SHEET
LESLIE RICHTER / WWW.ROCKSKIPPER.COM
'Orion' (l) and 'Mama Tried' at the start of the Newport to Ensenada Race.
Corsair F-27, David Morris; 2) Tri Chi, Corsair F-27 Charles Jeremias. (2 boats) DOUBLEHANDED MULTIHULL — 1) Roshambo, Corsair 31r, Darren Doud; 2) Peregrine Falcon, Corsair F-27, Bill Gardner; 3) Ma's Rover, Corsair 31, Mark Eastham. (6 boats) Results at www.sfbaysss.org
OYRA Duxship The Duxship race was held inshore this past May 10 because of concerns related to high-wind forecasts and thus safety. Race organizers followed weather forecasts for 24-hours prior to the regatta to ensure their ultimate decision would be the right one. This decision created a fair amount of debate amongst racers, frustrated by the restriction of not being allowed out the Gate due to weather. Many but not all skippers signed up for the OYRA series are planning to do the PacCup and saw this as an opportunity for some good heavy-weather training. organizers saw things differently. "The current OYRA board has been having ongoing discussions about wind limits for a couple of years now," says Andy Newell, President of the OYRA. "We have even discussed non-race-day forecasts in the past to prepare ourselves for making a recommendation to the PRO about whether to send the fleet out the Gate. We have adopted the policy of the
Berkeley YC midwinters that we won’t race in a gale." They arrived at their decision on May 10 to hold an inshore race after much study and deliberation. "The discussion specific to the Duxship started in earnest on Friday morning and involved all the members of the OYRA board and the PRO who was running the race for us. Dozens of emails went back and forth and we studied every forecast we could get our hands on," says Andy. "As we got closer to Saturday the forecasts all started to agree that we would see sustained winds in the high 20s with gusts in the mid-to upper 30s. We all got up early on Saturday and checked the various forecasts. We checked NOAA, Sailflow, and PredictWind and I even had a phone conversation with Mike Dvorak from Sailtactics.com who does a high -resolution forecast the morning of the race specific for the race area. All sources agreed that we would see sustained winds in the high 20s with gusts from mid-30s to 40. We had one final email huddle Saturday morning and I spoke to the PRO by phone and all agreed that the in-the-Bay course was appropriate based on what the forecasts said would be happening by mid-afternoon." But even if forecasts were for high winds and a potentially large sea state, some asked why they decided not to let
racers go anyway. "We feel that the organizing authority along with the race committee has a responsibility to determine if conditions pose a safety hazard to the fleet. Some members of our fleet are seasoned offshore veterans who have done multiple Pacific crossings in very stable boats," says Andy. "Some members of our fleet are weekend warriors who are expanding their horizons by trying ocean racing for potentially the first time. We understand that a few of the boats signed up for the race on Saturday are prepping for the Pacific Cup or other longer races and wanted to test their boat and crew in the nastiest conditions possible. To them I apologize and suggest that they watch the forecast and find a nasty day when there is not a race for practice. Most of our fleet does this for fun, and conditions Saturday were forecast to be somewhere between no fun and dangerous." — latitude / ross SSS DUXSHIP RACE (5/10) PHRO 1 — 1) Red Cloud, Farr 36, Don Aherns; 2) Dare Dare, Jeanneau Sun Fast, Nicholas Popp; 3) Cruzsea Baby, Beneteau 10R, Brian Turner. (11 boats) PHRO 2 — 1) Whirlwind, Wyliecat 30, Dan Benjamin; 2) Green Buffalo, Cal 40, Jim Quanci; 3) Sea Star, Cal 39, Bob Walden. (8 boats) SHORTHANDED 1 — 1) Racer X, J/105, Mary Mcgrath; 2) Javelin, J/105, Sergei Podshivalov; 3) Void Star, Santa Cruz 40, James Murphy. (4 boats) SHORTHANDED 2 — 1) Nancy, Wyliecat 30, Pat Broderick; 2) Mesmerize, C&C 35 Mk III, Rune Storesund, 3) Moonshine, DP 26, Dylan Benjamin. (4 boats) Complete results at www.yra.org
WBRA #2 Berkeley YC was on station at the Olympic Circle to welcome the WBRA fleet on Saturday, May 10. Frustratingly, conditions never quite settled down as the wind direction moved through over 100°. Regardless, the Bears, Birds, Folkboats and Knarrs encountered a light 5- to 10-knot northerly at the beginning
For more racing news, subscribe to 'Lectronic Latitude online at www.latitude38.com. May's racing stories included: J/Fest • Doublehanded Farallones Race • Resin Regatta• Rollo Wheeler Regatta • MEXORC Copa Corum Regatta Previews and much more!