Women Skippers Regattas

During the month of August, we checked in with a couple of women skippers’ regattas that took place on San Francisco Bay. The first was Encinal Yacht Club’s Gracie and George on August 20. According to the Sailing Instructions, "Only two people are allowed on each boat: a Lady Skipper and a Gentleman Crew. The skipper must helm during the pre-start, the start, all legs of the course and the finish. She is allowed to leave the helm for only brief moments for physical comfort or in rendering assistance with sail handling."

"The race started in the South Bay, south of NAS 2," reports Deb Fehr of the Santana 22 Meliki. "Boats then rounded the SC1 mark and headed to the Estuary for a finish in front of EYC. Spinnakers can only be flown once in the Estuary; Cam and I flew the spinnaker.  All non-spinnaker boats get 9 seconds added to their rating. After a 15-minute postponement due to lack of wind, the wind filled in and held strong for the entire race. Being the slowest-rated boat in the regatta, we used our mad tactical skills to correct in first. LOL." See www.encinal.org for results and more.

Next up was Sausalito YC’s Women’s Skipper Regatta on August 26. Men are allowed to crew, and any number of crew is allowed, however all-female teams are recognized on a special perpetual trophy.

Division D winner Jennifer Hinkel, helming Richard vonEhrenkrook’s Cal 20 Can O’Whoopass, reported a big flood and consistent wind. She played the shore for current relief and had a photo finish with Jennifer McKenna’s Santana 22 Zingaro — 2 seconds separated the boats. Of course, the Cal 20 would correct over the Santana 22, but that still must have been an exciting finish. Hinkel owns two Farallon Clippers, Ouessant and Mistress II, and says she would like to put together a Farallon Clipper one-design class next year. She’d also like to see a spinnaker division; this year’s race was all non-spinnaker.

Jon Stewart, helping out on Abba-Zaba, said that the Tartan Ten had a "magic day." Andrea Finn skippered the boat. Although she’s new to racing, the team used Corinthian YC Friday night races to practice. "Andrea did an amazing job," claimed Stewart. "The men just helped out. It’s all about the ladies." Andi Overton served as Andrea’s tactician, and Andi’s daughter Lisa was on the crew as well.

In the fast-boat Division A, Marika Edler of the Beneteau 45f5 Ohana was feted as the winner at the party after the race, but a scoring error was found that moved Ohana to second and gave Stephanie Magruder, skippering the J/105 Streaker, the victory. See www.sausalitoyachtclub.org for more.

Coming up are Tiburon YC’s Joan Storer Regatta on October 14 and South Beach YC’s Red Bra Regatta on October 21. Many more clubs host women’s events; to check out Latitude 38’s Unofficial Women’s Circuit, click here.