42nd Zellerbach Regatta overall at St. Francis Yacht Club

by USA 4 Windsurfing Campaign on 3 May 2016 2016 saw the 42nd running of the Zellerbach regatta, hosted by the St.FYC with seven different classes racing along the San Francisco city front. Dinghies, multi-hulls and kitefoilers were well represented with 100+ sailors on the course both Saturday for light air racing and Sunday when the big breeze kicked in.

First run in 1962, it made an important switch for the St. FYC who previously ran and hosted 'yacht races.' Dinghies were invited into the fold and for many years the one manned Finn class reigned supreme with the biggest fleet.

Local legend, Ed Bennett was the first be be fed through the pipeline competing at the 1972 Olympics while representing the St.FYC. Later, it was combined into the Elvestom/Zellerbach regatta honoring Paul Elvstrom, winner of four Gold Olympic medals.

Fast forward 40+ years and the pipeline still flows with three St.FYC members competing in the summers 2016 Olympics in 49 FX skiff class, laser radial class and in the windsurfer class.

Saturday saw a fickle northley breeze turn westerly later in the afternoon and three races were run for the foiling kite class after the dinghies finished their morning races in light, shifty and puffy conditions. Most the kite fleet were on 12-15m foil kites but I was never even able to make it to the starting line with a 13.5m tube kite. The bubble on the beach made it nearly impossible to get the kite flying and get going. I made three attempts but finally bailed and watched the fleet from shore. Interesting enough, many of the foil kites who did make it to the course had to be rescued when their kites went down or got tangled.

The modern foil kites are an all together faster set up, proving more lift and greater range than a tube kite but come with its own set of vulnerabilities. Like any new innovations, there's a learning curve and most mistakes can be attributed to pilot error. The foil kites are especially vulnerable when they go down on the water. There is a limited relaunch time before the kite turns into a giant sea anchor. The bridle set up is way more complicated than a typical tube kite and can result in some incredible spaghetti during a self rescue.

However, when its done right, a foiling kite board and foil kite are a thing of wonder in the light breeze. Heineken made it look all too easy, nailing all of this foiling tacks and gybes and getting three bullets for the afternoon The thought of being able to make my transitions and foil in 8k keeps me coming back for more, despite the early setbacks.

Sunday saw a dim forecast but the breeze turned on by the 2pm kite start. I was well powered on the 8m kite in 16-24k as I made it around the course but not before being lapped by the front of the fleet in the two lap windward/leeward course. Finishing just outside the time limit is a bit discouraging but Ill take the small victories when I can.

Overall, less crashes but transitions are still slowing me down. Despite being able to make most my non foiling gybes, I only managed to make one or two the whole weekend. Trying to keep clear of the 70 other dinghies on the course also provided for quite the obstacle course. The lasers are liked parked objects when you're flying downwind at 25k+and best to be avoided at any cost. I managed to stay out of trouble and make two out of the three starts and even beat a few other kites to the first windward mark but ended up with a mixed array of alphabet soup on the score sheet.

Kite foil racing sure isn't easy, especially in this fleet. It's humbling at best but I feel very lucky just to be able to compete and try to come in with a smile. Persistence is really the only key to success and that does not come without some long hard battles.