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Midwinters and Turkeys Arrive with November

Midwinters

Don’t be afraid, but here comes ‘winter. Not the actual calendar season — the winter solstice is still 53 days away — but the midwinter racing season. A variety of midwinter series begin in November. These are (mostly) listed in chronological order, and you’ll notice that the first Saturday of the month is by far the most popular date.

  • Benicia YC’s Frostbite Series will begin on November 3, as will:
  • Encinal YC’s Jack Frost Midwinters, with racing on the Central Bay.
  • Golden Gate YC’s Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta, with racing on the San Francisco Cityfront.
  • Sequoia YC in Redwood City offers the Winter Series, beginning on November 3, and the Redwood Cup pursuit race series starting on November 17.
  • Monterey Peninsula YC’s Perry Cup for Mercurys will kick off with a full weekend on November 3-4.
  • Sausalito YC’s Chili Midwinter Series will begin on Sunday, November 4. SYC also lends a hand to the RegattaPRO Winter One-Design Invitational, which will begin on November 10.
  • Vallejo YC’s Tiny Robbins Midwinter Series mostly runs on the first Saturday of each month, but the first one will be on November 10.
  • Berkeley YC has racing from October through March, every Sunday with their Chowder Series. Plus, their Midwinters, with separate series on Saturday and Sunday, start on the weekend of November 10-11.
  • Island YC’s Island Days on the Alameda Estuary will start on November 11.
  • Santa Cruz YC’s Midwinter Series will start on November 17.
  • South Beach YC in San Francisco runs Island Fever, with the first race on November 17.
Express 27 Midwinters start
A raucous start in the Express 27 division in last year’s Berkeley Midwinters.
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Turkeys

Although midwinter series continue for the next few months, ‘turkey’ races are a November-only phenomenon.

  • The first ‘turkey’ on our list is Lake Washington Sailing Club’s Turkey Shoot Regatta on Saturday, November 3.  Thistles, Banshees, Megabytes, Daysailers, FJs, Lasers, Sunfish, El Toros, windsurfers, Lido 14s and open-class boats will battle for the big prizes: turkeys. LWSC is located at the turning basin for the Port of West Sacramento.
  • On November 17, a Turkey Race on Clear Lake will finish out Konocti Bay Sailing Club’s 2018 racing season.
  • Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach will host a weekend-long Turkey Day Regatta on November 17-18. Trailer-sailors welcome!
  • Tiburon YC’s Wild Turkey Race offers a Black Friday alternative on November 23. Note: the prizes are not turkeys, but another consumable product. TYC is on the east side of Tiburon in Paradise Cay, and racing is held on the North Bay.
Vipers in Turkey regatta
Viper action at the Turkey Day Regatta in sun-drenched Long Beach.
© 2018 Alamitos Bay Yacht Club

For many more regattas, some of which don’t even fall into the ‘Midwinters’ or ‘Turkeys’ categories, check our Calendar in the November issue of Latitude 38, coming out this Thursday.

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