race report
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 Don Payan's MC 38 Whiplash, James Bradford's Farr 40 Bright Hour and Dan Thielman's R/P 44 Tai Kuai raced in the first monohull division. ©2014 norcalsailing.com |
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CYC Midwinters/Robgatta
February 17, 2014 The 2014 Corinthian Midwinters wrapped up on Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday's race and shoreside festivities doing double-duty as the Rob Moore Memorial Regatta, affectionately nicknamed 'Robgatta'.
The race went off on time under lowering skies; the forecast called for rain in the evening. The incoming storm made for nice wind, not too much, just enough to get the boats to the Cityfront and back in a timely manner. The tide switched from flood to ebb early in the afternoon.
The Extreme 40 catamaran SmartRecruiters was the first boat to finish, but got in the way of the ferry Bay Monarch. Bay Monarch's captain radioed the race committee to report the "dangerous situation." On a monohull, one crew who fell off the bow held on to a line and was recovered by fellow crew members. Joining the series for Saturday's Robgatta were a 10-boat Moore 24 division.
Back at the club, the band played in the afternoon out on the deck like last month rather than in the evening in the ballroom like in previous years. But unlike last month, the wind built as the temperature dropped and the rain approached.
Once the music ended and the free keg ran dry, the racers were happy enough to head indoors for the Robgatta goings-on.
Leslie Richter (Rob's widow) reports: "I was very pleased with the second annual Rob Moore Memorial Regatta, and with our new national sponsor, North Sails. From a racing perspective we couldn’t have asked for a better mid-winter day – plenty of breeze even if it was a bit fluky, and no rain. The race committee, with PRO Jeff Zarwell, did a great job, and we received positive feedback from the racers. It gave me great pleasure to be able to award the Rob Moore Memorial Regatta Summertime Dream Perpetual trophy to Yucca’s Hank Easom, for the best performance in the most competitive class! Hank also received the North Sails Boat of the Day award." Rob was a regular crew aboard Yucca.
"Our post-race speaker panel, John Craig, Stan Honey, Sally Lindsay Honey, Kurt Jordan, and Dee Smith, gave great presentations, although we didn’t have much time for questions. Our silent and live auctions raised over $21,000 for Free to Breathe, our non-profit partner focusing on lung cancer research and awareness. Combined with individual contributions, it looks like we raised over $30,000 this year – definitely short of our $50,000 goal, but quite respectable. It’s still possible to make a donation, so anyone who would still like to contribute can visit http://participate.freetobreathe.org/goto/RobMooreRegatta."
"Due to the late hour of our live auction, a couple of exciting items failed to reach the minimum bid. We can still accept offers for a ride for two on Roy Pat Disney’s Pyewacket, including airfare from the Bay Area (minimum bid of $3,000), and three crew positions on the Clipper Around the World in-port race on April 17 (minimum bid $500). Details will be posted on BayAreaRacingFederation.org. All proceeds go directly to Free to Breathe!"
The rain cleared out during the night, and Sunday dawned bright and blue. Boats and gear got a good freshwater rinse then had a chance to dry in the sun. The wind in the morning came from the east, then tapered off. "Jeff Zarwell must be pulling his hair out," someone joked. But the westerly filled in earlier than predicted. A 50-minute postponement sufficed, and off the fleets went to a windward mark set east of the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As the ebb built, the wind died again at the infamous Y turning mark (an inflatable off the Tiburon shoreline) just before the finish line at CYC, challenging the fleets that were given a clubhouse finish. Earlier divisions were finished at the race committee boat west of Angel Island and so avoided the curse of the Corinthian Midwinters.
Sunday's race was followed by the series trophies. You can find results at www.cyc.org and more photos at http://roxshots.smugmug.com/Sail-Boat-Racing/CYC-Racing.
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