Previewing the November Yacht Racing Transition
News From the Yacht Racing Association
“The first race of our popular Doublehanded Midwinters is coming up on November 15,” writes the YRA. “Enjoy longer courses designed specifically for doublehanded racing with divisions for all types of boats. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday with a crewmate!” The series runs on four Sundays, November-February. Find info and sign up on Jibeset.
The YRA’s annual year-end trophy pick-up party will be on Sunday, November 29, at Richmond Yacht Club. “We’ll celebrate a great year of YRA racing, hand out hard-earned awards, and, your first drink is on us!”
Last call for 2026 PHRF certificates: 2026 PHRF certificates will no longer be available starting November 1. The YRA will begin accepting applications for 2027 PHRF certificates starting on December 1. You can renew your certificate on Jibeset, or fill out an application for a new certificate here.
More Midwinters
The upcoming weekend is split, with the Saturday falling on the last day of October, and the Sunday on November 1. This calls for a little creativity to meet traditional midwinter schedules. Sausalito YC’s Chili Midwinters will kick off on Sunday, November 1. Golden Gate YC’s Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta, Encinal YC’s Jack Frost and Sequoia YC’s Winter Series will all start on Saturday, November 7.
Marie Cunningham, rear commodore of Island YC, writes to advise us that registration for the Island Days Series is open. “Same fees as last year! Cool prizes! Maybe a new course or two! Let’s keep racing!” The series runs one day a month through March, with the first race on Sunday, November 8. See IYC’s Jibeset page for details.
We’ll have a much longer list of midwinter series in the Calendar section of Latitude 38’s November issue, coming out this Friday, October 30.
Turkey Season
Races with a Thanksgiving theme include Inverness YC’s Drumstick Race on Tomales Bay November 14, and Tiburon YC’s Wild Turkey Regatta on November 27, aka Black Friday. Although, yes, wild turkeys abound in Tiburon, note that this is “Wild Turkey” capitalized.
More From Around California
A different holiday connection is Elkhorn YC’s Día de los Dinghies Regatta on November 1 in Moss Landing.
Also coastside, Half Moon Bay YC’s Die Hard Regatta moved from October 31 to November 7. Al Sargent of the ILCA fleet points out that, “The usual awesome Half Moon Bay program applies: $30 if you register the Wednesday prior, $40 if you don’t, and $10 for Youth Sailors. All that includes lunch. Plenty of races; short courses that are five minutes from where you launch. ($10 is insanely cheap…. The only way you’re eating lunch that cheap these days is if you get a Costco hot dog.) If you’re looking for a good way to get into Laser racing, Half Moon Bay is a great place to start.” See www.hmbyc.org/sailing/racing.
The collegiate sailors, alumni, cheerleaders, mascots and marching bands of Cal Berkeley and Stanford University will take over St. Francis YC for the Big Sail on Wednesday, November 18.
San Diego YC will host the San Diego Lipton Cup on October 30-November 1, then they’ll kick off their Hot Rum Regatta with racing on November 7 and 21 and December 5.
Calendar Alert: Growing Racing in 2027
Latitude 38 and the YRA are working to grow participation in the upcoming racing season. Beyond regular coverage of the racing scene, we produce our annual online and printed calendar to help boost racing participation. To support growth for your event, company, club or class, reserve ad space in the calendar by emailing [email protected]. We offer special nonprofit rates for clubs, events, one-design classes and junior programs. Help us help you by placing an ad in the 2027 sailing calendar. Don’t delay, as we need to reserve space ASAP. We’ll distribute the calendar on December 29 with the January issue of Latitude.