An incredibly sunny, warm weekend set the stage for the last of the 2009 YRA Party Circuit and the first big regatta of fall. The course for the Party Circuit boats on both days involved sailing around islands, and, while the breeze was fine in the Slot and around Alcatraz, it was not so fine on the baking hot east side of Angel, especially for Sunday’s Crazy Eight pursuit race.

The Party Circuit has been a huge hit, garnering some of the biggest bow-counts on the Bay. However the turnout for this final weekend must have been somewhat disappointing to race organizers. The crowd failed to reach critical mass for a real Saturday night party. And although host Corinthian YC is an excellent venue for a big bash, it’s therefore very also popular for weddings, including this Saturday, so no band, no ballroom, no big bash for the racers. (Sam’s after dark may have been a different story, but we didn’t stay up late enough to check.)

The Express 27 fleet, signed up for the Party Circuit, was a no-show, as were the Santana 22s in ODCA. Apparently one or two key players in the Tuna game couldn’t make it due to schedule conflicts, and the rest fell like dominoes.

The ODCA fleets had two buoy races Saturday on the Knox course, while the PHRF boats in the Party Circuit toured Alcatraz and Red Rock (taking Angel as by-catch). On Sunday everyone had the pursuit race start and course: draw a figure 8 around Angel and Alcatraz, in either direction. Current was light, so wind seemed like it would be the key factor. To some it made sense to knock off Alcatraz first. The wind in the Slot would be more manageable early in the day, and there would be some chance that the wind would fill in to the east and north as the afternoon progressed. But the light ebb turned into a key factor after all on the windless backside of Angel Island, with the boats drifting in the direction they wanted to go (south) getting the best of those drifting backwards while trying to sail north. Some had to fire up their engines when they drifted too close to the sailboats anchored off the beach for picnics.

Despite the pursuit race format, boats were scored in their own divisions, not overall, and the race counted in the YRA series. Results are available at www.yra.org/PC/pc_race_results.html and www.yra.org/ODCA/odca_race_results.html.

We hope the Season Closer gets more support next year, and that the Party Circuit will continue to gain momentum.