Let the Beer Can Racing Season Begin
With Daylight Saving Time now in effect, it’s time to roll out the beer cans! (By which we mean beer can racing, of course. Actual cans of beer are optional.) Beer cans are after-work evening races that tend to be more casual than weekend regattas. They provide good opportunities to try out racing for the first time, train new crew, get non-sailing friends and family out on the water, and test out new gear configurations, all while sloughing off the cares of the workaday world.
Some Beer Can Series Starting This Month
Those fun-loving Santa Cruzers waste no time jumping aboard the beer can wagon. Their super-casual evening races actually start tomorrow with the Tuesday Night Developmental Race Series. (Apparently Wet Wednesdays weren’t enough; in Santa Cruz you can race on Tuesday and Wednesday nights throughout the many months of DST.)
The Tuesday Night series is more formal than the Wednesday night races, which aren’t actually run by SCYC. For Tuesday’s races, you’ll need to sign up, pay a registration fee, and take note of the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions. Unlike the Wednesday nighters, the Tuesday races are actually scored. Both culminate in BBQ suppers back at the SCYC clubhouse. In our opinion, post-race gatherings are an important part of the whole beer can experience.
Others that start in March include: Monterey Peninsula YC’s Sunset Series, every Wednesday starting on March 13, and Berkeley YC’s weekly Friday Night Races and BBQs, starting on March 15.
Many More Will Start in April
Encinal YC in Alameda sent us this message last week: “Encinal Yacht Club is excited to invite you to participate in the 2024 Twilight Series. The first day of spring is just two short weeks away, and EYC is turning over a new leaf this year! Join us for Friday evenings on the Estuary — we look forward to fun, competitive racing on the water, and an inviting post-race scene back at the clubhouse.” Registration is open on Jibeset. The Twilight Series will begin on April 5.
Corinthian YC’s weekly Friday Night Races will also start on April 5. “Join us for dinner and a drink on the CYC sunset deck at the no-host bar and collect your daily trophies, presented following each race,” invites the club. “The best way to unwind the stresses of the week and enjoy the evening sail.”
Many more beer can series kick off in April, and a few more will start in May. Check out our list on pages 22-26 of the 2024 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Schedule. In the same publication, you’ll find some basic racing rules (on page 14).
To really dig the vibe of these evening events, read (or reread) Rob Moore’s Ten Commandments of Beercan Racing.
Vallarta Yacht Club’s WesMex Regatta Keeps It Small
The very active Vallarta Yacht Club keeps sailing going on Banderas Bay. San Diego’s Vallarta Race finished at the end of February, followed by the just-finished MEXORC, with Banderas Bay Race week coming up March 19-23. In the midst of all that the Vallarta Yacht Club ran the WesMex Small Boat Regatta for Optis, ILCAs and 420s.
Charity Palmatier from Vallarta YC shared some photos and included the suggestion that a few more California dinghy sailors should consider tuning up their racing skills in the warm waters of Banderas Bay during next year’s WesMex Regatta.
Winner of the ILCA 6 fleet was Elena Oetling, who will be representing Mexico at the Paris Olympics when they all race in Marseille.
You can see full results of the WesMex International Small Boat Regatta here.
There’s plenty of hot racing in the warm-weather cruising grounds of Banderas Bay. We’ll have a report on MEXORC in the upcoming April issue.
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Co-Skippers Ross Werner and Kevin Wilkinson Prepare for the Pacific Cup
We’re continuing our Pacific Cup profiles with Ross Werner and Kevin Wilkinson, co-skippers and co-owners of the J/112e Jubilant. This will be the pair’s first Pac Cup, an event they’ve talked about entering for many years.
“We finally have the time and the right boat, and we’re not getting any younger!”
The race will be a true family affair, with the crew being made up of Kevin’s sons Andrew and Patrick, and Ross’ son Peter. Add one more sailor, Gilles Combrisson, who races with Jubilant in the Bay, and you have a well-organized boat. “Gilles has done Pac Cup before and is a professional rigger and composites wizard.”
