Richmond Yacht Club Hosts First Weekend of Small Boat Midwinters

On Sunday, December 7, Richmond Yacht Club (RYC) hosted the first of four days of midwinter dinghy racing. Ninety-five boats showed up to race across 14 different one-design classes. Twelve were dinghy classes, while two small “dinghy-like” keelboat classes (Wylie Wabbits and Ultimate 20s) participated. Most fleets sailed four races on the day, while some sailed three and some sailed five.

“The conditions on Sunday, December 7, for the RYC Midwinters were excellent for racing but a wee bit cold for the racers,” Ultimate 20 winner from the day and 2025 Ultimate 20 season champion Donna Womble tells Latitude. “We saw a consistent 5–8 knots of wind from the north (brrrrr!), flat water and minimal current.”

Womble and her team won three of the four U20 races aboard her boat Peabody (MPYC). The U20 fleet comprised five boats for the day, and the fleet was regularly competing not only with themselves, but with the similarly quick and small dinghy-esque Wylie Wabbits.

“The U20 fleet shared the race course with the Wabbits,” Womble tells Latitude. “We had four very tight races with a lot of traffic congestion. We never rounded a mark without at least two other boats nearby. One weather mark rounding even resulted in a minor collision, and fortunately someone did do their 720. Downwinds were tricky, since the U20s sailed hot angles with asymmetric kites, whereas the Wabbits drove dead downwind with symmetry. We crossed paths with many other boats, including the Laser and Mercury fleets on their upwind legs.”

Colin Moore’s Kwazy (RYC) won the eight-boat Wabbit fleet with seven total points from four races, including bullets in races three and four.

Another notable fleet competing was the I-14 fleet, as the legendary class looks to regrow itself on the West Coast, nationally, and internationally. RYC is home to several of the I-14s in Northern California, and six boats showed up to race on the first day of Small Boat Midwinters (though not all six raced all four races on the day).

The I-14 fleet was won by the young duo of skipper Patrick Wilkinson and crew Max Roth.

“The RYC midwinters presented some very tricky racing,” Roth tells Latitude. “With 11 different fleets on the water, we found ourselves dodging traffic on every downwind. The racing was extremely tight at the top of the fleet, with multiple lead changes in some races. We couldn’t have asked for any better conditions, with 8–14 and sunny skies.”

The 10-boat El Toro fleet was won by Gordie Nash (RYC), who won the first three races of the day to jump out to what proved to be an insurmountable lead for the rest of the day. Six youngsters raced in the RS Tera fleet, with Grace Anderson (RYC) winning two of three races and the day. The six-boat Snipe fleet saw incredibly tight competition, with just four points separating first from fourth for the weekend. Packy Davis (EYC/StFYC) ultimately won the Snipes with 12 points, one ahead of second. David Rumbaugh (LWYC) won the five-boat Coronado 15 fleet, recording a picket fence. David West (RYC) was victorious in the Mercury fleet, narrowly edging out David Bacci (RYC).

RYC’s Small Boat Midwinters will continue on January 4, and then wrap up with race days on the first of both February and March.

You can see the full scores for RYC Small Boat Midwinters Here.