Lunatic Power

If yours was one of the 356 entries that did not finish this year’s Three Bridge Fiasco, besides scanning the horizon for breeze and tweaking sails, you had some time to contemplate the challenges and opportunities of clean energy. You faced the relentless forces of powerful tidal currents without any power from the wind. Does it make you think that all those turbines we’re putting up in the air should have a parallel set underwater?

As TBF racers can affirm, tidal power is reliable; wind is less so. As a result, some lunatics are trying to figure out how to capture this trusty energy from the moon. The English paper the Guardian highlighted progress being made to harness tidal power, which would work well with the ample supply in our always-in-motion Bay. 

As we reef for midsummer winds the current has less impact, but it won’t be long before, as they say, the tide will turn and the current will again be overpowering the wind. Racers on San Francisco Bay know it’s a delicate balance between wind and current choices. At some point the energy grid may incorporate a similar balance.

Who were the four who finished the Three Bridge Fiasco? They deserve one more shout-out for solving the puzzle and persevering: Congratulations to John Gray and Matt Van Rensselaer on the mighty Moore 24 Immoral, who finished first at 5:25 p.m.; Christopher Harvey and Dan Mone on Mojo at 5:40 and Mark Zimmer and Mark Lewis on Khimaira at 5:43 (F-25c trimarans); and the final finishers, Will Paxton and Zachery Anderson on the Express 27 Motorcycle Irene (currently doublehanding to Hawaii in the Pacific Cup) at 6:22. The deadline to finish was 7 p.m.  

And we remind ourselves that, despite our best efforts, sometimes ‘we go where the current goes’.