Big Sail 2025: Bands, Mascots, Alumni, and Team Racing
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, generations of sailors and fans descended on St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) for the 21st edition of the Big Sail between Cal and Stanford. With the infamous “Big Game” between the two set for Saturday, the rivalry between the two institutions is in the air of the Bay Area this week, and that made its way to the water on Wednesday.
The spectacle of Big Sail is unlike any other college regatta. It’s not an official ICSA regatta, but bragging rights are on the line. StFYC was adorned with both the blue and gold of Cal and the white and red of Stanford. Alumni and students alike crowded the clubhouse to see the racing, and the bands and mascots from both schools made appearances, performing in the clubhouse and on the racing deck in a musical face-off.
The regatta isn’t only between the two schools’ current varsity teams. Each school fields five boats: a varsity boat, a women’s boat (which can include both women from the current team and alumni), a young-alumni boat, a master’s alumni boat, and a grandmaster’s alumni boat.
In the past, the regatta had been a match-racing event, but this year the format shifted to two-on-two team racing (a format in which the last boat to finish loses) on a box course. Another unique twist to the format was that in each race a different pairing of boats made up the two competitors. For example, the first race of the event featured the young alumni and varsity boats from each school racing against each other. The pairings changed with each successive race.
Conditions were light and shifty, with the wind dying multiple times. The plan was for 10-minute races, but given the light winds and a cross current caused by a southerly wind direction early in the day (not to mention the nature of two-on-two team racing), most of the early races took far longer. It became clear early on that the original plan to crown a winner, once one school got to 11 wins, wasn’t going to be feasible. In the end, 12 races were finished, with Stanford taking the win 8-4.
“For me, Big Sail is one of the highlights of the racing calendar,” Al Sargent, a Stanford sailing alum, bowman for the Cardinal master’s boat, and Big Sail Stanford team captain tells Latitude. “It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with old college sailing friends, and make new friendships with younger college sailors. It’s also a great opportunity to team race with some of the best college sailors in the country, since Stanford has recently podiumed multiple times in team race nationals. Big Sail is a great way to introduce our sport to new audiences, since it’s run right off the race deck of the St. Francis, and a great way to show college sailors the opportunities for post-college team racing that is emerging at StFYC, SFYC, and other clubs. I’d like to give credit to the Cal team. In the last three years, they’ve gone from losing 0-10 in 2023, to 2-8 in 2024, to 4-8 this year. At the current pace, we could have our hands full next year!”
“The Big Sail had existed back in the late ’80s [and] early ’90s — originally won by StFYC’s own Seadon Wijsen,” Cal alum and Big Sail team captain Brian Mullen tells Latitude. “My dad, Jim Mullen, and Jaren Leet were both J/105 owners and racing campaigns on the Bay at that time. Their thinking: It’s Big Game week. We have the Big Game, the Big Meet, the Big Splash … why isn’t there the Big Sail? And Jim (and Jaren) agreed it should be a spectacle!
“Beyond sailing, it’s about relationships and connection,” Mullen continues. “These sailing teams from each school span generations, and there is a common thread through each sailor, from each era, across multiple generations. Once a year, the Big Sail brings everyone together by pulling that common thread. The oldest generation reminisces, telling old stories from back in their day. The young alumni embrace their newfound status as college sailor ’emeritus,’ just a couple years out from graduation. And the varsity sailors themselves see what lies ahead: a camaraderie that will last for decades. It’s pretty astounding how one activity, and one annual event, holds together a unique community of sailors and supporters.”