Outstanding racing at the 60th edition of Rolex Big Boat Series
by Michelle Slade 16 Sep 12:12 NZST
September 11-15, 2024
60th Rolex Big Boat Series © ROLEX/Daniel Forster
Breeze on conditions brought out the best skills and tactics for podium winners.
Right on cue, San Francisco Bay rolled out the most demanding conditions for sailors at the 60th edition of Rolex Big Boat Series at St. Francis Yacht Club. A steady 15-20 knots during the first race on Thursday continued to build through Sunday for pure thrills and some spills for the 70 boats competing. Challenging windward-leeward courses allowed for ample tacking duels from the eastern end of the Bay to outside the Golden Gate Bridge, with plenty of opportunities to upset the leaderboard during the downwinds to the finish line in front of spectators at St. Francis Yacht Club. Sailors got what they came for: world class racing in a world class venue. As noted by Chris Perkins, the 2024 Commodore of St. Francis Yacht Club and eight-time winner—this is what Rolex Big Boat Series is all about.
"We're extremely excited about how this week went. The weather was tremendous, and we've had three great days with a very windy fourth and final day. I am glad they only had one race today!" he said. "Long courses and strong winds are what the event is all about and the clubhouse has been full of spectators watching the racing. It's been a fantastic regatta and a success on many levels."
"One of the special things about the past 60 years of this event is that it's attracted some famous yachts from all over the world. We go through cycles where we have 70-footers like Merlin, that come in a group, and then we'll get 50-footers and this year it was a diversity of boats that came to race under the ORC rating system, which is new for our race management, so we expect the fleet to grow."
View all results here.
In the 30-strong J/105 class, considered by many to be the most competitive in the country, Ryan Simmons and his long-standing crew on Blackhawk took home a Rolex timepiece to go with his sixth RBBS win and his fourth as skipper, with a significant 11-point delta over second place NeNe, helmed by Tim Russell. Rolf Kaiser and Justin Oberbauer, owners of Donkey Jack, took third.
"While there wasn't really a defining moment, we did have really good starts and for the most part going the right direction which really worked for us," said Simmons. "Conditions were exactly what you would expect for Big Boat Series—high teens to low twenties with ebb chop. While we may have won by a good margin, it has not taken away from the incredible competition in this fleet. On Thursday, we had an amazing photo finish with Randy Hecht and his team on Niuhi, and a memorable gybing duel with Tim Russell on NeNe on Friday. Racing was very tight and very fun. We've had a great regatta."
"We were doing over 20 knots going into the finish on Saturday. It was crazy. It's an amazing boat for the Bay." — Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee
The second Rolex timepiece was won by Drew Freides racing his Cape 31 Pacific Yankee in the ORC B division, with six bullets over seven races. Chris Sheehan's Warrior Won Cape 31 was second and Peter Wagner on his J/111 Skeleton Key took third. This was his first time sailing RBBS in his own boat, although he has raced the series plenty of times in the past, and he was treated to classic San Francisco Bay conditions.
"The Cape 31 is just an awesome boat. We were doing over 20 knots going into the finish on Saturday. It was crazy. It's an amazing boat for the Bay. The competition was very tough regardless of the margin we won by. Both of the other Cape 31s are very well sailed. We have been going at it with Warrior Won consistently all summer on the east coast. M2 is well sailed, and Skeleton Key with Peter Wagner and his crew do a really great job."
In ORC A, racing came down to the wire with just a two-point differential between winner Lucky Duck, Dave MacEwen's Rogers 46, and Vasara, the custom RP56 owned by Sameer Gandhi and Carlos Badell. Merlin, the Custom Bill Lee 68 owned by Chip Merlin took third.
"Our boat was well-prepared for this regatta. We have a top-notch crew who has sailed over 3,000 miles together this year, so we have lots of time managing the boat in high wind speeds," said MacEwen.
In ORC C, Zach Berkowitz's J/100 Feather won by a robust 13.5-point delta over Bachannal, a J/133 owned by Ron Epstein. Barry Lewis racing his J/120 Chance finished in third.
"I'm really pleased with our result," said Berkowitz. "I have put a fair amount of work into the boat this year. We cut the rudder off by four inches, we bought a new jib, put more rake in the mast, added some weight to the boat. It all paid off and the boat is going fast."
Berkowitz added, "The new mark set bots that the event is using are absolutely fantastic. They are spot on, the starting line is great, there are no postponements—it's really revolutionizing race management."
Felix Weidling, Race Director of St. Francis Yacht Club, on board for his second RBBS event, acknowledged the outstanding teamwork by the club's leadership and over 50 volunteers on the Race Committee.
"Running three separate racecourses at the same time is always challenging to coordinate starting times, courses and race deck finishes for spectators," said Weidling. "We implemented feedback from our competitors into this year's event which resulted in the use of a mark set bot in a new position where we couldn't get a traditional mark to hold. So in the future sailors can look forward to even better courses and more spectacular sailing here on the Bay."
In the J/88 class, Mark Howe's Split Water took first, a solid five points ahead of Tom Thayer and Robert Milligan's Speedwell. Third went to Brice Dunwoodie's Ravenette.
"The combination of shorter windward/leewards in the morning and the Bay tours in the afternoon requires every aspect of tactics, boat handling, sail handling, and, most importantly, endurance," said Howe. "Crisis management has been key; no boat has been without incident, but keeping a cool head and staying focused is important to overcoming challenges. I'm very proud of my crew; they've worked hard with heartfelt enthusiasm and stayed flexible and focused even when things went sideways."
He and his crew were dually awarded the Pacific Yacht Club Association's Jesse L. Carr Perpetual Captain and Crew Trophy, which rewards not just the skipper, but the crew as well, for excellence on the water.
Mark Chaffey and Heidi Hall's Loca Motion dominated the Express 37 fleet with seven bullets over seven races, finishing 15 points ahead of Bartz Schneider's Expeditious. Robert Lugliani's Phat Jack was third. Chaffey has raced RBBS 12 times and made podium twice. He's thrilled with this regatta's outcome.
"Once again, Big Boat delivers. We started at the bottom in 2007 and have been working our way up!" said Chaffey. "I love the quality of the racing at this event. Race Committee sets up very challenging courses. They're long and the racing is difficult. It's a very challenging series and that's what we like."
View all photos here.
Trophies & Rolexes
J/105
As the largest one-design fleet this year, the J/105s competed for StFYC's Commodore's Cup and a Rolex timepiece.
- 1 — Blackhawk, Ryan Simmons
- 2 — Ne*Ne, Tim Russell
- 3 — Donkey Jack, Rolf Kaiser + Justin Oberbauer
J/88
The Richard Rheem Perpetual Trophy, named for longtime StFYC member and skipper of Morning Star—the yacht that proudly broke the Transpac course record in 1949 and 1953—went to the winner of the J/88 class. The PCYA Jesse L. Carr Perpetual Captain and Crew Trophy also went to the top J/88 finisher.
- 1 — Split Water, Mark Howe
- 2 — Speedwell, Tom Thayer + Robert Milligan
- 3 — Ravenette, Brice Dunwoodie
EXPRESS 37
The Express 37s raced for the Keefe-Kilborn Perpetual Trophy, established in 1976 to honor the memory of late StFYC members Harold Keefe and Ray Kilborn,
- 1 — Loca Motion, Mark Chaffey + Heidi Hall
- 2 — