(San Francisco, CA)- The Bay served up a classic September day. With a forecast of patchy fog, cool temps and a 10-20 knot breeze from the southwest it was going to be a combination of both tactical as well as navigational skills. Nevertheless, the weather certainly didn't dampen the spirit of competition as teams fought hard for position to stay ahead.
The "one-design" group at the Rolex Big Boat Series includes the J/120s and the large J/105 class. The first race for this group was on the North Course, while the IRC Handicap racers started along the City Front Course area. The North Course PRO, Hank Stuart from Rochester, NY (no stranger to the Bay area) elected to set a course deep into the Berkeley Circle for the simple reason that it had less current effect and there was less fog. A half hour start delay occurred because a number of the Melges 32s had minimal navigation equipment and got lost!! That's the Bay for you, can't imagine why anyone would think anything different--- yes, San Francisco Bay does get FOG in case anyone doesn't know already!
The first race saw sunny and foggy patches that had strong effects on the breeze. Nevertheless, due to the delayed starting sequence, the current effects started to kick in such that in the classic ebb current scenario, you always have to be mindful of the right side of the course. Basically, "a river runs through it", as the saying goes, so don't hit the left corner when the guys in kayaks are paddling faster upwind under Angel Island than you can sail upwind. For all fleets, you had to play the shifts middle right in order to win the race. Clearly, Bruce Stone's J/105 ARBITRAGE team figured this out as well as Don Wieneke's team aboard the remarkable LULU. Behind them were Peter Wagner's SLEIGHRIDE. For the J/120s, John Wimer's DESDEMONA took the gun with Chris Chamberlins' JOLLY MON getting a well-deserved second. Third was Don Payan's DAYENU.
For the first race on the City Front Course for the IRC C Class, the Fast Boat Class, Andy Costello and Peter Krueger's J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE took a second and Richard Ferris' J/125 AUGUST ICE was fifth.
The second race of the day proved to be even more of a navigational challenge than the first. Patchy fog evolved into a blanket of fog across the race course. Where's Alcatraz and the cone? Who knew if you didn't have a good GPS chart plotter. The more the wind blew, the more fog got blown under the Golden Gate Bridge. Puffs were exceeding 23 knots at times. But the holes were even bigger, dropping to 8 knots at the most inopportune times. Classic SF Bay seabreeze conditions. The two courses flip-flopped, so the IRC handicap guys end up on the North Course and the One-Design guys end up on the City Front Course. The J/120s saw Don's DAYENU walk off after the start to win the race, followed by past RBBS winner Steve Madeira in second sailing MR MAGOO. Third was Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES. The J/105s had a donnybrook of a race with the leaders playing "chutes and ladders" with each other most of the race. "The cone, the cone" was the mantra. Play it and win when it floods! Simple math, one might imagine. But many got it wrong. At the end, Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK played the first leg the best to lead the 105s home. Second was Jeff Littfin and John Case on MOJO and third Don Weineke again on LULU.
Leading the J/105 standings after the first day is Bruce Stone's team on ARBITRAGE with a 1-4, followed by a three-way tie for second with Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK (a 5-1), Jeff and John on MOJO (4-2) and Don on LULU (3-3). In the J/120s, Don on DAYENU is leading with a 3-1, followed by John Wimer on DESDEMONA (1-5) and Barry Lewis in third with a 4-4! The J/125s are hanging tough in IRC C Fast Boat Class with Andy and Peter's DOUBLE TROUBLE in second with a 2-2 and Rick Ferris' AUGUST ICE from Lake Tahoe in third with a 5-3.
For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing info and results
http://www.big-boat-series.com
