2011 StFYC Woodies Invitational Regatta
By: Brock de Lappe (USA 121)
Posted: June 6, 2011
Team Wilson Storms to Woodies Win
At Gas House Cove, L to R, Daniel & David Wilson, Eric Kaiser, Don Wilson and Mark Van Criekinge.
The outcome of the annual 2011 Woodies Regatta at the St. Francis Yacht Club had a familiar outcome, though the conditions were anything but normal for early June. Team Wilson on USA-106, skippered by David Wilson with father Don and brother Daniel as crew, posted a perfect score of four bullets. Peter Jeal and Susan Parker in USA-113 took second and new father Mike Goebel came in 3rd. (Maybe we can’t call him “The Kid” anymore.)
What made this year’s regatta memorable was the unusual weather. Late in the week a Gulf of Alaska low swept down the Pacific Coast, parking offshore of California which eventually dumped record amounts of rain on the northern part of the state. We were almost able to get in a race Friday evening in advance of the heavy overnight rain. There was just enough wind for boats to ghost out of the marina towards the start line. But then the wind died completely and the fleet was left at the mercy of a building ebb current. The only sweat broken that day was from paddling to get back to the harbor.
Saturday morning’s rain delayed the start of the first of three races until after noon. The southeast wind was a bit disorienting, as the weather leg was beating east toward a mark set NW of Alcatraz. Murphy’s Law was alive and well for the first race. As the first of the Folkboats reached the weather mark, the wind died and the early rounders were swept deeper to the east by a strong 3.7 knot flood. Trailing boats added to the pile up, along with a number of Knarrs. When the wind picked up enough to move against the current, the fleet discovered that the downwind gate had been swept away. The ensuing chaos resulted in the StFYC race committee abandoning the race. The wind gradually built through the afternoon allowing two more races to be run without incident, with the Wilsons winning both, in close pursuit by Eric Kaiser.
The Sunday races were postponed until the wind clocked around to the familiar westerly. The committee set the start line off of Fort Mason, with a weather mark off Presidio Shoals. Given the 3.6 knot flood Sunday afternoon, both races had the fleet heading to the City Front for relief. In the first Sunday race, the Wilsons secured the pin end of the line, were first to the shore and basically became untouchable from then on. As is case with such races, the short tacking up the City Front created lots of crossings situations and hails of “Sea Room” mere yards off the rocks. The second Sunday race was similar to the first, though the skew of the start line tended to shift the favored end toward the committee boat. The real excitement during this race was during the weather leg when a fleet of racing International 18’s blew right through the Folkboats at high speed. The close encounters had the potential for some real disasters which were fortunately avoided.
Peter Jeal, USA-113, had a strong showing and finished 2nd for the regatta, with Mike Goebel, USA-109, securing 3rd. Despite three second place finishes, Eric Kaiser, USA-122, finished 4th overall after being DSQ in race 3. Rounding out the top six finishers were Tom Reed, Jr., USA-111, 5th and Chris Herrmann, USA-108, 6th. All in all, it was a regatta to remember and a great deal of credit goes to the StFYC race committee for their handling of what proved to be both unusual and difficult conditions. What with accelerating climate change, maybe next year we’ll have a waterspout to contend with.
