race report
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 Bob Tatum's Sonoma 30 Arc Angel sets up for an outside jib peel in San Pablo Bay. ©2012 norcalsailing.com |
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Ditch of Carnage June 3, 2012 To paraphrase a couple of songs, there was carnage to the right of me and carnage to the left. The Delta Ditch Run returned to its usual sunny, downwind sail from Richmond to Stockton after a couple of 'bad' years (particularly last year's rainy beat), but with a vengeance. The wind gusts were predicted for 25 knots, but they actually topped out around 40. In Suisun Bay, a lot of very competitive sailors thought better of flying their spinnakers and went to white sails, despite prevailing winds aft of the beam. Even some of those were rounding up in the reachier places.
We heard of at least four dismastings, most notably the Wyliecat 30 Uno, which was using her spinnaker and dropped her mast off Port Chicago. The Delmases' Alerion Express 38 Another Girl stood by her and called the race committee. Uno anchored for a while until her crew had her tidied up enough to motor back to Benicia. Also dismasted were a Wylie Wabbit, an Ultimate 20, and a Melges 20.
The Sonoma 30 Arc Angel (seen in the photo at the top of the page) tore out a side stay and its chain plate. They stopped in Antioch for fuel and then motored on home to Stockton. At least two man overboard calls came over the race's VHF working channel, one from the F-27 trimaran Papillon, which recovered their crew and resumed racing. Another MOB became separated from the boat, "in the vicinity of a capsized catamaran." It was later reported that an Express 27 picked up an MOB; we don't know if it was the same person. Whatever the wind conditions, a few boats in this race manage to run aground every year. Stockton Sailing Club's junior program Challenger 24 Captain Midnight finished an hour after the deadline at 10:00 on Sunday, after running aground – and running up the wrong river, the Sacramento. You might imagine how grateful the teenagers onboard were to finally reach their club (and the ladies' room).
The wind blew so hard at Stockton Sailing Club that it scattered some of the paperwork. In a typical Ditch Run, the breeze dies down as the sun sets behind the racers. This year however, the wind continued to howl well into the night. As of midday on Monday, results have still not been posted. We may update this story after the results become available. See www.stocktonsc.org.
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