Latitude 38 February 2015
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VOLUME 452 February 2015 WE GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS THE DUAL NATURE OF Tragedy and comedy, black and Yacht Club split the 98 boats into two crazy with the big kites going up. Some white, heads and tails, north and south groups, with the faster boats starting boats had to peel off and try again. In — add to the list of opposites the Satur- off a committee boat in the Knox racing the melée, the Farr 36 Racer X snagged day and Sunday of January's Corinthian area west of Angel Island, and the slower the race committee boat's anchor rode, Midwinters. boats starting off the clubhouse race and the RC went into postponement. Mostly sunny skies graced the Bay deck in Belvedere Cove. The two fl eets "I know you’re busy," said someone Area on Saturday, January 17. With would be switched on Sunday — at least over the VHF race channel, "but you’d do a brisk 10-knot northerly blowing — that was the plan. us all a favor if you move the pin end a more wind than was expected — all 12 For the Knox divisions, the fi rst mark lot closer to San Francisco." Which they divisions had downwind starts. The fi rst was Ft. Mason, and the committee-boat did, stating the obvious, "As you can see, start had the most wind; puffs as high as end of the line was favored in the strong it's a downwind start, with a big ebb," 15 were recorded, and ebb as much as ebb. The Santa Cruz 50 Hana Ho won before coming out of postponement after 4 knots was observed at Harding Rock. the Division A start, but the 1D48 Boda- about half an hour. Duality being the theme of the week- cious+ quickly passed them. Everyone The line was long, and set 90 degrees end, it was fi tting that the Corinthian started on starboard, and it was pretty to the wind. Everyone was reaching along THE CORINTHIAN MIDWINTERS ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / CHRIS EXCEPT AS NOTED the line toward each other on opposite The PHRF 4 division started at the Corinthian YC clubhouse, hoisted their spinnakers, and made tacks. Coming from the pin end, you a beeline for Belvedere's Peninsula Point. were on starboard and did a jibe set; and a rolling start sequence. The boats in On the east shore of the point was a from the boat end you were on port and the clubhouse area were confused when deep-water washing machine, and less did a bear-away set. The B start was their original start times rolled around breeze. A better strategy was to head for given the same twice-around course and nothing happened. They didn’t the middle to get in the strongest ebb and as A, then successive fl eets starting off realize they were in postponement too. the freshest breeze. Hugging the shore of Knox were given a single-lap course — Announcements were not being made Belvedere for current relief made more just to Mason and back to a turning for them on the VHF. Confusion about sense on the way back to the clubhouse mark, then a downwind fi nish off the times and courses continued after the fi nish. committee boat. The good breeze made sequences began. Some of the Express Back at the post-race raft-up at the for a quick race. 27s thought they might have sailed the club, we caught up with Michael Mo- Although the regatta used two start- wrong course. radzadeh, who purchased the SC50 Oax- ing areas and sets of courses for the fi rst Most of the clubhouse starters went aca with David Ritchie in November. The time, both areas shared a VHF channel to Yellow Bluff by way of Peninsula Point. boat is already registered for next year's THE DUAL NATURE OF This page, clockwise from top left: Linda Farabee and Mike Mannix doublehanded the Catalina division that started off the clubhouse, 38 'Harp' non-spinnaker; at the PHRF 5 start, a pair of IODs hoisted their spinnakers a little later described an exciting rounding of Yellow than Ian Matthew's C&C 29; Charlie Brochard's explanation of the exciting mark rounding at Yel- Bluff. "The faster boats had two laps. We low Bluff (15); curious sailors from other crews checked out the new one-design C&C 30 'Javelin'. were coming in from Little Harding for Pacifi c Cup. "She was in Monterey," said Antrim Class 40 California Condor. Tai our second rounding, while the smaller Moradzadeh. She had been raced in Kuai fi nished the race fi rst, but Condor boats were rounding after coming in Santa Cruz, but stopped racing after a corrected out. "The downwind start was from the start, so the two