The Rolex Big Boat Series and the International Knarr Championship
60th Rolex Big Boat Series
As noted in Monday’s ‘Lectronic, we’re approaching the finish line for entries in the Rolex Big Boat Series. Registration will close at 9 p.m. tomorrow, August 31, and the racing will happen on September 12-15. So far, 74 boats have signed up.
“It’s the most fabulous event there is, period,” says Chris Perkins, who’s raced it since the 1980s. Chris is the current commodore of event host St. Francis Yacht Club. What makes it fabulous? Breeze-on conditions over four days of racing, multiple racecourses managed by world-class race committees and parties back at the clubhouse. “You know it’s time for Big Boat Series because the weather starts changing,” says Perkins. He’s been a winner in the J/105 fleet, and last year served as helm on Shepard Kett’s Santa Cruz 50 Octavia, which won the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy and a Rolex wristwatch.
Some Boats to Watch
Just back from line honors in the Pacific Cup is John Brynjolfsson’s Saga. Brynjolfsson, who lives in San Diego, bought the TP52 in 2021. “The TP52 is the pinnacle of pure race boats. I was able to buy Saga in relatively miserable condition. We spent about a year rebuilding her and getting a true combination of amateurs and pros up to speed racing her. My delivery captain explained that, in order to get the boat back from Hawaii, we would basically end up in San Francisco, so the timing was perfect to race the 60th edition of RBBS!” Saga will carry 16-18 crew, about double what the boat requires to sail offshore.
Also racing in the ORC fleet is Rogers 46 Lucky Duck. This is the eighth Rolex Big Boat Series for owner Dave MacEwen. Lucky Duck is in fine racing form this year. She won the Southern California Islands Race, took third in the Puerto Vallarta Race, then first in division and second overall in the Pac Cup. Prep will involve transitioning the boat from offshore mode into inshore mode.
“We’ve only raced against custom RP56 Vasara once before,” commented MacEwen, “and they’ll be big and fast. The J/125 Arsenal is a team that we race against on a regular basis, so we will have good competition with them.”
Bill Lee’s legendary 68-ft sled Merlin, which first won its division in 1980, is back to test the ORC fleet this year under the ownership of Chip Merlin. The Classics Division will return, with four big, historic woodies signed up so far: Brigadoon, Mayan, Hurrica V and Ocean Queen V.
One-Design Classes
As usual, the biggest one-design class at the regatta belongs to the J/105s, with 30 entries. Blackhawk is the defending champion. J/88s have eight entries, with Pelagia the defender. Six Express 37s have registered. Last year’s class winner, Limitless, has not yet signed up. New this year is Gavin Corn’s Pazzo Express. Returning under new ownership is Golden Moon, famously raced by Kame Richards but now belonging to Michael Laport.
We’re looking forward to cheering on the competitors and helping them to celebrate when it’s all done and dusted.
54th International Knarr Championship (IKC)
The International Knarr Championship rotates among the US, Denmark and Norway. This year, St. Francis YC is taking its turn hosting. The racing will start on Sunday and run through September 7, with a layday on Wednesday (we’re guessing that anyone with a hot tub will be popular that day). The 25 skippers draw for the boat that they will sail on any given race day.
San Francisco played host to the inaugural IKC in 1969. Danish-American sailor Knud Wibroe introduced the Knarr to the Bay and initiated the championship. The Knarr, first built in Norway in 1946, still attracts competitive sailors.
“The class is all about friendship between three countries, and that makes it different from conventional competitive sailing,” said John Buestad of the San Francisco Knarr fleet. “The same good guys compete at IKC every year from the three countries. Given that the boats are old and slow, you wouldn’t think it would be that competitive, but it always has been — and certainly is now in our local fleet with Olympians Russ Silvestri and Randy Hecht. Don Jesberg, an accomplished Etchells sailor who won the season championship last year, is racing with Ethan Doyle. Then there are the Perkins brothers who won the IKC in Norway last year. We have World and National Champions in this fleet. You have not just good sailors but great sailors coming in for the IKC.”
“The fleet goes almost the same speed, so it becomes all tactical,” Buestad said. “You have to have a great driver, but you really need a great tactician to figure out the current and tide, otherwise you can be the fastest sailor in the world and you won’t do well. It takes a while to learn to drive a Knarr, and the starts are critical. To finish in the top five, you must have a decent start.”
Chris Perkins will be racing with his two sons, Charlie, 23, and Johnny, 21, and against his brother, Jon, the defending IKC champion. Chris started sailing the Knarr when he was a teenager. He’s won the IKC four times, mostly at home turf on San Francisco Bay, though he broke a Danish winning streak that ran from 1981 to 1991 by winning his first IKC in Denmark in 1992.
Mark Dahm, the IKC chair, said, “It’s 10 races over seven days. Keeping up with the racing is one thing, but keeping up with the social schedule is another. It’s almost more demanding in preparation than the racing. It takes a lot of effort by a handful of people, but the festivities are on track to be epic, like the Thursday night Country-Western party.”
We’ll have coverage of both regattas in the October issue of Latitude 38.
