Long Weekend On and Beyond the Bay

With an extra day to frolic this weekend, we hope you’ll get your boat out or hop aboard someone else’s at some point over the next three days — you could even start your weekend early with a Friday night beer can race or sunset cruise. Some possible San Francisco Bay sailing options on Saturday include racing in or watching Saturday’s Master Mariners Regatta or the start of the Spinnaker Cup to Monterey.

The Spinnaker Cup, which normally starts on the Friday before Memorial Day, will instead sail under the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday morning after a half hour of starts beginning at 9:05 west of Angel Island. The race from S.F. Bay to Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club kicks off California Offshore Race Week, which will continue on May 29-30 with the Coastal Cup from Monterey to Santa Barbara, an in-port race hosted by Santa Barbara YC on May 31, and the SoCal 300 from Santa Barbara to San Diego June 1-3. The Spinnaker Cup, whose numbers had been declining, garnered 38 entries, having received a shot in the arm from CORW, now in its second year. Eleven boats are signed up to compete in the entire race week.

The Master Mariners Benevolent Association is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, so this Master Mariners Regatta is a particularly special one. The reaching starts will be between Golden Gate and St. Francis YCs from noon and 1 p.m. If you take your boat out to watch the spectacle, remember to stay out of the path (and the wind) of the boats that are racing. Most of them have more momentum and less maneuverability than modern sailboats — remember the adage: Tonnage rules.

Regattas on lakes include Whiskeytown Sailing Club’s Whiskeytown Regatta on Saturday and Sunday in the foothills west of Redding, and Konocti Bay Sailing Club’s 3 Island Fiasco on Clear Lake tomorrow. On Monday, Half Moon Bay YC in Pillar Point Harbor will host a Laser/Opti Sail-Off.

Latitude 38’s Racing Sheet would be pleased to hear tall tales about any and all of the above.