The Encinal Yacht Club “Coastal Cup” is a well-organized fun introduction to long distance offshore racing. If racing around the Bay, near and around the Farallone Islands, has begun to pale as a means of challenge and excitement, for an entry fee of $250, there is still time to participate in the Coastal Cup. It is a coastal blast.
By Mary Swift-Swan
Published: June, 2004
The Encinal Yacht Club “Coastal Cup” is a well-organized fun introduction to long distance offshore racing. If racing around the Bay, near and around the Farallone Islands, has begun to pale as a means of challenge and excitement, for an entry fee of $250, there is still time to participate in the Coastal Cup. It is a coastal blast.
The coastal destination race is around 300 miles. It starts on June 12th at noon in front of St. Francis Yacht Club near the Golden Gate Bridge. Once outside the Gate, the fleet turns left, avoiding the Montera wind hole, scoots down the Big Sur coastline, then whips around the infamous Point Conception, using all the tactical knowledge aboard to sail to the finish off the quiet harbor of Santa Barbara. There are a few oil derricks and ships to duck, fishing fleets to watch for, and the rocket ride around Conception to survive, but most years it is a race of clear sailing along the beautiful California coastline.
After a warm welcome from Santa Barbara Yacht Club members and staff, new arrivals tell tales of whales and wild sailing moments of their adventure. The awards banquet is held on June 16th. Following the party, many leave at odd hours to catch Conception while she is hopefully sleeping. The whole trip should only take a week, allowing time to stop at a few harbors and anchorages along the way. Those who have the summer off can choose to visit the Channel Islands or cruise around Southern California waters for a while before returning. With the race over, the rest is summer fun.
To enter the race, stop by Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda, or visit the electronic club (http://www.encinal.org) to fill out an entry form. Steve Rienhart is organizing the race, so call (415) 244-5960 for questions. The deadline is June 9th to give the race committee time to prepare packets for all skippers for the Skippers Meeting at EYC on June 10th. There were 26 boats entered as of press time, ranging from the sleek Andrews 77 “Alchemy,” an easy-to-sail Wylie Cat 30, and wave-hopping Santa Cruz 27, with a bit of everything in between. To those entered, have a safe and fun time creating lifetime memories of sailing the edge of the Big Pond.
