Sailing and Racing into the New Year

Midwinter Racing

Midwinter race series continue, with some modifications due to the pandemic. Be on the lookout for late changes due to stay-at-home orders during this surge. See www.latitude38.com/calendar for a comprehensive list in Northern California.

As noted in ‘Lectronic last week, Encinal Yacht Club has moved their third day of Jack Frost racing from January 2 to January 23. Now Tiburon YC has announced that they’ll postpone their race scheduled for January 2 too. “With the current state of the pandemic and health restrictions, the TYC race committee has concluded it is not prudent to hold the January 2nd Mott Midwinter race day,” writes TYC RC member Cam Tuttle. “If the situation improves we will hold the February 6th race as scheduled. We are tentatively proposing a reschedule date of February 20 in lieu of the January race.”

Oakland YC’s Sunday Brunch Series was supposed to begin on Sunday, January 3, but that has been postponed too. The OYC race committee will work to find a new date. In the meantime, the next scheduled date is January 17.

In San Mateo, Coyote Point YC’s Winter Sails begin on January 10 and continue twice a month through March.

Although they canceled their new January 1 Resolution Regatta, Corinthian YC is still planning to hold the first weekend of the Corinthian Midwinters on January 16-17. This two-weekend, four-race series welcomes multihull, PHRF, shorthanded, sportboat and non-spinnaker entries, and offers one-design classes of five or more entries including J/105, Alerion Express 28, J/24, J/70 and J/88. In accordance with current health regulations, no social activities will follow racing, and berthing is available only to CYC members.

The Cruising Alternative

Island Yacht Club invites you to sail, paddle or power around Alameda Island on New Year’s Day — an annual tradition, albeit with a pandemic twist — no stopovers at yacht clubs this year. Start on the Estuary on the west side of the Park Street Bridge at 10:30 or 11:30 a.m. Proceed clockwise via the Park Street Bridge, Fruitvale Bridge, High Street Bridge and Bay Farm Bridge. Prior to each bridge opening, the boats will circle and coordinate via VHF channel 68. Bring your own food and drinks and keep COVID-safe.

There’s a Fiasco on the Horizon

The Singlehanded Sailing Society plans to run the biggest race west of the Mississippi on Saturday, January 30. It’s the Three Bridge Fiasco, a nutty winter ritual in which more than 300 boats, all of them sailing singlehanded or doublehanded, start in front of Golden Gate YC on the San Francisco Cityfront. It’s a pursuit race, and skippers choose their direction to cross the starting line, direction of mark roundings and order of mark roundings, then finish back where they started — again in either direction. It can be chaotic, and often suffers from wind insufficient to overcome strong currents. A 4-plus-knot ebb is predicted for late in the afternoon of January 30, calling to mind the race three years ago when most of us were swept out the Gate. Last year’s race was held in a cloak of fog.

California Dreamin’ Is Delayed

California Dreamin’ Series will not start on January 30-31 as previously planned. Instead, the San Diego dates will move to October. The new schedule is:

• March 6-7, St. Francis YC, J/22s
• April 17-18, Long Beach YC, Catalina 37s
• October 9-10, San Diego YC, J/22s

We suspect that the spring dates could still change. Find the updated Notice of Series here.

For more event and race dates, check the Calendar section of the January issue of Latitude 38, and the 2021 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Schedule. Both will come out on Wednesday, December 30.