While Beer Can Racing Is Cooling Down, Fall Sailing Is Warming Up

This can be a difficult time of year for sailors. The days are getting shorter, the busyness of fall starts to accelerate, and most of all, most of the Bay Area’s weekly, evening beer can series are coming to an end. We have two left at the Corinthian Yacht Club, and Oakland Yacht Club’s Sweet 16 series finishes up tonight.

Richmond YC, Berkeley YC and Sequoia YC carry on toward the end of September, and Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club carries the torch all the way until October 7. However, most series end by Labor Day. We know many boat owners don’t live close enough to their  boats to get through traffic in time to make the start, but for those who live close enough, joining a beer can series is a ritual you’ll never regret.

As the photo above shows, it’s the boats signed up for evening beer can races that are often the only boats on the Bay for some of the summer’s most beautiful evenings. We’d like to say there are no other boats in the photo in front of us because we were so far in front of the fleet, but that would be misleading. But our fleet position didn’t matter for such a beautiful night. The wind faded, the race was abandoned, but, regardless, everyone went home happy to have been on the water.

Remembering to sail with the spirit of Rob Moore’s “Beer Can Ten Commandments” has made many evenings better and is a spirit that’s worth remembering as you head into weekend battles on the race course. Friday night gathers the serious and not-so-serious for an opportunity to polish up sailing skills, socialize under sail, and continue to puzzle out the Bay’s ever-changing challenges.

There are a couple dozen beer can series on the Bay, so there is surely one near your boat. Or, if you don’t have a boat, there’s most likely a boat looking for crew near where you live. Most races last an hour to an hour-and-a-half and land you back at a club full of smiling sailors who were happy to step off the land and break up their week.

We wrestle with our paradoxical glass-half-full/glass-half-empty perspective when we see great photos like these of Oakland Yacht Club’s Sweet 16 series. We zero in on sail trim, the types of boats, the types of sails, the people on board and many of the elements of sailing captured in a shot. However, we also can’t help noticing all the masts in the background without sails hoisted that surely would also enjoy a good evening sail. We understand not everyone’s life circumstances make it possible to get out, but we’d guess most people’s lives would be improved if they could.

Finding a way to sail your boat regardless of your crew size also makes sense. Small boats sail more often because they don’t need as many crew and are easier to get out, but big boats can be set up to be easy to rig and sail shorthanded. If trophies are important to you then organizing crew can be a barrier, but if just getting out for the evening is the most important thing, the crew “problem” becomes easier to solve.

Luckily, while we lament the end-of-summer winding down of beer can racing, we’re also reminded that the fall is one of the best times of year for sailing on the Bay. While many regions of the country are thinking about getting their boats hauled and stored for the winter, California sailors are just adjusting their sails and schedules to get on the water for some of the best sailing of the year.

The Latitude 38 Crew List and September 10 Crew Party can help connect the boatless and the crewless so they don’t have to spend another day or evening ashore. While summer may be coming to an end, the opportunity to sail is with us all year long.

The YRA and yacht clubs are putting together the 2027 calendar now, so when spring rolls around, don’t forget to get to put a beer can series on your schedule.