San Francisco Bay Windsurfing Racing Season Kicks Off
The 2013 San Francisco Bay Windsurfing Racing Season kicked off in fine fashion under blue skies and fresh 20 knot breezes.
Windsurfers here in San Francisco are a pretty fortunate lot. With predictable steady winds from April through September and Bay Area Yacht Clubs playing host it's a jam packed calendar of racing action and it all starts off with the St. Francis Yacht Clubs Friday Night Windsurfing Series.
The Friday night windsurfing race series is one of the best deals in all of sailing. Same could be said of the Thursday night Kite racing but we'll get to that in a follow up blog post. Basically you pay the one time season entry fee of $125 and that gest you registered for 13 races. That's less than 10 bucks a race! On top of that after racing you are allowed to use the clubs facilities and dine in the spectacular grill room overlooking the sun as it sets behind the Golden Gate Bridge. Let's just run that down again – 4 to 5 races a night, take a steam and sauna after racing, then retire to the grill room for beers and burgers as the sun set over San Francisco Bay and your family can come too! Just stopping through town? Well 15 bucks gets you signed up for a single nights racing. Junior sailors and first time racers are welcomed by an inclusive fleet of regulars looking to help anyone interested in getting started racing by showing them the ropes. The St. Francis also hosts a number of long distance and weekend regattas for windsurfing including the world's longest continuously running windsurfing race the San Francisco Bay Classic a must do for any serious racer.
St Francis Yacht Club racing however means racing at San Francisco's world famous Crissy Field and it is not the easiest of spots for those new to the sport and that's where Berkeley Yacht Club's Cal Cup enters the picture. Centered around the warmer and more hospitable Berkeley Marina the Cal Cup offers up the perfect environment for those looking to race for the first time. With A and B level fleets offering up long and short courses it's the best place to test out the action. In fact a quick meeting with racing impresario Mike Percey and he'll even help you get set up with racing gear from the Cal Cup Lending Library. CalCup racing goes down 5 times a year on Saturdays and while it features some of the country's top windsurfing racers it's the best place to come explore what windsurfing racing is all about.
Windsurfing Racing is great fitness and fun for the whole family and with a group of great people welcoming you to the scene we hope to see you down at the beach soon. Here's some information to get you started.
St. Francis Yacht Club Junior Windsurfing Program