Saturday, September 13, 2008

Rolex Big Boat Series - Day 2

Criminal Mischief, Chip Megeath, downwind under the Golden Gate Bridge
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


J105 and J120 fleets along the city front
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


Fleet tested by course and conditions
[source: Event Media]
Although the grey fogged-over conditions around the St. Francis Yacht Club seemed to deter spectators from gathering along the shore, building 10-15 knot breezes on San Francisco Bay were the only thing on the minds of competitors in the 111-boat fleet racing in the Rolex Big Boat Series. Principal Race Officers Kevin Reeds (Annapolis, MD) and Jim Taylor (San Francisco) started the fleet on time at 11am for the first of the day's two races. By the end of racing, some six hours later, each competing boat had accumulated close to 30 miles under its keel.

In IRC C, Dave Kirby's (Manhattan Beach, CA) J/122 TKO took the lead from John Siegel (San Francisco) and his Wylie 42 Scorpio. "So far, so good," said Kirby of racing to date. Noting that the boat excels in conditions similar
to today's wind range, Kirby explained that when it gets fluky, local knowledge comes in handy. "Norman Davant is the best tactician on this body of water," he said. "He nailed it. We port tacked the fleet at the first start and stayed in front and led for the whole race." Read on…

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