ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES — T
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / CHRIS EXCEPT AS NOTED
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he 89 entries were sorted into six one-design classes and five handicap divisions — the same breakdown as last year. We'll take a look at each one,
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he first Big Boat Series was held at St. Francis Yacht Club in 1964, just three years before San Francisco's Summer of Love. In its 53rd edition, this year's regatta had all the good vibes of that idealized summer in the '60s that the Bay Area has been celebrating in
Despite Beau Geste's domination of their division, Brady believes that the Pac52s are very even. "We've had the advantage of sailing the boat for two years, and we did a lot of racing in Australia and in New Zealand, so we feel really comfortable with the boat." The team
Karl Kwok and Gavin Brady of 'Beau Geste'
knows San Francisco Bay well, and has confidence in their mast and sail shape configuration for this venue. "When you're comfortable with your setup you don't second-guess your speed; you just focus on tactics and crew work. It's so close out there. We've been able to slip out and get a lead, but it comes down to a couple of feet. That initial lead is very subtle in this class. The boats are traveling so fast that one gust of wind on a 52 and you can close in really quick." Beau Geste came out just before Vic-
The Pac52 Class enhanced the buzz at this year's Rolex Big Boat Series. Pictured above are the blue 'Bad Pak' and orange 'Rio'.
2017. If it's possible for an event to be thrilling and mellow at the same time, this was it. Ruben Gabriel, who sailed on Frank Slootman's Pac52 Invisible Hand, summed up the feeling on Friday evening at the Mount Gay Rum Party: "Today was amazing," he said, "one of the best days of the year." The series was held on September 14-17, with two races each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and one longer Bay tour on Sunday. The first race each day had moderate breeze (a one-hour shoreside postponement was called on Friday; a shorter on-the-water postponement delayed the start of the single race on Sunday), but the wind amped up every afternoon with a typical summer westerly and the resulting Bay chop. Wind instruments wound up to the mid-20s on Thursday; the top numbers would fall by just a few digits on each successive day. Page 72 •
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• October, 2017
starting this time with the newest, most glamorous class of them all, the Pac52s. Pacific 52 One boat dominated this fiveboat class — hailing from Hong Kong, Karl Kwok's Beau Geste got all seven bullets. Kiwi tactician Gavin Brady is no stranger to San Francisco waters. "I sailed a lot with Vesper here and did a lot of training with Oracle," he told us. "Ironically 80% of this team is the same. We've been sailing with Karl for over 20 years now. This is his fourth Big Boat Series, and we've been with him for every one of them." Brady always looks forward to sailing on San Francisco Bay. "It's one of the best places to sail in the world. We had a TP52 here one time; another year we had an IMS 49; another year we had a Corel 45."
