StFYC Woodies Invitational on the Cityfront

This past weekend the St. Francis Yacht Club hosted three fleets for the classic Woodies Invitational. Two fleets were woodies and fiberglass — Knarrs and Folkboats — and the other, the Carl Schumacher-designed Alerion 28, participated in the “spirit of tradition.” The annual event follows the Master Mariners race and the Wooden Boat Show as another showcase for the classic beauties of sailing, plus an opportunity to keep the competitive juices alive. Photographer Chris Ray was out capturing the action.

The still-popular Folkboat fleet first showed up in the pages of Latitude 38 in our May 1977 issue, when the international fleet of 30 Folkboats competed for their world championship in the San Francisco Cup for Nordic Folkboats.

The event featured six races across three days. The boats sailed in fresh, cool summer breezes sprinkled with sunshine, and a flood current to help keep the Bay flat and decks a little drier than normal on these low-freeboard boats.

The Knarr fleet remains one of the most active on San Francisco Bay. Like the Folkboat, it is a Scandinavian design first launched in the mid-1940s. It first appeared in Latitude 38 in October 1977.

The San Francisco Alerion fleet is one of the largest in the nation. There are about 35 of the comfortable 28s on the Bay, with eight showing up to compete. Many are sailed for pleasure with guests in the large cockpit, while others like them for shorthanded racing. They first came off Carl Schumacher’s drawing board in his Alameda office in about 1990.

After three days of racing, the winner of the Folkboat fleet was Sausalito Yacht Club’s David Wilson with his crew aboard Windansea. In the Knarr fleet, St.FYC’s Jon Perkins and Kurt Hemmingsen took the top position aboard Kulani. In the Alerions it was St. Francis Yacht Club again, with Jim Titus and Bill Claussen winning aboard Allegro non Troppo. Complete results are here.