Rolex Big Boat Series Day Two - Challenges all round

4:35 AM Sat 12 Sep 2009 GMT

'SOOZAL leading IRC C class after two days - Rolex Big Boat Series 2009' &copy Rolex/Daniel Forster

Rolex Big Boat Series day two report. Although the day started in light 10-12 knot winds with considerable fog covering San Francisco Bay, day two of the Rolex Big Boat Series served up competition as classic as the 45-year-old history of this regatta.

The wind quickly picked up to 25-plus knots by the second race of the day, giving the 97 boats competing in four IRC and seven one-design classes a challenging day.

'My crew worked like dogs,' said Pat Patterson (Angwin, Calif.) of the crew aboard his Beneteau 36.7 Summer and Smoke, now leading the six-boat class after two wins today. 'The second race was so windy; we were just trying to catch Bufflehead, who was leading the race. He (Stuart Scott) was doing great; he just happened to round up near Alcatraz in 29-30 knots. We pulled our spinnaker down early and it paid off.'

This is Patterson's second year competing in the Rolex Big Boat Series. Last year he finished in second and, similar to last year, he is sailing in honor of Hearts in Motion, a service organization in Guatemala. 'Because it's a one design class, the boats are very similar and they go really well. Three boats in our class have won races. So tomorrow, who knows what will happen.' Aaron Kennedy (Richmond, Calif.) on Ay Caliente is in second place with Torben Bentsen's (Richmond) Wilson in third.

As anyone who has sailed one-designs before will attest, consistency and preparation pay off. And that is precisely what Kame Richards (Alameda, Calif.) might say if asked of today. 'It was a very hard day,' he said of racing his Golden Moon in the nine-boat Express 37 class. 'I got a wonderfully awful start in the first race. That took a while to recover from, but we came back and all I have to say is 'thank God for good tacticians!' Yesterday's class leader Mick Shlens (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) on Blade Runner, slipped into second place despite winning both of today's races. Bill Riess (Oakland, Calif.) on Elan is in third.

J/105 class stalwart Chris Perkins (San Francisco) and his Good Timin' lead the 25-boat class, the largest competing, despite doing very little racing this past year. 'It was really fun for us since our last race was last year's Rolex Big Boat Series,' said Perkins, who commutes to San Diego as part of the BMW Oracle Racing team. 'It was interesting. In the second race, the fleet split. Some went to Alcatraz and some went to the City Front. It was after max flood where you would usually go to the City Front, but all our comp went to Alcatraz. We had a nervous 30 minutes or so until we came back together. We didn't lose a lot of ground even though going out to the middle (of the course) was the way to go.' Perkins went on to credit his crew, Pete Scott, Tom Purdy, Melissa Purdy and his brother Jon Perkins, who calls tactics. 'We're tickling the boat, and it all came back to us. These boats have a sweet spot and when you're sailing all year you find it. The local fleet really stepped up, of course we're missing Scott Sellers, but Jam Session (Adam Spiegel's boat in second place) and Arbitrage (Bruce Stone's boat in fourth) are quick.' Jeff Litfin & John Case's (San Mateo, Calif.) Mojo is in third overall.

In the remaining one design classes, Andy Lovell and Burt Benrud's (New Orleans, La.) Rougarou leads the Melges 32 class, while William LeRoy's (Tiburon, Calif.) Gone with the Wind leads the Cal 40 class. John Wimer's (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) Desdemona leads the eight-boat J/120 class and Alex Farell's (Mountain View, Calif.) 1D35 Alpha Puppy leads its seven-boat class.

All four class leaders in the IRC classes, A, B, C and D, remain at the top: Jim Mitchell's (Zurich, SUI) Vincitore leads IRC A; Kjeld Hestehave's Velos (Richmond, Calif.) leads IRC B; Daniel Woolery's King 40 Soozal (Alamo, Calif.) leads IRC C; and Gerard Sheridan's Elan 40 Tupelo Honey leads IRC D.

With the city surrounding the Bay like a natural amphitheatre, draped over some 45 square-miles and some 40 hills, it presents plenty of opportunities to catch a glimpse of the water. The best viewpoint though is arguably the St. Francis Yacht Club. Perched on the waterfront next to the Presidio, an historic, former military post, the Spanish-style yacht club affords an unparalleled panorama out to the iconic orange-hued span of the Golden Gate Bridge, the 700-acre Angel Island, and the infamous former prison on Alcatraz Island.