Take the Tiller Rocks Pillar Point

Twenty-six women on seven Cal 20 keelboats with sails of varying colors like yellow, red, turquoise and orange raced with determination, warrior-like skill, and competitive spirit on July 28 in the first-ever Take the Tiller Women Sailing Regatta sponsored by the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club.

Under foggy skies, with 55°+ temperatures, calm seas and low winds, the regatta began with the first single-course race of almost 50 minutes. As the wind built, the courses varied and racers finished with much shorter times. Many of the crew had never sailed with each other, yet teamwork on each boat was stellar. There were no crew overboard and only a few 360s!

Kristi Durazo was the PRO on the race committee boat Destiny. HMBYC owns all the Cal 20s, so no women had to haul their own boats to the harbor. The Cal 20s (along with the Coronado 15s, Lasers and Flying Juniors) are sailed by approved, ‘checked-out’ skippers with crew.

The racing was so competitive, with close finishes, that there were ties for second and third place. Prizes (engraved medals) were awarded for first place: Pluto with Beccie Mendenhall as the skipper; second place: Minnie with Beth Richard, skipper; and third place: Argo, Sylvia Teng, skipper.

The regatta ended with engraved glasses filled with champagne and optional strawberries for each skipper and crewmember. The scuttlebutt heard after the regatta was that all sailors learned so much, had fun, argued happily over proper courses, and were tired with smiles.