THE RACING SHEET

Island YC's Island Days sailed on February 24-26, a weekend of challenging weather. Six races were completed in no more than 8 knots, with shoreside postponements on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, March 12, was IYC's Island Days #5, the final race of the series on the Estuary. With five races scored, each boat picked up a throwout, letting each exclude its worst race — or sit at home and exclude the final race. Thirty-four boats raced at least once in the series. Seventeen came out for the last race, in overcast and stormy-looking conditions.

The wind was fr om the southeast when the committee picked the courses and got off the first waves of starters on reversed courses R5 and R4. Partway through the race, however, the wind clocked and built slightly, so that the first finisher, the Soverel 33 Good and Plenty, spent only 38 minutes racing. Other boats finished in less than an hour. It rained intermittently throughout the race, but it was otherwise a very pleasant day.

Racers reassembled at the Boathouse Tavern, at the corner of Clement and Stanford in Alameda, to receive prizes from the club's vice commodore.

IYC racing on the Estuary will resume on Friday, April 14, with the first Island Nights race.

— richard r.

Cloud. The first two classes started on Friday, March 10, in driving rain and a 20-knot southerly. The wind was predicted to dissipate and the rain to increase. Both predictions were spot-on. Soon genoas were hoisted. The lead boats cracked sheets to get to the westerly winds about 30 miles offshore — Westerly, a modified SC52, led the way.

The first night was moist. Four outta five sailors surveyed agreed that the way to stay dry is by use of a credit card. Buy the best foulies you can afford. Hang them off-watch as close to the engine box or other source of heat as you can find.

Match-racing action on March 5, with StFYC's J/22s provided for the second stop in the 2023 California Dreamin' series. Saturday's blustery rain gave way to Sunday's beautiful, sunny, clear and breezy conditions.

IYC ISLAND DAYS (5r, 1t)

SPINNAKER 1 — 1) Good and Plenty, Soerel 33, stis Fennell, 4 points Cassiopeia, Islander 36, Kit Wiegman, 12; 3) Tramp Boat, Farr 1020, James Dumas, 14. (8 boats)

SPINNAKER 2 — 1) Loose Cannon, J/22, ens ensen, points Faster, Faster!, Merit 25, David Ross, 7; 3) Dream Catcher, J/24, Steven Bayles, 10. (5 boats)

COLUMBIA 5.5 — 1) Carina, Scott McCoy, 5 points Maverick, Ken Bodiley, 7; 3) Rogue, Ryan Nelson, 16. (4 boats)

SANTANA 22 — 1) Anemone, Hank Lindemann, 5 points Fun, Chris Nicholas, 6; 3) Three Fisted Rat Boy, iseppe a elle, 13 5 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER or PHRF 200-300 — 1) Puff Mommy, ar or 0, isa o r, 5 points 2) Alpha, iper ne esi n, lan e ert, 1 3 Loco2, Mercury, Paul Mueller, 14. (8 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

Cabo in a River

Every two years, Newport Harbor YC of fers sailors an excuse to sort out their Transpac plans by hosting a race to Cabo San Lucas on the tip of Baja. This year, the sun-kissed downwind slide along the coast was a li'l different. Enter the Atmospheric River — what used to be called a Pineapple Express.

Putting their bows on the line were 31 vessels, from Rio100 to the Farr 39 White

Fog rolled in on Day 2, and discussions with commercial traffic and AIS were key to safe pilotage. The wind for the lead Day 1 starters clocked from 305° to 330° true. Most vessels jibed back and forth, tempted to test for compression along the shore, knowing there was more velocity out west, while trying to minimize miles sailed.

The rain came in squalls now. Sunfish, whales, porpoises, seals and turtles welcomed us to the fun side of President Trump's Wall.

After a full day of drifting and chasing zephyrs, the Day 2 starters began their charge to the front. Most of these vessels can equal the wind speed with boat speed to about 10 knots. The two MOD70s go more like three times wind speed.

Life aboard turns into watch on and watch off after about three days. The modern navigation computers keep the driver struggling to stick to 90% VMG. The winches keep spinning to catch waves, and finally the sou'westers were traded for sunglasses.

The virtual finish line is well of fshore where two marks on land align. Usually it's best not to be there in the morning when the winds are light, but you don't necessarily get to choose. Rio100 did not take the lead until the final 10 miles — the 24-year-old Westerly kept the leadbottomed money-guzzlers at bay for more than 800 miles. Find full results at www. nhyc.org

— andy schwenk

Race Notes

The Etchells Midwinters Championships on Biscayne Bay in Florida were

With stiff competition, the most consistent team of the season, who had been a bridesmaid on the podium all year, earned the overall series trophy for the second year in a row: Bay Area sailor Jim Cunningham's Lifted. His SFYC/ NYYC team included Steve Hunt, Erik Shampain and Serena Vilage.

The Lifted team followed that up with one better when 46 Etchells took to Biscayne Bay for the Coral Reef Cup, which served as the class's North Americans, on March 17-19. Cunningham climbed to the top of the results to became the 2023 North American champion.

Melissa Litwicki, Jasper and Robin Van Vliet, William Pochevera and Anthony Jacuzzi — all active members of the San Francisco J/24 fleet — went to Melbourne, Florida, to race in the 2023 J/24 Midwinters, hosted by Eau Gallie YC on February 24-26. "We placed 10th overall (out of 28) and fourth in the Corinthian class," reports Melissa. "The conditions were light in the morning but filled in nicely as the day went on, and it was a real treat to be spending the end of February in flip-flops weather while the Bay Area was getting battered with winter storms."

Nicole Breault and her Vela Racing crew of Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer, Karen Loutzenheiser and Maggie Bacon topped seven other teams on March 4-5 to claim the second California Dreamin' match racing stop in San Francisco. The circuit will conclude at Long Beach YC on April 1-2, sailing in Catalina 37s.

The Pacific Cup has announced a new Bobbi Tosse Trophy, to be awarded to a boat racing under PHRF.

— latitude / chris