Epic Rolex Big Boat Series!

(San Francisco, CA)- Burgees fluttered and spectra halyards slapped against carbon-fiber and aluminum masts on 89 highly tuned race boats assembled at the St. Francis Yacht Club for the 53rd edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series (September 13-17, 2017). The event is the West Coast’s premier regatta and one of the international sailing circuit’s most celebrated and anticipated Grand Prix events. There was a crackle of excitement in the late summer air as crews completed their final pre-race preparations for the four-day regatta.

The StFYC Race Committee split the impressive entry list into eleven classes consisting of six one-design fleets (11 J/70s, 24 J/105s, five J/120s, Farr 40s, Express 37s and Pac52s), three ORR fleets (nine ORR-A entrants, nine ORR-B boats and five ORR-C entrants), a six-strong PHRF sportboat class and a multihull class.  Here is how it all went down over the course of the four days.

Day One- Thursday
While it’s tough to win a high-level regatta on Day One of racing, it’s possible to lose the series right away, especially in a highly competitive fleet racing on a challenging body of water.

Throughout the two races, all 89 teams battled for strong leaderboard positions to set themselves up for the rest of the week’s racing. Fortunately, the Bay played nicely, at least at first, delivering five-to-eight-knot winds at the Treasure Island starting area. By the start of the second race, however, the breeze had built to a solid 20-plus knots, with a strong flood tide, as the sun marched west.

Day Two- Friday
Good wind is almost never in short supply on San Francisco Bay during the Rolex Big Boat Series, and day two of racing was no exception, even if it required a one-hour shore-side postponement to allow the breeze to build. But, once the starting signals began sounding, the air pressure gathered with the steepening seas, delivering what the 89 registrants came here for: full-on San Francisco Bay conditions that tested each team’s boathandling skills and endurance levels during two races stretching into the late afternoon. And, while the wind speed kept ratcheting upwards as the day progressed, so too did racecourse competition levels, especially given the fact there are no discarded races at the Rolex Big Boat Series, meaning that everyone is sailing for keeps.

“Unlike short-course windward-leeward racing, the Rolex Big Boat Series uses longer courses that cover diverse parts of the Bay, which makes it possible to make significant navigational gains or losses—where a good move can reap large dividends or an error can prevent you from being able to dig back in by catching a shift,” said Bruce Stone, co-skipper of the J/105 ARBITRAGE (USA 116). “As a no throw-out regatta, you can’t take fliers or make large mistakes, but good straight-line boat speed is rewarded on the long legs, and any of the top boats who had a bad start will generally be able to make their way back at least to the middle of the pack and can still win the regatta.”

After four races, Chris & Phil Perkins’ GOOD TIMIN’ was topping the J/105 leaderboard, followed by Phillip Laby’s GODOT and Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION.

Skipper David Halliwill and his PEREGRINE team won the past three editions of the J/120 class at Rolex Big Boat Series, and after four races the StFYC-flagged team is again topping the leaderboard, followed by Barry Lewis’s CHANCE and Stephen Madeira’s MISTER MAGOO. “The crew is mostly small boat and dinghy sailors that have been sailing together for decades in large competitive fleets,” said Halliwill of his talented crew.

As for the gravity that keeps drawing the PEREGRINE crew back to this regatta each year, Halliwill echoed the entire regatta’s sentiment: “The high level of competition, the big-breeze and strong-current racing conditions, the camaraderie, and the StFYC and their volunteers—they consistently deliver the best experience in the world.” And, added the skipper with a fine collection of Rolex Big Boat Series trophy hardware, “Winning is fun.” Amen!

Day Three- Saturday
When it comes to natural sailing amphitheaters, San Francisco Bay is virtually impossible to beat. Not only does the Bay present great geographical features for sailors to race around, but the late-September winds have a reputation for greeting each day with relatively calm velocities that climb into the high-teens to mid-20s as the racing unfurls. Best of all, the breeze hits a high note during the final finishes of each day, delivering a postcard-perfect experience for the crowds gathered on StFYC’s Race Deck. Day three of this exciting, every-race-counts regatta was no exception.

