Express 27 Nationals - Very competitive racing from a fantastic fleet

by Peggy Lidster on 20 Sep 2010 Express 27 Fleet held their National Championship Regatta from September 10th through the 12th on San Francisco Bay hosted by the Encinal Yacht Club.

The event began with three buoy races in the area between the Berkeley Pier and Alcatraz. At start time, it was warm and sunny, but windless. After a short postponement, a two-lap windward/leeward race was started in about seven knots of breeze which built steadily through the race. Most of the fleet tacked onto port after the start, but Magic, Witchy Woman, and El Raton stayed on starboard and headed towards the north side of Treasure Island.

This tactic worked and the three rounded the windward mark ahead of the pack. During the following lap and a half, there was some shuffling of positions with Witchy taking first, El Raton second, and Motorcycle Irene coming in third.

The wind filled in to the mid-teens for the second and third races, but the fog never encroached and it was a warm day of racing on the Bay. The second race was another two-lap w/l followed by a one-lap w/l sprint. At the end of the day, Witchy Woman was in first overall followed by Motorcycle Irene and Get Happy!

Saturday's single long distance race started at Treasure Island, rounding Point Bonita channel marker, and finishing in front of EYC. The first 'leg' of the race, from TI to the north tower of the GG Bridge, was sailed in wind that fluctuated around 10 knots. Going right early paid off, and the first four boats to the bridge included Witchy Woman, Motorcycle Irene, Get Happy! and Peaches.

Despite arriving at the bridge at close to the 3.5 knot max flood, getting under the Gate was not as bad as feared. As the boats headed out along the Marin shore towards Pt. Bonita, the wind progressively got lighter, but the sun stayed out and it was beautiful day on the ocean.

As the fleet rode the flood back in towards the gate the wind steadily built and peaked in the high teens back in the Bay. While some of the fleet chose a rhumb line route from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge, others stayed towards the North side of the Bay in better current. This latter strategy worked especially well for Get Happy! as they quickly jumped from fifth at the Gate to second by the time they passed Alcatraz.

As the boats entered the lighter wind of the South Bay the boats started compressing which resulted in a lot of jibing for clear air down the Estuary. At the finish, Motorcycle Irene beat Get Happy!! by less than a boat length, and Wile E Coyote came around Peaches in the last 200 yards to take third.

The initial plan for Sunday was three w/l races in the South Bay, but considering the light winds on the previous two days, the race committee decided to move the racing back up to the main bay. Sunday was noticeably cooler and windier with wind speeds peaking in the low to mid twenties. After winning the first two races, Witchy Woman was only one point behind Motorcycle Irene going into the final race.

Motorcycle Irene held on to win the final race and the regatta. Get Happy!! finished second overall and Witchy Woman came in third after taking a DSQ for a port/starboard crossing in the final race.

Congratulations to Will Paxton and Zach Anderson for winning the regatta. The fleet would also like to thank Encinal Yacht Club for their hospitality and for the excellent race committee work throughout the event.

The Express 27 is an ultra-light sportboat designed by Carl Schumacher and built in the early 1980's by the Alsberg Brothers in Santa Cruz, California.

These boats, which weigh in at only 2,450 pounds, have proven to be remarkably well built allowing them to routinely race from the West coast to Hawaii in both the Singlehanded Transpac and the Double-Handed division of the Pacific Cup and actively race with a strong One Design fleet in Detroit and in San Francisco.

For more information, please go to: http://express27.org