Home	Three Bridge Fiasco 1/25/20

The wind gods were not kind to the hundreds of entries in this year's three Bridge Fiasco race. Only 42 of over 200 entries made it through fog, light winds, and calms to finish within the time limit.

Seven Islander 36s crossed the starting line and made a valiant effort to sail the course, but none made the finish line. Here are their reports as we have them.

Zingara, Jocelyn & Steve Swanson

It was such a bummer race--we couldn't see any of the bridges and the boats near us looked like ghosts. There was wind at the start which took us to the SF span of the Bay Bbridge in about 1:30 hrs then another 1.30 hrs to get under the Oakland span which was in fog. We could hear the traffic on the bridge, but couldn't see the bridge until we were right up to it (SF span).

The fog didn't lift until close to 1:00 p.m. Then it became a slog to get to Red Rock and by 3:00 p.m. No wind, boats parked on the bay and lots of skippers calling the RC to drop out (Kit dropped out before us--we caught some wind about 5 mins after he had called it, but it was just a lure). So we called in at 3:06 p.m. and headed back to SB Harbor for dinner at SBYC.

Of course, taking the boat back to CP Marina on Sunday we had some wind then that died around San Bruno mountain and picked up again (of course) just as we were approaching Coyote Point. We will be on a ship going to Cape Horn this time next year so won't be in the Fiasco. So far we have race in 8 Fiascos and managed to finish 4 races!

Jocelyn

Kapai, Rick & Blaine Egan

My son Blaine joined me for the 3BF this year. Kapai arrived at the start to find little wind and and a 2.5 knot flood. Most boats with higher ratings chose an easterly start taking advantage of the current. The wind picked up a bit right before our start and we managed to get off with a plan to simply get clear of traffic and see what the wind was like a bit north of the line.

Wind picked up a bit out of the southeast and we found ourselves in pea soup just behind and to the lee of Bill Nork on Zenith. Given that there was only 50 yards of visibility I secretly hoped that Bill actually knew where he was going! We began to catch Bill and as soon as he looked back and noticed he made a few minor adjustments, footed off negating our valiant advance.

Off in the grey we heard some clanging and suddenly saw we were heading just below the Alcatraz buoy. The flood accelerates at this point and Zenith just barely made it around by employing a little swing dance move that would have allowed him to tag the buoy with some Encinal YC graffiti if he was so inclined. Given Kapai's high deductible we elected to tack and head down the south side of Alcatraz with a goal to get to Bay Bridge.

We passed Blossom Rock in thick fog and about 6 knots of wind and eventually found ourselves becalmed with lot's of the fleet just north of the Bay Bridge near YB Island. It was so light we actually did a slow mo 360 after which we noticed Zingara off to the West with their own personal wind taking her slowiy under the bridge.

Figuring there might be more wind toward the city we headed that direction, found a little breeze and took a long arc around YBI only to find ourselves behind erstwhile I36 season champs Barry and Sylvia Stompe on the Hughes 48 Iolani. Subscribing to the notion that one should lead, follow or get out of the way we figured that Barry does this for a living... why not follow him.

By now the whole fleet was parked just off the Coast Guard station with no apparent progress. Finally the ebb kicked in and Iolani and Kapai drifted (we were sideways see photo) under the bridge. Now 12:40 PM and two bridges to go.

Finally the wind kicked in and we made it as far Richmond. We finally saw Zingara again as they appeared to be short tacking near the Richmond breakwater to avoid the worst of the ebb but in dying wind. Now becalmed off Richmond, we decided that a nice glass of wine back at South Beach was what the doctor ordered. Firing up the Perkins, Kapai retired and headed south.

Bagged one of three bridges and had a great time with one of my three sons who I am always delighted to spend time with. I think he had fun too.

Here are three photos of us following behind Barry and Sylvia Stompe, drifting under the bridge sideways and finally ebbing with the multitudes behind Treasure.

Looking for wind

Under Bay Bridge

Calling it quits

Zenith, Bill & Peter Nork

My eldest son Peter and I left Alameda about 7:30AM on Saturday, which put us off the GGYC starting buoy about a half hour before our designated start. The area was already pretty crowded and it was flooding like mad, so we spent about twenty minutes trying to guess where to try to place Zenith in the current before the start. Winds were very light at start, maybe 3 knots max. We were pretty preoccupied, so didn't really get to look around much or see which other I36's were around - we had 8 registered for the event.

With about 10 minutes to go, we headed North under power to clear some of the traffic and get the main up. We didn't pay too much attention to the current while raising the main, and by the time we got it up and headed back to the starting area, it was all we could do with the motor wide open to get back to our chosen spot and shut down the motor right at the time limit.

Before the race, we had decided to try to head East right from the start and see where that got us, figuring Mother Nature might decide whether we should head for Red Rock or Treasure Island. Turns out that we got pretty lucky at the start, as we had a mostly clear shot at the line (except for the twenty Moore 24's milling around), and got across within a few seconds of our start time. A minute or two later, a nice Southerly breeze came up and steadily built to 11-12 knots as we close reached for the vicinity of Alcatraz, with 2+ knots of current helping us along. Then the fog closed in!

