More Eye Candy Sailing Ahead With the SF Bay Classic Championship Series
Recently, the Master Mariners Regatta treated us to the sight of many of the Bay Area’s classic sailboats racing across the Bay under full sail. The viewing was spectacular, and next month we get to do it all again with the Belvedere Classic Regatta and Great SF Schooner Race on Saturday, July 15. The event is part of the annual “SF Bay Classic Championship Series” organized by the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, San Francisco Yacht Club, and St. Francis Yacht Club.
Registrations for the race are open, and already a good number of boats are signed up. To date, the list includes Terry Klaus’s schooner Brigadoon, Stacey and Beau Vrolyk’s schooner Mayan, John Egelston’s cutter Water Witch, Neil Gibbs’s Kay of Göteborg (which won the 2022 series), Bryan Kemnitzer’s Knarr Wintersmoon, Martin Koffel and Evan Kereiakes aboard the Bird Boat Kookaburra (are these guys Aussies?), and Michael Zolezzi with the 8-Meter Yucca.
We expect to see many more boats signed up for the race, based on last year’s results. That race saw many well-known Bay Area schooners, ketches, and yawls line up for the start. Among them were Call of the Sea’s Seaward, Freda B, Sequestor, Jakatan, Cuckoo and others. Even the brigantine Matthew Turner joined the fleet, taking line honors in a division of her own.
The Belvedere Classic Regatta is open to yachts of classic design, built of wood or steel, and GPR boats designed over 50 years ago. The Great SF Schooner Race is open to all sailing vessels with two or more masts, with the foremast equal to or smaller than the mainmast.
The last event in the championship race series will be October’s Jessica Cup, which is open to boats of traditional design and construction with a minimum of 30-ft on deck, (and other fleets as described in the Notice of Race). The SF Bay Classic Championship Series is open to vessels competing in at least two of the regattas listed above.
In the meanwhile, it’s a busy time for the local classic boat fleet. In amongst all the racing they’ll also be showing off their beauty at the annual Wooden Boat Show this coming Sunday, June 18. This show is a perfect time to see the Bay Area’s classic boats up close and learn about their history, and we encourage you to go!
Sunday, June 18, 2023, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Corinthian Yacht Club, 43 Main Street, Tiburon, CA.