YRA Second Half Opener: Point Bonita Race

July 26, 2010

This weekend's two-part Second Half Opener had something for everyone. Terror, boredom, a good soaking, and lots of little porpoises. The Bay cooked up a good 25+ knot breeze in the Slot, which the racers slogged through on Saturday to get from Treasure Island to the Golden Gate, where the ride moderated to Point Bonita in almost no swell.

PC H start. Mintaka4 was over early and had to go back. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

The Santana 28 Don Wan just past Point Bonita Buoy. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

The C&C 29 Siento El Viento points her bow at the North Tower. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

The run back into the Bay from that windward mark started out ordinarily enough, but by the jibe at the bridge, the fleet was back in big wind. Some very conservative sailors doused and reset rather than jibe at the South Tower. Others went way past the South Tower before jibing. But the ride didn't get really wild until the Central Bay. This part was either really fun, really wet, or really scary depending on which boat you were on. One of the racers back at the dock said they'd rounded up and rounded down four times, and that the spinnaker pole and the spinnaker trimmer were waist deep in water on one round down.

Saturday's course takes the fleet under the Bay Bridge, where the wind moderated, to the port of Oakland, where the wind got even lighter (this is where boredom and frustration set in for some). The race continued on down the Estuary to finish off the Encinal Yacht Club in a typical small puffy breeze.

The really mellow part of the race. The Santana 22 Tchoupitoulas's earlier jibes didn't look like this. The Catalina 27 Latin Lass is on the left. ©2010 Slackwater SF/BAMA

Stephen Buckingham, skipper of Tchoupitoulas, demonstrates the position of the boom on a round down. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

Those that stayed for the raft-up enjoyed a diverse menu of dinner items from which to choose, plenty of adult beverages, and a dance band.

Party entertainment included comparing rope burns. "You should have seen the blood," said Barry Stompe of the Hughes 48 Iolani. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

Continue on to Sunday's Escape to/from Alcatraz.