Coyote Point Yacht Club Hosts John Pitcher Memorial Race

The John Pitcher Memorial Race remembers a Coyote Point Yacht Club sailor who passed while racing aboard his Pearson in the late 1960s. In keeping with that spirit, the race is open to any boat berthed in Coyote Point Marina, club member or not. It remains one of those days when the course carries a bit of history.

Five boats took part in this year’s race on Saturday, March 7: Svea, Surprise!, Sweet Grapes, Paradigm, and Ventus. The course ran C, Z, A, Birdcage, 6, C and home.

At the start, a north wind around 12 knots gave the fleet a confident beginning. Sweet Grapes carried her 130 with a reef tucked in the main, and the early legs moved quickly as the boats worked their way north in steady nine- to 10-knot breeze. The air had a restless character though: Direction wandered; pressure came and went.

Ventus found a clean lane and pushed ahead toward Birdcage with Paradigm close astern and Sweet Grapes keeping steady pressure. Svea and Surprise! followed not far behind as the fleet stretched across the water.

Then the Bay quieted. Between marks 6 and C the wind faded to almost nothing. Boats drifted while the flood current became the only real motion on the course. It was the sort of stillness that asks for patience and humor. Svea eventually chose humor. When a pair of sea kayakers slipped past her as if she were tied to a dock, she decided the day had made its point and she retired.

The breeze returned in patches, and the leaders kept trading small advantages. Paradigm hoisted a chute and made a determined push, but the shifting air refused to settle. At C the race tightened again. Ventus defended the inside and led the fleet onto a final beam reach as the wind filled from the east.

From Charlie to the finish the race sharpened into a duel. The leg became a close reach on port tack as the boats approached the marina gate. Paradigm carried her familiar asymmetrical spinnaker, with headsail drawing as well, pressing for speed. Sweet Grapes came on with full main and her 130-percent genoa pulling strongly. With a slightly higher angle and steady pace, Sweet Grapes crept up along Paradigm’s windward side in the final stretch. Just before the line she edged ahead, then bore off sharply to slip through the gate. Across the water Ventus finished first. Sweet Grapes crossed next, just ahead of Paradigm after that late move at the line.

Corrected time, however, told its own story. Paradigm took the win, followed by Surprise!, with Sweet Grapes rounding out the podium.

It was a thoughtful race, full of shifting wind and quiet moments, the kind that rewards attention and leaves sailors with a few more stories than when they started.