A Preview of West Coast Yacht Racing in July

From the Yacht Racing Association

“It’s time to register for the this year’s Westpoint Regatta, the YRA destination race with not one, but two great parties, sandwiched around fantastic racing through the South Bay,” writes the YRA. “The event kicks off with a party at Treasure Island Yacht Club the night before the race. Then Saturday you’ll race around Alcatraz and rocket downwind with the flood to Redwood City, where you will share race stories and drinks at the Club at Westpoint.” The race will take place on July 8.

The OYRA’s next offshore race will be the Jr Waterhouse on July 22.

On July 25, YRA will hold an informational meeting about the Bluewater Bash. “Interested in learning more about the Bluewater Bash, our long-distance ocean race? At this meeting we’ll go over equipment requirements, how to link your Iridium GO! or Garmin inReach to Jibeset for tracking, how to update your crew on Jibeset, and more.” The YRA will hold a separate skippers’ meeting for registrants on August 15. The Bluewater Bash will be on August 19-20. Register for the online informational meeting here.

The Encinal Regatta will sail out the Gate on July 29, with a virtual skippers’ meeting on Tuesday, July 18. “We’ll go over the finer points of racing fast out to Point Bonita and back, especially that last drag down the Estuary. Plus, details on the post-race festivities will be covered. Register here for the meeting.”

From St. Francis Yacht Club

StFYC will host the SF Classic & UN Challenge on July 8 for Hydrofoil Kites, Hydrofoil Windsurfers and Formula Windsurfers.

Laser Masters will sail their Pacific Coast Championships on July 15-16 at StFYC for the Don Trask Perpetual Trophy (Radial and full rig). “This is Don’s 90th birthday, and he will be out here,” writes Chris Boome. “We will sail old-style courses, with the start and finish off the race deck. We will have a bunch of old-time Laser stuff that will be fun for all, plus a birthday celebration on Saturday night after sailing.” The regatta is open to members of ILCA who have reached the age of 30 by the first day of the regatta. The entry fee is $135 before July 5, after which it will be $155, including one ticket to Don’s birthday dinner. (Additional tickets are $35.)

On July 21, StFYC will host an RS Tera and RS Feva Clinic, after which the sailors will compete for their PCCs on the weekend of the 22nd-23rd.

The Notice of Race is posted and registration is open for St. Francis Yacht Club’s inaugural Offshore Mixed Doubles Race, scheduled for July 29-30 and open to doublehanded crews of mixed gender. “We are very pleased to announce the Offshore Mixed Doubles Race,” says Dave MacEwen, vice chair of StFYC’s Executive Race Committee. “Doublehanded racing is extremely popular on San Francisco Bay — look at the success of the Three Bridge Fiasco. Adding an offshore element will take this format to a new level locally.” The race committee intends to conduct a single distance race of approximately 24 hours in a sailing area stretching across San Francisco Bay and its approaches to the Gulf of the Farallones. Boats eligible to enter include:

• Monohulls with a minimum LOA ≥ 23’9” and a current NC PHRF rating
• Multihulls with a minimum LOA ≥ 23’9” and a current SFBAMA PHRF rating
• An ORC Doublehanded (DH) ORCi or ORC Club certificate is optional

Register now to get the best price for the 5O5 World Championship and North Americans. All entries made after midnight PDT on Friday, June 30, will incur a late fee. StFYC will host the championships on September 23-October 1.

Bay Area Miscellany

On July 1, Lake Merritt Sailing Club will host four races to be scored as two regattas. The first is the Mayor’s Cup/Independence Day regatta. The club will award the Mayor’s Cup and other prizes that day. The fee for participation in the Mayor’s Cup regatta is $15 per boat. The second regatta is the first day of the Summer/Fall series to be held July 1, August 12, September 9 and October 14. Racers will receive prizes for the series on October 14. The separate fee for participation in the series is $15 per boat per day or $45 for the four-day series (no refunds for cancellations). LMSC doesn’t have a website; for info contact the club’s commodore, Denis Hazlewood, at (707) 338-6955.

