Stormy Doublehanded Farallones Succesful for Some, Not so Great for Others
BAMA’s Doublehanded Farallones Race on Saturday was a true test of mettle this year, dishing out 25-35 knots of southerly storm winds, which gradually turned offshore for a sort of a reverse Farallones race: off the wind on the way to the island, and upwind on the way back. Boats that were able to reduce sails and remain in control found that they had a record-fast sail out to the island in rough conditions. They had a slower return against the wind. The winds eventually turned light inside the Bay. Late returners had a beat back to the finish against the new ebb.
Several boats turned back once they saw the conditions offshore. The Farr X2 monohull Shake & Bake dismasted outside the Farallones. Thankfully, nobody got hurt. They were able to secure the broken mast on deck, and motored back to the Golden Gate on their own. Other boats reported a broken bowsprit, lost battens, a lost mast-top antenna, various other gear washed overboard, and motor, radio and tracker problems. Everybody returned back safely at the end of the day.
It was a very quick race overall — near record-breaking territory. First to finish was the J/125 Rufless, with Rufus Sjoberg and Ian Rogers, in just 5 hours, 57 minutes, 33 seconds. The overall winner on corrected time was the Mancebo 31 Bloom County, with Elliott James and Kyle Vanderspek, with a corrected time of 6 hours, 59 minutes, 3 seconds. The multihull fleet had one finisher, the F-31 Ma’s Rover. Mark Eastham and John Donovan finished in 6 hours, 28 minutes, 23 seconds.
Read more about the race, and see more photos, in the May issue of Latitude 38. In the meantime, you can check the results at www.jibeset.net/BAMA000.php?RG=T00990456.
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Cliff Shaw and I were out there on his catamaran s/v Rainbow. Eight miles from the Islands the wind increased ten knots in five minutes and we experienced sustained 29 knots for twenty minutes before turning around. The wave sets came from lotsa different directions and they were breaking. Talk about washing machine conditions! On my Maytag washing machine it would require the “heavy load” setting. Just when we headed for the gate we heard over the radio something about Shake and Bake losing its mast. Wow. I am so impressed that those sailors captured their mast and returned to the bay without rescue. Problem solving of the finest quality.
Jackie. Sounds like you made a smart move to turn around. Live to sail another day. Please say hi to Cliff. We bought our boat (an S2 35 CC) in Emeryville and Cliff had Rainbow in a nearby slip. We visited several times. Later we ran into each other at Catalina Island at Two Harbors. He came over for dinner aboard our boat. Marney and I took that boat on HaHa XIII and stayed for six months cruising in Mexico. We now have a different boat in Santa Barbara Harbor and are enjoying her very much. Hello Cliff!
I feel deep sympathy for the owner and crew of Shake n Bake. They are so nice and so competent and prepared the boat well, they’re the last program that deserves this misfortune. Sailing is a b*%#} of a sport.
Yes to what Jackie said— the seamanship of recovering the mast while in the snot on the windward side and then getting all the way back under the bridge on their own is remarkable and inspiring.
It was pretty giddy up out there! Glad everyone was OK! Tortuga made it out and around the island in record time, but we got hosed when the wind went light and shifted more SSE/E and couldn’t make it in the Gate in the lighter breeze and still big seas.
https://youtu.be/SkNmbqU8_l0
Hey Roger & Marney, I recall dinner aboard your boat fondly — it was nice to be in good company during an otherwise solo trip! Good to hear from you & best wishes. Cliff