Home	Vallejo Race May 2, 2009

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

This page is under construction. Stay tuned for more pictures & captions by, hopefully, Tuesday night.

Saturday's Vallejo Race kicked off the racing season. Light winds, some rain, and adverse current were part of the mix. At first blush, the results weren't too surprising. Though perennial winner Diana (Lou & Steve Zevanov) was leading by "half a mile" (they always say that), both Cassiopeia (Kit Wiegman) and Captain Hooke (Tom & David Newton) passed her on the way to the finish, with Luna Sea 4th and Orion, Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors, 5th. End of story? Not this time. Two years ago we started the fun fall All Islander Rendezvous. That's all sizes of Islanders. Dan Knox even bet a bottle of wine (or two, or three) against an Islander 30 (before he realized it wasn't an I-36). So we took a look at the results. Islander 36's, you've got work to do!!!!!

Though Kit Wiegman's Cassiopiea was first among the I-36 class with a corrected time of 4:00:12, the little I-28 Sagitta beat her by 8 seconds over four hours with a time of 4:00:04! If that's not enough, the Islander 30 Mark II Antares smashed that time with a finish of 3:48:27. Oh, if you're wondering why we start with pictures of the 82' maxi Sorcery, it's because they had 3 Pacific High crew on board - Vice Commodore Michelle Williams, Past Commodore Dennis Bush, and PH crew Dave ????. And their corrected time? 4:45:41 - That's just about an hour behind the I-30! I think each of them owe Dan Knox (4:11:29) a bottle of wine. Of course, Dan owes I-28 Sagitta and John New's Bahama Islander 30 Wuvula (4:03:17) a bottle of wine! GO ISLANDERS!!! Here's the story from: Hooke Log, 2009 Vallejo Race

The Rain was coming down pretty hard on Friday night before the race. I tucked myself into bed and wondered why I still to this thing…this racing. But, I wonder this before every race.

Race #1, Race to Vallejo:

Light air, light sprinkles, but warm. Ebb tide against us all the way.

Strategy: Get to the Richmond shore as soon as possible and stay close. Then at the Brothers, sail the mud line along the south shore of San Pablo Bay.

The starting line is long and there are only five Islanders. Lots of room. We decide to just run the line on starboard and tack onto port at the starting signal, hopefully, close to the pin-end, which we figure is closer to the weather mark. This works well for us but a little better for Diana as Lou and Steve get a boat length ahead and increase their lead. We buttonhook the weather mark and head for the Richmond shore for current relief and better air. We are the first to hoist a spinnaker but Diana is soon to follow and increases her lead to 300 yards before we get to Richmond. Orion with Ray and the BAADS (Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors) boys are trailing along, learning the way.

At the Richmond Bridge we see Luna Sea and Cassiopeia on our tail, gaining fast and then they catch us. They are taking our wind. It's no fair. We are neck and neck. Luna Sea tries to pass to leeward. When that doesn't work Dan tries to rollover us to weather. Outrageous! We take-up Luna Sea but it's a losing proposition and we end-up way out in the current. Hooke breaks off the attack and heads back to the Richmond shore for current relief; our chute is inches from the Richmond wharfs as we slowly make our way to the Brothers. Luna Sea and Cassiopeia stay out in the current and lose fifteen boats lengths to us. Diana is way out in front. Orion is steep on the learning curve.

In San Pablo Bay, Diana stays out deep and suffers. After the race Lou told us the difference between his knot meter and GPS indicated he was in a flood. We say… recalibrate.

In San Pablo Bay we keep to our strategy and sail in one foot of water (sometimes six inches). Luna Sea hits bottom three times following us! Cassiopeia is catching-up with her giant spinnaker (has that chute been measured?) We manage to stay ahead as we head for the Napa River. Diana has fallen way behind, out in the bad current.

Hooke is in first place by four boat lengths as we enter the river. We decide to show-off and jibe to get tide relief from the ammunition wharf on the southern tip of Mare Island, then jibe back again. A Jibe doesn't cost you like a tack, assuming you don't blow it! Hooke blows it twice! Cassiopeia takes the lead and gets the gun. That night I cry myself to sleep… bitter in defeat. What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Who am I?

Race # 2, Back to the Bay.

Light air at ten knots, ebb tide with us all the way.

Luna Sea tries to barge at the pin right before the gun. A sympathetic Hooke wants to let Dan in but considers those arrogant attempts to pass us the day before and "closes the door." The gun! Diana gets the best start on the Vallejo shore with better air but less current.

