Coyote Point Yacht Club Hosts Ad Hoc Sunday Race #3

There are November days that feel like a small grace note before winter, and this was one of them — warm, clear, and mild enough to make you forget the calendar. The forecast promised five knots, but the start served barely two. Still, with a high tide slipping toward a gentle ebb, seven boats gathered with the good cheer that naturally comes as Thanksgiving approaches.

Out came Chablis IV, Lorelei, Paradigm, Surprise!, Sweet Grapes, Vita e Bella (returning triumphantly after tending to her battery woes), and Will O’ The Wind.

Vita e Bella took the rabbit start with the elegance of a boat happy to be back in the fray. The course, set with early ambition, traced a line from the rabbit start to Z, C, 8, 6, A, D, and home.

On the first run, Vita e Bella held her lead like a squirrel guarding a prized acorn. Sweet Grapes and Surprise! chased in tight formation, with Chablis IV and Will O’ The Wind following close behind. Paradigm lurked with quiet intent. Lorelei, steadfast as autumn tidewater, rounded out the fleet.

As Z approached, boats fanned out in search of wind. Vita e Bella, Surprise!, and Paradigm headed south, hunting for a better line. Sweet Grapes held course and briefly struck gold, slipping into the lead before her 130 jib snagged the top spreader, a small mischief of rigging that cost her dearly. Paradigm rounded Z first, followed by Vita e Bella, Surprise!, and then Sweet Grapes, now in fourth.

On the run to C, two or three porpoises surfaced — seasonal visitors who seem to appear just when spirits are already high. Chablis IV and Vita e Bella raised their spinnakers, bright as fallen leaves caught on the wind. Surprise! and Vita e Bella matched each other stride for stride, while Paradigm pressed farther south, biding her advantage. In the end, Paradigm reached C first, with Vita e Bella and Surprise! close behind.

The breeze, still bashful, crept up to six knots on the long leg to 8. With daylight already slipping away faster at this time of year, the race committee shortened the course: From 8, the fleet would round Z once more and then head home to the marina.

Sweet Grapes found her rhythm on the run to 8 and slipped past Vita e Bella. Paradigm rounded 8 first, Surprise! second, and Sweet Grapes third. Soon after, Sweet Grapes reeled in Surprise! again on the way to Z.

Paradigm, sails set and mood steady, held her lead toward the finish. The fleet chose a graceful wing-on-wing run for the last leg, gliding home like a line of migrating geese. Surprise! nipped at Sweet Grapes’ stern, Vita e Bella followed, and Will O’ The Wind kept a determined pace.

But, as Thanksgiving itself often reminds us, things look different once everything is properly measured. After the corrected times were tallied, the podium shifted. Surprise! finished first, followed by Will O’ The Wind in second and Chablis IV in third. A fine autumn afternoon, a lively fleet, and just enough breeze to keep us grateful.