Yacht Racing Launches into July
Celebrating Independence Day
Fourth of July-themed races are coming up starting this weekend. Leading off on Saturday, July 3, will be Coyote Point Yacht Club’s Stars & Stripes Race.
On Sunday, July 4, Tiburon YC is planning their traditional Brothers & Sisters Race (a tour of the North Bay island group by those names). San Francisco YC offers a Fireworks Folly Pursuit Race. Elkhorn YC (in Moss Landing) will have a Fun Sail Summer Series race.
A whole long weekend of Fourth of July fun is in store for Monterey Bay sailors. On Saturday, July 3, Monterey-based sailors will have a Fun Race/Cruise to Santa Cruz. Then on Sunday, July 4, there’s a race from Santa Cruz to Monterey, followed by fireworks. On July 5, Santa Cruzers will have a Fun Race back to Santa Cruz. See www.mpyc.org and www.scyc.org.
Mid-Month Regattas
The new US Open Sailing Series moves to Long Beach on July 9-11. Sausalito YC will host the second Twin Island Race of the year on July 10. Also on that Saturday, OYRA racers will head offshore in the Jr. Waterhouse. SFYC will host the Mercury fleet for the Hart Nunes Regatta.
On July 10-11, Stockton Sailing Club will honor their founding fathers with the Founders Regatta, honoring SSC’s founders.
Fresno YC will host two weekends of the High Sierra Regatta on Huntington Lake. Classes invited on July 10-11 are Moth, Snipe, Day Sailer A and B, Lido 14 A and B, Laser, Laser Radial, Banshee, RS Aero, Optimist A and B, Vanguard 15 and San Juan 21. The last day to register without a late fee will be July 6. The second weekend, July 17-18, will be for PHRF, Moore 24, J/70, Ultimate 20, Viper 640, Open 5.70, Wylie Wabbit, Victory 21, Coronado 15 and Thistle classes. Register by July 13 to avoid the late fee.
“Lake Merritt SC will be holding their Mayor’s Cup Regatta on July 11, Sunday,” writes Gordie Nash of the El Toro fleet. “This is a reschedule. These kinds of scheduling changes are not uncommon in the days of COVID-19. We are now transitioning from one reality to another.” Half Moon Bay YC will host the El Toro North Americans in Pillar Point Harbor on July 30-August 1. The El Toro class has redesigned their website; check it out at www.eltoroyra.org.
The Transpac, from Los Angeles to Honolulu, will start on July 13, 16 and 17. Check out our preview of the 51st edition in the June issue of Latitude 38, coming out today.
On July 14-18, St. Francis YC will host the ILCA (Laser) North Americans. The Bay Area Multihull Association will run the Silver Eagle Race on July 17 (monohulls welcome too). On the same day, SYC will host the J/105 Fleet 1 Invitational Regatta.
Late July Events
On July 23-25, Santa Cruz YC will host the Santana 22 Nationals; Richmond YC will host the Laser Pacific Coast Championships, and Santa Barbara YC will host the Melges 24 West Coast Championship as part of their Fiesta Cup.
The YRA’s Summer Series will conclude on July 24, with racing in the South Bay. Also on the 24th, women will Take-the-Tiller at Half Moon Bay YC.
On July 24-25, StFYC will host the SF Classic and UN Challenge for kites and windsurfers. StFYC, and the Mercury fleet will race on Huntington Lake.
Balboa YC will host the Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship on July 26-31.
On Saturday, July 31, the YRA offers the Encinal Regatta. Alameda-based yacht clubs Island, Oakland and Encinal will follow up with Estuary racing on Sunday, August 1.
The CGRA’s Columbia Gorge One Design (C-GOD) Regatta will sail on the Columbia River in Northern Oregon on July 31-August 1.
Rolex Big Boat Series Update
Rolex Big Boat Series organizers recently amended the Notice of Race to include a Cal 40 class among the one-design fleets. Also invited are the J/120, J/105, J/88, J/70 and Express 37 classes; monohulls with an LOA of 30 feet or more and a current fully or partially measured ORR rating certificate; and classic boats built prior to 1955 with an LOA of at least 48 feet and an ORRez rating certificate. The J/70 class must have a minimum of 15 entries by August 1 to remain eligible for a start. For all other classes to remain eligible for a start, they must have at least six entries by August. Pay the full entry fee on or before July 31, 2021, to avoid a $200 late fee. Entries close August 31.
RBBS will serve as the J/88 North American Championship and the Pacific Coast Championship for Express 37s. The Classics class will return. Dewey Hines’s 1951 Rhodes 54 Ocean Queen, Beau and Stacey Vrolyk’s 1947 Alden schooner Mayan, and Terry Klaus’s 1924 Herreshoff schooner Brigadoon are already signed up.
Parties? Yes! Plans for the traditional nightly parties at StFYC are proceeding full steam ahead. The whole shebang will take place on September 15-19.
Find most of the above and many more events in the Calendar section of Latitude 38.