1,000 Races and Counting

The 2018 YRA calendar just hit the stands and is filled with almost 1,000 races happening in Northern California, most of them on the weekends. There are just three weekend days all year without a sailing event! The calendar includes everything from evening beer can racing to the Rolex Big Boat Series. You’ll find Central Bay racing, lake racing in the Sierra, Monterey Bay events and ocean events such as California Offshore Race Week.

Why race? As Greg Clausen of the Beneteau Oceanis 390 Free Spirit said in our December issue, "Racing forces you to go out on less-than-perfect days and sail courses that might not be easy and dry, but help you learn and build your skills. Summer Beer Cans are like having a practice race every week. I race mostly out of Tiburon Yacht Club, because its Friday night summer races are the best way to start the weekend. My favorite regattas are the Great Vallejo Race and the Jazz Cup — those are the fun ones, when there’s wind!"

If you own a sailing dinghy, keelboat, racer or cruiser there’s probably a course, a club and event you’ll enjoy. It can be a casual family affair or a full-on grand prix campaign. If you’re up for it, this summer you could race either the Pacific Cup or the Singlehanded TransPac from San Francisco Bay to Hawaii.

In the short term, the Bay Area’s single largest event, the Three Bridge Fiasco on January 27, already has 71 signups and usually tops out with more than 300 entries. You can sign up for this single- or doublehanded tour of the Bay here.