Corinthian Midwinters
After a 35-minute postponement, Saturday’s 98-boat Corinthian Yacht Club Midwinters fleet sailed off a startline set west of Angel Island into a softening breeze on a 12- or 8-mile course, depending on division. The course choice proved overly ambitious for some. The race committee shortened course at the last mark, Yellow Bluff, southeast of Sausalito. As the 4:30 p.m. time limit approached, one competitor after another called in to drop out, and many more were left on the course when time ran out, still inching toward the elusive finish.
Taking Harding Rock to starboard and Angel Island to port, the Richmond-bound 620-ft car carrier Pearl Ace gently and quietly passed through the fleet attempting to finish in the light air and powerful flood. The pilot finessed the passage without sounding even one horn.
video by Michael Moradzadeh
Sunday’s race had a lively breeze for a quick afternoon, mostly complete before the heaviest of the rain came in. We’ll have much more in Racing Sheet in the February issue of Latitude 38.
The Super 12s Are Coming
About a year ago, when ex-America’s Cup employee Tom Ehman introduced his pipe dream of staging a 12-Meter racing renaissance on San Francisco Bay — in reaction to the astronomical costs of foiling-era A-Cup campaigning — the idea drew a mixed reaction. But today, momentum is building, with several nations showing strong interest, a summer 2017 race date announced, and this week the first renderings released for this new sexy one-design class.
Farr Yacht Design embraced the challenge of drawing an elegant-looking sloop reminiscent of the classic 12-Meters (used in Cup competition prior to 1987) above the waterline, yet with ultra-modern underbodies.
As reported earlier, the new event, dubbed the San Francisco Racing Challenge, would take place annually here on the Bay, and would be focused on match racing among teams that would have strict crew nationality requirements — including participation of female sailors, and crew under 30 and over 65. Only a bare minimum of modern electronic gadgetry would be allowed
Because boats would be identical (apart from sail inventories), boat construction cost would be $2- to $3 million — ‘affordable’, at least by recent A-Cup standards — and would be used for a decade or more of racing. According to Ehman, the strongest interest thus far has been from an Italian team, with additional interest by teams from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and Spain, in addition to three US teams.
The first event’s date? July 21, 2017 — shortly after the conclusion of America’s Cup 35. Skeptics be warned. This is one pipe dream that might actually come to fruition.
Pacific Cup Events
Hawaii-bound sailors and hopefuls, take note: Saturday’s Alaska Airlines Pacific Offshore Academy at Richmond YC still has some space left. The POA on January 23 will begin at 1 p.m. and feature the following topics:
- Provisioning in three modes with race veterans Susan Chamberlin, Jody McCormack, and Melinda Erkelens
- Routing by Chris ‘Lew’ Lewis
- Ratings and Notice of Race, Buzz Blackett
- Personal gear, Sally Richards and Aimee Daniel
- Inspections update, Michelle Farabaugh
- Hawaii local knowledge, Steve Chamberlin
- Prepared boats in the water, Surprise and Wolfpack
Twenty-minute Breakout Sessions will enable students to explore their particular interests. A social hour will follow at 5 p.m. You can sign up online for $30 at www.pacificcup.org. A free seminar on watermakers will precede the POA at 10 a.m.
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Other Pacific Cup educational events coming up this winter and spring include:
- Feb. 13 — Medical Seminar, RYC, $30. Preparation for, prevention of, and response to common medical situations onboard. Presented by a panel of experts with at-sea experience: Kent Benedict, MD, FACEP, marine emergency medicine expert: Mary Lovely, RN, PhD, past PCYC commodore; Denny Emory, EMT, founder of OceanMedix; and Francis O’Connell, MD, director of Maritime Medical Access
- Mar. 5 — US Sailing Safety at Sea, Kaneohe YC, Oahu, $135
- Mar. 26 — Alaska Airlines Pacific Offshore Academy #4, RYC, $30
- Mar. 26 — SailMail/Grib Seminar, RYC, free
- May 14-15 — US Sailing / ISAF Safety at Sea, Encinal YC, Alameda
Races from the West Coast of North America to Hawaii this year include:
- Singlehanded TransPac, Tiburon to Hanalei Bay, Kauai, starting July 2
- Vic-Maui Race, Victoria BC to Lahaina, Maui, starting July 7-12
- Pacific Cup, San Francisco to Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, first starts July 11