October Racing Preview

Summer’s over. Fleeing snow flurries, Lake Tahoe sailors are trucking downhill to saltwater. But don’t let the change of seasons deceive you — October is a super-busy month for yacht racing on the California coast.

This Week

• The Nordic Folkboat International Regatta is wrapping up this week at Corinthian YC in Tiburon.
• On Friday, Southwestern YC’s Little Ensenada Race starts in San Diego.
• St. Francis YC will host the USMRC (match racing) Finals starting on Friday. StFYC.
• The Express 37 Nationals will sail on Friday-Sunday out of Berkeley YC.
• Sausalito YC’s Twin Island Series will wrap up on Saturday.
• Island YC’s Jill & Jack + 1 on the Estuary will lead off a flurry of fall female-friendly races on the Estuary this Saturday.
• For the little ‘uns, Santa Cruz YC offers the West Marine Fun Regatta on Saturday and Sunday.
• Golden Gate YC will host the Islander 36 Nationals on Sunday.

Next Week

• The Express 27 Nationals will base out of Encinal YC on October 11-13.
• Long Beach YC will host the Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One-Design Challenge (aka LEMWOD) on the 11th-13th in Catalina 37s and Cal 20s.
• Vanguard 15 Fleet 53 will head over the hill to Inverness YC for their Championship on Tomales Bay October 12-13.
• The Joan Storer Regatta is coming up on Saturday, October 12. Entry proceeds will be donated to the Hirschberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer. Participants will be treated to a hosted bar and food at Tiburon YC after the race. Entry is open at Jibeset.net. “Get your crew of gals and kids together for a fun day of racing,” says organizer Mariellen Stern. “50% of the crew must be female!
• El Toros will Stampede at Richmond YC on October 13.

October 18-20

• The International Masters Regatta will return to San Diego Yacht Club on October 18-20. Legendary skippers, invited from around the country, come for a three-day battle in a rotation of J/105s. Participating skippers must be over the age of 60. For those on the cusp, the International Masters Regatta can be seen as a rite of passage after their long, hard-working sailing careers. This year’s skippers will be Mary Brigden Snow, Scott Harris, David Gould, Gary Jobson, Tad Lacey, Scott Mason, William Petersen, Andy Roy, Chuck Sinks, Terry Timm and founder Don Trask.
• The wonderful woodies sail on the Cityfront in StFYC’s Jessica Cup on October 19.
• Two Oktoberfests show up in the calendar on the same weekend: Oakland YC’s Oktoberfest on October 19, and BYC’s Oktoberfest all weekend. The latter will mark the official end to the YRA racing season and has divisions for almost every boat racing on the Bay. Multiple races are scheduled for Saturday, a pursuit race on Sunday, and an “epic Oktoberfest Celebration back at Berkeley YC after Saturday’s races.”
• On the same weekend, the SSS will wrap up their season with the Vallejo 1-2, racing singlehanded from the Berkeley Circle to Vallejo YC on Saturday and doublehanded from VYC to Richmond YC on Sunday.
• It will also be Leukemia Cup weekend, with the Perkins Cup Corporate Challenge hosted by StFYC in J/22s on Saturday and the Leukemia Cup for everyone on Sunday, hosted by CYC.

South Beach YC will host the all-women’s Red Bra Regatta October 19. The regatta provides the opportunity for women of different sailing skills to have a day of racing on San Francisco Bay and meet each other at the party after the race. SBYC plans a two-race day. Interested skippers can sign up on the South Beach YC website. This year the Red Bra Regatta will be supporting a charity, Girls United, part of the Flying Kites 501 Charity that brings education to girls in rural Kenya through the creation of schools and education of teachers.

Remember that the Jill & Jack + 1, the Joan Storer and the Red Bra Regatta (plus Richmond YC’s Amazing Grace Cheney Regatta on November 3) are all part of Latitude 38’s Unofficial Women’s Circuit. We’ll count SoCal’s LEMWOD too.

October 25-27

• San Diego YC will host the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup on October 25-27.
• Richmond YC will get spooky with the Great Pumpkin Regatta, featuring buoy racing and a Halloween party on Saturday, and a pursuit race on Sunday. The costume theme this year is Zombie Luau.
• For a less massive Halloween experience, head on over to Tiburon YC in the North Bay for the Red Rock Regatta on October 26.
• StFYC will host their Fall Dinghy Regatta on Saturday and Sunday.

We couldn’t help sneaking a peek into November — Midwinter Series here we come! So get the boat out and enjoy fall’s regattas while you can. As usual, see our Calendar for many more choices, and feel free to add your favorite in the comments section below.