Even the ‘club’ races at Richmond Yacht Club tack toward “let's get serious about having fun.” The RYC Spring Tune-Up club race (just for members) drew 35 entries.

The course for this pursuit race was around Angel Island and Treasure Island in either direction, with the start and finish off the RYC race deck in Richmond harbor. The Racing Fleet with spinnakers went to Raccoon Strait where their power could punch them through the flood. Once past Angel Island they had a nice breezy leg down to Yerba Buena Island.

Race organizer Jim Gregory (Morpheus) with a mixed crew of ringers and cookie sailors got through Raccoon Strait and only looked back once at a hard to identify navigation buoy course mark at the Bay Bridge. Morpheus missed rounding a buoy under the new span and had to return to re-round. They still ended up winning.

Dave and Jackie Liggett’s Beneteau 40, Jackrabbit, won the Cruising Fleet by going clockwise round Treasure Island. Jackie credits the victory to lucky #13 - 13 13 being on the hull and sail, and the ages of twins in the crew. Dave on the other hand credits waterlining a 10-ft smaller Alerion Express, Ralf Morgan's Ditzy, on the way to the finish line.

The pursuit race was punctuated by patches of great wind, light stuff, incredibly odd wind directions (south at times) and a go-figure flood. The Spring Tune-Up was the first of a series of four club races, the next being the Barbary Coast race (to SF and back) in June. See www.richmondyc.org for results and other details.