A Magical Summer Sailstice Weekend
This past Summer Sailstice weekend was one of the best on record: no summer fog, warm temperatures and a wide variety of San Francisco Bay microclimates to choose from. We started our weekend sailing the CYC Friday Night beer can series on the solstice with brisk breezes on the Knox course. On Saturday we joined our friends, the Gridleys, aboard their Sabre 38 Aegea, for an overnight cruise to Benicia.
All weekend we saw racers racing, foilers foiling and cruisers cruising the Bay.
Beyond the Bay, sailors were sailing everywhere. The Newport Bermuda Race got underway, Long Beach Race week rocked in Southern California, and Singlehanded Transpac racers headed out the Gate for Hawaii.
Back on the Bay, the second annual US Sailing Wingding foilers found the brisk Cityfront breezes to their liking. The fleet of 41 wingfoilers raced 15 races over four days, with Kiwi foiler Sean Herbert winging into town from Manly Sailing Club in New Zealand and taking the championship with 14 firsts and a second for a throwout. Kaneohe Yacht Club winger JP Lattanzi took second, and local legend Johhny Heineken third. Complete results here.
On Sunday, the third race in the YRA summer-season doublehanded series, the Island Tour race, saw about 20 boats with two-person crews racing around the Bay’s islands. See full results here.
Everywhere you looked, there were sailors out, including the solo sailor above, the BAYS #1 Regatta happening in Richmond, and the Ericson 27 and Alerion 28 below cruising the shoreline.
After a Friday night race we switched to leisure mode with a cruise up San Pablo Bay to spend the night at the Benicia Marina guest docks. It couldn’t have been nicer. Well, actually, if we could have chosen, we would have adjusted the current to be in our favor each way, but sailing against the current just meant more time sailing.
Benicia is an ideal overnight destination, about a 25-mile sail from the central Bay. San Pablo Bay had a steady ebb as we sailed downwind with an asymmetrical chute for a couple of hours before the breeze picked up and we managed a classic wrap around the forestay in a jibe. Fortunately, after a little puzzling we were able to jibe to reverse the wind flow and unwrap the three wraps that had accumulated.
San Pablo Bay is a broad bay with a narrow channel and well-defined 20-foot depth line to sail along to avoid the adverse currents. As you reach the Carquinez Bridge you pass the Napa River, Cal Maritime Academy and the C&H sugar factory as the Bay narrows to start a transition to warmer Delta sailing mode. We passed Glen Cove Marina on the left and then pulled into the narrow entrance to Benicia Marina at 5 p.m. to tie up for the evening.
From the Benicia Marina guest dock it’s just a five-minute walk to Main Street, where you can find a good meal at Bella Siena restaurant or many other eateries in the neighborhood. Bella Siena was busy, so reservations are suggested.
Every year the solstice weekend brings the most daylight to start your summer of sailing. From Tomales Bay, San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay and Santa Monica Bay to San Diego Bay, Californians have started their summer of sailing. The Delta and the Channel Islands both await summer cruisers, and Transpac racers will be heading to Hawaii starting July 1. The Bay is not far away, so we hope you can make it aboard a boat to get onto the water under sail.
If you did make it out this weekend and have some photos to share, you can upload them here. We’ll post them in our July Sailagram. Or let us know what kind of sailing you did on Summer Sailstice in the comments section below.