San Francisco Bay presented a morning ebb tide that ran smack-dab into an escalating westerly breeze, stirring up square-faced chop for the first race of Day 3 at Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco, California. Breeze continued to build as the afternoon progressed, but a flooding tide damped the whitecaps during the day’s second race, with all 76 competing boats finishing within cheering distance of the Race Deck of St. Francis Yacht Club.
Racing has been competitive across all eight classes, especially as today’s wind freshened, but with only one race to go the results are revealing consolidation at the top.
In ORC B, Scott Easom’s J/100 Eight Ball is sitting on a scorecard of 1-2-1-1-1-3, putting them seven points ahead of David Halliwill’s J/120 Peregrine and 10 up on Barry Lewis’ J/120 Chance.
“We’re the smallest boat in ORC B, so finding clear air is hard to do,” says Easom, who won his class at the 2021 Rolex Big Boat Series. “We get run down immediately, and we don’t get to go precisely where we want to go, but we’ve got good speed and we find lanes.”
Easom, who is a professional sailor by trade, is well-versed at finding clear lanes. He says that the change from the ORR rating rule to the ORC rating rule, which StFYC adopted ahead of the 2022 Rolex Big Boat Series, “was a complete wildcard.”
“I’ve talked to people I know who travel the world for sailing and they think highly of ORC. I’ve been studying the results from ORC racing in Europe and I like the results and the boats that are winning. A lot of production boats seem to be doing well, which is good for the sport.”
Ahead of the regatta, Easom had his boat, rig and new sails properly measured to comply with ORCi certificate standards. Additionally, Easom invested in a new bottom job and put in a lot of time. “I think these are the things you need to do at a very competitive event,” he says. “I’d like to thank my crew for their hard work, the StFYC for running another fantastic Rolex Big Boat Series, and Rolex for sponsoring it.”
Another class that’s looking tough at the top is the J/88s. After six races, Mark Howe’s Split Water is sitting on a report card that reads 1-1-1-3-1-1. “It’s all about great crew,” says Howe. “I’ve done this regatta a bunch. My previous efforts were friends and family programs. But I decided to spend some time and money and establish a meritocracy. Software runs the boat and people are the software.”
Howe acquired his J/88 just two months before this year’s Rolex Big Boat Series, but he says a rough-and-tumble 2022 Aldo Alessio Race & Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta, also hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, showed Howe what he didn’t know.
“We didn’t do well, and it exposed some weaknesses,” explains Howe. “So, we got a new bowman and we practiced—we did four hellish practice days over the last two weekends. It was brutal. We kept saying that there’s no way that Rolex Big Boat Series will be as hard as our practice days. This really paid off for us. If you don’t put in the practice time, Rolex Big Boat Series becomes the practice,” which, he adds, “you don’t want.”
The stately Classics may only run a single race per day, but this hasn’t stopped StFYC’s Vice Commodore Beau Vrolyk, owner and skipper of Mayan, the 1947 John Alden-designed schooner, from running a picket fence.
Mayan is well-known on the Bay, both for her venerable lines and for her former owner (David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young fame), and Vrolyk has been pouring time and resources into the wooden yacht to return her to her original splendor.
“We changed the entire rigging and brought her back to her 1928 design, by John Alden,” says Vrolyk. “In the early 1960s, it was fashionable to change schooners into staysail schooners, and we put it back into its former transitional schooner rig.”
The inspiration for this change, he explains, came courtesy of famed yacht designer Bill Lee, who has sailed on Mayan since Vrolyk acquired the boat in 2014.
“It was common knowledge that staysail schooners are faster, but it’s not the case for all schooners,” he said. “Lee noticed troubles with our balance and weather helm, and that we were suffering in some conditions.”
Vrolyk commissioned all new rigging and a new gaff foresail, which, he says, is making an enormous difference.
While Mayan is sitting on great results, Vrolyk is quick to point to his crew as Mayan’s secret sauce. “I’m just the guy who wiggles the rudder,” he says, adding that while his whole crew is incredible, special credit goes to Matthew Coale, who built the boat’s new rig. “Our program wouldn’t happen without Matthew.”
In the rest of the fleet, Scott Sellers, Geoff McDonald, and Harrison Turner’s J/70 1FA is doing a stomp job in its class: 1-1-1-1-1-1. Impressively, Andy Schwenk’s Express 37 Spindrift V guest skippered by Bart Hackworth, is sitting on a 1-1-1-1-2-1 dance card, Don Jesberg has been showing the Cal 40s how to sail by posting 1-1-1-1-1-1 results, and Paul Dorsey and his Adjudicator crew have been throwing around quiet authority in ORC A with a score of 1-1-2-1-4-1.
“We couldn’t ask for better conditions for our first three days of racing,” says Susan Ruhne, Chair of the Rolex Big Boat Series. “People come here for the big breeze and seas, and the Bay has delivered.”
Racing is scheduled to resume on Sunday, September 17, at 1100 hours local time.
ABOUT ST. FRANCIS YACHT CLUB
St. Francis Yacht Club is one of the most esteemed yacht clubs in the world, steeped in tradition and known for innovation. Founded in 1927 with a mission to serve as the inspirational center of boating activities regionally and a leader of yachting internationally, StFYC has hosted many of the most prestigious national and world championships in sailing. With over 40 regattas on its calendar annually, StFYC is widely regarded as having one of the top racing and race management programs in the country. In addition to a worldwide reputation for on-water excellence, StFYC’s clubhouse features outstanding dining, spacious guest docks and panoramic vistas of San Francisco Bay. Each year, StFYC rolls out the red carpet for sailors visiting to compete in Rolex Big Boat Series.
For more information, please visit stfyc.com.
ABOUT ROLEX
An unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise
Rolex is an integrated and independent Swiss watch manufacture. Headquartered in Geneva, the brand is recognized the world over for its expertise and the quality of its products – symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. The movements of its Oyster Perpetual and Cellini watches are certified by COSC, then tested in-house for their precision, performance and reliability. The Superlative Chronometer certification, symbolized by the green seal, confirms that each watch has successfully undergone tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria. These are periodically validated by an independent external organization.
The word “Perpetual” is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster watch. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. In the course of its history, Rolex has registered over 500 patents. At its four sites in Switzerland, the brand designs, develops and produces the majority of its watch components, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Furthermore, the brand is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.
ABOUT ROLEX AND YACHTING
A Natural and Supportive Partner
Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. The Swiss watchmaker naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and the brand’s enduring partnership now encompasses the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas, as well as towering figures in the sport, including ground-breaking round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester and the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie. Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events – from leading offshore races such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting SailGP global championship in which national teams race identical supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world’s most famous harbours. Rolex’s partnerships with the St. Francis Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Yacht Club Italiano and Royal Yacht Squadron, among others, are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.
