San Francisco Bay Series starts this weekend

St Francis YC's Anika Leerssen previews the racing

The Aldo Alessio Perpetual Trophy Regatta is the first event in the 2003 San Francisco Bay Series scheduled for August 1-3 at the St. Francis Yacht Club.

J-105s, J-120s, Farr 40s and an Americap II handicap division will kick off their season with an Ocean Race on Friday, two course races on Saturday, and a 15-30 mile Bay tour race on Sunday. This annual trophy was established in 1992 through an endowment given by Staff Commodore Aldo Alessio to promote ocean racing from San Francisco Bay. The Aldo Alessio Perpetual is a painting of his boat Mistress, a 49’ Rhodes centerboarder, which hangs in the entranceway of the Club. It was originally raced for in an ocean race from San Francisco to Point Conception in the ULDB and Sled class; past winners include Jim Ryley’s Mirage ’92, and Don Hughes & Bob Richards’ Taxi Dancer ’97. In 2002, Tom Thayer & Dick Watts in their Farr 40, Non Sequitur received the perpetual trophy for Best Performance Overall in the Ocean Race. This year, the trophy will again be decided in Friday’s race – a 37 mile round-trip beginning off Treasure Island, out the Golden Gate, and back to finish off of the St. Francis Race Deck.

For the One-Design Classes the Series includes the Aldo Alessio Regatta (StFYC), Summer Keel Regatta (SFYC), NOOD (StFYC), and St. Francis Big Boat Series presented by Rolex. For Americap Classes, the Series includes the Aldo Alessio Regatta (StFYC), Quick Boat Series (SFYC), and St. Francis Big Boat Series presented by Rolex.

Entries include last year’s winners of the overall series in the Farr 40 – Samba Pa Ti, skippered by John Kilroy, and the J-105 2002 winner - Peter Wagner’s Nantucket Sleighride. The Farr 40 class also includes the current season points leader, Peter Stoneberg on Shadow. The J-105 class includes entries from as far away as Massachusetts, as some teams will be using this regatta as a tune up for the class’ North American Championship to be held August 14-17 at the St. Francis. The J-120 class will also have a fleet of at least eight boats, and the Americap Division will have at least ten competitors ranging from a Beneteau 36.7 to Charles Weghorn’s yacht Zamazaan, a 52’ Farr Design.

The San Francisco Bay Series was created by San Francisco Yacht Club and the St. Francis Yacht Club to provide a summer season racing circuit to encourage racing in Northern California. Trophies will be presented following the St. Francis Big Boat Series presented by Rolex for all classes that compete in the series.

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club was host to the 2000 U.S. Olympic Sailing Trials for the Soling and Star classes and is renown for its expertise in running world and national championships.

Founded in 1869, the San Francisco Yacht Club is the oldest club on the Pacific Coast of North America. The Club, with its tranquil setting in Belvedere Cove and its superb harbor, is widely recognized as the premier yachting facility on the West Coast.

For more information about the San Francisco Bay Series, contact the St. Francis Yacht Club Race Office at 415-563-6363 or www.stfyc.org or the San Francisco Yacht Club Race Office at 415-789-5647 or www.sfyc.org. Notice of Race, List of Entrants, Photos, and Results can be found on the St.FYC website.