‘Motorcycle Irene’ Three-peats at Express 27 Nationals and Looks To Grow the Fleet
The 2025 Express 27 National Championship was sailed from October 3 through 5 on the Berkeley Circle. Nineteen boats showed up to compete for the national title at the regatta, hosted by Encinal Yacht Club (EYC). The championship was won by a familiar name: Motorcycle Irene (RYC), with Will Paxton at the helm. The win marked a Nationals three-peat for the team.
Racing began on Friday with a distance race out to Point Bonita and back down to the Oakland-Alameda Estuary. All competitors were unfortunately scored TLE-1, as the 5:00 p.m. time limit hit before any boats could cross the finish line. From there, Motorcycle Irene dominated in champagne sailing conditions on Saturday and Sunday. Paxton and team won all five remaining races (though recording a 20% Z-flag penalty in race two) to finish with 10 points.
Behind the national champions in second place was Katie Cornetta’s team aboard Freaks on a Leash (RYC) with 17 points. After two fifth-place finishes to start the day on Saturday, Cornetta and team finished second in the final three races of the regatta in order to jump Brendan Busch’s Get Happy!! (RYC) for second place. Busch finished with 21 points. In fourth place and winning the Corinthian National Championship (highest-finishing boat without a World Sailing Category 3 sailor on board) was John and Michael Rivlin’s Peaches (StYFC).
“I started sailing that boat when I was still in high school.” Paxton tells us of Motorcycle Irene’s history. “There are two couples on the boat, [2024 Olympian] David Liebenberg and my cousin Julia. Jeane Rodgers and I have been together for 10-plus years. My buddy John Donovan filled out the last spot on the boat. We always joke that you need a medal for sailing with two couples.”
“Julia and I take turns driving. She drove last year. This year was my turn. Jeane had never sailed a day in her life before meeting me, but she’s a competitor and athlete in other sports. She’s had the training from great San Francisco Bay sailors, and is now a multiple-time national champion on the bow.”
“The best thing about our team is that it’s a family team, and another fun fact is that our friend John Donovan was on the boat when we won our first Nationals in 1999. It’s a great group of people.”
“We have a really healthy fleet in Lake Tahoe, which is almost a quarter of the fleet,” Paxton says, commenting on the state of the Express 27 fleet. “They drive back and forth between Richmond in the winter and Tahoe in the summer. A highlight of the regatta was fabulous turnout. A question for every fleet is maintaining participation. We’re going to put on another clinic at the start of the spring to try and keep interest high. It seems to be more of a struggle to get people to do buoy racing in the summer breeze. We’re going to work on our social media presence.”
“The boat is a beautiful boat. We take the family camping; you can race it to Hawaii. It’s a great doublehanded racing boat, so we get a lot of participation with the SSS. Those are some of our best-attended races other than nationals. [G]etting people to come to buoy races more should be a focus of ours.”
You can find the full results from the 2025 Express 27 National Championship here.
Caption Contest(!)
Welcome to the October Caption Contest(!). We don’t see pumpkins or skeletons, but there does seem to be something spooky going on.
Check out September’s Caption Contest(!) winners in this month’s issue of Latitude 38.
Stop at The Marina at Ensenada Cruiseport on Your Trip South
Walking distance to downtown Ensenada. A modern, safe marina protected by two break waters for a quiet stay. Reserve Now! Toll Free (877) 219-5822 marina.hutchisonportsecv.com.
Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond Squeeze Into 2025 Season
It’s always this way. As the end of the hurricane season nears and the cruising season is about to begin, there are a few depressions swirling and threatening to spin into something lethal. This is why cruisers leaving their boats in the spring remove sails and canvas, and otherwise streamline their boats and rigs so whatever storms show up will do minimal damage.
Even if these tropical disturbances never turn into full-fledged hurricanes, they can bring damaging winds and floods. Luckily, Tropical Storm Octave headed out to sea, and Hurricane Priscilla remained offshore for its hurricane phase and has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it heads toward land somewhere near Turtle Bay. Despite the systems’ staying offshore, heavy rains brought severe flooding and damage to the Cabo area.
Tropical Storm Raymond is right behind them and is also projected to remain below hurricane strength, though its current course could see the dangerous Northern Hemisphere northeast quadrant bringing big wind, waves and rain to Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
We’ve already had the first fall rains in San Francisco, with more forecast for next week. You can feel it’s all part of the cooling of fall, and a signal that the end of the hurricane season is near. Fingers crossed this relatively benign hurricane season in both the Atlantic and Pacific ends with a whimper.
Fleet Week — The Show Must Go On
The government shutdown is forcing some changes to this year’s Fleet Week, but it won’t stop the sunshine and a chance for a beautiful day on the Bay. In addition, there will be some new players replacing the Blue Angels to offer frequent Fleet Week flyers a fresh look at ways to skim just over your masthead light.
The show started at noon today, and runs through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
The event takes place between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz with the San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show presented by United Airlines. It’s typically the busiest weekend on the Bay all year. This year, with the absence of the Blue Angels, the event is being headlined by the Canadian Snowbirds, and it is the only air show in the United States with a commercial airliner, the United 777, performing a fully choreographed act. Put your seat belts on, put your laptops away, and put your cockpit tables up.
Most of the Canadian snowbirds we know are in Puerto Vallarta.
While there will be plenty of action in the air, due to the government shutdown the usual parade of ships will not happen. This was to include the Colombian tall ship ARC Gloria, which will also not be parading, but is open for tours at Piers 15/17 next to the Exploratorium, today through Monday.
The weather looks perfect for spectating, with clear skies and light breezes. That could make it slow going in the BVBC Champion of Champions, the CYC Fall Series #2 or the BYC Chowder Series #2, but the air show will add entertainment as you focus on keeping the sail telltales fluttering.
We are actually not at the Annapolis Boat Show for the first time in over 30 years since we’re home recovering from rotator cuff surgery. It’s also the second time in all those years we were going to see the Blue Angels. Regardless, it’s going to be a beautiful weekend in the Bay Area. Keep a good eye out and have fun out there. If you get some good shots upload them to our Sailagram page here. Or email them to [email protected].
Sailagram: A Snapshot of September Sailing
Welcome to this month’s Sailagram, the online gallery where we share sailing photos submitted by sailors from across the waters near and far.
When you’re out sailing, or anywhere near the water, take a happy snap or two and upload them to our Sailagram page. If that doesn’t work, you can also email them to us at [email protected].
We hope you enjoy this month’s gallery!
One Month Free at Alameda Marina
