October 22, 2014

The South Bay Championship, hosted by the Sequoia Yacht Club, was held on Saturday, October 18. This event is run as a series of two races on the same day. Nine boats participated, all of them racing in a single division, with non-spinnaker entries receiving a six-second PHRF adjustment.

The first race was scheduled for 12:30, and although all the boats arrived at the start area, the wind had yet to show up. There were three delays until the first warning horn sounded, announcing a 13:15 start. Given the light winds, taking advantage of the continuing ebb current was an important strategy in reaching the first windward mark. Winds remained light throughout the first race, generally only 5-10 knots. Once around the first mark, spinnakers popped for a downwind run against the remaining ebb current. After rounding the leeward mark, the boats had to beat back to the windward mark before the final turn back to the finish.

Spinnakers south of the San Mateo Bridge. ©2014 Joseph Curtis

The two lead boats, DareDevil and Head Rush, fought for first-boat position, and the twin blue spinnakers made it difficult from afar to tell who was in the lead. After 6.03 miles, DareDevil was the first to cross. Congratulations to DareDevil (Melges 24, Tim Anto) for taking first place. Head Rush (Antrim 27, Anja Bog) and L2O (J/29, Alex Huang) took second and third respectively.

The second race started at 15:30, about 15 minutes after the last boat crossed the finish line in the first race. Although the wind had yet to build to what racers typically expect in the late afternoon, it was now about 10 knots, and an on-time start saw the fleet off once again to the first windward mark. The current was more forgiving during the second race, and all the boats were able to round the mark and take off downwind. The wind was finally building to about 15 knots making things a bit more exciting. The big challenge of the day was encountered by the presence of a the R/V Brownlee right at the leeward mark.

A spectator boat launched a quad-copter to capture the leeward rounding, which made for some interesting viewing back at the club after the race. There were now four boats battling for first boat across the line, with only 10-15 seconds between the finish times of each boat. Congratulations to L2O for taking first place in the second race, and to Head Rush and the Open 6.50 skippered by Charlie Watt for taking second and third respectively.

After the race, Sequoia YC held the Racers' Ribs dinner, and the results of the South Bay Championship were announced. L2O took first place and Head Rush and DareDevil took second and third respectively.

The winning crew of L2O. ©2014 Sheila Jones

The Sequoia racers look forward to the 2014-2015 racing season with the start of the Winter Series on November 1. See www.sequoiayc.org for more.

– Tim Petersen, South Bay Championship Race Chair