SFYC Regatta
Elite Keel

2013 May 18th and 19th

The San Francisco Yacht Club invited the F18 fleet for the Elite Keel Regatta this year. We had 4 boats signed up and were given our own start. This was a drop off from last year where we had 8 boats but several people were at other events decreasing our numbers. I was crewing for Philip (Wildcat), Charles was sailing with Jim (Wildcat), Alex and Jose (Sat) Ben (Sun) (Capricorn), Jesse and his crew (Tiger) was the line up for our fleet.

Saturday Philip and I got to the club early and rigged the boat and got it hoisted into the water. As we were rigging we saw Alex and Charles getting their boats ready. We got dressed out and launched for some practice. The conditions were great as we sailed out and sailed in the protected area at the West end of Raccoon Strait. This was my first time racing with Philip and the first Regatta for me as a crew.

We did tacking drills and trapping practice on the way out. Then we put the kite up and did some jibing practice and went over the procedure for trapping with the kite up. It seems weird that we had to do that, but even though I have been racing the F18 for 7 years it was my first ride on the front of the boat. We sailed out of the dead zone at the end of the strait and made our way to the race course.

The wind was light and shifty as the race started right on time and we were off for a 3 lap race. We were going from both on to trapping to double trapping back to sitting on. We were third to the windward mark and stayed there the whole race. I made several mistakes as crew and Philip was great to help me realize the mistake and learn from them. This was really good for me in learning more about the crew position and how I can be a better skipper. The race ended and we sailed back to the start and were almost immediately put back into sequence for a second race.

We had a good start and were doing much better in the second race. The wind had filled a little and we had good trapping conditions. While we were still in third we were closer and beginning to gain ground on the downwind legs. I was getting the flow of the boat and how Philip drove it. We were much closer and in range of moving up more but finished in third. We made our way to the start area and after 2 other classes went off we were in sequence again.

Race 3 saw a nice wind and a little bit of a shift. We were off and it was a tight race. All 3 boats were close on the upwind leg. Alex went to the wrong mark and dropped back on the downwind leg. Charles was leading but we were sailing well and right on his sterns as the second lap began. We were in second as we sailed upwind and when we turned down we made up a lot of ground and went through the gate right behind Charles. We tacked off for some clean wind but it didn’t pay and when the Race Committee shortened the course we took second without the last downwind to help us out.

The wind on the bay was dying and we began to sail back to SFYC. There was a large wind free area behind Angel Island and Matt Miller from Hobie Cat gave Charles a tow to the SFYC on the protector, while we joined a tow group with some of the Knapp fleet. With the boat tied up for the night we changed and went to the yacht club deck for snacks and drinks. Chicken Wings, potato skins, salsa and sour cream were provided and several people were hitting the bar for drinks. The fleet then went to Charles’ house for dinner cooked by Matt. Grilled tri-tip, salad, corn on the cob, with mixed berries and cookies were served. After much food and drink some of us left while some spent the night.

Sunday morning we got to SFYC and got the boat ready. After a few repairs and retuning we were ready for a cup of coffee in the SFYC before starting the day. We got dressed out and started to sail out to the race area. A great spin run to the back of Angel and the wind was very light. We got through and had some nice sailing in a building wind. Again we got ready to race and the race committee had us on the line right on time and we took the first start on another 3 lap race.

Philip and I were sailing well and each cross the boats were very close. Alex was out front and Charles and Philip and I kept switching second with Jesse in fourth. The downwind saw Philip and I take second place and we opened up ground on Charles on the upwind leg. We took the windward mark the second time in second and the downwind reach to the mark was a high speed bow diving run with me out on the trap with the kite up. We got down and turned back up fighting to catch up to Alex who was a rocket all day. The wind was really piping up and touching the low 20’s as we sailed up the course. When we got back to the windward mark we were right behind Alex.

As we started the turn down I went on the boat and began prep for downwind. Leeward board up, rotation control off, downhaul off, windward board up, reach for the tack line, and pitch pole we were in the water. We got the lines sorted out and pulled the boat over. Alex was gone and Charles had driven by but we were still ahead of Jesse. We cleared the mark and set the kite and ran down to the finish. We managed to keep Jesse behind us and got the third but easily could have won that race.

The fifth race the wind was up and waves were getting bigger. Charles went in and Jesse was driving in also. Alex chose to start with us and we were going to match race the last race even though all race positions were finalized. We started reaching down the line and at the gun turned up. I got knocked back by a wave and hit Philip but recovered and we were off for the upwind leg. We were trapped behind the shroud and still stuffed the bows in a wave. We both got thrown forward and I landed wrong on my knee. With my knee hurting and nothing to gain we decided to turn back. We radioed race committee and retired from the race. We reached back to Angel with a nice speed run and then it was into the wind shadow again. We got a tow past the island and back into wind and sailed into the SFYC.

We got boat up on the deck with the hoist and got showered and changed. After that we got the boat on the trailer and began de-rigging it. With the boat put away we walked down to the SFYC for drinks and conversation before the awards ceremony. We had a fun time and loved racing with such a great race committee and venue.