Classic Boats Roar Around the Bay in Belvedere Classic and Great S.F. Schooner Race

If you happened to be on the Bay or looking out from shore on Saturday, you might have seen the water awash with a fleet of beautiful sailboats. The Belvedere Classic Regatta and the Great San Francisco Schooner Race took place amidst outstanding Bay Area sailing conditions. “We had lots of wind, swirling fog and even some sun here and there … perfect summer day!” John ‘Woody’ Skoriak said after the race.

Racing took place on Saturday, with classic boats or those over 30-ft in length racing in four classes: Classic Yacht 1, Classic Yacht 2, Schooner, and a new class this year — Spirit of Tradition.

“We took first place in the Schooner Class on Seaward and had a blast,” Woody said.

Seaward was in good hands as she took to the course with a crew of old hands on deck — and we’re not just talking about their age. Woody called his shipmates “a veritable Call of the Sea ‘Dream Team’.”

The crew are all familiar with Call of the Sea and the schooner Seaward, in one way or another. Alan Olson co-founded Call of the Sea; David McGregor is a former Seaward captain. Taking turns on the helm was local high school student, video producer and “sailor extraordinaire” Omar Alami. (We featured Omar’s work in a recent ‘Lectronic.)

Former Call of the Sea board member Michael Seaman took care of the mainsheet while sailor Katie Jewett and Matthew Turner volunteer shipbuilder Pete McGinnis concentrated on the foredeck, helped by longtime Call of the Sea supporter Mat Lundberg and Zack Taylor, who tacked and trimmed the jib to keep Seaward ahead of the schooner fleet. Also on board was longtime Call of the Sea volunteer and photographer Benson Lee, whose photos have appeared numerous times in ‘Lectronic and Latitude 38 magazine.

“All of them helped to make the Classic and Great Schooner Race team one of the best,” Woody added.

“Considering none of us had sailed on Seaward for several years,” Woody added, “it was one of few times I’ve been on any boat and we didn’t make any mistakes, missed tacks, fumbled jibes, or even miss a mark! It was a great day of sailing!”

See the full results here.