THREE BRIDGE FIASCO —
This photo: With fewer than 125 boats in the starting area, it wasn't even half as crowded as last year's 300-plus. Below: Paul Sutchek's Cal 20 'Slainte' was first to start and first around Blackaller Buoy.
None of us over the age of about
3 will ever forget the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21. With time, however, the memory of the vicissitudes of each month or even season may fade. In case you read this in the future, remember that the holiday season of 2020 and the aftermath in January '21 were the worst
times (knock wood) of the whole business. California instituted a lockdown that began on December 3 and was not lifted until January 25. In the meantime, the Singlehanded Sailing Society had to plan for America's largest sailboat race, the Three Bridge Fiasco, on January 30. The Three Bridge normally draws more than 300 entries in singlehanded
and doublehanded divisions. To maintain social distancing on the water and on shore at the startline in front of Golden Gate Yacht Club, the SSS limited the race to singlehanders only, and capped entries at 125. They reached their limit within one day of opening registration. "Naturally, we were surprised that the 125 cap was reached within the first 24 hours or less," wrote the SSS commodore, Joe Balderrama. "It only made sense to add a waiting list of 25 from the 40-plus people who wanted on it. A lottery was decided, and I used a table of random numbers from my college stats book. With natural attrition and the conscientious members immediately notifying us of their cancellations, we were able to add all 25 by the evening of the skippers' pre-race meeting."
I
t's the course that puts the 'fiasco' in Three Bridge Fiasco, a 21-ish-mile pursuit race. The sailors can start in either direction, round each mark either way and in any order, and cross the finish line in front of GGYC from either direction. For weeks before the race, conversations around the docks begin, "Which way are you going to go?" The race started on a flood, switching to a big ebb in the afternoon. The flood current at the start was so strong that a few competitors coming from the east or south had to call in to say they Page 72 •
Latitude 38
• March, 2021
