Monthly Racing Preview
The SSS received 367 entries for this year’s Three Bridge Fiasco (registration is now closed). What will all those singlehanders and doublehanders encounter on the race course tomorrow?
"A forgiving tide… but two-faced winds in the Central Bay will make for a moderately-challenging Fiasco tomorrow," predicts Mike Dvorak of Sail Tactics. "The Sail Tactics tidal current forecast, which is updated daily with Delta river flows and weather conditions, shows an opportunistic period from about 10:30-11:30 a.m. to head northward past Alcatraz with little tidal current. This opens up the possibility to make a break for Red Rock. At that same time, a flood starts to develop along the Cityfront, making a Treasure Island-first rounding a possibility. The wind tells a different story however."
"Wind is all over the chart. The Sail Tactics 2-Day Outlook (1,000-m resolution) forecast calls for morning northerlies and an afternoon westerly, with the all-too-familiar and painful, calm transition period between the two," says Dvorak. "The large calm near Red Rock is present in the Outlook forecast starting around 1:30 p.m. The Sail Tactics ultra-high resolution (200-m) forecast, out tomorrow morning by 7 a.m., will show in much greater detail where the wind holes are in space and time. The Outlook shows Red Rock filling in from the northwest late in the afternoon, so persistence may pay off yet again."
Sailors planning their TBF strategy will be glad to hear that the Bay Bridge ‘safety zone’ east of Yerba Buena Island has been opened up a bit. The Sailing Instructions were updated accordingly yesterday; make sure you have the most recent version.
Turning our calendar page to February, we see the continuation of several midwinter series in Northern California. Berkeley YC’s Saturday and Sunday series will wrap up on February 13 and 14 — all except for the Champion of Champions Race, a victory lap that pits the top finishers in each division against each other, on February 28. RegattaPRO’s Winter One Design will conclude on February 13.
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The second weekend of Corinthian Midwinters, on February 20-21, will incorporate the Rob Moore Memorial Regatta, a fundraiser for lung cancer research and tribute to the late, great Latitude 38 racing editor and CYC race organizer. Teams from CYC, SFYC, Richmond YC and South Beach YC are vying for the Aotea Team Trophy; the SFYC team of Yucca, Shenanigans and Q is in the lead. The entry fee for the February weekend only is $70, and the entry fee for Robgatta only is $40.
Island YC’s Sadie Hawkins race on the Estuary for women skippers and full crews of either gender will kick off Latitude 38’s unofficial women’s circuit on Sunday, February 28.
In Southern California, the SCYA Midwinter Regatta will be hosted by numerous clubs simultaneously on February 13-14 and 27-28. Long Beach YC will host the second weekend of the California Dreamin’ match race series on February 27-28. The San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race will start on February 29, followed by MEXORC.