SF Classic/UN Challenge Day 1

7.7.07- may have brought some unforeseen luck for some sailors but anyone of the 15 windsurfers and kiters who finished this years SF Classic and UN Challenge had been training hard all season for the premier long distance race in the US Windsurfing National Ranking Tour.

A light wind and fog greeted the formula and kite fleet on Saturday morning for the skippers meeting on the race deck of the St. Francis Y.C. Soon enough by 2:30 the breeze filled in for a start just off Anita Rock in front of Crissy Field. The tide would be flooding all afternoon and the race would take sailors on a 45+ mile journey outside the golden gate and around 14 downwind gybe marks before heading through the end of the Berkeley pier and coming back upwind for the Ultra Nectar Challenge. Most sailors choose their 10.0 and ML boards as thats the unofficial SF one design.
The fleet was split at the start with half on port and half on starboard. I opted for port at the pin just above Mike Z and Ben. We crossed the starboard tackers with no problem and headed out to the breeze. Ben pulled away with some amazing speed while I worked my angle the best I could to shut Mike Z out. It was the beginning of a long race but every battle counted. David Wells got away clean on port below us and was out to a good start on his new L6 and finworks fin. I looked back to check the starboard tackers who were getting a nice inside lift at this point and climbing but it was still a bit sketchy near shore. Ben was the first to tack as he ran out of room heading towards the north tower. I carried it out further as I knew there was a strong flood and clearing the south tower was number one priority. As we got closer to the red nun just outside the gate, it was evident, the San Francisco conditions were indeed classic. The standing 4' voodoo chop hit the fleet like a mack truck in LA traffic. Boards were going down left and right...The leaders falling like trees in a storm.
I rounded the top mark with Mike Z in town and Eric just in front of us. Ben was down, Steve S was down, Percy was down and soon enough I was down as I tried to go for the chicken strap and go deep through the chop. With a quick recovery in the crazy conditions I was back up in the race heading down to the mark just inside the north tower- still in 3rd place. As we headed down across the bay towards the Presidio shoal marker, it was evident the flood was strong and the wind light near shore- what to do- come in low with speed or take the high route and work the flood?
Neither route worked for me as I was at the mercy of the puffs coming down the course. Percy , Al and Steve S all came in strong an managed to pass me while I was cursing to myself- standing still near the mark, waiting, just waiting for a puff to come down the course. Its all about recovery I though as I proceeded back upwind with Steve S. and Al just in front. One more time around the top mark separated the boys from the men and soon enough we were off on the reaching part of the race. There wasn't a whole lot of passing here but up in front David Wells was walking away from Eric in 2nd. The rest of us followed in tow zig zagging across the bay from Anita rock to Harding; under Alcatraz to Blossum, back to Harding- over to R4 and back to R2. It wouldn't be the Classic if something exciting didn't happen.
Being out in front gives you a great opportunity to sail your own race but this time Davis forgot to round R4 and gave the race the Eric who was well prepared with sight lines on all the marks. On the reach to Blossum Al, Steve S and Mike Z were all putting the petal to the medal. There wasn't much I cold do with those guys in front of me except wait for them to make a mistake. Not likely as Steve S has only missed this race 2x since its start in 1978. Last year he didn't even stop for a boat load of drowning sea-scouts! The man has priorities! Al had the unfortunate experience of finding some waterfowl to make the leg interesting. He slammed into a bird sending him into a great catapult. I quickly turned on the afterburners to catch up but he hung in there for the next 2 legs until we turned the corner to go downwind to the Berkeley pier. I rounded just in front of him but at this point there was only 2 more legs left to push. Steve and Mike Z were a good 30 seconds enough ahead and Eric and Percy were a decent minute up from me. David Wells snuck in there to salvage a 5th in front of me but was obviously disappointed after leading much of the race.
Nothing to do but forget about the previous hour and ten minutes and concentrate on the next half of the race back up wind. I immediately tacked to port going back to the stronger breeze shooting a gap in the Berkeley pier with David. I was climbing on most of the fleet and by the time I got to the first cross I had made up a lot of distance. My goal was to stay left of the fleet to get out of the flood. Eric took the Angel island shore a bit too close while Percy was getting some great wind just below Alcatraz. The chop at this point was steep and close together. I was just trying to eep the board going with the best VMG possible. I tacked back early once when I could clear Point Blunt and sailed up towards the Tiberon peninsula. It was getting lighter in there but I had some decent separation between the fleet and on the way back managed to cross Percy. It wasnt untill I was coming across the middle of the Bay did I see Steve S who chose the city front side to come up wind on did I realize I had a chance of winning.
I think they key was just wanting it. I knew I didn't have the best downwind race so coming back upwind I gave 110%- even when sailing on my own not in close proximity to the fleet. The 70cm kashy fin points like an Americas cup boat even when overpowered- theres a lot of lift. Off the breeze, its a little hairy in the voodoo chop but Mike Z factored that in with the double chicken strap this year.
It wasn't until later in the evening when the elapsed time came out did we realize that Ben- who rounded the bottom mark 10 minutes behind me- sailed a faster upwind course than me by 73 seconds. He was really flying with his 11.6. I didn't think it was possible but over the long haul it was his better vmg than won. Ben goes for speed. Hes a big boy weighing in at 210-220lbs. Combine that with a fast rig and some serious footing and you've got your upwind champion.
Congrats to him and Eric for showing us how to get the job done.
A couple of hundred photos from the race- can be found here
Thanks again to Chris for enduring a wet day on the water!
Results and Al's gps tracks can be found here

