Three Bridge Fiasco Lives Up to Name

In between torrential weekend downpours, 222 boats managed to make it to the starting line of one of the most popular races on San Francisco Bay. An early morning 10-12 knot southerly breeze and clearing skies bode well for the racers who had to round the Bay’s three big bridges in any order they pleased.

The start of the race lived up to its name, with hundreds of boats milling about every which way. From what we saw, there were no major collisions but there were a few close calls. While a good portion of the boats headed for the Gate first, the majority shot straight for the Bay Bridge.

The breeze held out until noon, leaving boats bobbing all over the Bay with hardly a whisper. Some boats even lost ground with the weak flood. In the end, 55 boats dropped out due to the lack of wind.

Kudos to the following boats for sticking it out and winning their classes:

• Punk Dolphin, Wylie 39 – Singlehanded PHRF <100
• PainKiller, J/80 – SH PHRF 100-160
• Travieso, Ericson 30+ – SH PHRF >160
• Meritime, C&C 30 – SH PHRF Non-Spinnaker
• Mirage, Express 27 – SH Sportboat
• Adrenaline, D-Class Cat – Doublehanded Multihull
• Golden Moon, Express 37 – DH PHRF <100
• Arcadia, Santana 27 (modified) – DH PHRF 100-160
• Chelonia, Yankee 30 – DH PHRF >160
• Escapade, Sabre 402 – DH Non-Spinnaker
• Motorcycle Irene, Express 27 – DH Express 27
• Donkey Jack, J/105 – DH J/105
• Lowly Worm, Moore 24 – DH Moore 24
• Lazy Lightning, Tartan 10 – DH SF Bay 30
• The Word, Mumm 30 – DH Sportboat
• Mr. McGregor, Wylie Wabbit – DH Wylie Wabbit
• Uno, Wyliecat 30 – DH Wyliecat 30

For full results, head on over to the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s site at www.sfbaysss.org. We’ll have a comprehensive report in the March issue of Latitude 38.