The St. Francis Yacht Club hosted their annual Aldo Alessio Race and Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta. Sailed from August 19-21 on the western end of San Francisco Bay between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, the fleet experienced classic Bay weather with fog, intermittent sun and plenty of breeze. As has been the case for decades, the 25-boat J/105 fleet most often has very close, tactical racing amongst the top of the leaderboard. Blasting out of the starting box on the first day to lead with a 2-1, Ian Charles’ MAVERICK never relinquished their lead over the next two days. They posted three firsts and three seconds over the six races for 9 points total. Behind the winner, it was Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK dueling with Doug Bailey’s AKULA for the next step on the podium. Both boats had slow starts in the first two races, then they literally traded all podium finishes for the rest of the regatta. In the end, it was Simmons’ BLACKHAWK getting the better of the two, posting a 6-6-1-1-3-2 for 19 points to earn the silver. Bailey’s AKULA racked up an 11-2-3-3-2-3 for 24 points to take the bronze. Rounding out the top five was Rolf Kaiser’s DONKEY JACK in fourth and John & Mike Rivlin’s PEACHES in fifth place. For more Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta information, visit