Try Singlehanding in the “Sort of Singlehanded North Bay Race”
The “Sort of Singlehanded North Bay Race” coming up this weekend on Saturday, April 26, allows you to bring a “ghost.” It’s not unusual for long-distance singlehanded racers to hallucinate while crossing oceans, but it is unusual for singlehanded races to actually have two people aboard. The reason the local Singlehanded Sailing Society allows this is to give first-time singlehanders some extra hands just in case they’re needed. If you have not raced singledhanded, this is a good opportunity to try it. For just this one event, you can “singlehand” with another person aboard who can help you in an emergency, or help post-race with docking — they just cannot touch any controls during the race.
The race does not count for the series; it’s just a low-key run to find out what racing singlehanded is like.
The SSS reached out to a couple of folks for some insights into their upcoming weekend sailing plans.
Jay McCutchen with the Santa Cruz 27 Surf Rat reported he’s racing after installing a tiller pilot and is planning to use the race to sort out its use for future singlehanded sailing. Besides singlehanding a Hobie 14 when younger, he’s done a couple of singlehanded races starting last year with the 2024 Sorta Singlehanded and Vallejo 1-2. When asked what other kinds of racing he’s done, he reported, “Skipper for Hobie 16 and International FJ racing, crew for keelboat on S.F. Bay and coastal racing.” And who’s his ghost? He says, “Alexis, my wife, is signed up as ghost. As a very competitive person she’ll be plenty entertained as tactician and with critique of my performance.”
After this race what might Jay sail? The next SSS races he hopes to do are the SSS Half Moon Bay and Drake’s Bay races.
Another racer planning to be out there this weekend is Jeff Froula aboard his Cape Dory 27 Pelican. His plan is to get out there with his kid to introduce him to racing. Jeff reports this will be his fourth singlehanded race. Asked how he’ll keep the “ghost” entertained, he replied, “I’ll be the ghost and my kid will be the captain. I’ll be yelling at him to keep him entertained.”
Regarding the rest of the SSS season, Jeff says, “I’ll aim to do all the races for SSS scheduled for each month.”
If you’ve thought about trying singlehanded racing, this coming Saturday is for you. The race allows the extra hands aboard but they are there just in case they’re needed. You are supposed to race the whole race without any help from your ghost so you’ll be sailing as if you’re sailing alone. This may be one of the few times your hallucination will actually talk back or laugh at you.
The first gun is at 10:55 and there are just three possible courses between six and 11 miles long. Read the Race Instructions here. You can sign up here. And don’t forget: Your ghost will want a sandwich too.
Tomorrow We Sail Into Earth Day
Tomorrow, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. If you’re a sailor you have plenty of room to celebrate the 70% of the planet that is ocean. Everyone else is crammed onto the 30% that is land. One of the miraculous things about sailing these past few weeks has been the sighting of many whales in the Bay. Or maybe it’s many sightings of the same two whales? Either way, April sailing has been magnificent. To celebrate Earth Day we’re sharing a few photos of sustainable, wind-powered ways lucky Bay Area residents enjoy the planet under sail.
The California National Resources Agency has a calendar of events for your participation on Earth Day.
The preliminary results of this past weekend’s Crewed Lightship race are here. Next up for the YRA Offshore Series is the Duxship Race on May 17. You should see plenty of whales out there.
There’s nothing better than sailing the Bay for Earth Day. Or sailing anywhere on the California coast. This year, Tuesday appears to be the only day of the week without a beer can race on the Bay so you’ll just have to motivate yourself to get out there. If you do, we suspect you and the whales will have most of the Bay all to yourselves. If you have any photos of your April sails you can upload them here or email them to [email protected].
Steering the Dream With Hydrovane
Hydrovane is your best crew member: an independent self-steering windvane and emergency rudder/steering system … ready to go!
It’s Going To Be a Busy Weekend on the Bay
Sure, it’s only Monday, and we’re already talking about the weekend, but with good reason: There’s lots going on and we want you to take part. Firstly, although last on our weekend calendar, is PICYA’s Opening Day on the Bay, and on Saturday, April 26, we have Call of the Sea Tall Ship Celebration, a Cal Sailing Club Open House, and a Dockwalker Refresher training.
The Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association (PICYA) has been hosting Opening Day on the Bay since 1917 with a parade of boats that runs off the shore of Crissy Field, along the Cityfront down to the Marina Green. In 1963 they added the “Blessing of the Fleet,” back then introduced as the “Blessing of the Pleasure Craft,” a ritual they say was “modeled on the age-old traditional blessings of vessels of working fishermen.” We don’t know of many, if any, Bay sailors who fish while sailing, but the sentiment of a blessing is always appreciated and taken up by many.
