SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART II — O
n November 18, Yacht Racing Association officials and participants gathered at Richmond Yacht Club for an end-of-the-year trophy party and prize pickup get-together. In this second part of our annual three-part Season Champs series, we turn our attention to the YRA season winners. YRA Offshore Series Rick Waltonsmith and crew aboard the Explorer 44 'Round Midnight topped the Multihull Division of the YRA's Offshore Series (formerly known as OYRA). "This was a mixed year of offshore racing for 'Round Midnight — lots of nice sunny weather, but several events with light winds," said Rick. "The fastest boat in our multihull fleet, Bottle Rocket, did not race in many events, and we missed trying to catch them." Regular crew on the ocean races this year were Carlos Runng, Norbert Kiesel and Dave Olson. Evan McDonald, Danny Mone and Anton Berteaux filled in as needed. "All good sailors, and good friends." The Farallones is a favorite race of Rick's. "While the winds were pretty light, we had a nice sail around the islands. When entering the Golden Gate, there is always the excitement of meeting the 20-knot-plus winds inside the Bay, and a screaming spinnaker run to the finish line. It's good to avoid the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge when
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coming in. The 'Demon of the South Tower' has done damage to many a sail over the years." 'Round Midnight's sailors also love the race up to Drake's Bay and back. "The wind was light all day going up, and only about 12 boats chose to anchor there this year. Why? Because the forecast was for building winds to 30+ knots. When we were about 5 miles from Drake's Bay, the winds really started screaming. We snagged a mess of kelp on our first anchoring attempt, and I saw gusts of 37 knots of wind. It took us almost an hour to get the hook down and a beer or two inside us. We had dinner inside, out of the gale."
"When we were about 5 miles from Drake's Bay, the winds really started screaming." "This year's OYRA season was like the last several: not many boats racing in the SHS Division," says Pat Broderick, winner of the shorthanded division with his Wyliecat 30 Nancy. "The major problem this year was scheduling. OYRA,
SSS and BAMA scheduled races on the same Saturdays, which made it difficult for shorthanded racers to compete. My hope is the 2024 shorthanded races can be scheduled so that shorthanded racers can sail all the ocean races. "Joe Duri crewed with me except for one race when he was out of town and Stephen Quanci stepped up. It's Joe's second OYRA season on Nancy, and he's a good partner in the cockpit. I think doublehanding is a real team effort. Several races ended with DNFs [Did Not Finish] due to lack of wind, and I wonder if global warming is changing the playing field?" Pat's favorite race this year was the Half Moon Bay Race. "There was a strong turnout for the race, a good post-race party with paella at the Half Moon Bay YC, and a great return up the coast Sunday morning. Over the decades, I've enjoyed the race down to Half Moon Bay and cruise back more than any of the other ocean races." Bob Walden, who won PHRO 2 with his Cal 39 Sea Star, agreed that the wind this year was very light. "We were unable to finish the Farallones Race, and many of the other races were drifters. But we managed to drift the right way enough times, I guess. "Our favorites are the destination
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The Cal 39 'Sea Star' returns from the Lightship in the YRA Offshore Series on April 20, 2023.
Page 46 • Latitude 38 • January, 2024