Marching, er, Sailing Into the Spring Regatta Season
Bay Area Regattas & Spring Classics
The big daddy of classic spring regattas is, well, the Big Daddy Regatta. Richmond Yacht Club will organize three buoy races on Saturday, March 8. A dinner party will follow, with dancing to the tunes of Shark Sandwich. Sunday will feature the usual pursuit race. This year’s theme is Mardi Gras (the actual holiday of Mardi Gras will have already happened on March 4). Remember to set your clocks forward an hour when you tuck into your bunk on Saturday night (if all your clocks don’t automatically reset anyway).
The California Dreamin’ match-racing series will make its San Francisco stop at St. Francis YC on March 8-9.
In advance of the vernal equinox on March 22, Oakland YC will celebrate with their Rites of Spring race on March 15.
Sausalito YC will host a J/105 and J/88 Invitational on March 15-16.
ILCA 6 and 7 Lasers and 5O5s are invited to sign up for Alameda Community Sailing Center’s Spring Dinghy Regatta coming up on March 15-16.
Island YC’s full-crew women’s skipper regatta, the Sadie Hawkins, will be on March 23, with sailing on the Estuary.
The next Bay Tour race in the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s season will be Round the Rocks on March 29. Doublehanders are welcome too.
With Daylight Saving Time starting on the second Sunday in March, beer-can racing won’t be far behind. We’ll preview the early-starting beer cans in an upcoming ‘Lectronic Latitude edition.
Southern California Regattas
Ocean racers will sail into March in the Islands Race, starting in Long Beach this Friday, February 28, and winding up in San Diego on March 1. Newport Harbor YC and San Diego YC will share organizing duties.
The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup keelboat collegiate regatta, hosted by the Cal Maritime Academy Keelhaulers, will happen on March 7-9.
NHYC will host another offshore race, the Channel Islands 500, on March 14-16.
Mission Bay YC north of San Diego will host the ILCA California Masters on March 15-16. That same weekend, SDYC will preside over a three-ring circus: the Beneteau 36.7 Midwinters, the Spring Keelboat One Design Weekend, and the J/105 Wings Cup.
Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach will host the ILCA, 29er and I420 Midwinters West Regatta on March 21-23.
Coronado YC and San Diego YC will host a Spring Dinghy Regatta for a long list of dinghies and small keelboats, with racing on San Diego Bay and land-based activities at Coronado YC on March 22-23.
The Etchells Midwinters West will sail out of SDYC on March 28-30. The entry deadline is March 14 at 4 p.m.
Even Farther South
The Banderas Bay Regatta north of Puerto Vallarta is well known for amazing sailing for cruising boats and performance racer-cruisers. We deem it to be bucket-list-worthy. Vallarta YC will run the regatta out of Paradise Village in Riviera Nayarit on March 18-22.
Improving Skills and Knowledge
Rules guru Dave Perry is visiting the Bay Area to update us on the new Racing Rules of Sailing. Perry is the chair of the US Sailing Appeals Committee. He’ll visit Richmond YC on Tuesday, March 4, in a fundraiser for the RYC Foundation’s J/22 programs ($30 or $15 for Juniors). Then he’ll visit San Francisco YC in Belvedere on Wednesday the 5th. He’ll hit St. Francis YC on Thursday evening, March 6, with a free session for club members ($25 for guests of members).
Encinal Yacht Club will host Dave Perry at their clubhouse in Alameda on Friday, March 7, for a two-part presentation, “What’s New in the New Racing Rules for 2025-2028” and “Ask Dave.” In Part 1, Dave will explain all the significant changes in the 2025-2028 Racing Rules of Sailing that went into effect on January 1, 2025. In Part 2, Dave will open up the session to all rules/tactical questions from the audience, and will have some interesting situations to ask the audience their opinions. Register at www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0949ABA82DAAF49-54650488-2025.
The Olson 25 fleet will hold a speed clinic out of Berkeley YC on March 22. Register for just $10 at www.jibeset.net/BYC000.php?RG=T005119557. The day will begin with a chalk talk at the club followed by on-the-water tuning with coaching and some short racing, then a debrief at the club. Seadon Wijsen of North Sails and fleet champion Dave Gruver of Sketch will lead the clinic.
When Sailing Is a Spectator Sport
Sail Grand Prix will offer thrills to spectators in California on consecutive weekends. Sir Russell’s traveling road show will stop in Los Angeles on March 15-16, and in San Francisco on March 22-23. See www.sailgp.com for info and tickets.
As usual, the events calendar is packed with maritime activities on and off the water. As we look forward to spring, it only gets busier. So see the Calendar section of Latitude 38 for much more. The March edition will come out this Friday, February 28. Also see the 2025 Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Schedule for more advance planning.
Dave Perry is very informative and teaches the racing rules with humor and grace. If you haven’t attended an evening with him before, I highly recommend it !
Readers — We just noticed in a press release from the Transpac that the entry fee for this July’s race to Honolulu will increase after March 1. As we write this comment, that leaves only two days to register without paying a late fee. See https://transpacyc.com/race-info/entry.
A note regarding the Spring Dinghy Regatta at Alameda Community Sailing Center (ACSC) on March 15-16: “Welcoming to sailors at all levels of experience,” says Laser sailor David L. “Friday Practice and social; Saturday and Sunday Racing & Social; Chalk Talks;
Ronstan Sponsorship; Great location; Great value; ILCA 6s and 7s and 505s; https://theclubspot.com/regatta/VK7BP0kWfK.”