Women Rule at St. Francis YC

In late 2017, the 90-year-old tradition-steeped St. Francis Yacht Club elected its first woman commodore as a "candidate of change." Theresa Brandner assumed the helm in January. "Commodore Brandner," as she’ll be addressed formally at the club, races the J/105 Walloping Swede.

At the same annual general meeting that inducted Commodore Brandner, another J/105 racer, Nicole Breault, became the first woman to be awarded the Jerome B. White Yachtsman of the Year perpetual trophy. Besides serving as tactician, main trimmer and sometimes skipper on Arbitrage, Breault has been a match-racing marvel. She is currently the top-ranked woman match racer in the US, and is #2 in the open rankings. She’s giving back to the sport too, having created and coached the Women’s Learn-to-Sail course and the Women’s Match Race Clinegatta.

"This is an historic year for the St. Francis Yacht Club," writes Brandner. "The club is proud to recognize Nicole for her remarkable achievements on the water. I’ve raced against her, and she is seriously tough competition but always Corinthian. We are both passionate about sailing and StFYC’s continued leadership in the yachting community both in the San Francisco Bay Area and worldwide."

"I’ve been racing all my life," said Breault, "and I’ve only ever wanted to be among the best of the best and earn their respect by winning on the water. I’ve had to face the fact that when I race against the guys, it’s not always easy. But I’ve always put my best out on the water and I try to not make it about gender." For more, see www.stfyc.com.

When the California Dreamin’ Series got underway last weekend with the first of three match-race regattas, Breault and her all-female crew edged out Charlie Welsh of Newport Harbor YC in a tie-breaker. Nicole’s husband Bruce Stone came in third. The event was hosted by San Diego YC in J/22s. StFYC will host the second of three stops on March 10-11, then the series wraps up in Long Beach on April 7-8.