July Racing Preview

July 2017 overflows with days off: five full weekends plus a holiday (and no doubt some folks will turn Independence Day into a four-day weekend). How many days on the water can you rack up in this shining month of abundance?

For starters, look no further than our own Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay. Chairman Don Ahrens reminds us that, "We have a number of races coming up in July including an OYRA race to Half Moon Bay on July 1, the Westpoint Regatta on July 15, the YRA Summer Series on July 22 and the 2nd Half Opener on July 29-30." See Latitude 38’s YRA Sailing Calendar.

The 49th Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu will start on July 3, 5 and 6. The crossing will be bookended by parties. Those of us left behind on the Mainland will be able to follow the race on the tracker.

The SSS LongPac, a race to a longitudinal point in the Pacific Ocean (and back), will start on July 5 and serve as a qualifier for next year’s Singlehanded TransPac, but doublehanded entries are welcome too. See www.sfbaysss.org.

On the same day as the Westpoint Regatta — and covering some of the same geography — will be Bay View Boat Club’s infamous Plastic Classic, a race around the cans south of the Bay Bridge for vintage fiberglass boats. Originally intended for boats built in the ’60s and ’70s, entries need only be 25 years old or more. Heck, that includes millennials! Don’t miss the chance to visit the BVBC clubhouse, which seems like an endangered species in its Mission Bay perch, and check out the Concours d’Elegance too. Sequoia YC in Redwood City will host the post-Westpoint Regatta party.

Yet another race on July 15 that might appeal to a broad audience is San Francisco YC’s Midnight Moonlight Maritime Marathon, a loop from Raccoon Strait up to the Carquinez Bridge and back.

Trailer-sailors who were skunked during the drought will thrill to the plentiful water in Huntington Lake for a series of regattas in July, most notably the High Sierra Regatta weekends put on by Fresno YC.

Championship regattas this month include the Laser Masters Nationals on the Columbia River Gorge July 7-9, and the Melges 24 North Americans July 17-22, both hosted by the CGRA in Oregon. Tahoe YC will host the Laser Nationals/US Singlehanded Championship on July 19-23. Encinal YC will host the Santana 22 Nationals on July 21-23.

We’ve reached the end of the time/space continuum for this morning’s ‘Lectronic, so these are just a few highlights. For many more options, be sure to pick up the July issue of Latitude 38, coming out on Friday.