Saturday, May 28, 2016

Spinnaker Cup Race Preview

J-teams sailing Spinnaker Cup (Tiburon, CA)- Coming up this holiday weekend is one of classic offshore races that sends boats surfing down the “Cali” coastline in huge swells and NW breezes- the famous Spinnaker Cup Race from San Francisco Bay to Monterey, CA.  The race starts Friday, May 27 and the mad dash down the coastline often takes less than 24 hours.

San Francisco Yacht Club, in partnership with the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club has hosted the annual Spinnaker Cup regatta since 1998. In its 19th year, the Spinnaker Cup holds a long tradition in offshore racing with a 100nm one-way trip from the San Francisco Bay’s Knox racing area to Monterey‘s Municipal Wharf.

Sailing this year’s event are a number of offshore enthusiasts from the J/tribe.  Sailing with twelve boats in Class E are Howard Turner’s J/111 SYMMETRY from Santa Cruz YC, Ludovic Millin’s J/120 SAETTA from Singlehanded Sailing Society, and Trig Liljestrand’s J/90 RAGTIME from San Francisco YC.

The largest fleet is Class F with eighteen boats and it is rife with hot J/crews!  With a number of big offshore wins under their belts already, Scott Grealish’s J/88 BLUE FLASH is hoping to duplicate those efforts again.  Chasing them hard will be Jim Goldberg’s J/109 JUNKYARD DOG and two J/105s- Bob Goosey’s JAVELIN and Brent Vaughan’s JABBERWOCKY.   For more Spinnaker Cup Race sailing information