Golden Gate Bullship Race

Saturday marked the 61st running of the Gran Concurso Barco-Toro, aka Bullship, the oldest race for El Toros. You may think of El Toros as trainers for kids, but the Bullship is strictly for grown-ups, as its route takes competitors from Sausalito’s Trident Restaurant through San Francisco Bay’s notorious Slot and across the mouth of the Golden Gate to the San Francisco Marina. Indeed, almost all of the 21 Bullship sailors this weekend were middle-aged – or older.

Saturday morning’s forecast was frightening – at least for maiden voyagers – with a prediction of 15-25 knots from the northwest: the right direction but the wrong wind strength for the 8-ft boats. But sometimes you just need to look up from your computer and check out the window instead. This was one of those times. What wind there was at the 9:00 start came out of the south – unfortunately, on the nose for the Bullship race. Also on the nose was the max flood current. So getting out of Sausalito was a tricky chore. Short-tacking up the shore for current relief was of utmost importance. Despite the flood, the eager racers had a general recall of their start.

Once out in the Slot, the fleet hopped into water going in the right direction. Sometime after 10 a.m. enough of a westerly filled in to whip up white caps. Fred Paxton found the favorable current first and rode it to victory, his first in the Bullship. ‘Gran Almiranta de la Regata‘ John Amen finished second. Chris Nash (#5) won the Clydesdale trophy for the first finisher weighing 200 pounds or more. John Liebenberg (#6) won the Viejo Trophy, and James Savattone (#8) the Woody Trophy. David Bacci (#9) was the first maiden voyager to finish, and Vickie Gilmour (#12) won the Sirena Award for the first (and only) female finisher. The 18th finisher, Christophe Caron, got the Tail-Ender award. See complete results at www.eltoroyra.org. Defending champion Gordie Nash missed the race, opting instead for the Great Vallejo Race on his big boat.