By John Arndt | February 1, 2023 | San Francisco Bay | 2
This seems an unlikely story, but we’ll believe them since we know they know how to sail. Dave Gruver describes the story of his race with John Collins aboard the Olson 25 Sketch.
“Thought I would share this photo. It’s not your normal Three Bridge Fiasco moment. We ended up on the ocean course. We made a break for Marin after rounding Blackaller ahead of the fray. Bad idea. The wind died and we got flushed out the Gate. When the westerly finally filled in a bit before noon we sailed back into the Bay, well behind the fleet. We continued to Red Rock then TI. We were fortunate to connect the puffs at TI for a clean and quick rounding and somehow managed to win our class. A Fiasco indeed!”
How many folks saw the wrong side of the Golden Gate Bridge? The view aboard Sketch from the back of the fleet became the view from up front.
It made sense to almost everyone to go to Blackaller first, but we heard about 12 boats simultaneously calling for buoy room with no wind, no boat speed and an adverse current. Tricky moment.
With 2.3 miles to go at 6:20 p.m. and zero knots on the speedo, it was time to let the race committee know we weren’t going to keep them there all night and thank them for a great day.
The Three Bridge Fiasco Bay tour provided the fleet with almost every condition imaginable. Not every boat was a winner, nor did everyone finish, but we’d bet almost no one regretted being out there. What’s next on your racing calendar?
Most great sailing venues have at least one pretty offbeat- keep your humor handy- kind of race, but I haven’t seen any that match the Three Bridge for ” Wait, WHAT ? ” type entertainment. I did not get to go this year, but – Next year baby !!!
Great coverage out there on the water! Race Deck was on station to the very end so don’t ever worry about us if it had been possible to finish by 6:59 PM. We were actually hoping that everyone was able to get around in time. I am looking forward to reading all the stories in the March issue.
Hans is a world champion sailor who has raced 29ers, 49ers, the International Moth, and hydrofoiling F50s. He competes for the US Sailing Team, is the starting flight controller for the US SailGP Team, and is literally a rocket scientist.
Join us for a screening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" at Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito on Friday, February 10, 2023.
Most great sailing venues have at least one pretty offbeat- keep your humor handy- kind of race, but I haven’t seen any that match the Three Bridge for ” Wait, WHAT ? ” type entertainment. I did not get to go this year, but – Next year baby !!!
Great coverage out there on the water! Race Deck was on station to the very end so don’t ever worry about us if it had been possible to finish by 6:59 PM. We were actually hoping that everyone was able to get around in time. I am looking forward to reading all the stories in the March issue.