Rolex Big Boat Regatta Thrills Race Fans

By Bill Picture  
Published: October, 2007 

The Big Boat Regatta is one of the most spectator-friendly of the big boat races; the finish line for the last race of the day in each class is set a few dozen yards away from the St. Francis Yacht Club’s deck. Deep water at the edge of the club’s property allows competing boats to come practically within spitting distance of the crowds that gather onshore. By the series’ end on Sunday, spectators had lined the entire shore from Pier 39 to Crissy Field, watching sailors maneuver their vessels through the fast-moving pack and attempt to harness afternoon gusts of 12 to 15 knots.

Organizers, competitors and spectators enjoyed nearly postcard-perfect conditions for this year’s four days of races. The entire series was set against a background of mostly clear skies, except for a thin veil of fog steadily standing guard at the entrance to the Bay and enshrouding the Golden Gate Bridge, which is the halfway point for many of the races in the Rolex Big Boat Series.

Larger boats in the IRC fleets raced to a designated mark beyond the Golden Gate, just offshore from the Point Bonita Lighthouse. Organizers chose this location because winds and currents where the Bay meets the Pacific make for sizeable swells. These swells, they say, help separate the men from the boys.

Of the more than 100 boats entered in this year’s grand-prix, which took place from September 13-16, nearly one-third represented yacht clubs located outside of the Bay Area, 14 from outside of California. In fact, competing in the four IRC-handicapped and six one-design classes that comprise the Rolex Big Boat Series were crews from as far away as Vancouver, Tokyo and Torquay, a seaside resort area in southern England.

One of the most competitive classes in this year’s Rolex Big Boat Series was the J/105 class. One-third of the boats competed in this class, making it one of the event’s fastest-growing categories. Organizers say this is because crews from all over the United States are gearing up for next year’s J/105 North American Championship, which the St. Francis Yacht Club is set to host in August 2008.

Returning J/105 class champion Chris Perkins of San Francisco and his vessel, Good Timin’, once again beat out the competition. After having taken some time off recently, Perkins and his crew were afraid they might be a little rusty. We are shaking off the cobwebs for this regatta, he said. On Sunday, Perkins was awarded the Commodore’s Cup, one of six Perpetual Trophies re-awarded each year.

IRC B class competitor Lani Spund of Los Gatos, skipper of Kokopelli2, was neck-and-neck with a crew from Sacramento going into Sunday afternoon’s final heat. But, in the last race, he managed to earn the one point he needed to break the tie. Spund was awarded the City of San Francisco Trophy, one of the two golden spades used to break ground for the Golden Gate Bridge back in 1933.