August 4, 2014

Although the revived Midnight Moonlight Maritime Marathon was sailed on a half moon and not on the traditional full moon, and even though the race finished in the sunset-twilight hour and not in the middle of the night, and though only 12 boats showed up on the line, the race was considered a great success by the competitors, as it was a fun romp and a good way to spend an afternoon and evening under sail.

Although the name may be misleading, the date was actually picked for the hugely favorable current starting with a very strong flood that would easily carry the fleet to the leeward mark – the Carquinez Bridge – and which would give way to a light ebb in the early evening before the boats got too far along on the windward leg back to the finish at the entrance to Raccoon Strait.

Since a big variety of boats, ranging from two Cal 20s to a Farr 40, signed up, the San Francisco Yacht Club selected 1300 for the first start of the pursuit race to insure everyone had a chance to finish in case of light wind. The Cal 20s started first, and the boats trickled past the line near Pt. Stuart at their designated times. Four hours later the fastest boat, James Bradford's Farr 40 Bright Hour, started the chase to hunt them down. But the wind was not light, and the boats had more then enough breeze all day which made for an interesting, sometimes reachy downwind leg followed by a bash through San Pablo Bay.

The wooden L-36 Leda winds up for her start. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Getting to San Pablo Bay was a breeze, with chutes up on the line and only a few light spots to negotiate. Some chose to take Red Rock to the east while others went west, but in the end it didn't seem to matter. Once in San Pablo Bay the boats had a nice reach in 15-18 knots of wind until Point Pinole, when it veered south and caused some crews to drop the spinnakers and white-sail it for a while.

Tim Russell's J/80 Painkiller ran up the Mare Island rock wall side approaching the Carquinez Strait. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The Cal 20 Can O'Whoopass was able to keep their spinnaker up the whole way from Raccoon Strait to the Carquinez Bridge. "Going into Point Pinole was brutal," said skipper Richard vonEherenkrook. "It was nasty. We didn't crash, but it was really close a couple of times."

Can O'Whoopass was the first boat around the turning mark, the central pier of the old cantilever bridge (the new Al Zampa bridge doesn't even have a 'central pier'.) Richard and crew Paul Sutchek headed immediately for the south side (Crockett), and hugged the refinery pier. Marcus Choy on the other Cal 20 in the race, Green Dragon, had a late start and knew the only way to catch the Can was to split from her. He saw the other Cal making little progress against the still-strong flood current, so he chose to try his fortune on Mare Island's rock wall, the north side of the entrance to Carquinez Strait. David James' Lapworth 36 Leda started out on the north side after clearing the bridges, but tacked over to the pier side and stuck with it.

The wind went light at Carquinez Strait, but once well into San Pablo Bay, the racers were hit with the full fury of 25+ knots of wind and the steep chop that can make that bay so miserable. The Sabre 36-2 Ganesha, caught with a #1 up and getting slammed, sailed bareheaded for a while, then brought another jib up on deck – a #2! But then they reefed the main and made good progress through the chop. Around Point Pinole the wind moderated, and the eventual winner, the L-36 Leda – which kept the #1 up through the hardest part of the course – gained ground.

Ganesha at Point Pinole, sailing with a reefed main and #2, with the J/105 Perseverance in the distance. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Michael Melaga's Swan 391 Vento, in San Pablo Bay. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Hana and Scott on the rail of a Laser 28 in the last hour of sunlight. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Leda finally passed Can O'Whoopass at the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and went on to finish first, before sunset, with the Can coming in second. Mark and Rich Pearce on the Cal 2-39 Salient came in third, making for an all-Lapworth podium.

The small size of the fleet was actually not a detriment to the enjoyment of the race – rather it made for more of a bonding experience, as the crews enjoyed some close racing with diverse boats that they normally wouldn't compete against. All the boats finished in plenty of time to enjoy post-race cocktails and story-telling at the SFYC clubhouse bar, and everyone agreed that this race deserves to be on your racing calendar.

Some of the racers who gathered at the bar. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

For complete results, see www.sfyc.org.