2015 Vallejo 1 - 2 Race

[Wylieguy]

The Vallejo 1 - 2 Race is a good race for first timers. Let's encourage anyone we know who might be interested in spending a weekend sailing on San Pablo Bay and an overnight at the VYC to sign up. It was my first SSS race in 1985, and I have been a happy SSSer ever since.

One way to encourage is to talk the race up on this Forum. How are you preparing? What are your plans, given the currents? What has been your experience sailing the race? Any advice to a new comer? That sort of thing. I think there used to be more chatter than I see now.

That first race in 1985 was in a Coronado 25 with wicked weather helm and no autopilot. Non-spinnaker. Every time I tried to wing out the jib I ended up sailing back to the Start Line at the GG Yacht Club. Yes, in 1985 the Start and Finish Lines at the SF Bay end of the race were at the GGYC. And usually on Fleet Weekend, when Fleet Week was a really big deal with atomic aircraft carriers, dozens of naval ships, and several hundred spectator boats anchored all around the Blue Angels "Box." I got 3rd Place (there really were more than 3 boats!) both directions and that set the SSS hook even deeper. There were "going" and "coming" awards.

Pat B.

[Gamayun]

Great idea, Pat! This is a good race for beginning singlehanders. It will be my third Vallejo 1-2 race. The first one was shortly after I had bought Kynntana and before I knew anything about racing on the bay or even where Vallejo was located. I did a practice run to VYC with a friend the weekend before in which we had beautiful wind and arrived in about 3 1/2 hours. The Saturday of the race, however, the wind died just on the other side of the Richmond Bridge. Ray (another first-time Vallejo racer and SSSer) and I were stuck in the same place and bemoaned our fate as tidal eddies pushed us around with no steerage while we tried our best to dodge the channel buoys. We finally got enough wind to get close to the Chevron refinery, but by 1700, most of the fleet had motored in. I didn't want to give up so easily so I waited until the time limit (1900?) to start up the motor. Little did I realize that it would take nearly 2 hours to get to the YC, which caused a bit of worry for friends who weren't able to hail me by phone or VHF. By the time I got the boat put away in the dark, the food was cold and I had to pick the dregs out of the pans to get at least a little something to eat. It was a great evening, though, sharing beers and tales of the race with a great group of sailors.

I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone again in Vallejo!!

Carliane
s/v Kynntana

[Daydreamer]

This will be my first Vallejo 1-2 and my first , unless I get some practice time, trip past the Brothers.

I signed up singlehanded both ways as this was available on the registration. How many others plan to do this? Or is it "traditional" to sail the -2 doublehanded ?

Looking at the chart, there is a channel through Pinole Shoal with a "do not enter" for boats drawing less than 20 ft.
Is this a restricted area in the SI as well? There appears to be plenty of room to the south, being the shorter route.

I saw a review of another race to VYC (YRA Great Vallejo?) and several boats got stuck in the mud around Point SanPablo past the Brothers. Would that be most likely from trying to find current relief?

I am sure I could come up with more questions, but that will do for now.

[Philpott]

In 2008 I bought a Cal 20 and got a berth in Berkeley a few slips down from Paul Kamen, whom I knew from Cal Sailing. When he saw that I was down the way he said, “Now you can learn to race.” I said, “Oh, no! I’ll never be a racer!” to which Paul responded, “Never say never.”

Vallejo 1-2 was my first race, period. In 2009 I found this site on the internet: The Singlehanded Sailing Society. So I called the phone number and Max Crittenden either answered or called me back. I asked if I could register for the race if I wasn’t a member and Max said, “Sure. But only if you promise to join the club.” So I promised.

I had no idea how far Vallejo was by water, so I went to West Marine and bought my first chart. I laid it out on the bench of my cockpit and started the race. Every single boat passed me by, and I watched, from far far away, as they set their spinnakers and disappeared past Red Rock. I sailed and I sailed and I sailed. Land looks very different from the water, and the San Pablo Bay seemed particularly vast. I meandered this way and then that way until – amazingly, late late in the early evening I actually arrived. I sailed into the Vallejo Yacht Club harbor where I was given a wild bell ringing.

People guided me to a spot far away from the clubhouse and I had to climb over other boats to reach the dock. My first race, my first raft-up. I didn’t know a single person, so I went looking for Max, whom I had never met. Asking around, I finally found him in the bar, patiently waiting for a beer. “Hi! I’m Jackie Philpott! I just sailed all the way here!” It was clear that Max had no idea who I was or why I was accosting him, but of course, Max is exquisitely polite always. “Well, good for you,” he said.

[Gamayun]

...I saw a review of another race to VYC (YRA Great Vallejo?) and several boats got stuck in the mud around Point SanPablo past the Brothers. Would that be most likely from trying to find current relief?

I asked Kami Richards during one of his "how to sail the bay" talks how close he gets to shore to try to find current relief and he said, "that depends on if you are in your own boat or someone else's."

Sooo, yes; you must get out of the current if you ever want to beat some of the long-time bay sailors, but mind your depth

[BobJ]

Look at page 17. You can go inside a line between "2" and "4" but not very far:

http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletC...okletChart.pdf

[Wylieguy]

This will be my first Vallejo 1-2 and my first , unless I get some practice time, trip past the Brothers.

I signed up singlehanded both ways as this was available on the registration. How many others plan to do this? Or is it "traditional" to sail the -2 doublehanded ?

Looking at the chart, there is a channel through Pinole Shoal with a "do not enter" for boats drawing less than 20 ft.
Is this a restricted area in the SI as well? There appears to be plenty of room to the south, being the shorter route.

