Saturdays 88 nm race from San Francisco to Monterey witnessed 44 boats in 6 divisions, dancing out The Gate in heavy overcast, light winds and ample ebb. With a 40 minute delay for the 1st starters, while RC juggled a cavalcade of issues, including attempting to get the Yellow Brick Trackers to all the boats, squaring the line, and sharing the start area with a bundle of Halibut fishermen hoping for fresh fish taco to start their Memorial Day Weekend. When the 1st start commenced, the smaller boats with the higher ratings led the parade out of the bay and onto the brisk and lumpy Pacific. Early forecasts had insinuated steady winds in the 25+ knot range, so it appeared that the 2018 edition could be a fast one!

Sailonline is again partnering with Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) and San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) for the 2018 running of the SoCal 300 race. SDYC has been racing in the waters off San Diego for 130 years, and in 2016, was the first USA West Coast yacht club to bring virtual sailing navigation to its members and the west coast sailing community. The SoCal 300 is the third and final ocean race of this year’s California Race Week and sees the fleet race a slalom course from Santa Barbara to San Diego, starting on 31 May.

It's just over week away, the 3rd running of the California Offshore Race Week, with the start of the 1st leg, the Spinnaker Cup, an 88 nm sprint from San Francisco to Monterey departing May 26. Then boats will embark on Monday May 28th for the 204nm gear busting Big Sur Tour aka Coastal Cup that takes the fleet to Santa Barbara YC where they will relax for a short stay before gearing up for 245nm SoCal 300 which will lead them through the Channel Islands and down to San Diego, beginning on Thursday May 31. Being that the CORW is comprised of 3 offshore legs with an evening beer can tossed in at SBYC, the majority of the entrants will participate in just one or two of the legs. See entry list here. But there are 10 boats this year that have signed up for all 3 legs.

54 boats, 450 sailors, 5 yacht club hosts, 530+ miles of sailing, and 3 races made up the 2017 California Offshore Race Week. Sailors and families spent Memorial Day weekend and the following week in some of California’s finest locations: San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Boats ranged from the doublehanded Moore 24 to several Santa Cruz 70s, and everything in between along with two multihulls. And the conditions varied just as much, starting with light conditions heading out of San Francisco Bay, peaking with high 30 knots during the overnight Coastal Cup, and slowing to a crawl in the final day of the SoCal 300 for most. The courses also brought out different challenges, particularly the SoCal 300 scoring of 4 race legs giving navigators additional things to consider when strategizing the race plan.

James Goldberg and the crew of the J/109 Junkyard Dog experienced the full spectrum of fun sailing and challenging conditions during the 2017 CA Offshore Race Week. Read from James about the differences in the three races, and how they supported the boat Snafu while the Coast Guard arrived on scene of their dismasting.

Returning for its second year, the 2017 California Offshore Race Week featured the combined powers of five yacht clubs along the California coast. With efforts from Encinal Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club, and San Diego Yacht Club, a week-long schedule of races occurred covering almost 600 miles of the California coast between May 27 and June 3.

For a pair of experience ocean racers in the 2017 Coastal Cup, an overnight race from Monterey to Santa Barbara quickly turned into a challenging night of survival. With excellent support from two fellow competitors boats and the US Coast Guard, both sailors and the Moore 24 sailboat made it safely to shore the by the following day. Article courtesy of Eric Simonson, Pressure-drop.us