Home	Vallejo Race (up) May 4, 2013

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

Time to start off the racing season. It's a great, special event - "The Great Vallejo Race."

Plus or minus, it's a lousy 25 miles from the staring line on the Berkely Circle to the finish line in Mare Island Straits, just before the Valleo Yacht Club. So what's the big deal? The start is set up with a short half mile beat to windward, then turn right and head up past Red Rock, Point San Pablo, and clear Point Pinole, (while staying south of the San Pablo Bay deep water channel,) then turn left in to the Mare Island Straits, and cross the finish line.

As usual, San Francisco Bay served up it's usual set of fastballs and curveballs. Dan Knox led the charge with Luna Sea being first across the line and first to the first mark. Followed by Windwalker they both turned right and held high looking for more wind while trying not to get too close to Angel Island. The wiley foxes, Kit Wiegman, with crew Lou Zevanov (more on this later), rounded the first mark third, but then eased off to the east back toward the starting area and the Berkeley side of the course.

Those of you who read our Sail Trim/Race Clinic page know that Kit taught everyone to read THE TIDE BOOK. If you don't happen to have one, it reads: Sat May 4th, max ebb 1253 at 3.2 knots. With a start at 1210, you are at maximum ebb. So, Kit headed right, out of the current and was shortly ahead of both Luna Sea and Windwalker. The wind fans out linkthe fingersof your hand as it comes through the Golden Gate, and that means as you go from the main Bay north toward the San Rafael Bridge, the wind will move aft. About abeam of Southampton Shoal, Kit called for a spinnaker, and Cassiopeia was on her way.

Windwalker stayed to leeward of Luna Sea ans thus was able to pass her too by the itme they all got to Red Rock and the San Rafael Bridge.

Turning the corner into San Pablo Bay, the smart money plays the right side on an ebb. One competitor got too far right and ran aground, but, with something like 47 years of Vallejo experience between Kit and Lou,they tip toed along the shallow water up to Pt. Pinole, then watched those ahead of them to see if they needed to tuck even further right heading for Carquinez Strait.

With a big ebb building from the Siearra Mountains out through Carquinez Strait, at some point you had to go left to get into Mare Island Strait and the finish line. Lou and Kit aimed to do it early, and had to work their way around another boat. However, they didn't appreciate how important it was to get over alongside the north jetty for the last two miles leading to Mare Island Straits. At that time, Windwalker was across on the right side of the main channel and about 75 yards astern. When they crossed to the north side, they eventually wound up 5 minutes astern.

So the Islanders finished: 1) Cassiopeia; 2) Windwalker; 3) Luna Sea; and 4th Califia. We noted at least one I-28 and one I-30 Mark II in the race too. Tim Shea's "big sister Islander" Because - a Jenneau 45 - sailed past the outside of the finish line six minutes after Califia. Three cheers for Tim! Enjoy the picture below, and the videos too. We tried to take pictures of each Islander before and after their finish, and a short video of their actual finish.

The videos are below the pictures. Wind was guting in the 20 - 25 knot range which is why there is so much noise in the background. You can also hear the timekeeper counting out the seconds so the recorder can mark the time that each boat finishes when the whistle blows.

We start off with pictures of other boats finishing in this race with up to 300 participants, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the fun. Oh yes, great kudos to Lou Zevanov who related the sequence of events and who brought three of his regular crew aboard Cassiopeia for the race.

The race home got off to a shaky start as the limit buoy was OCS (On Course Side) of the true starting line so the entire I-36 fleet was over early and called back. Luna Sea was the last to get the word and played catch-up the rest of the day. It was a beat west in winds under 15 most of the way and the trick was to play the ebb current - this time staying out near the deep water channel. It was a repeat one, two for Cassiopeia and Windwalker, with Califia staying ahead of Luna Sea to take third.

Race To Vallejo: Place Boat Name Skipper Finish 1 CASSIOPEIA    Kit Wiegman 3:33:21 2 WINDWALKER    Richard Shoenhair 3:38:21 3 LUNA SEA    Dan Knox 3:54:08 4 CALIFIA    Tim Bussiek 4:07:xx MISCHIEF    Charles Hodgkins DNF Because Tim Shea 4:13:xx KAPAI    Richard Egan DNC THE IRISH ROGUE    Gary Connors DNC NANTUCKET    Richard Doyle DNC

Race Back From Vallejo: Place Boat Name Skipper Finish 1 CASSIOPEIA    Kit Wiegman 2:53:59 PM 2 WINDWALKER    Richard Shoenhair 2:56:34 PM 3 CALIFIA    Tim Bussiek 3:11:47 PM 4 LUNA SEA    Dan Knox 3:18:52 PM Because Tim Shea ? MISCHIEF    Charles Hodgkins DNC KAPAI    Richard Egan DNC THE IRISH ROGUE    Gary Connors DNC NANTUCKET    Richard Doyle DNC

Pictures by Rick Van Mell (and Lou Zevanov!). Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Big and small ...	they cross the line...	RC on duty ...	classic yawl ...
large and small!	A Cal 39.	Here comes ...	the first I-36 ...
Cassiopiea ...	taking sails down.	Here comes ...	Windwalker ...
about to finish ...	Across the line ...	and stowing sail.	The harbor, is over there.
Here comes ...	Luna Sea who is ...	in a crowd ...	After her finish.
Now here comes ...	another Islander ...	Califia ...	after the finish.
This Islander (Jenneau 45) ...	is Tim Shea's ...	Because.	A Islander 28!
All squeezed into ...	Vallejo harbor 1 ...	shot 2 ...	shot 3 ...
shot 4.	Cozy ...	ain't it?!	Lou, abord Cassiopiea ...
Winner Kit!	A Late I-30 Mk II!	Your Webmaster ...	taken by Lou.

Videos:

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Multiple Finish	1st - Cassiopeia
2nd - Windwalker	3rd - Luna Sea
4th - Califia	Because!

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