I saw a review of another race to VYC (YRA Great Vallejo?) and several boats got stuck in the mud around Point SanPablo past the Brothers. Would that be most likely from trying to find current relief?

I am sure I could come up with more questions, but that will do for now.

Great questions for a first timer! Don't be shy about asking. SSS folks like to share and encourage new comers.

1. Yes, the Pinole Channel is restricted and you must stay to the South of it. Draw a line between the red markers and don't cross into the channel. It's not just restricted for SSS races; it's restricted by the Coast Guard for all small boats, even tugs and ferries.

2. Follow Bob J's advice and keep N of a line between the Pt. San Pedro Buoy Red "2" and the Red "4" day marker about 1 nm further on. There's a notorious "hump" just SE of this line about halfway up. You may see someone who's found it; you can recognize them by the way their boat's heeled, but going nowhere fast. On a full-crew race you'd see 6 guys out on the boom trying to heel the boat. Hard to do when you're alone!

3. It's a good idea to keep N of a line between the Red "4" day mark and the Pt. Pinole day mark "P" - depending on the tide. We don't worry too much about tide heights where we mostly sail on SF Bay, but the S side of San Pablo Bay is different. If the tide is high and you don't draw 9 feet, you can usually sail into the bight between "2" and "P", but you have to be careful and watch your depth finder.

4. Remember to leave the Green Buoy "1" at the mouth of the Mare Island Strait to Port. You can sail inside the other Mare Island Green markers if there's water. Shortly after passing Green Buoy "1" you'll be getting your chute down and transitioning to a reach. Be prepared!

5. Once inside the Mare Island Strait, be aware that the E side is badly shoaled. If you stray too far over you'll be digging clams. Again, it's not unusual to see a boat or two heeling but not moving over there. Usually the Mare Island Strait leg is a reach/close reach so that's not a problem if you're paying attention, but if there's a N/NE wind it's a tacking leg and the temptation is to make long tacks to the E - bad idea.

6. RADIO CHECK IN: BOTH days you have to check in on Ch. 72 PRIOR to the First Warning Signal. You'd be surprised how many SSS veterans can say they forgot to check in, especially at Vallejo since you can holler "Goodbye" to the Race Committee as you exit the harbor. But you need to use Ch. 72. You can do this before you leave the raft up in the harbor.

Come to the Skippers Meeting on Oct. 14 and you'll probably hear important information, can ask questions, or hear "war stories" about Vallejo 1-2 adventures.

[solosailor]

How many others plan to do this? Or is it "traditional" to sail the -2 doublehanded ?

Most go doublehanded on the way back but every year many go solo each way. Your scored doublehanded Sunday no matter what as it's the Vallejo 1-2, not the 1-1.

[Critter]

Jackie, I confess I don't recall any of my part in the story of your first Vallejo race. I hope I didn't come across as rude!

I think I started racing with SSS in 1999 with my Merit 25, and my first singlehanded race was the Vallejo 1 in 2000. I asked Terry McKelvey the race chair if I could enter non-spinnaker on Saturday and spinnaker on Sunday. She said no way! (It was only when I became race chair myself that I realized what a hassle that would be to score.) And she pointed out that I wasn't actually obligated to fly a spinnaker if I was in a spinnaker class. Oh yeah, I guess that's right!

Not having an autopilot, I tried the idea I'd heard of running a line all the way around the deck, tied to the tiller at both ends and tensioned with a bungee cord, so that I could steer from the foredeck if I was messing around up there. It didn't work very well. Anyway, I made it to Vallejo. I remember sitting on the VYC deck with a beer, feeling like I'd completed a rite of passage.

I've sailed past several boats stuck in the mud off Pt. San Pablo or on the east side of the Mare Island Strait entrance, but never made those particular booboos myself. However, just a few years ago we DNF'd a couple of minutes after the start of the Vallejo 2 by getting stuck on the east side of the river near the ferry dock. It gets shallow in a hurry! Also recently, I clobbered mark #3 at the end of the river on a Sunday, pondering which side to take it then making the wrong choice, heading up with the spinnaker just as we were sailing into a header.

On the whole, I have better memories of the Vallejo 1 than the Vallejo 2.

Max

[Wylieguy]

For newcomers unfamiliar with San Pablo Bay, perhaps we should discuss "brown " water vs. "greener" water. While San Pablo Bay looks like a giant lake, it's far from it and currents are just as important, perhaps more important?, than SF Bay itself. They are more subtle since their velocities are less and they are often more spread out.

Essentially, if you're sailing "to" Vallejo you want to stay in the brighter water. If you're sailing "back" from Vallejo you want to stay in the brown. Often there are foamy scud lines to mark the edges of the various currents. Check the back of the "Tide Tables and Current Charts" booklet for the "Factors for Correcting [current] Speeds." Notice there is a separate section for Carquinez Strait.

Coupled with the depth issues on the S. side of SP Bay, it can get interesting. Generally speaking, if it's Flooding and you're Going, you want to stay out in the deeper section, near the Pinole Shoal Channel (but not into it!!!). If it's Ebbing and you're Going you probably want explore the shallower areas on the S. side - carefully! The reverse it true for Coming. On an Ebb the middle is good; on a Flood that S. edge is worth visiting.

Of course on Sunday morning when it's already Flooding in the Mare Island Strait just getting down to the mouth of the Mare Island Strait can be difficult in lighter air. Once in Carquinez Strait the question becomes, do I hug the N. side along the rock wall or dive over to the refinery side? - something you'll have to do at some point. The really big question is "At what point" do I make that crossing?

On the way home things change near Pt. San Pablo as you enter the N. Bay where current relief is hard to come by and you're much more in the "Currents at Golden Gate Entrance" section of the current booklet.