Something for Every Yacht Racer in May
With so many great events in May, surely there will be a regatta to meet every sailor’s interest.
YRA Offerings
Thanks to the Yacht Racing Association and Vallejo YC, the Great Vallejo Race is coming up on May 6-7. “It’s not only a fun race, with a long and storied history, it also has one of the best post-race parties in the Bay!” writes the YRA. “This year, Vallejo’s own Mare Island Brewery will be pouring their awesome craft beers. Plus, there will be a delicious paella dinner, in addition to hot dogs, hamburgers and BBQ oysters.
There are divisions for every type of boat, and every type of sailor. Entries close on May 3, so be sure to enter soon. It’s the YRA’s biggest event of the year and we want to see everyone there!”
The OYRA Duxship Race is the next event on the offshore schedule, on May 13. The YRA’s Shorthanded Sunday Series, conceived during COVID, will commence on May 21.
More Northern California Regattas
Will you sail or will you watch sailing? Conflicting with the Great Vallejo Race is SailGP. The professional sailing league and their slick-quick flying catamarans will wrap up their third season and crown a champion in San Francisco on May 6-7. The smart money is on the Antipodeans.
The Singlehanded Farallones Race is scheduled for the same day as the Duxship Race, May 13. Speaking of the Singlehanded Sailing Society, registrations will close on May 1 for the 2023 Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race. As of this morning, 19 boats were registered.
Also on May 13, St. Francis YC will host the S.F. Bay J/105 Women Skipper Regatta.
St. Francis YC’s Elvstrom Zellerbach regatta is scheduled for the weekend of May 20-21. “The tide tables are calling for a rather benign current, but with all the snow in the Sierra this year one expects a fairly healthy runoff,” writes Laser sailor Tracy Usher. “This year the only classes invited are the ILCAs, C420s, I420s and 5O5s. As is tradition, the winner of the ILCA 7 fleet will be awarded the Elvstrom Trophy; the winner of the ILCA 6 fleet the Zellerbach trophy. The Zellerbach predates the Big Boat Series and reinforces that St. Francis is really a dinghy sailing club at heart. Note that late fees go into effect on May 7.”
Meanwhile, across the Bay at San Francisco YC, you’ll find the Elite Fleet Invitational Regatta for J/105s, Knarrs and Folkboats. Up the San Joaquin River, Stockton Sailing Club will run their Founders Regatta on the San Joaquin River. Even farther inland, the Lake Yosemite Sailing Association invites trailer sailors to their Spring Regatta.
On the same weekend, Moore 24s will sail in the Made in Santa Cruz Regatta. “Come on, it’s Santa Cruz!” writes Sydnie Moore. “It’s always sunny, 70+ degrees and windy.”
Some Regattas in Southern California
On May 5-7, San Diego YC will host the Yachting Cup. The Ancient Mariners Sailing Society’s Yesteryear Regatta will be on May 13. Then it’s back to SDYC on May 19-21 for the Etchells Nationals.
As we’re posting our May preview story, the 75th Newport to Ensenada Race takes off today. Good luck to all the racers!
Memorial Day Weekend
The theme of something for everyone defines Memorial Day Weekend in a nutshell.
For ocean sailors, California Offshore Race Week is back, hosted in partnership by Encinal, St. Francis, Monterey Peninsula, Santa Barbara, and San Diego YCs, on May 27-June 3. The four races will be the Spinnaker Cup, Coastal Cup, SoCal 300 and CA 500. Competitors are encouraged to register for the entirety of the CORW series, but also have the option to opt into any of the individual legs. Register by Sunday, April 30, to avoid the late fee!
The Master Mariners Regatta will tour the Bay on Saturday, May 27, with a start off the Cityfront, a finish east of Treasure Island, and a raft-up at Encinal YC.
Lake sailors can hitch up the wagons again and pack the tents for the Whiskeytown Memorial Regatta on May 27-28. Whiskeytown Lake is a mountain reservoir west of Redding.
Or, if you have a Santa Cruz 27, Santa Cruz YC invites you to wrap up Made in Santa Cruz Race Week with the SC27 Nationals on May 27-29.
And Many More
More and more events seem to pop up on the calendar every month. We couldn’t list them all here. Are there other races this May that you’d like to bring to the attention of our readers? Please use the comments section of this post to promote them. And see a longer list in the Calendar in the next issue of Latitude 38, coming out on Monday, May 1.