Anybody can enter a vessel in the parade free of charge as long they register beforehand and have a marine radio. Parade skippers click to register here.
This year’s theme, “Generations on the Bay,” celebrates and honors the vivid historical generations of the San Francisco Bay! From the gold rush era and building of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Summer of Love, music mecca, the Go-Go ’90s, Golden Decade of Sports and Tech Explosion — pick your favorite “generation” to represent! The theme is open to many interpretations, and skippers are encouraged to be creative. Some boats will fly flags and streamers or just join in the parade not decorated.
All are welcome. If you do not have a boat, join us on the official committee boat to get the most up-close view of the boats. Details here.
This event is not limited to PICYA but is picked up by various clubs around the Bay. Check your local club for details.
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On Saturday, April 26, Call of the Sea is hosting the Tall Ship Celebration from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at the Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito. The day will include free tours of the brigantine Matthew Turner, Bay Model tours, traditional rope-making demonstrations, fun marine science exploration, educational activities by the Sailing Science Center, old-time tunes by local musicians the Waterfront Pickers, and a community sail on the Matthew Turner (ticket required). Info and tickets here.
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The Cal Sailing Club (CSC) at the Berkeley Marina, 124 University Avenue, is hosting its monthly Open House on Saturday, April 26. This month’s event coincides with the Berkeley Bay Festival and is a great opportunity to take that first (or second, or third) ride on a sailboat — the one that will often get people hooked. It’s “zero” cost, and “limitless” fun.
“The Cal Sailing Club (offers sailing to the public aboard our fleet of keelboats (large and stable) and dinghies (fast and zippy, but kinda tippy) 10 times a year. Whether you are new at sailing or an “old salt,” you can enjoy a spectacular voyage within sight of the University of California, the Bay Bridge, San Francisco, and the Golden Gate!” Details here.
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California State Parks is hosting a Dockwalker Refresher training on Saturday, April 26. This is a virtual session, from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., so you’ll still be able to get out and do other boaty things that day!
Dockwalkers are partners who inspire and educate recreational boaters to be safe and environmentally sound while boating in California. These partners distribute boater kits with educational materials anywhere where boaters are, while visiting marinas, boat launch ramps, boat shows, and boating events.
You can find information about Dockwalkers here, and the trainings here.
SailGP’s Back-to-Back Crash Course
In the wake of SailGP’s canceled Brazil event, we look back at the two West Coast events, the second of which included the epic wing failure that led to the cancellation of the May event in Rio. With the New York race scheduled for early June, the aim is to make all the necessary repairs during the unforeseen, extended break.
Two sunny California weekends were served up for SailGP’s first back-to-back races, with the Rolex Los Angeles and then the Oracle San Francisco Grand Prix delivering the thrills, spills and excitement the League was hoping for. Both events filled the grandstands, exceeding expectations on all counts.
Long before Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison reinvented the America’s Cup and now SailGP, there were the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses traveling from town to town, setting up and breaking down their tents and moving trailers, elephants and clowns weekend after weekend as they barnstormed their brand to as many people as possible, which is where SailGP is now, with 14 events and counting before the novelty of flying sailboats wears off.
In L.A. it was kelp that made an unexpected appearance; we thought it was just off Point Loma in San Diego! In many cases, it was worse than dragging an anchor as the teams deployed a variety of unique approaches to shedding the dreaded weed.
In S.F., it was the notorious shifty winds, but more importantly, playing the different currents, and the Spanish seemed to play that game the best. Canadian driver Giles Scott also saw the effect as he made several bold moves, splitting from the fleet to make huge gains by mastering the wind and flying across the incoming currents flooding the Bay.
Spain triumphed in San Francisco, defeating NorthStar Canada (second) and France (third) to become the fifth winner in five events this season. Despite a catastrophic wing collapse at the start of race seven, Australia moves into first overall. All athletes are accounted for with no injuries on board. The cause of the incident is not yet known.
In a nail-biting winner-takes-all final race, France hit the line flying, surging ahead to win the sprint to mark one. But after splitting the course at the second gate, Spain raced away with the lead, sweeping the line in first ahead of Canada in second and Les Bleus in third.
“It feels amazing to win. It was super-tight racing and we were really happy with our weekend, to come out on top and get into the final,” said Spanish team strategist Nicole van der Velden. “We were feeling quite confident with how we were sailing and how we were starting, so super-happy to finish well in the final. It’s great to get two-for-two in San Francisco. Now, a little bit of celebration and back to focus for the next event.”
The USS Potomac Is Hiring