Ross and Kevin bought the J/112e in England in 2022 and had her shipped to San Francisco. They’d been partners in a Beneteau 35 for many years, during which time they’d also been thinking about a boat for the Pacific Cup. “When we finally stopped talking about it and started looking, we very quickly focused on the J/112e. We found her on the market in Hamble, England, so we flew to the UK, checked her out, had a survey done, and made the deal. She arrived in San Francisco in September 2022.”
Their first race was the 2022 Great Pumpkin Regatta. In 2023 they sailed most of the YRA Offshore Series — Lightship, Farallones, Spinnaker Cup, Drake’s Bay, Half Moon Bay, Bluewater Bash — plus the Jazz Cup and many local Bay races. “This year we are planning to do the YRA Offshore series leading up to the Pac Cup for crew practice,” they add.
In compliance with the YRA offshore requirements, Jubilant was already well equipped. Nonetheless, there was more to add. “For Pac Cup the big things are upgrading to a lithium ion battery and installing the emergency rudder. Then adding a liferaft, storm sails, and some other required gear. We’re installing an Iridium GO! exec® for weather/internet. Other prep includes a haulout for new antifouling paint and to inspect the rudder shaft and bearings, and we’ll have the rig inspected just in case.”
Ross’ sailing life began in Southern California, where he spent time with his aunt and uncle who lived aboard their Ericson 36. He raced 420s in college and did a lot of big-boat racing in New England before moving back to California and racing on the Bay. Ross’ son Peter sailed and raced in high school with Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF).
Kevin started sailing as a kid, but didn’t do much racing until later, mostly big-boat sailing on the Bay. His sons Andrew and Patrick race an International 14 out of Richmond YC. “When my sons got hooked on dinghy racing at South Beach Yacht Club and in high school at PYSF and in college, it raised the competitive spirit in the family and greatly improved our big-boat team performance,” Kevin says. “We’ve got a great boat and team lined up for Pac Cup, and competing for our Division win and the Family Trophy will be our goal.”
Together, Ross and Kevin have raced in the Marblehead to Halifax, Antigua Race Week, and Baltic Sea Kiel Week, and also enjoyed several charters in the Caribbean, Greece, and Croatia.
At this point there are no other offshore plans on the “jubilant” sailors’ horizons, though they do mention a possibility of joining the Baja Ha-Ha in 2025.
One last question we asked was if they would be using Starlink while racing to Hawaii. “Have you seen the size of that antenna? Too big, too heavy, and too much power.” We take that as a “no.”
Good luck to Ross, Kevin, and the crew of Jubilant.
You can see more 2024 Pacific Cup profiles here: Heather Richard, Elliott James, Matt Arno, and Andy Schwenk.
West Coast Sailors Meet Up in Caribbean Multihull Challenge
California is not known for having lots of multihulls, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t many multihull owners from the West. The owners may live here, but their boats are all over the world. Writer/sailor Michelle Slade is spending some winter months in St. Martin, where she joined the St. Martin Yacht Club’s Caribbean Multihull Challenge aboard Santa Barbara sailor Ron Boehm’s Antrim Perry 52 catamaran Little Wing.
Ron has been sailing most of his life, though much of it on International 14s.
Multihull sailor Kevin Hutton started his catamaran sailing working for a Southern California Hobie dealer in the ’70s.
The regatta winner was Todd Slyngstad from Los Gatos aboard his HH66 catamaran Nemo. Despite his success with Nemo there is a goal to go even faster with a MOD70.
Check out the story in the March issue.
‘Stad Amsterdam’ Open for Tours Tomorrow
Here’s your reminder that the Stad Amsterdam will be open for tours tomorrow, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This may be your only opportunity to get aboard and see the ship throughout (unless you’re planning on seeing her in another port somewhere down the track).
The tours are free, but you will need to show a Photo ID.
The ship is located at piers 30/32 in San Francisco.
Her departure from the Bay is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 23. (We have heard rumor of another open day prior to that date. We can advise when/if we have confirmation.) Stad Amsterdam will sail (wind permitting) to the Golden Gate Bridge in company of many boats, to pass beneath the Bridge at approximately 10:45 a.m.
Club Nautique Is Hiring for Immediate Openings!
Join our team today and see why we are the premier school and boating club on the Bay! For more information and to apply visit: www.clubnautique.net/about-club-nautique/job-opportunities