Taking a Bite of Oakland Yacht Club’s Sunday Brunch

Race 3 of Oakland Yacht Club’s Sunday Brunch Series on February 2 was not too cold, but it was wet and a bit foggy. The wind was predicted to be in the mid-teens with substantial gusts; in reality it was closer to 10-12 knots of breeze with gusts in the teens.

With that, 22 racers came to the line. The wind direction was close to calling for a reverse start, but the race committee elected to go with up-Estuary courses, which found some spinnaker boats popping their chutes as they crossed the start line. The wind was a bit fluky, as it is for most Estuary races, but it held, and the racers completed the courses and were back at the club in good time. Another good day on the water.

For Race 4 on February 16, the forecast said 1-5 knots with gusts to 7 knots. As the race committee readied the deck and watched the Estuary, they saw nary a flutter of flags. Marks were set, courses chosen, and the Coast Guard called, and still maybe 1 knot. So, a postponement was in order while we watched to see if a little more time would get us enough wind to start the race.

The start was at the end of the flood, and it would be ebbing during much of the race, with very small currents — a good thing with little to no wind. Ah, but after a 20-minute postponement, flags started to flutter — nothing big but enough to get the racing started.

There were 28 boats patiently waiting and ready to race. The RC called for a short course for all the fleets to get a race in and completed for everyone. It was crowded at the marks, but good racing, and after the leeward mark rounding, the ebb and the wind worked together and all had a nice final leg.

The OYC Race Speakers Series kicked off on January 19. Before Race 2, Kame Richards spoke about racing sails. The series continued on February 2, with Ryan Nelson of Rogue Rigging talking about tuning your rigging and rig inspection. A lot of good information was shared, broken parts inspected, and products, approaches and safety discussed. The third speaker was Mark Mines, bar pilot, giving a San Francisco Bar Pilot overview on March 16.

Next on the OYC calendar is the Sweet Sixteen Race Series, First Half. See www.oaklandyachtclub.net,  and sign up for races at www.jibeset.net.

See more racing reports in the March Racing Sheet. The April magazine, with March race reports, comes out tomorrow. Pick one up at a distribution point near you.