2006 Sf Classic

The SF Classic and UN Challenge is an endurance race like no other. I went into Saturday's race with a positive additude- thinking I had a good chance at the top 3 or 4 places. I had the board speed, the tactics and the endurance for the long distance race.
First big decision was what to rig. I had sailed the 9.0 the day before and it was just a great sail- perfectly balanced on the ml06 and kashy fin. The classic course is a lot of reaching so I decided on the 9.0 as its been getting big the last few afternoons and conditions can change so much across the bay. Normally for formula windward leeward racing I would choose a 10.0 as my small sail as you want to be prepared for the lulls.

The breeze was still lighter on the inside near the shore so I decided to start on port tack near the boat to get out to the wind line first. I came down the line, ducking most of the starboard tackers and shot up getting a clear lane. As the fleet progressed up to windward, I was closing the angle on the guys who started above me on port. At the top mark, it was Steve S, Bill W, and Crad in front of me. The first reach down was light so we all gybed early and came into the boat at the north tower with speed. I was able to pass Crad here but knew I had to keep the leaders in sight. As we shot across the bay to the presido shoal, I knew the 9.0 was a good decision as it was a solid 18-22k already. Unfortunatly at the shoal marker we all came to stand still for several minutes and the rest of the fleet caught up. The top 3 exited just as the arrived and we were on to lap 2 of the top triangle. I overstood the red nun as to come in with speed and tack around as close to the mark as possible. There was a strong flood up at the top of the course making it difficult to get around the mark.
As we sailed downwind again, it was evident Bill with his 9.8 was going deeper than Steve and I on our 9.0s. Steve went high and had to double gybe to make the mark. I stayed as deep as I could but was well high of the mark and gybed with Mike Z on my hip at the mark.
As we reached across the bay towards Anita, I felt Mike putting on the pressure. I was in control on the 9.0 but certainly not pushing the envelope as there was some decent chop to deal with. I had enough speed to keep Mike off my tail and rounded Anita in 3rd behind Bill and Steve S. Bill went low on the next leg and I stayed in the outside strap for more speed and rolled over the top of him. With Steve 20 seconds ahead I found my pace for the rest of the race.
Once we rounded Harding, there was some commotion on the water as there was a capsized yacht nearby. I didn't think twice as there was another sailboat on station helping out. It's a split second decision you make and since Steve didn't show any signs of stopping I kept going strong in route to Blossom. I was just concentrated on the gnarly chop in front of me. Several guys in our fleet stopped to assist the situation as they saw several kids in the water and sailboat sinking! Once below Alcatrez on the reaches, the 9.0 was still a handful but I was doing everything to stay sheeting in with power and control. I looked behind several times and say David Wells pushing Mike Z but not closing the gap any one me. With each rounding (and there are several down there) I counted the seconds between Steve's rounding in front of me and my rounding. I tried to knock off a few seconds each time but Steve never let up!
It got really ugly in the middle of the bay and I was just hoping to survive with my foot in the leeward strap surfing down some decent chop and swell. Once around the Berkeley pier it was smooth sailing on a beam to broad reach to the Olympic circle mark X. I'm glad I had Steve in front or I would have never found that mark! One more reach to the finish! I was able to hold off Mike and David from behind and finished 2nd about 1 minute behind Steve S.
Going back upwind proved to be another endurance marathon. I was certainly glad I had a 9.0 at this point! With Steve leading the way out, we sailed through a lot of weeds. Steve got caught up in some of them and went down to clear with fin. I motored past him and was in the lead. At this point I had lost track of Mike Z as his dark sail was just too hard to see on the water. I made my way over to Angel Island with Steve in tow and crossed the bay again back to the SF city front where Mike Z crossed me. I knew at that point he had made up at least 30 seconds on my time so catching him would be difficult. I sailed back to the middle of the bay hoping to stay powered but overstood the finish line and came reaching in. Mike was able to finish 30 seconds in front of me to take the Challenge and me in 2nd with Steve S finishing just behind me in 3rd. Bill W. finished 3rd overall on the upwind as he as had a better time that Steve S.
Overall a good race pushing myself to the end- with only one mistake near the end of the course, I was just happy to finish!

