San Francisco Classic and UN Challenge- August 9, 2003

REPORT FROM Z: Sail choice was going to be tough. Most sailors were rigging 9.0s and smaller but the winds down the course and out to Angel Island were not very strong. So I decided to go out and check it out for myself. I took the 9.0 out to the top of the course. The current at the South Tower was wicked and falling on a tack there would definitely cost. The 9.0 was plenty and the winds on the inside were strong. As I shot out to the North tower, a 9.8 was definitely in order. Coming back down to the Club on my practice run was no problem. The 9.0 will have to do.
A few others and I decided best to start on Starboard. Most of the fleet decided otherwise. With the winds light at the North and strong along shore, it was a no brainer. My start was a good one and I found myself well in front of my pack, nevertheless I found a way to screw it up. A fall on the first tack, in flat water was hopefully not a sign of the worse to come.
I was still able to make it upwind in good time. Staying away from the north tower and hugging the shore was a good payoff. To bad I fell. I survived the first tack around the Red Nun but fell at the North Tower boat. Stupid! Don't give up.
Coming down to leeward mark, the top of the fleet was slowing down. I assumed the winds were light so I headed deep for a while and then reached toward the mark. I stayed planing the whole way and caught some ground on the leaders. Now I was on auto-pilot and dialed in. The South tower was no problem and it appeared the same for Vlad who was also gaining on the leader.
Got my jibe at the boat and headed deep toward the Club assuming the inside would be light. Another payoff. I came down on Anita Rock for a pefect jibe on the mark. Chris and Mike were just ahead. Going deep first was working and I tried it again to Harding. Dave was on my tail but I could now see the leaders schlogging at Harding. Bummer or maybe lucky, we would all meet together and slowly work our way around Harding.
Bill, Steve, Mike, Mike, Al, Rob, Vlad, Chris and me. Waiting, waiting, waiting for a puff. Oh, there goes Bill, 100 ft lead. He's going to win........there goes Steve, Al, Mike, Mike, Steve............damn, I'm to fat.........Vlad.........this sucks......who's left..........Rob!.........Pump......he pumps........I pump........here we go..........I'll never catch those guys. It's Rob and I. It's time to decide. He goes low and I go high. We'll see how it works out.
The winds were light above Alcatraz but just enough to get throught the potato patch. Then it picked up and I could see.......I'm seeing double now........identical sails? Rob or Al about 100yrds from each other but I'm coming down fast and hard on the latter. We meet at Blossom on schedule and jibe in unisun. It's Rob. Somehow I get ahead of him and that's the last I see of 326.
Now for my next fish. Vlad. He's a bit ahead but I can see him. Petal to the metal and we're off. We make Blunt with unusual ease and Vlad is just 50 yards ahead. Then 30 yards at R-4 , then 10 yards at R-2. We part. Vlad jibes and I go deep past R-2. I go a 1/4 mile past R-2 and then jibe. I know what Phil Mcgain was looking at last year.....Nothing. I jibe and head right for the pier. I don't see any inflatable buoy so after a little confusion, I head for the top of the pier. My tactics pay off. Vlad is nowhere in sight and I can see Chris and Al a minute or 2 away. There's no way I can catch them so let's pray for wind and those 3 guys behind me better not be lightweights. It's over. I made it again. Pass me a beer.......................

Not much to say about the UN Challenge. I've never been good at it and this year was definitely no exception. On my second upwind leg...........BAM!!........ my adjustable outhaul clamp let's go and slides all the way to the clue. I can't sail like this and I don't want to ride on a boat............4 minutes in the water and only one side works. It will have to do. I sail a relatively flat 9.0 all the way back to the Club. It's good to be back. Better luck next year.

REPORT FROM S3: This year's Classic was a great race with the lead changing many times.It was windy for the upper 2 triangles at the start of the race so almost everyone was on 9.0's. After the triangles, Rob Hartman was way out in front rounding Anita Rock just off Crissy. Mike Z was in 2nd and I was in 3rd. As we reached across the Bay to Harding Rock, the wind got lighter and Harding Rock collected a bunch of the leaders - about 10 people ended up parked around the buoy. Rob and Mike Z ended up high on the slight ebb current while Bill Weir, Mike Percey, Al Muriel and I finally rounded the mark in that order. By the time I got going again, Bill, Mike P and Al were way ahead, with Bill at least 1/4 mile away driving down the Bay toward Blossom Rock. Bill, Al and I went below Alcatraz and Mike P went above looking for more wind. I was able to pass Al and make up some time on Bill and Mike P on this leg of the race.
When we rounded Blossom, Bill was in first, still with a good lead, and Mike was hot on his tail reaching toward Point Blunt off Angle Island. I chose a little higher line to miss some sailing traffic. No one else was close to us. I knew I'd have trouble passing Mike P on the reaches - he's pretty fast there - but we were both catching Bill. Mike finally passed Bill just before Blunt but Bill fought back on the jibe at the buoy and retook the lead as we were all pretty close heading toward the Bay Bridge and R2. Mike and I both managed to pass Bill before bounding R2 and heading back across the Bay to R4. I still didn't have any real speed on Mike but I knew if I could be patient, stay close and not blow up trying to pass him on the reach, I could probably pass and put some distance on him after we rounded R4 running down to the top of the Berkeley Pier. We passed R4 and continued on for a bit before the jibe for the top of the pier. I was pretty close to Mike when he finally jibed and I took it a bit farther before I turned. That put me on a line almost directly for the top of the pier and I never saw Mike again. The wind wasn't quite as strong as it was at the top of the course and water was relatively smooth so I was able to stretch out and really drive the board for the rest of the race - top of the pier to X in the circle and X to the break in the pier and then finish. I finished almost a minute ahead of Bill who was able to pass Mike P for 2nd place. Mike Z also ended up passing Mike P and was third.
Crossing the finish line started the clock for the Ultranectar Challenge race back to the St. Francis. I had some bad luck with weeds and it was enough that I had to drop in the water and clear my fin. Rob ended up winning the Challenge, with Mike Z 2nd and I ended up 5th.

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