SFYC’s Great SF Schooner Cup & Belvedere Classic on July 15 will continue the SF Bay Classic Championship Series. “We started this just before COVID and then took a hiatus,” said Angie Lackey Olson of SFYC. “It’s a season championship for the MMBA’s Master Mariners Regatta, the Belvedere Classic/Great SF Schooner Race, and StFYC’s Jessica Cup.”

The Corinthian Midsummer regatta is a two-weekend series on July 15-16 and August 12-13, with two races on Saturdays and one race on Sundays. Shoreside entertainment at the historic clubhouse in Tiburon, dinner, and daily prizes will follow.

Encinal YC in Alameda will host the Santana 22 Nationals on July 21-23, with sailing in the South Bay.

Bay View Boat Club in San Francisco invites vintage fiberglass sailboats built from the 1960s to 1998 to race in the Plastic Classic on July 22. Dinner and dancing at the clubhouse in Mission Bay will follow.

High in the Sierra

Fresno YC advises us that registration is open for both weekends (July 8-9 and 15-16) of the High Sierra Regatta on Huntington Lake. “This is the 70th anniversary of the regatta at Huntington Lake,” says FYC. “The keys to its longevity are the excellent sailing conditions and the Fresno Yacht Club’s continuing commitment to putting on an excellent event. This year, in addition to the five-race format, we are going to have a taco dinner on the beach for each of the two weekends. We will be limited to 150 dinners, so sign up ahead of time in the Regatta Network store.

• “For weekend #1, sign up using Regatta Network right up to Friday, July 7. The number of trophies will be determined by the number of registrants for each class on June 30. The regatta fee goes up $20 after that date too.
• “For weekend #2, sign up using Regatta Network right up to Friday, July 14. The number of trophies will be determined by the number of registrants for each class on July 7. The regatta fee goes up $20 after that date.

“We’re looking forward to lots of cold water, great winds, and great competition. If you come for a good time, you can’t lose.”

• July 8-9 is for Moth, Daysailer, Lido 14, Laser, Laser Radial, Banshee, RS Aero, Melges 14, Optimist, Vanguard 15 and San Juan 21 classes plus open centerboard boats (Portsmouth handicap).
• July 15-16 will be for PHRF boats and Ultimate 20, Wylie Wabbit, Victory 21, Coronado 15, Melges 15 and Thistle classes.

FYC will host several other regattas during the month on Huntington Lake:

• June 30-July 2 — Moore 24 Nationals
• July 7-9 — International 14 Nationals
• July 18-19 — Victory Nationals
• July 22-23 — Mercury Regatta
• July 27-30 — Jim DeWitt Memorial El Toro North Americans

Down in Southern California

The final Transpac starts (the fastest boats) will depart San Pedro, bound for Honolulu, on July 1.

Long Beach and Alamitos Bay YCs will host the US Open Sailing Series on July 14-16. Invited classes are 470, 49er, 49erFX, Formula Kite, ILCA 7, ILCA 6, ILCA 4, iQFoil, Nacra 17, 29er, 420, iQFoil Youth, Nacra 15, Finn and Open Kitefoil. The event will also serve as the ILCA North Americans.

Ventura YC will host a J/Fest regatta on July 15-16.

On Friday, July 21, San Diego YC will wrangle the Dutch Shoe Marathon for Sabots.

The first-ever Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix (SailGP), in partnership with the Port of Los Angeles, will thrill spectators of the stadium-sailing series on July 22-23.

Balboa YC in Corona del Mar will host the 56th Governor’s Cup on July 24-29. The youth match-racing regatta will use identical, provided Governor’s Cup 22 keelboats. The NOR says, “Team members shall not have reached their 23rd birthday prior to July 29, 2023.”

The overnight King Harbor Race will sail from Santa Barbara to Redondo Beach on July 28-29.

Up in Oregon

The Columbia Gorge Racing Association will “CGOD” on July 28-30. (That’s an abbreviation for the Columbia Gorge One-Design Regatta).

The Hood River YC’s Hood River One Design Regatta on July 29 will also serve as the Moore 24 PCCs.

But That’s Not All…

As usual, our section of the time-space continuum is finite, so be sure to check out our monthly Calendar coming out this Friday, June 30, in the July issue of Latitude 38. For an overview of the year, have a gander at our 2023 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Master Schedule.