Last Race Called for Wind

Well, the San Francisco Bay is famous for it's wind, but yesterday that would have seemed an understatement. Gusting to 32 knots in the channel and over 40 knots on the bay we decided to call the race off rather than flirt with disaster and have to clean that mess up after it happened. There is a saying, " It is better to be on land and wish you were at sea than to be at Sea and wish you were on land"

Till next time,


Mike

Winter Racing Season update

Well the February winter race date Feb 15 got postponed due to inclement weather (really windy) so it was actually held 2/22 where we had less wind and plenty of rain. The few souls who showed up were hearty indeed and all returned safely and had a great time anyway. After all the weather we get down here is just an excuse to use the foul weather gear we bought anyway. The results are as follows:
1st place- Dave Goeke
2nd place- Brett Herr and Peter McCormick

Totals for the season so far, excluding one race per entrant:

1st place Peter McCormick - 3.50
2nd place Brett Herr - 4.75
3rd place Dave Goecke - 5.75

December Winter Race

There was a bit more of a turnout this month as Dave Goecke, Brett Herr and Peter McCormick went head to head in light air to try to establish a leading position in the series standings. All finished the race and they posted the following results:

1st place Brett Herr .75
2nd place Peter McCormick 2.00
3rd place Dave Goecke 3.00



The series totals to date are as follows:

1st place Peter McCormick 2.75
1st place Brett Herr 2.75
2nd place Dave Goecke 3.00

Miraculously because there were only 3 entrants and there is a tie for first, nobody came in last. Go figure.

New 2008 Winter Series kicks off

Our new Winter racing series has begun. Due to the amount of requests we have received we are continuing our racing program though the winter season. For more details click on the above link and it will take you to the page with all of the information regarding this new once a month series. So far the scoring is as follows:


Peter McCormick - .75 pts
Brett Herr - 2 pts

If you missed last months race don't worry. Everyone is allowed to throw out their worst race in the series, so you can still join in and be competitive next month. The next race day will be Sunday, December 21, 2008. Show up early as the race starts at 1:00pm.


Fair Winds,

Mike

Final Beer Can Race of 2008

Well, this week was the final beer can race of the season. Unfortunately, I had a family emergency and missed it. I had prepared a photo slideshow for the post-race festivities at Sequoia Yacht Club, but the people in charge of the program weren't able to get it to play from the CD I gave them. So I've decide to post it here for all to see. It's not as great as it would have been on the big screen, but at least some of you will get to see it now. Be sure to turn on your computer's sound and enjoy!

Please plan on getting out there every Wednesday next year. The racing season starts around mid-April. Check back on Spinnaker's web site for the exact date.

Fair winds,
cj

Beer Can #25 - Sept 24

It was a balmy night. There will little wind in the channel but a very nice breeze as we got out to the bay. We were racing course 2—out to marker 12 and back.

I was racing on Odyssey, my friend Alex's 44' Islander, which is berthed at Bair Island Marina. So I couldn't be on the Merit dock to take pictures before the race.

I sent out email the day before, asking for someone to take pictures of the Merit crews for me, and Dave G kindly volunteered. So these pictures are all his. Where's the picture of your crew, Dave?!

Dave also gave me the run-down of who did what to whom after the race, so I've got the stats for you.

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M6	Nico
2	M7	Hans
3	M4	Dave G
4	M3	Brett
5	M5	Mike
6	M1	Peter

Congrats to all, and a big thank you to Dave for helping me out!

Beer Can #24 - Sept 17

I know... I've been very, very bad and missed a few weeks of races on this blog. Well, last night I shot a lot of pictures and talked to all of the racers and now I'm back on track and intend to write up the last 4 races of the season. Only 3 left! Better get out there if you haven't been in a while!

It was a gorgeous evening. We're into the extended season now, so the race started half an hour early and finished early, too, which was really nice. It was a strong ebb during the whole race with about 15-18 kt winds out of the northwest... just delightful conditions. We raced course 1, which is out to Y and back... the new race marker that was replaced a few weeks ago after it went missing in June.

I crewed on Slipstream, a 42' Catalina, for the first time. I was working the jib for a while and then the main for a while, but because there were so many crew members, I got several chances to shoot some pictures of the Merits out on the water... something I don't get to do much when I'm in one!

