Regatta Action Heats Up in June

San Francisco Bay Area Regatta Action

St. Francis Yacht Club invites interested yacht clubs based in the United States to race in an inaugural Sailing League Regatta in San Francisco. This will be a pilot event on June 8-9 in StFYC’s fleet of J/22s. The competition features short races on standardized courses, in this case on the legendary Cityfront sailing area. Crews of four from the same yacht club will race in J/22s, with 16 flights planned plus a final series of up to four races. The winner will be qualified for the SAILING Champions League Final in Vilamoura, Portugal, on September 26-29. Interested clubs should contact StFYC at [email protected] to submit a request for invitation. Include your name, contact information and the yacht club you intend to represent.

Yacht clubs will compete for the PICYA Lipton Cup on June 14-16. The regatta will use StFYC’s fleet of matched J/22s. South Beach, Berkeley, Corinthian, Inverness, Richmond, San Francisco, Sausalito and Tahoe YC signed up (registration is closed).

On the Friday, the first race will go from StFYC to the Berkeley Pier. Two races will follow off Berkeley. A destination race to Encinal YC will end the day. The helmsperson must be female. On Saturday, seven races are scheduled for the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Trophy. Racing will take place on the Alameda Estuary racecourse, starting off EYC. On Sunday, three races are scheduled for the Larry Knight Trophy, starting near the Berkeley Pier. The third race will finish back at StFYC. The helmsperson must have reached their 60th birthday before June 14. See www.liptoncupsf.com.

The YRA’s Full Crew Farallones Race will sail out the Gate and back on June 15.

The Treasure Island Vanguard 15 fleet will race Round-the-Island in honor of the late Jeff Knowles on Tuesday, June 18, with a 6:30 p.m. start. Sign up at https://vanguard15.org/schedule/1400.

Kids will have to choose between StFYC’s Opti Heavy Weather Slalom and Regatta on June 20-23, and a Bay Area Youth Sailing (BAYS) regatta at Richmond YC on June 22-23.

Bill Worden of the Mercury fleet writes: “Registration is available for the Hart Nunes Regatta on San Francisco YC’s web page. This is a two-day event (June 29-30). We are looking for class-wide participation.” This will be the second event for the 2024 Travel Trophy.

Northern California Region

Gold Country YC’s Go for the Gold Regatta on Scotts Flat Lake will lead off the month on June 1.

Time is running out for you to submit your entry in the Stockton Sailing Club/Richmond Yacht Club Delta Ditch Run on June 8. Entry closes at midnight, Wednesday, June 5. SSC promises “a great party, with plenty of tasty food, live music, and fun at the finish line” on the San Joaquin River. Registration fees increase from $100 to $125 on June 2.

In Santa Cruz on the weekend of June 8-9, SCYC will host a combined regatta for 5O5s, 470s, and Lasers. For the latter, the regatta will serve as the District 24 Championship. SCYC Laser sailor Laird Henkel commented, “Note that this year ILCA is providing a great incentive for District Championships: ILCA-NA members get a 50% discount ($45) on the registration! If you’re not already an ILCA-NA member, this basically pays for your membership. (Regatta discounts is yet another great reason to join ILCA-NA.) There is casual Friday night racing on June 7, separate from the weekend regatta. Registration ($10) is on the SCYC regatta page.” The late registration fee will kick in this Saturday night.

The Singlehanded Sailing Society’s Great Pacific Longitude Race (LongPac) will start on June 29. The course starts in front of StFYC and goes out to Longitude 126º 40’ West before turning around and sailing back into the Bay. (The start is at Longitude 122º 24′ West.) This event serves as a qualifier for the Singlehanded Transpacific Race in 2025, but the SSS offers a division for doublehanders too. Note that they require a qualifying cruise to enter this qualifier! Registration will close on June 13. The SSS requires participation in a skippers’ meeting on June 26 at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Destination Races from the YRA

On June 22, the Westpoint Regatta will head out from Treasure Island and rocket down through the South Bay to the Club at Westpoint and a dockside after-race party! “As with all YRA Destination Regattas, we’ve got divisions for all kinds of boats and racers: multihulls, sportboats, one-design fleets, spinnaker and non-spinnaker, doublehanded, and, new this year, a dual-scored ORC division.”

Just one week later, on June 29, you can keep the post-race party vibes going and sail down the other side of the Peninsula in the Half Moon Bay Race. “This is the YRA’s only Offshore Destination Regatta. Boats head out from StFYC and race down the coast to the Half Moon Bay YC, where a fantastic beachside BBQ awaits, along with live music and great drinks. As this is an offshore race, the 2024 Offshore SER is in effect, though SER 3.9, the AIS requirement, has been waived for this race.”

If you choose to race doublehanded and prefer to race back rather than stay for the party, you can round a mark and continue racing on the course for StFYC’s 24-hour Doublehanded Offshore. “We’ll be awarding particular recognition to mixed-gender teams.” This version of the event will satisfy Pacific Cup qualifying-voyage requirements. “Win in Half Moon Bay, sail all night, and come through the Gate with the new day breaking. We’ll be dual-scoring this in PHRF and, for those with ratings, ORC.” Sign up for the Offshore Doubles Race here.

Pacific Northwest

Stage 1 in the Race to Alaska (R2AK VIII) will start from Port Townsend, WA, on June 9, “as dawn cracks its first grim smile.” Before the racing begins, there’s gotta be a Ruckus. On June 8, the Commons at Northwest Maritime Center will provide the site for food trucks, music, dancing, a beer garden and more. Stage 2, the long haul from Victoria, BC, to Ketchikan, AK, will start on June 12. See www.r2ak.com.

“The Best Ever” is the slogan for Race Week Anacortes on June 24-28. (This is the regatta that evolved from Whidbey Island Race Week.) The regatta will double as the North Americans Championships for the 6-Meter fleet. See all that is best at www.raceweekpnw.com.

Jericho Sailing Centre in Vancouver, BC, will host the ILCA Canadian Masters Championships, to be sailed on English Bay on June 28-30. Register by June 15 to save $25 Canadian.

Southern California

Los Angeles YC will host the J/111 North Americans on June 5-9. Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach will run the RS Tera North Americans on June 8-9.

Del Rey YC’s final Berger/Stein Series regatta of the year will be on June 8-9. The Cat Harbor Layover Race will sail to Catalina Island (and back the next day).

On June 18, San Diego YC will host the Area J US Sailing Sears Triplehanded Qualifier. Then SDYC will host the US Open Sailing Series (Olympic Classes Regatta)  on June 29-30.