groups of boats pretty unpleasant dismasting." scary because of the 3-knot ebb and the converged on the mark from different Liz Baylis stood behind Moradzadeh RC boat being so favored," said Wijsen. directions on opposite tacks." during the race, whispering sweet noth- "This series has gotten a bad rap for A conversation-piece anchored off ings in his ear. "We had an extremely the last few years. We were fortunate Angel Island, the 235-ft motor yacht pleasant group today," she said. today because the wind stayed with us." Kogo became a windbreak for fi nishers Seadon Wijsen sailed on Daniel Thiel- Seadon thinks keelboat racing on the already unfortunate enough to be out in man's R/P 44 Tai Kuai. "It was good Bay is picking up. the middle when she was repositioned at racing," observed Wijsen. Tai Kuai en- Charlie Brochard from the Olson the mouth of the Strait. joyed a good battle with Buzz Blackett's 34 Baleineau, which sailed in the fi rst Another conversation piece, the Page 70 • Latitude 38 • February, 2015 THE CORINTHIAN MIDWINTERS WWW.NORCALSAILING.COM brand-new, shiny gray C&C 30 Javelin, This page, clockwise from top left: Fog shrouded the boats that went out on Sunday; the postponement the demo boat for Sail California, is fl ag came down and the abandonment fl ag went up; 'Oaxaca' checked out the wind before Saturday's the fi rst of her kind on the West Coast. race; Jim Snow tidied up 'Raccoon'; 'Racer X' doused her kite after snagging the RC boat's rode; kites went up at the Division A start. Center: The only competition on Sunday was of the armchair variety. Dealer Pat Nolan raced her in the new Sportboat 30 division. "We were focused "We expected it to be a drifter," said I'm proud of all our guys. Everyone was on the Soto 30 with Scott Easom aboard Dave Rasmussen from the Synergy 1000 right there at the start." The Cals sailed and the Synergy got by," said her sail- Sapphire. His wife Betty fi nished the the shortest course, to Yellow Bluff and maker, Jeff Thorpe. "We were fi rst to thought: "It turned out great!" back. "When the currents are like that fi nish but we left a little on the race "We had a feisty little group of fi ve you can be side by side and the current course," he admitted. "We’re still fi gur- Cal 20s," said Jim Snow of Raccoon, stops just one of you. You stop and spin." ing out the trim." The boat had just been which had a nice duel with Richard We did call it a "washing machine." delivered that Monday. "We practiced on vonEhrenkrook's Can O’Whoopass in the Thursday and Friday in no wind. That’s last start. The ladies on Just Em tried it. We’re still working the bugs out, but to take advantage of it. "Richard took it Sunday was a day of a different it performed well. If we didn’t make the going away," said Snow. "He showed his color — literally. Instead of sky blue, it tactical mistakes, we might have won." mastery going around Peninsula Point. was fog gray. With no wind and limited February, 2015 • Latitude 38 • Page 71 THE CORINTHIAN MIDWINTERS visibility, the race committee postponed day like January 17 (though we'd guess ashore well before the fi rst scheduled that the race committee would prefer a start time at noon. The would-be sailors different wind direction). Saturday the proceeded to decimate CYC's build-your- 21st will feature the third annual Rob own Bloody Mary bar. A chilly easterly Moore Memorial Regatta, affectionately piped up a couple of times, but didn’t nicknamed 'Robgatta'. Rob, Latitude 38's hold. "As my grandmother used to say, racing editor for 18 years, was a strong never trust an easterly," quipped a rueful believer in competitive but fun racing observer. at all levels on San Francisco Bay. The Around 12:30, a race committee vol- event has been developed to promote unteer told the principal race offi cer, Jeff midwinter sailing and to raise funds for Zarwell, that the Expedition software was the #1 cancer killer, lung cancer. telling them it was about an hour from After the race, the aforementioned Yellow Bluff (the shortest course) back Liz Baylis, 2002 Rolex Yachtswoman of to the club in the ebb. We didn’t think the Year and an America's Cup veteran, that was too bad. However, the second will speak about her recent exotic racing time the easterly fl uttered in, it brought experiences in the Middle East and Asia. with it a fog that completely obscured Regatta chair Allyn Schafer (left) kept the daily Proceeds of the live and silent auctions the boats that had gone out to practice.