race report
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 The Santa Cruz 50 Deception (foreground), with Q, Yucca, and Wild One in the fog on the opposite jibe. ©2010 norcalsailing.com |
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Golden Gate Midwinters November 7, 2010 The clouds parted just in time for the start of Golden Gate Yacht Club's 40th Manuel Fagundes Seawood Soup Regatta.
Of all of the Bay Area's midwinters this one seems to attract the most diverse group of boats, from fast ultralights like Farr 36s and Santa Cruz 50s to a new Weta trimaran division and the venerable Folkboats and Knarrs. All the boats got off the line in a nice 10-15 knot northwesterly, having the luck and timing to avoid big tides. All the courses were windward/leewards of varying lengths.
The currents made things tricky though as the flood gave way to an ebb in the middle of the race. "It was hard to work out which way to go," said Dennis Minnick on the Catalina 38 Harp. "Most of our competitors went right or left as the tide changed. We just stayed down the middle. It seemed to work out." It did work out for Harp as they won in a hotly contested PHRF 3 division which includes last year's overall winner Arcadia, the always competitive Wyliecat Uno, and the Cal 40 Shaman, another former Cup winner.
Another group that will see tight racing is PHRF 2, with nephew Scott and uncle Hank Easom duking it out. Scott Easom's new Farr 30 Eight Ball won the first race against Hank's 8-Meter Yucca by less a minute. They are about the most different of boats but both of the owners and crew have proven they know how to get around Cityfront courses. This midwinter series is one race a month for five months with one throwout. It offers big currents, too little or too much wind, sometimes downwind starts and a lot of skill and luck to win that bowl of Seaweed Soup at the end of it all.
Results of Saturday's race can be found at www.ggyc.com.
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