The Berkeley Fan

“What the heck is the Berkeley Fan?” you might ask.

That was then…

What was formerly known as the Olympic Circle, and also as the Berkeley Circle, is a region of water west of the Berkeley shoreline. San Francisco Bay racers know this area for its mild currents and nukin’ summer breeze, usually accompanied by drenching chop. Many a regatta is held on these gnarly waters — which are quite a bit tamer in the winter.

The Olympic Circle was an old concept. The XOC pin lay in the center of eight other marks, each about one mile away from XOC, north of the crumbling Berkeley Pier. Race courses could be set up without use of temporary inflatable marks and the competitors sent on courses corresponding to the wind direction. For instance, in a northwesterly (a common wind direction), GOC could be the first mark for a windward first leg. Windward-leeward courses could be constructed, or as was popular in previous decades, a triangle-sausage course.

But the Berkeley Flats— they’re called that for a reason — continue to silt up. First the deeper-draft boats started running aground at AOC and complaining to the race committees. Then AOC, BOC and HOC simply became unusable. They’re no longer on station.

This is now…

For 2019, the Yacht Racing Association changed the area’s designation from “The Berkeley Circle (OC)” to “The Berkeley Fan,” as the remaining marks form more of a fan shape than a circle. (Other marks, including the commonly used GOC and XOC, often go missing too, and race committees use inflatable drop-marks in their place. Frankly, most clubs using these waters are now setting all their own marks.)

For more information on this and other racing areas on San Francisco Bay, see pages 42-47 of the 2019 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Master Schedule.