BZ wins YRA Double Handed Race
Despite challenging wind and water conditions in the open waters of SF Bay, Walt Raineri and Ryan Bruington did BAADS proud by sailing Bravo Zulu (BZ) to a first place finish in the opening regatta of the four part YRA Double Handed Sunday series on March 14.
Cloudy skies full of dark threatening rain clouds and small craft advisory wind conditions greeted Walt and Ryan on the morning of March 14 as they geared up for the first race of the YRA Double Handed 4 part Sunday Series. “Bring all the foulees you have,” was Skipper Walt’s comment to Ryan as they prepared Bravo Zulu to shove off from the dock in anticipation of the four hours of driving rain which arrived later in the day.
YRA races generally are not for the faint of heart as they often focus on the open waters of SF Bay in, around and through the “slot.” The race on March 14 was expected to be on the higher end of the difficulty scale and was a great example of how good crew and boat preparation allow crews to focus on racing, knowing that all safety gear needed was on board and all safety precautions were being taken. Even with the experienced crew on board, a good lesson for all is that the safety briefing included a discussion on abandoning the race based on how Bravo Zulu was handling the conditions as the day progressed and the driving rain began.
As things turned out, the race was one of the least complex races for the BZ crew, despite the conditions. Strong wind from the South forced the PRO to select the same long 14.2 mile South / North course for all fleets. Start was on the Olympic Circle off Berkeley, then all the way to Blossom Rock just off the City Front, then all the way to Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, then finish at Richmond Yacht Club. BZ hit the starting line ahead of its fleet and never looked back. With a strong flood tide causing a massive West to East shift, BZ was able to start on starboard, tack once onto port, and then amazingly fetch the windward mark 6 miles away in just one, long port tack. A long starboard wing on wing tack all the way to the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge and little BZ caught and passed many faster boats in higher fleets before taking first place in her Division.
With all 10 Fleets racing the same course, it was fun to compare BZ’s corrected Time on Time with all the other, faster fleets. Interestingly, BZ would have taken first place in several of the other fleets and been in the top three of almost all the fleets, including a few spinnaker fleets with its finish time. Congratulations to Walt and Ryan for winning the standalone regatta and taking first place in the series standings.