We race Diana down the river in a warm drizzle. We stay deep, high in the river and make it out the entrance without tacking. We are ahead. We go deep into the Carquinez Strait to maximize the favorable tide. We can feel the boat jerk sideways when we nose into the big current. A tidal river carrying us out to sea and the finish line.

Diana has to tack to make it out the Napa River entrance. But she does amazingly well sailing along the ammunition wharf. Five minutes later we cross tacks. We range Diana from a distance. It's close. They're on starboard. What is this? We should be ahead! We have to take their stern. Steve is driving from the low side and never looks as we crack-off and pass with inches of Diana's stern. Steve and Lou never look at us, never even hail, "starboard." Like we weren't even the slightest distraction to them. This small event on the racecourse is actually a great sign of trust and respect between two competitors and captures the best part of yacht racing. Thanks Lou and Steve, we appreciate your trust.

We sail along in light air and small seas for about a quarter hour, heading toward the Brothers. We're in the middle of the channel and Diana is closer to the rock wall along the northern shore. Sailing conditions are excellent. Then, from out of nowhere, it's Cassiopeia on our weather hip. Kit is gaining. He's getting ahead. Okay, that's it! I order the crew to stop screwing around with the iphone and come back on deck. Beau is asleep on the rail and begrudgingly sits up and yawns.

We race side by side with Cassiopeia in ten knots of breeze, basically overlapped for thirty minutes. Fantastic! We are racing side by side. We have the leeward position and eventually are able to slowly, excruciating slowly, crab-up on them until we throw a little turbulence their way. The Hooke crew sees Cassiopeia's jib luff flutter as our bad air finally hits them. Then their leach line lets go. We scream like schoolgirls as Cassiopeia falls behind in textbook fashion. One by one the Hooke crew head below for more beer, rice balls, chocolate cake and whatever it is they're giggling about on that iphone.

For the last quarter of the race we can't find Diana and worry all the way to the finish line they will magically appear out of nowhere and win. But there is no such thing as magic so Cassiopeia takes second, Luna Sea ends-up third, a minute out of first, Diana is forth, sailing in the wrong place with too small a jib. Orion learns the way.

(End of Hooke Log.)

On the return race the first three Islanders, Captain Hooke, Cassiopeia & Luna Sea, beat the entire J 105 fleet on corrected time. LUNA SEA BEAT THE FIRST PLACE J 105 BY ONE (YES 1) SECOND! They also beat the I-30 Antares, who was 4th among Islanders with a finish 2 minutes 46 seconds ahead of Diana, but Diana beat the I-28 Sagitta by 6:32, leaving Orion last, 6:06 behind Antares.

Pictures, so far, by Lorraine, (Luna Sea), & Rick Van Mell. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Here's are brief videos of Cassiopeia & Captain Hook near the Brothers:

Cassiopeia at The Brothers

Captain Hooke along Pt. San Pablo Piers

Golden start gets ...	a pot of gold.	Bay Bridge	Got Hooke covered	Wet balloons!
Past San Rafael Bridge	All 82 feet of ...	Sorcery is ...	covered with people.	Oops ...
but it was DREDGED!	First come, ...	first rafted ...	first partied.	What about me?
Next in line	Here come the ...	Islanders.	Cassiopeia leads ...	to the ...
finish line.	1st Place!	Captain Hooke ...	concentrates on ...	2nd Place.
OK, relax.	Diana ...	slides in as ...	3rd.	Well done.
Now for ...	Luna Sea ...	right behind and ...	looking good for ...	her finish.
Here comes an ...	Islander 30 ...	Antares that ...	beat all the Islanders!	Big crowd!
Fresh from Sorcery	No room for Islanders ...	let's go find them ...	there's Antares	And Peter Szasz!
Hookies ...	Myphi's happy for ...	Happy Dan	Debbie feeling good ...	Debbie feeling even better
Chester happy with a beer	Lorraine's redy too.	Double click	Double strum!	We've got rhythm ...
I'll wag to that.	Loony crew	I'll toast to that.	Pluckin'	Chuggin'
Clicken'	not again!	Tom's the Man	Good times ...	for all ...
"I agree!"	Under wraps ...	"what else ..."	Cork at spreader is ...	very good!!!
My turn ...	I want some.	Me too.	Good crowd ...	and happy too ...
all around.	We wouldda' had 'em ...	nope.	Winding down ...	The End.
Sunday morning ...	Hooke again.	Old Man and the Sea.

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