As we got toward Alcatraz, we could only see a few boats, including Jocelyn and Steve Swanson on Zingara to weather of us and Rick and Blaine Egan on Kapai slightly to leeward of us. For a few minutes, we thought we might have a fun dual all day long with these two fellow Islander 36's if the wind held, but it was not to be. As Rick Egan mentioned, we barely spotted Alcatraz Island looming out of the fog, when we noticed the Alcatraz buoy coming up pretty quickly as the current pushed us right at the buoy. This buoy not only warns boats about Alcatraz Island, but also warns about a big rock called "Little Alcatraz", which lies between the buoy and the island and which is only visible at low tide. This rock has claimed many an unlucky vessel! Still pointed North, we tried and strained to get around the buoy, and just as it was on our beam about a foot away, I swung the wheel hard right and we "pirouetted" around the mark, missing it literally by inches! By the time I got done changing my underwear, we took our "rounding" as a sign that we should just keep on heading North toward Red Rock, never to see Kapai or Zingara again.

Now the fog really closed in, and the wind really died. We spent the next two hours bobbing with the strong current toward Red Rock, not exactly sailing but trying to keep the drift headed in the right direction. We did several involuntary 360's! It was a little eerie, then kind of peaceful when we got accustomed to zero visibility (really maybe a hundred feet at most), then a little scary as we could see bigger vessels on the AIS near us, hear them churning past and never seeing them! Maybe 4 or 5 encounters all told between Alcatraz and Red Rock. Ferries and tugboats, but no big ships.

We were really glad to have our AIS transponder working, not just to be able to see who was out there, but to also know that we were proactively sending an AIS signal to the large power vessels that were going by all around us. FYI, we also had the AIS app "Ship Finder" cranked up on our iPad, and it did NOT show all of the shipping that was out there which showed on our AIS transponder. Most, but not all. If you don't have an AIS transponder the app is the next best thing, and only costs about $4.00.

Anyway, we drifted until our electronic charts showed that we were right off Red Rock, yet we still couldn't see the island. Eye strain was beginning to set in, when for some reason I looked aloft, and there above the fog were the crags of the rock sticking out above the mist! As we rounded we went from almost zero apparent wind to maybe fours knots apparent as we turned upwind, so at least we had steerage, but now we were going up current, so it was VERY slow going. (We rounded Red Rock with two Express 27's, both of whom eventually finished the race!) We kept pushing South, and finally the fog burned off and the flood eased up, but the wind stopped and the Bay glassed over.

We pulled the plug about 2:45, with Angel Island still on our starboard beam. On the way back to Alameda, just East of Treasure Island we passed Eric Mueller and crew on Serenity, still sailing South wing and wing and trying to get under the Bay Bridge. Very impressive!

All in all, not a bad day, and the fog certainly got the 'ole ticker revved up a couple of times. It was a good way to spend some quality father/son time. We both reflected how on fortunate we were to have the opportunity to enjoy this sport together!

This will be Zenith's last race with the Nork family - we're putting the boat on the market to allow us to get a bigger boat to keep in Mexico as a "second home". Zenith is a wonderful boat, perfect for the Bay and the Coast, and she is well equipped for both racing and cruising. If you know anyone who may be interested, drop me a note at bnorkusa@gmail.com. Thanks!

Serenity, Eric Mueller & Roger Anderson

Serenity had an interesting if not very profitable race. We got an OK start although a little farther off the mark than I would have liked. We headed east initially although we really didn't have much of a choice. We caught a little breeze and headed quickly into the Fog. It brought back great memories of racing YRAs in the 70's. It was enjoyable sailing for me. Maybe i'm a little strange but I love sailing in the fog.

We ran into a couple of ferries who were obviously not having a good day with all of these crazy sailboats running around. We were doing petty well and were heading towards the bay bridge after the ferry encounters when we decided to tack towards YBI to keep out of their lanes. It looked like we could just make it. In retrospect we would have been better off going out farther, but I was hoping the current would take us around the island. It was not to happen as we snuck under the bridge at the bridge support closest to the island.

We quickly found a raft of similarly inclined boats essentially drifting back and forth. We were doing well boat for boat thanks to Roger. It was an august body including Cal 40's Express 27's and many other boats we recognized as well sailed boats. They eventually gave up one by one or found their way around. We finally gave up and just for fun went the other way around TI just so we could say we at least made it around one mark.

We saw a couple of fellow Islanders on the east side of the island heading home and eventually joined them in that cause after finally making it around the island. It was an uneventful motor home. Once there the minus tide was preventing us from making it all the way to our slip, so we stopped at the pumpout dock and headed to CPYC for free drinks and snacks. We ran into a couple of old friends and after a couple of hours brought the boat back and put it away. A great evening with wonderful crew. The Fiasco is always a fun race regardless of how it ends up!

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