THE RACING
Race Committee has canceled the Saturday, January 5, Winter Series #3." They were falling like dominoes on Friday evening. Tiburon YC canceled Saturday's Mott Midwinters. TYC has rescheduled that race for Sunday, March 3. "This afternoon, NOAA has upgraded
LATITUDE / CHRIS
The Weekend that Wasn't to Be The first inkling we had that the first weekend of 2019 would not be a successful one for sailboat racing on San Francisco Bay came to us by way of a bay to the south. "Sailflow at Monterey Wharf predicts average of 29 mph with gusts to 50 out
Sausalito Yacht Club sits out rain squalls and a gusty south wind on the intended race day, Sunday, January 6.
of the south for noon Saturday," wrote Jack McAleer of Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club on Wednesday, January 2. The next day, he advised the Mercury fleet: "The forecast for Saturday is too dire to run the Perry Cup racing. We can't recall having canceled two months in succession before — crazy year!" We anxiously awaited word about the races scheduled for San Francisco Bay that weekend. The first weekend of the winter months is the busiest for midwinter series, so there were a lot of races to check on. Next to fall was Richmond YC's Small Boat Midwinters. "Racing for all classes is canceled on Sunday, January 6," wrote RYC's Nancy Petengill. "Wind forecast is 15 to 25 knots with higher gusts. Heavy rainfall is also forecast." One El Toro sailor observed, "Maybe for El Toros but what about the fast boats? I wouldn't call it off yet." He was thinking some Laser sailors might be into that sort of thing. Later that afternoon, Hans Spanjaart of Sequoia YC said, "Due to expected high wind conditions, and with input from the US Coast Guard, the Sequoia Page 88 •
Latitude 38
• February, 2019
wrote in an email to the fleet on Saturday evening. "We will send out an announcement via email at approximately 8 a.m. to confirm the status of the race. "This decision is always difficult because forecasts can be only so accurate. We do not want to cancel the event but will if the weather will put racers and race committee crew in danger. The current outlook calls for a front to move through tomorrow midday." On Sunday morning at 8 a.m., Prouty wrote: "The weather has had its way today. I have canceled the race due to the dangerous conditions. Stay home and dry." Sunday actually turned out to be the worse of the two days. When Saturday's system seemed to pause and take a breath just offshore, the naysayers started in on social media, criticizing — sometimes in rude language — the calls to cancel. Gusts within the Bay that morning were hitting 40 knots. The best response we saw: "If you want to go sailing, go sailing." Nathalie Criou and her crew on the Figaro 2 Envolée did just that. "We were planning to do the Golden Gate Midwinters, but that was canceled," she told us. "Everyone was here, so we decided to go out and practice. "That is the second time that a race has been canceled and we've gone out to practice. You need to have a boat that's OK with it." The Figaro — and Nat — love heavy air. "There was nothing that was extreme. The difference between that weekend and the summer conditions that I have seen is that we had rain whipping our faces. Like squalls, like a Hawaii race when you have squall after squall after squall. You'd have gusty, very heavy wind, and then nothing. And then
its forecast from gale watch to gale warning for the San Francisco Bay Area for January 5 from 2 a.m. to 3 p.m." wrote Encinal rear commodore Jens Jensen. "As a result, the race committee has decided, in accordance with the EYC Jack Frost Sailing Instructions, to abandon all races for tomorrow, specifically canceling races #5 and #6 of the Jack Frost series. 'Envolée's crew took advantage of the storm on January 5 to get Concern for the safety in some heavy-air practice, including tucking in the second reef. of all racers and race committee personnel is the primary reason for canceling." Sausalito YC was optimistic about their race on Sunday. The forecast as of Friday was looking dire for Saturday but not quite as bad on Sunday. "The current weather conditions have many racers concerned as to whether or not we will be holding our Chili Midwinter race tomorrow," SYC PRO T im Prouty
ENVOLEE
When it rains it pours, and most Midwinter races in January were impacted by either too much wind or not enough. The second weekend of the month found the sweet spot in between. Actual race reports feature Corinthian YC, Berkeley YC and Island YC Midwinters, plus the New Year's Day Race in San Diego. Variable like the weather, Race Notes round out this section.
