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Meeting Up — in Person — with the YRA

On Sunday, December 5, the Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay welcomed their racers in person — and on land. The occasion was the 2021 YRA awards party. Alameda Community Sailing Center, tucked (some might say hidden) between the erstwhile Naval Air Station and Encinal High School, provided the outdoor venue. In a further effort to keep everyone COVID-safe, snacks came in single-serve packages rather than on the usual appetizer platters. Rather than a yacht club bar, liquid refreshment took the form of two kegs of beer.

Laura Muñoz and Don Ahrens at ACSC
Among dinghies in ACSC’s yard, YRA executive director Laura Muñoz and board chair Don Ahrens welcomed the racers on a sunny late-fall day.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

The party wasn’t so much about eating and drinking, but more about visiting with fellow racers, greeting leaders of the YRA, picking up prizes from the racing season, and learning about the host venue, ACSC. Many of the visitors had never been there before. Kame Richards and Mike Bishop talked about the center, a grassroots nonprofit. The all-volunteer facility provides access to the water, with dinghy sailing for kids, families and adults. Learn more about ACSC at www.sailalameda.org.

Mike Bishop and Kame Richards at ACSC
ACSC board president Mike Bishop, a Laser racer, and board member Kame Richards, owner of Pineapple Sails, spoke about the community sailing center.
© 2021 Chris

Latitude 38’s publisher, John Arndt, again anchored the (decidedly informal) formal portion of the afternoon. The speechifyin’ stayed brief, but John did point out that this year the YRA had three series, two weekend regattas, 22 total race days, and 25 individual races. A total of 123 individual boats earned a total of 423 awards. “That’s a pretty stunning effort on top of everything else that goes on on San Francisco Bay,” commented John. Participation in YRA racing in 2021 topped that in the last several years.

John Arndt at ACSC
Latitude’s John Arndt is as enthusiastic about and supportive of Bay Area sailing as ever.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Also ‘attending’ the event were the Wosser Trophies. We’ll have more about those in another edition of ‘Lectronic Latitude, but essentially the trophies will be awarded to the winner of the largest one-design regatta on San Francisco Bay; the boat owner who has competed in the most race days during the year; and the boat owner who takes the most people racing during the year. Learn more in Racing Sheet in the December issue of Latitude 38. We’re accepting applications for 2021; submit your proof to us at [email protected].

Wosser trophies
The Wosser Trophies didn’t take the mic, but they nonetheless made an impression.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

The YRA gave flags and glasses to winners of individual races. Series champions received custom-embroidered jackets.

WildCard crew
The crew of the Santa Cruz 37 WildCard rocks their red team jackets and black prize jackets. Left to right: Rosanne Scholl, Anthony Jacuzzi, skipper Nick Grebe, Stacy Riggs and Jessica Lane.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

We’ll meet more of the season champs in the January issue of Latitude, but in the meantime, here are some of the weekend regatta winners.

Dottie Teague and Bud Smith
With two races and 14 divisions, the Great Vallejo Race produced a lot of victory flags. This is Dottie Teague and Bud Smith of Jim Borger’s Neja, a Lapworth-designed Dasher 32. (The owner lives in New Jersey.) Neja won both races in PHRF 5. RS Fevas, rigged up for display, provided the backdrop.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris
Montgomery Family
The Montgomery family won the Cruising Division of the Great Vallejo Race with the CS27 Mischief Managed.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John
John Arens and Molie Malone with Vallejo Race flag
John Arens and Molie Malone won PHRF 2 with the J/109 Reverie.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris
David Britt with Encinal Race flag
Wins in the Encinal Regatta merited flags too. David Britt’s J/88 Split Water placed first in the Sporty Js division. Sporty Js included four J/88s, a J/105 and a J/92.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris
Klaus Schumann and Richard Atkinson with Encinal Regatta flag
Klaus Schumann and Richard Atkinson nabbed a first place in the Non-Spinnaker division with the Beneteau 37 Elan.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

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