ALL PHOTOS SLACKWATER SF EXCEPT AS NOTED
DOUBLEHANDED FARALLONES —
Husband-and-wife team Mark and Kim Zimmer were the first mixed-gender crew to finish on the colorful F-25c 'Khimaira'.
T
he Bay Area Multihull Association normally runs their most famous race, the Doublehanded Farallones, in early spring, usually on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April. Well, we all know what was happening around that time, and one thing it didn't include was any yacht racing. As the Yacht Racing Association, the Coast Guard, clubs and other 'organizing authorities' began to figure out how to facilitate sailing events without violating county health orders, races that had been postponed or canceled during the spring began reappearing on the 2020 calendar. BAMA selected September 19 as the do-over date for the 41st Doublehanded Farallones Race. You may recall that during late August and much of September, wildfire smoke cast a pall on much of the West Coast. It blended with fog on the ocean to hamper visibility. The currents on the 19th weren't ideal, but they were manageable. "We obviously had to reschedule this year's Doublehanded Farallones Race from its original date at the end of March," reports BAMA's commodore, Truls Myklebust, "just as all of the Bay Area was getting shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. We seized on the September 19 date as soon as we heard that the Big Boat Series was canceled. Arguably, the second half of September Page 60 •
Latitude 38
• November, 2020
is a great time to sail out to the Farallones. For the last several years, BAMA has run a September Farallones Cruise, and that event has been very popular — usually with lots of whales seen along the way. "In addition to the change in dates, we made a few other changes this year. We ran the start from Baker Beach. That was a popular place to start races way back in the day, so it's a bit of a throwback, but we've had challenges getting the racers off from the Golden Gate Yacht Club several times the last few years in light winds in the morning, and racers have sometimes had trouble clearing the South Tower in the current when winds have been light. The Baker Beach start solved those issues, and gave racers the maximum chance of morning breeze for the getaway. In addition, Baker Beach provided a nice 'stadium' feel to the start, where we could observe the strategies that boats took after starting the race.
"My crew Dave's nose twitched: 'There is wind over by the rocks.'" "We also allowed racers to go on either side of Mile Rock, and we gave the option of rounding the island in either direction. That opened up additional strategic options for racers, and, in the event of rough conditions, there's a nice safety angle to allowing racers to tack
The J/125 'Rufless' sails the last leg, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the finish. They won the Stewart Kett Memorial Trophy. When we approach the Gate after an ocean race, we look for kites — that gives us a heads-up that it's a windy afternoon on the Bay.
around the island rather than have a potentially ugly jibe in big swell on the back side of the island. "Finally, due to COVID-19, we conducted all meetings over Zoom. Both the skippers' and awards meetings were virtual and online, and that proved to be very effective. Not only did that allow racers to be socially distanced, it also allowed racers to participate who may not have wanted to drive in heavy rush-hour traffic to an in-person skippers' or awards meeting. Some of the participants in the DHF each year are from outside the Bay Area, and that made it easy for them to participate. "The race committee wore masks and were socially distanced, outside, in the parking lot at Baker Beach in the morning, plus a single family on the committee boat, and then outside on the sea wall in front of GGYC for the finish. "For additional safety for this race, we secured the participation of volunteers in the Ham radio community in San Francisco, and they had well-positioned antennas and high-power radios that helped keep contact with racers. That proved very useful for the roll calls for late returners. Our Ham radio volunteers were able to reach all racers, even though they were well beyond the reception range from the finish on the sea wall in front of GGYC."
