Weekend Racing Wrap-up/Preview

The Easter Bunny won out over the racing schedule this weekend, and the only big thing going on was the OYRA season opener, the Crewed Lightship #1. The results haven’t gone up yet but they should in short order. It looked like a very civilized affair, and these photos from Erik Simonson bear that out.

We don’t have many details, so instead we’ll change our focus to the coming weekend and Saturday’s 112th running of the oldest inland yacht race in America, the Great Vallejo Race. Serving as the YRA season opener and first installment of the wildly popular Party Circuit, the race is one of the linchpins of the Bay’s racing calendar.

The Vallejo YC has undertaken some big changes for this year’s event in an effort to bolster the entertainment value. The club’s Jim Glenn updated us on those in this month’s Racing Sheet. In case you missed it, this what he had to say:  "We are changing things up this year and having part of the party outside in a large 40’x 80’ enclosed tent. The dance floor, music and food will be out in the tent. We have Eric Stone as the headliner from 8 p.m. until midnight and will have a disc jockey from 4 p.m. until Stone goes on. We have three different food vendors this year — Gracie’s Barbecue (ribs & chicken) Nellie’s Oysters (barbecued oysters, seafood tacos), and La Prima Pizza (woodfired pizza, pasta and salads). There will be grandstands at the start/finish line so spectators can see the racers as they jockey for the finish on Saturday and the start on Sunday. Beer & liquor will be reasonably priced, starting at $2. Sunday we will have a pancake breakfast put on by the Mare Island Rowing Cub."

So, in the event you needed any additional enticement, there you go: $2 beers and pancakes for anti-venom! All the pertinent info is in the gray box on the YRA homepage. You have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to enter — with an additional $35 late fee — so if you’ve been laggging, it’s time to get going and throw your (boat’s) name in the ring.