Safe Sailing During the Crisis

From the first horn of the start to the last gun of the finish, it was business as usual for the 22 boats that competed in Oakland Yacht Club’s Sunday Brunch Series on March 15. Racers who braved rain in the morning were rewarded with dry skies and shifting winds that made for a very pleasant day on the water. As fleets finished, the OYC race committee called on the radio for volunteers to pick up race marks, offering the traditional reward of a pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine at the clubhouse.

This week, however, the rewards were tokens to be redeemed at a later date. A few days prior to the race, OYC notified skippers that the racing would go on, but because of COVID-19 the pre-race brunch and the post-race festivities would be postponed. Instead of gathering at OYC for the blue, red and gray prize hats, racers celebrated onboard, at neighboring Encinal YC (open for club members only) or at home.

A Columbia 5.5 is a bit small for onboard entertaining. Kimberly Paternoster, who helmed the Columbia 5.5 Roja that she and her husband David Parker bought recently, said their post-race celebration took place on the dock. “There was us and the crew of Monkey Alert, standing six feet apart, drinking beer and laughing,” Paternoster said. “Carina joked that if anyone got within six feet of any of them as they rounded the mark they would call a penalty.” As it turned out, Carina didn’t need to protest — even in jest. They led the race, giving them their fourth first-place finish of the series.

The final OYC Sunday Brunch race was scheduled for March 29 but has been canceled due to the shelter-in-place order. Final standings are available on Jibeset.