2015 Rolex Big Boat Series - Images by Chuck Lantz

by Chuck Lantz on 3 Oct 2015 Sail-World photographer Chuck Lantz selected images from the 2015 Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club and held on San Francisco bay, for this two-part photo essay.

Though the event was scheduled for four consecutive race days, the light breeze that had caused race postponements during the first three days did not improve in time to beat the race start deadline on the final day of racing, causing the cancellation of what has traditionally been the longest race of the Series; the Tour of the Bay race.

On the three days when the breeze finally did fill after the postponements, the San Francisco bay lived up to its reputation as a steady wind machine, with solid winds in the 15 to 22+ knot range throughout the course.

The highlight of the event was provided by the rare appearance of two truly 'big boats', Tom Siebel's MOD70 trimaran Orion, which suffered a blown headsail just seconds before finishing a race early in the Series, and legendary maxi-racer Kialoa III, the 78' S&S designed sloop originally campaigned by Jim Kilroy, who held the Sydney-to-Hobart record time for 21 years after his 1975 win.

Now raced by Jorge Madden, Kialoa III is probably the most famous of the five boats raced by Kilroy that bore the name 'Kialoa', which is a Hawaiian word meaning 'long beautiful canoe' according to Wiki. We hope you enjoy the photos.