Rolex Big Boat Series

Just as the America’s Cup finals did for two weeks before it, the Rolex Big Boat Serie (St. Francis Yacht Club’s signature regatta) took over San Francisco Bay for four days of spirited racing this week (Thursday through Sunday, September 25-28), giving 107 teams in 10 classes the chance to enjoy stadium sailing at its finest. In fact, for 49 years the annual event has captured for its competitors the thrill of sailing in a famous venue with even more famous winds. Thus, there is always plenty of fast action for spectators to enjoy from multiple vantage points around the Bay, including St. Francis Yacht Club’s own race deck, which serves as one end of the finish line in each day’s final race. For Sunday’s traditional Bay Tour finale (the single long race that wraps up each class’s series and determines final winners) the fleet’s final push to the finish was tame in comparison to previous days when boat speeds were jacked up by brisk breezes and a strong flood tide, but the end result was all that mattered. The J/105 Blackhawk, skippered by Scooter Simmons (Belvedere, CA), managed a sixth to maintain its lead in that class, and take home the Atlantic Perpetual Trophy. With 27 points in the seven-race series, Simmons topped Bruce Stone on Arbitrage (second place), Jason Woodley and Scott Whitney on Risk (third place), as well as the remaining J/105s in their 22-boat fleet.