From all accounts, the Merits had a good start. Nico took the lead right away in M2, and Dave in M4 with Susan and my buds, Norbert and Kerry, battled M1 and M5 for second place and got it.

Smokin' J also had a bunch of my buds on board, and I was able to get several pictures of them... another thing I don't usually get to do because I'm often on it! Of course, Smokin' J has never gone aground when I've been on it!

So I don't have a lot to report, because I can't tell tales out of school (and there were some very interesting tales told to me last night!), but suffice it to say it was a glorious evening for sailing, and a lovely time was had by all.

Hey, I just realized that I don't know the order the other Merits came in. Please post a comment with whatever info you know!

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M2	Nico
2	M4	Dave G
?	M1	Hans
?	M3	Mike
?	M5	Vadim
?	M6	Peter
?	M7	Brett

Please check out my Picasa web album for lots more pictures!

2008 Cheeseburger in Paradise

Well the latest Cheeseburger in Paradise was a huge success having over 30 participants and yielding 2 class winners for the first time in the events history. The Merit 25's were historically the annual race one design boat, but there were so many people signing up for the event that we had to add Cal 24's and the J29. Since there were 7 merit 25's we decided to give that design it's own award and also give an award for the best place overall. It was a long race to the San Mateo Bridge and back as the winds were light and the current was a fairly strong flood. The winners are as follows:

Overall Champions -

Boat - J29
Skipper - Philippe Piernot
Crew - Nico Popp
Laurence Popp

Merit 25 Champions -

Boat - M6
Skipper - Peter McCormick
Crew - Bruce Rosenthal
Tara Travers
Brendon Vining

Kimi Kosugi, who won the last two years races in a row came in a close third and was the second Merit 25 to cross the finish. Congrats to all racers and a special thanks to all the friends and family that showed up to support this event. Lots of Cheeseburgers and beverages were consumed in the celebration of this extremely popular annual regatta. We hope to see you here next year.

Beer Can #19 - August 13

It was another exciting evening at the Redwood City beer can races. We had very colorful crews on all 7 Merits plus a Santana. It was a beautiful warm summer evening with 15-20 kt winds out of the northeast, which made for a very active beat up the channel. Lots of tacking was done by all.

The tide was dead low shortly before the start of the race, so we had a 3 kt flood all the way out and back. It certainly felt like more.

This week, I got a lot of pictures and had a little fun with them. Check it out!

M1 - Persistent Peter

M2 - Hiding Hans

M3 - Nonchalant Norbert

M4 - Skillful Stan

M5 - Jiffy Jeff

M6 - Able Andrew

M7 - Missing Mike (where is he???)

S4 - Dizzy Dave

I was in M3 with Nonchalant Norbert and one other crew member, Felix. We got a slow start and had a slow boat, so we were essentially at the back of the pack all the way out to marker 12. So what did we do all that time, you ask? We tacked and tacked and tacked and tacked and then tacked again! We must have tacked about 50 times by the time we rounded the mark.

Oh, and speaking of the mark... We were about 100 yards back when we saw Lady Kay (one of the big boats) literally shred her jib on marker 12. I heard all sorts of stories from the boats around her, but it seems like a case of bad judgment and unpredictable wind in a tight situation. Bummer...

We saw Jiffy Jeff and crew in M5 (a known fast boat) heading back when we were only about half way between 2 and 12, so I'm guessing M5 won, but I'm not sure. I know we weren't last. M6 came in after us, and S4 (who I hear started on time this time!) came in after them.

It was a lovely evening, though, and a wonderful time was had by all!

Check out my Picasa web album for more pictures of the race, the originals of these pictures, and larger versions of these pictures. Enjoy!

Say Cheeseburger!

Well the upcoming Cheeseburger in Paradise Regatta & BBQ is already generating some buzz. Many boats are reserved and club boats are beginning to fill. The course has just been determined. All racers should be here by noon for boat assignments. The skippers will then be briefed as to the course and starting times for each class of boats as the crew readies the boats for the race. If you haven't signed up yet do so now- today so you can be assured a spot on the boat of your choice.