Breeze on at Rolex Big Boat Series

"The first race was fine, but the second race was looooong," said a J/105 crewmember about the first day of racing yesterday at Rolex Big Boat Series. Other crew comments last night included: "It was gnarly out there," "I’m looking forward to tomorrow being less windy," "I’m already beat up," and "My hands got so cold."

Carnage ensued in the gusty conditions during Race 2. Reported mishaps include the J/111 Skeleton Key losing a crew overboard and having to go back around to retrieve him; they were able to finish the race. Another J/111, Swift Ness, dropped out with a broken rudder. "They’re done for the series," opined a competitor. Worst of all, Peter Stoneberg’s Extreme 40 Shadow X dismasted near the Golden Gate Bridge, apparently in the same location that sistership SmartRecruiters lost her rig near the start of the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge on August 31.

After a windy first day on San Francisco Bay, Day 2, Friday, has begun with a shoreside postponement. When navigator extraordinaire Stan Honey gave the racers a weather briefing yesterday, he indicated that Thursday would see the highest wind speeds, into the low 20s, and that the direction would have more south in it than usual, the result of an upper-level trough that passed through earlier in the week. He prognosticated that a more traditional WSW breeze building to 15-20 knots would fill in today.

Two races are scheduled for today and tomorrow; a single Bay tour race is planned to wrap up the sailing on Sunday. We’ll have another report in ‘Lectronic Latitude on Monday, then a complete report in the October issue of Latitude 38. For standings and much more, see www.rolexbigboat.series.

To see more photos from yesterday’s sailing and socializing, see our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Latitude38.