First Day of racing at Rolex Big Boat Series

by Susan Maffei Plowden on 14 Sep 2007 September on San Francisco Bay: light morning breezes quickly turned into ideal 12-15 knot gusting winds, propelling the 112 racing sailboats into the first day of the 43rd annual Rolex Big Boat Series.

Two races were held for each of the 10 classes - four IRC, six one-design - taking the fleet from Treasure Island, around Alcatraz and up to the Golden Gate Bridge for a final lap back and then to the finish line.

An exciting debut duel in IRC A class among the five biggest of the boats saw Rosebud, the brand-new STP65 owned by Roger Sturgeon (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Samba Pa Ti, one of the newest TP52s owned by local sailor John Kilroy, battling for an advantage against the Bay's heavy mid-day flood tide. Overall class leader Samba Pa Ti took two first places, over second-place Sjambok, owned by Michael Brennan (Annapolis, Md.), with Larry Ellison, Gavin Brady, and Sean Clarkson among the top-level sailors fresh from the America's Cup challenge in Valencia, Spain.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed] For IRC D, it was somewhat of a repeat for defending champion Gerard Sheridan (San Francisco) on his Elan 40 Tupelo Honey. With a 1-2, he leads the 10-boat class. 'It's too early to talk about racing,' said Sheridan. 'Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how we did. For us, the story is all about Acabar, a boat that is going very well. If the wind builds in the next few days, it will be a dog fight between us.' Acabar, owned by Jean-Yves Lendormy (San Francisco), scored a 4-1 and is currently in second place ahead of Mintaka 4, owned by Gerry Brown, in third place.

The newest class to compete at Rolex Big Boat Series is the Melges 32s and two boats are tied on four points: Red, owned by Tim Edwards (Torbay, U.K.), and Southern Cross, owned by Richard Leslie (San Francisco). While all of the competitors in this class are new to the Melges 32 fleet, all have experience in other one-design classes and some have made the transition from Melges 24s. For Caleb Everett, the transition is a steep one from his former Express 37 and he has put in a lot of time in the boat to get the team ready for competition. 'Caleb was looking for a more competitive boat and he was willing to step up and be one of the first on the bay with a new one design,' said Don Teakell (Concord, Calif.), who trims the jib and spinnaker on Everett's Stewball. He explained that although the crew has only come together in the past few weeks, overall their crew work is coming together. Everett must be pleased with finishing ahead of Philippe Kahn (Soquel, Calif.), known for his meticulous training efforts. Kahn's Pegasus 32 is in third overall, which includes a first in the second race. 'We are lucky to have probably the 'best out of town fleet' this first year,' said Kahn of the Melges 32s. His enthusiasm for the state-of-the-art racers was evident in his focused performance. With Richard Clarke and Harry Melges onboard, Pegasus 32 will certainly be a challenge in the fleet.

Racing continues daily through Sunday, September 16 on San Francisco Bay. The race course is within viewing range of Pier 39 and the Marina District, between Treasure Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, with the finish line set off the St. Francis Yacht Club Race Deck. The larger boats in the IRC fleets will race to a special mark outside (the bay) past the Golden Gate Bridge. The race mark will be set off Point Bonita Lighthouse. This course was selected by the St. Francis Yacht Club to provide a challenge as the ocean outside of the Gate can be a tricky place to sail.

Coveted prizes for the fleet are six perpetual trophies - Richard Rheem, St. Francis, City of San Francisco, Atlantic, Keefe-Kilborn Memorial and the Commodore's Cup - and a Rolex Submariner timepiece for each winner.

Regarded by sailors as one of the world's premier sailboat racing events, the Rolex Big Boat Series joins the list of other prestigious Rolex-sponsored events in 2007: the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Rolex TP52 Global Championship and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

www.stfyc.com
www.regattanews.com