Bullship Race — The First Shall Be Last
The oddsmakers got it all wrong. All of the favorites and early leaders in the 2025 El Toro Bullship Race went into the tank. Defending 2024 champion Chris Sullivan tumbled all the way to the bottom, finishing 17th and in last place. Gordie Nash was 10th, Tom Tillotson 12th, and pre-race favorite Nick Nash was 14th. Instead, it was crafty St. Francis YC sailor Chris Boome who finished in first place, followed by RYC’s Lorn Marcellini. He won the Maiden Voyager Award as the highest-finishing first-timer (among four rookies including Marcellini, Jesse Kittle, who finished third, Kurt Lahr in fourth, and Robert Pierce in seventh). Yes, the El Toro fleet certainly gave our Maiden Voyagers a proper welcome — by having the top competitors all follow early leaders Nick Nash and Tom Burden the wrong way!
The race started in typical light three- to five-knot breeze at about 9:15 a.m. in front of the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito, and the winner finished at 10:25 in San Francisco, off the east end of the St. Francis YC breakwater. There was a 3.36-knot max flood that peaked at the Golden Gate Bridge mid-span at 9:51 a.m. Nick Nash showed off great footing speed at the start, sailing away from the inshore fleet, while Tom Burden worked better wind to pull ahead offshore, where an early ebb in Richardson’s Bay was beginning. Nash and Sullivan were the first to make the jump across, followed by Burden, Gordie Nash and Tillotson. It was soon down the drain toward Alcatraz to Bullship doom for them and those who followed them.
“The night before I had decided to go along the Marin side to Point Cavallo, then across,” said Boome. When I saw the ‘real El Toro sailors’ going across early on starboard, I couldn’t figure out why they were doing that, but then they were looking pretty good, so I decided to stay with my pre-race plan and kept going up the Marin side.”
If there were awards for sailing fast the wrong way, Gordie Nash and Tom Burden would win. They were so far behind that the only El Toro Burden could see was Pam DeWitt’s blue hull. “I thought Gordie might be second and Pam was going to win it, and I might be third,” said Burden. “Then I saw some tiny sails moving down the Cityfront — hmmm, they might be El Toros, so I figured maybe I might be fifth or sixth. Then as I finally arrived.in-harbor at the St. Francis YC dinghy dock, I saw 10 El Toros sitting on the dock. I just laughed.”
Pam DeWitt was top Wahine in ninth place. Kurt Lahr was top “Clydesdale” or heavyweight skipper in fourth place. Chris Sullivan joins an illustrious list of past Tail End Charlie award winners. Jim Savattone sailed his beautiful home-crafted Toro, the only wood boat. “I was very happy to win; I never imagined winning the Bullship Race,” said Chris Boome. “Big thanks to Vickie, the Cowship volunteers, and everyone who worked so hard to put this race on.”
Results are as follows:
- Chris Boome
- Lorn Marcellini
- Jesse Kittle
- Kurt Lahr
- Paul Zander
- Chris Nash
- Robert Pierce
- Sam Nash
- Pam DeWitt
- Gordie Nash
- Tom Burden
- Tom Tillotson
- Buzz Blackett
- Nick Nash
- James Savattone
- Vickie Gilmour
- Chris Sullivan
- JV Gilmour (DNF)
Thank you, Committee.