Here is my report for my first Vallejo Race Weekend. Saturday, Philip and I launched the boat shortly after a terrific downpour. We motored to the start, and there was about a 1 hr postponement. The wind went way left sometime after the RC set the start line. We got a good start and were, I believe, second or third to the first mark. We then stayed about on the shortest course line for Castro Rock and were in relatively deep water to take advantage of flood which continued throughout the race. There was little to no wind and very shifty for about an hour. Some boats were just spinning. The boats to the left of us, including Seabird, Buster, Catri, among others seemed to get going again sooner.

After rounding Pt San Pablo, wind was very shifty and light. I hadn't seen this before, but there was a brief period where we were moving on Stbd Tack with light wind, while boats just a hundred yards to the left were on Port Tack in fresher breeze. Again, the boats to the left seemed to get going again a bit sooner. Devoras, Mood Indigo, and Double Play seemed to be sort of just chugging up the middle. Most boats set spinnakers for the good wind, ?15 to 20 kts, from Pt Pinole up to the Vallejo Entrance.

We arrived at Vallejo in late afternoon, tied up to a condemned dock in the municipal marina, there were no mooring fees, Thanks Vallejo. We went to VYC, ate a good dinner. The YC did a real nice job hosting that many people. They clearly know what they are doing.

One of the more entertaining things about the Bay Area Sailing Scene is watching the Sunday AM giant raft untangling in front of the VYC Race Deck. Basically, one or two of the saltier VYC Regulars stands up on the race deck like an air traffic controller (These guys are self styled comedians), bidding farewell to the departing boats, encouraging others to get moving, pointing out the subtleties of the VYC entrance channel, and giving a little local history at the same time.

The start was a close reach back out the channel in shifty winds. We were over a minute late to the start, and we were about fifty yards behind Seabird. We caught up quickly, and we had faster boat speed, probably because we were lighter with just the two of us while Seabird had three. Also, I love my new sails. There ensued a brief duel where we tried to pass Seabird to windward, they headed up a bit to close off that option, then we tried to go to leeward in Seabird's wind shadow and couldn't get by. We iterated on that pattern for about two or three times in very close quarters, edging closer to the right hand shore with various who knows what in terms of submerged pilings and shallow water, etc. Rich Holden then said to me in a conversational tone, "You go by." He headed up a bit, and we passed to leeward.

We were first to the first mark. I did my best imitation of an America's Cup Skipper, and we resolved to cover Seabird, no matter what. Somehow, though, she split from us inside some concrete dock type structure north of Pt Pinole, but when we got back together, we were still ahead. Once we rounded Pt Pinole, there were two prolonged lifts which allowed us to lay the finish without tacking again. We passed a bunch of monos, and we seemed to be able to point higher.

After the finish, there were some exciting reaching conditions back to the Estuary. Erin passed with mostly misty spray flying up in the air, and with the sun behind her, it looked like smoke. The Farriers, probably because of less bouyant floats and lower beams, were making more of a splash.

Todd Olsen,
F-27 Raptor