Sunday- course racing, SF Classic
After a long and trying day yesterday in the long distance race of the SF Classic, we lost a few of the guys for today's course racing due to sheer fatigue. Otherwise, it turned out to be a great day with 3 course races and off the water by 2:30 pm.
The fog rolled in on Sunday morning delaying the breeze a bit but by 12:30 for the first gun of the formula fleet we had a gusty 14-16k with 15 boards on the line. The course was set for a double windward leeward with a small ebb tide kicking in later in the day.
It looked like the boat end was really favored but the fleet was running late at the start and there was a pile up near the boat so I decided to reach down the line for clear air. Unfortunately I got rolled by Ben on his 11.0 as he went trucking to windward of me. I tacked over and went to the left side of the course but was playing catch up from that point on already and rounded the top mark in 6th. The shore was somewhat lighter but always the chance for a nice puff to come down and take you straight to the leeward mark. Converging at the leeward mark, I caught up with Ben and Jean and rounded to the outside of them with lots of speed. With clear air, I was able to get a lane and squeeze from below and work up to the starboard layline where I was catching up with David Wells. We battled it out downwind only to cross the finish line overlapped. I went for the boat end finish, and finished 4th, as that was the favored end at the start while David crossed at the middle of the line for 5th. In front it was Percy in the lead followed by Steve S and Al Mirel.
Race 2: A few port takers trying to get to the outside breeze first but still boat end favored. As usual, only one person wins the start at the boat and the others get gassed. Percy was the first to line up near the boat at around 10-15s. He left a nice hole to windward so I put my bow up to sit on the line at 7s. Not thinking there was much room to windward of me, Steve S also managed to start there just behind with Bill Martinson getting a close call with the RC boat. I tried to keep Steve S in line but he took every opportunity to climb on me to windward n the first reach. He reached the shore first and got the inside lift from the shore to the top mark. Percy was close behind and we rounded 1-2-3 at the bottom mark. Back upwind, Steve was leading but lost sight of the windward mark and let Percy slip into fist again and take a second bullet. I finished behind Steve S. in 3rd with Al just behind coming from the middle of the bay on the downwind.
Race 3: The wind was up to 18. I knew I had to win the start to get the race. Whoever won boat usually won the race. I lined up and got a great start keeping Steve to check behind me. I was the first to the shore and got the land lift right to the top mark. Ben was coming in hot from the outside in the most favorable conditions for him- powered on his 11.0. I tacked right at the mark but he came in with such speed that it left me standing still. We split tacks going off the breeze and I rounded the bottom mark in 3rd behind Ben and David. Upwind, I was climbing on them both but Steve and Mike P. were getting a great lift climbing off the leeward mark from behind. At the top mark it was Ben just in front. He immediately gybed while I kept going hoping for the puff near-shore downwind. I should have realized that the outside was more likely to have more breeze and got stuck in a battle with Steve on the inside while Ben easily crossed in front of us. Steve out maneuvered me and finished in 2nd taking the regatta from Percy who finished 6th in the last race.
Lots of thanks to the volunteers doing rc this w-end, the StFYC, Longboard vineyards, and Ultra Nectar for their support

