THE RACING We take a break from the rugged, freezing cold, rain-drenched (not!) San Francisco Bay to the (even) warmer climes of Mexico's Banderas Bay Regatta, then check in on a few final winter races before transitioning seasons to StFYC's Spring Regattas. With the majority of Bay Area midwinter series having wrapped up in early to mid-March, we've got more race results this month than you can shake a hiking stick at.
"What little wind there was quickly faded to almost nothing," said Zarwell, "causing the race committee to shorten course by eliminating the last downwind leg. True to form, as soon as we all crossed the finish line, the breeze kicked right in. Sadly, Gypsy, a Columbia 50, was flying a brand-new light-air kite at the time. On the next morning's PV Net they were advertising some slightly used spinnaker cloth that could be cut to size for anything smaller than a Columbia 50." Day 2 had more sunshine and better wind. "While it was not what Banderas Bay racers are used to, it's nice to sail in warm weather and 10 knots of breeze," said Jeff. The sun was too hot for Lucie Mewes, so Ben sailed singlehanded. "Saturday I was back on the boat and we had a triangle course again, 8 miles," she reports. "I had a great downwind leg, steadily driving 330 and passing the competition. Sweet." Going into the last day, Iolani was looking for another bullet. "Unfortunately we didn't get it," said Zarwell, "but with a second in the final race we secured first overall for the series." The Meweses also won their division. Among other boats from the Bay Area were Neal Holmlund's Express 27 Make Me Smile — which Lucie said he drove down from RYC just for the regatta — Jim Vickers' J/109 Joyride, Tom Kohrs' Island Packet 37 Dragon's Toy, Alan Robin's J/130 Itajime, Tom Shafer's Sylvia Stompe trains new foredeck crew Samuel from 'Seaward' and Ted, a cruiser from Canada, on 'Iolani's bow. Ericson 38-20 Surface Charge, and Ayn Woodruff's Sabre 34 Dream Dancer. Competing in the Jack & Jill Division "The Banderas Bay Regatta is a great were Ben and Lucie Mewes on their Richrace with great Bay Area representation, mond YC-based Van de Stadt 41 Georgia for good reason," concluded Zarwell. and Jim and Betty Adams on their Dis"Besides the weather, everyone is on covery Bay-based Catalina 42 MkII Flibvacation, in a relaxed mode, and Valbertigibbet. This was the Mewes's third larta Yacht Club goes all out to make consecutive Banderas Bay Regatta. sure everyone has a great time. If you're "Thursday was a drifter," said Lucie, looking for a change of pace, get on down "so hot that Ben and I traded places in there next year." the cockpit and the cabin to get out of See www.banderasbayregatta.com. the sun. The race committee sent us on — latitude/chris a triangle: reach, reach, downwind."
JEFF ZARWELL
Banderas Bay Regatta Having just completed managing three different winter series on San Francisco Bay, Jeff Zarwell of RegattaPRO was really looking forward to getting down to Puerto Vallarta for the Banderas Bay Regatta on March 3-7. Sailing aboard Barry and Sylvia Stompe's Hughes 48 yawl Iolani, known on the Bay as a very competitive boat, he took a different role this time as a competitor, not the PRO. "Wednesday's practice on March 4 was a bit of a bust due to lack of wind," he reports. "Race 1 on Thursday was reminiscent of Bay midwinters, in that there was very little wind and it was quite shifty. Of course it was 78 degrees and 83 percent humidity, so it wasn't all bad. However it did make for some challenging racing conditions."
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• April, 2015
March came in like a lamb, a bright blue, sunny one. To wit, SYC's last midwinter race on March 1. Inset: The 'Wasters' must have forgotten the good stemware — nothing a knife and some water bottles can't fix.
Jack Frost in February and March On February 21, Encinal YC's first of two scheduled Jack Frost races north of Treasure Island was postponed for almost an hour waiting for some wind. It looked as if it would be a repeat of the November and January races that had no starts. But a gentle breeze filled in from the north, and the race started on a short course. The wind then switched to the west and began to build, changing the windward/leeward course into two reaches. The race course was reconfigured for the second race. With the wind now at 18-20 knots, it was summertime sailing, but the boats must have had their winter light-wind crews because none of them flew a spinnaker during the second race. It was t-shirt, shorts and tutu weather for the final Jack Frost races on March 14. The early 'sucker breeze', which brought everyone to the race course, died before the start sequence, forcing a postponement until noon, when a weak and variable 5-knot north-to-northwesterly wind filled across the course. Two short races were then completed by all fleets. Don Ahern with Red Cloud sealed his series first place in Fleet A with two uncontested wins. Fleet C's top three contenders came out to defend their series spots, with Rodney Pimentel's Osituki receiving first overall. In the Wyliecat 30 division, Uno with Bren Meyer got two