“We started with a moderate breeze that filled in as the day progressed, allowing us to get off two great races that challenged crews sailing ability as well as endurance, especially later in the afternoon,” said Jenn Lancaster, StFYC’s Race Director. “After six races, the leaders are consolidating their positions going into tomorrow, which is their final chance to improve their standings."

The ORR-B class is comprised of nine boats that range in vintage from a pair of J/44s (including Paul Stemler’s PATRIOT), to five J/111s, including Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY, which was fresh off of winning the 2017 J/111 World Championships. ORR-B began their day on the Treasure Island starting area on a long windward-leeward twice-around affair that included a final kite run along the city front as a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat arched its four water cannons high into the midday sky.

The ORR-B class’s second race unfurled on the Alcatraz starting area on a course that brought the fleet out and under the Golden Gate Bridge for a taste of classic northern California sailboat racing. After six completed races, Doug and Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA was sitting in 2nd place with Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY in third.

The crews aboard the 11-strong J/70 fleet also spent their day keeping their core temperatures warm as the building winds tested their foul-weather gear and their boathandling skills. “Geoff McDonald and I own the boat together, and we’ve been sailing together since 1991 when we were both on the Stanford sailing team,” said Scott Sellers, co-skipper of the J/70 1FA. As for the boat’s somewhat odd moniker, Sellers was circumspect: “That’s a secret among the crew,” he said. “I’ve had a series of boats with donkey-related names, including Swamp Donkey, Donkey Jack and Tres Burritos, and this one is no exception.”

After six races, Chris Snow and John Brigden’s Cool Story Bro. (USA 369) was in first place, followed by Sellers’s 1FA in second and Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara, CA in third position.

Day Four- Sunday Finale
While the first three days featured long-course windward-leeward racing, the final day of racing sent competitors on the infamous “Bay Tour” courses with a finishing line directly in front of the StFYC clubhouse, providing onshore spectators a fine view of this year’s warhorses as they paraded past the Club’s stunning Race Deck.

One-design sailing has always been a core component of the St Francis YC’s Rolex Big Boat Series, and this year the Commodore’s Cup— awarded to the winner of the regatta’s largest one-design class— went to brothers Chris and Phil Perkins and their J/105 GOOD TIMIN’.  They were followed by Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION in second place.  Then, third and fourth place were determined by a tie-breaker at 34 pts each, with Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault’s ARBITRAGE beating Jeff Littfin’s MOJO on count-back.  Fifth place went to Phil Laby’s GODOT.

Scott Sellers and his 1FA crew won the 11-boat J/70 class, followed by Chris Snow and John Brigden’s COOL STORY BRO, and Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS in third place.

David Halliwill and his PEREGRINE crew put in a strong showing to win the J/120 class with five 1sts and two 2nd to win by a large margin.  They were followed by Barry Lewis’s CHANCE in second and Stephen Madeira’s MISTER MAGOO in third. Impressively, this was Halliwill’s fourth straight J/120 class win at the Rolex Big Boat Series.

The ORR-A Class was dominated by big boats. However, the two smallest boats in the class- J/125’s- faired well considering the circumstances. Taking 4th was Viggo Torbensen’s TIMESHAVER and 6th was Richard Ferris’ AUGUST ICE from Lake Tahoe, NV.

In ORR-B Class, Doug and Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA (USA 120) took 2nd place, with Peter Wagner’s J/111 SKELETON KEY taking 4th, Dick Swanson’s J/111 BAD DOG in 5th, Jack Clapper’s J/44 PHANTOM in 6th, Gorkem Ozcelebi’s J/111 DOUBLE DIGIT in 7th and Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIO in 8th.

Getting better each race, Marc McMorris’s team on the J/88 M-SQUARED nearly pulled off the silver in the PHRF Sportboat Division, settling for third on the podium.  Gary Panariello’s J/88 COURAGEOUS finished in 5th overall.
Sailing photo credits- Rolex / Daniel Forster  Chris Ray   Tom Walker   Kara Hugglestone/ SAILCouture     Leslie Richter- Rockskipper.com   Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing   For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.