2005 SF Classic

In the words of the Grateful Dead- what a long strange trip it been! This weekends San Francisco Classic and UN Challenge was an enduring marathon of windsurfing racing that made this 2 day regatta seem like a 5 day championship. I was well worn out by the time it was over and welcomed the rest on Sunday night.
The Classic started with light conditions and the postponement flag flying till close to 2pm. I went out early on my 10.0 and 63 cm r14 fin thinking it would be ripping on the outside like it had done for the past week in the bay. Immediately there were a few holes on the inside and I knew it was going to be a challenging race as the flood was starting to kick in. My objective was to stay with the leaders and not let them get away under any circumstances.
I lined up well on the start getting a good start at the pin end on port with speed to cross everyone. Mike Z was just below me and it took a few minutes for us to untangle as he was grinding up for angle and I was footing for speed. An outbound freighter was approaching and we were forced to tack. With Bill going early and leading us back to the light inside, we got knocked and Bill pulled ahead. Mike and I both tacked back as we could clear the passing ship and Bill continued left. Crossing once again just outside the gate, Bill was ahead of us both. The flood was strong and we all realized we couldn't make it outside the south tower with the strong voodoo chop. I got stuck on the tack back and nearly missed the south tower by a few feet. The rest of the fleet was getting stuck as well in the 6' boiling chop. A few people snuck by and got to the flat water towards fort point and came in to round with speed. Once there you needed to navigate straight downwind through the voodoo chop. Again, it was a graveyard with fallen formula sailors! There were now a few people in front of me after the second mark and Jean and Percy just behind at the north tower. I decided to stay high on the next reach while the other 2 behind me drove deep first and came up to the mark with speed. At the Presidio shoal there was light wind and current with most of the fleet either stopped or really spread out on the course already.
Lap 2 saw more of the same scenario outside the gate but now there was an incoming freighter splitting the fleet in ½. I tacked to avoid the huge wind shadow and went far right over-standing the mark so I could come in with speed. Once in the voodoo chop, everything changes and I wasn't able to make any further forward direction. Slowly I made my way around the red nun for a second time and got around the north tower and down to Anita Rock where Peter rounded just in front of me. We were shlogging coming in, well behind the leaders who had already rounded and were planning in the middle towards Harding. I go to gybe around Anita and the support boat waves me off the course saying I had not made the 10 min. gate from the first sailor. I knew there were at the most 6 sailors in front of me with the rest of the 25 board fleet behind me. Certainly there was some mistake. I continued on pushing ahead on the rest of the classic course. I managed to get Peter on the bottom half of the course, just as we rounded Blossom rock. Now there were only kiters in front of me and this was there first attempt at the classic. I'm not sure if they had a different course but they were going all over the bay. I finished the classic ready to forge onto the UN Challenge. With no competitor in sight, this was going to be a long upwind beat to the StFYC. My classic time was the longest it had ever been, almost 1:40. Going back upwind by yourself makes it seem like even longer. Alcatrez- only ½ way up the bay seemed like an eternity off on the horizon. I knew the flood was getting stronger and I sensed I should stay away from the city front and it would be stronger there. I worked my way up in the lee of Alcatrez. The Angel island side seemed lighter so I was forced to go back up the city front in the flood which really slowed me down. I made it back to the beach after close to 3 hours on the water. I was spent.
I found out later I was not scored for the UN Challenge as you needed to finish the Classic in order to start it. I was rather upset knowing the afternoon didn't really matter after all. Well I knew I did it, gave it my all and finished. After all you're racing against yourself and the other boards are just obstacles around the course. Day 2- Again we waited for the breeze to fill till around 2pm but managed to get 3 course races off in 11.0 conditions. I used a 70 cm fin today feeling better on the upwinds. With finishes of 3, 2, 3, I finished 1 point out of first. Bill and Soheil tied with 7 points as we all battled it out near the top of the fleet. Al and Eric were up there was well, mixing it up but it came down to some luck getting around the top mark. Soheil found out that being out in the lead gets you more clear air and you able to squeeze the mark more. With the rest of the fleet following on the starboard layline, we all fell down in the flood and had to double tack to make it around more than once. It was a parade to the middle both up and downwind as the only real wind was there. Soheil tried going inside on the last downwind and got passed by 4 boards. I managed to pump down and get Bill at the finish as we was on his 10.0. Next race, the majority of the fleet started on port again. I was getting really decent starts with Soheil but he was climbing and holding his lane. Eric and Al didn't seem to have the angle with last year's north sails- perhaps the fins but Soheil was well tuned on his 64- cm fin. I would get close sometime upwind in the lighter stuff but never managed to get him upwind or downwind. On the last race, Soheil and I started on port again and crossing the fleet at the starboard layline but having to duck most of them at the start. It came down to Soheil extending his lead on the last leg and Bill, Al and I coming into the finish line together. Al and I gybed early as a 50' recreational sloop sailed upwind in our course. We both we outside strap sheeted in going all out to the finish line. I didn't look back at Bill as all my effort was going into passing Al. We had been in this scenario before last year at the Elvestrom regatta. It was the guy who worked harder who won. I got out of the harness and started pumping. At first, it wasn't any faster but I was able to go deeper and as the boat end of the line was favored and Al and I were headed towards the pin end of the downwind finish, I crossed a few seconds in front of him while Bill came in with speed and finished at the favored board end.