter series mercifully came to a nice close. There was wind! Nineteen stalwarts made it to the last race and all finished within deadline to close what was a frustrating winter for the race committee. When there is no wind and big currents off the waters of AT&T Park, you get a quick ride either out the Gate or to Brisbane. When polled whether the racers would like to set up in the Central Bay next winter, a resounding "I don't know," was heard. Bring on spring.

Next, we head up north to the North Bay and Tiburon YC. Race Chair Gary Proctor reports:

“What a great day for the last of the Midwinters! March 21 had a nice breeze, not-so-bad ebb, and the heavier rain held off till we finished. With twelve boats showing up, ten of them in Division Two, the start was a little crowded. In actuality, it would have been a lot more crowded if everyone started close to the gun. As it was, the pack was pretty spread out, with some boats starting minutes after the gun.

“Course six was chosen by the Race Committee, which took us to TYC [a small mark at the south entrance to Paradise Cay], R14, TYC, and finish - about six miles. Division One (J/105s) found Miss Demeanor going half way to TYC after the start, only to turn around and restart thinking they were over early and not knowing because they had their VHF tuned to the wrong channel. ‘Sup??? This let Joyride escape to an insurmountable lead and eventual victory.

“Lon and Susie Woodrum, on the Moore 24 Frenzy, led Division Two around the course to finish first, for the third time in the series. Second was Don Kunstler on the Santana 28 Don Wan, and John Sullivan and Gerry Gunn finished third on Red Hawk (a red Hawkfarm).

“Spring is here and we welcome it in with the Don Wan regatta on April 18 - provided there are enough of us still standing after paying taxes. So, come out and join us!”

See www.tyc.org for complete results and more info on TYC races. Then surf on over to www.southbeachyachtclub.org for more on South Beach YC’s racing, including Island Fever results and the online sign-up for the April 4 Spring Fever race.