Rites of Spring

March 22, 2010

God, Guns and Sailboat Racing. Thats our God-given rite and this weekend the Oakland Yacht Club fired off their shotgun for the Rites of Spring race on the Bay.

The Islander 36 Zingara had plenty of crew. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

There are three ways to race: Singlehanded, Doublehanded or a crew full of girls. The courses are in the middle of the Bay with plenty of choices for the committee, and as the wind was primarily from the west they sent the fleets in that direction. The biggest group by far was the multihulls with fifteen cats and tris lining up in the last start.

Peregrine Falcon on the wing. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

This race always brings out a mixture of boats, everything from a Tornado to a Columbia 26, and the boats quickly spread out marching towards the Harding Rock or Little Harding buoy in a sometimes light breeze.

One of Bill Erkelens' catamarans, the Tornado E-2, finished first. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

The wind for the day was very shifty and puffy, ranging from the predicted five knots to the expected high teens, depending on where you were and when you were there. If you want to ring in spring the right way, this race is for you.

Valerie Schutz's Ranger 23 Crazy Horse and Heidi Schmidt's Santana 22 Dominatrix were among those who struggled to get around Harding Rock in light wind and a ripping flood. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

Martin Jemo sailed the Irwin 30 Joanna singlehanded. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

The Santana 22 Spitfire, easy to spot with a bright yellow paint job. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

Dawn Chesney waves from Julie Lucchesi's Colgate 26 Ann, another women's entry.©2010 norcalsailing.com

For complete results, see http://sites.google.com/site/oycracing/Home. For more photos see the Slackwater gallery.