Spring One Design Regatta – Bring on the wintery conditions

by pressure-drop.us on 6 Mar 2017 Seven Express 27's, five Melges 24's, seven Moore 24's and and 20 J 105's ushered in spring at the StFYC's Spring One Design Regatta over the weekend, looking forward to saying adios to the cold and wet winter of 2016-2017 and spring into the new sailing season, with longer days, warmer weather and sunny skies!

The StFYC race committee was sharing the City Front on Saturday with the GGYC, who were wrapping up their five race Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Series, so to avoid conflict, the StFYC moved their course over towards Alcatraz. The first race sent the fleets to a mark off yellow bluff, a sausage not quite square to the wind, although square to the current, and the breeze was consistent, a southwest in the teens with occasional puffs to low 20's.

When the GGYC wrapped up their race early, the StFYC RC squared up the course dramatically, moving the weather marks just off the club house, giving the racers a completely different set of challenges, the biggest, deciding when the layline had been achieved, factoring a strong three knot flood (estimated). The conditions were ripe for 'interesting' crossings and emergency tactics as boat that thought they had it laid, only to have to duck other boats, sending a chain reaction of confusion, and instantaneous recalculations in the process. And that was just with the 20 boats in the J-105 fleet!

The 105's managed to complete their first lap and then caught up with some of the other fleets, just arriving at the weather mark, giving the smaller Melges, Moore's and E-27 even more to ponder. Yet unlike NASCAR, the rubbing was kept to a minimum, aside from weather mark commingling of rubber and resin. Three races completed on Saturday in mild conditions witness John Kernot's Banditos taking 3 bullets to lead the Moore's, Duane Yoslov's Looper with a pair of aces and a deuce leading the Melges, Ryan Simmons Blackhawk with two 4's and a bullet, tied with Bruce Stones, Arbitrage (5,1,3) in the J-105's and Zachary Anderson's Motorcycle Irene utilizing two firsts and a second to win the day in the Express 27's.

Then there was Sunday. The promise of a fast moving weather system sliding over the area and exiting early, sorta came true. In its wake, a very cold and unstable airmass asserted itself over the bay. With menacing, water ladened cells interspersed with bouts of brilliant sunshine, wind ranging from mild to wild, crews needed to decide if they really needed or wanted to compete. Hail and gusts in the 30 knot range prior to start kept most boats tied to the dock until things look like they were clearing. The RC managed to get in two races on a westerly before the next round of heavy rain and hail rolled through mid afternoon.

When all was said and done, Steve Bourdow's Mooregasm had come from behind to win the Moore 24's. Duane Yoslov's Looper continued its domination in the Melges and did not even need to race the final race to claim the prize. Bruce Stone and crew on Arbitrage would eek out the victory in the 105's, 14 points to Phillip Laby's Godot and Zachary Anderson's Motorcycle Irene would ride a two point decision over Dan Pruzan's Wylie Coyote for the title in the Express 27's.

This article was originally published in forum thread: Spring One Design: Bring On The Wintery Conditions started by Photoboy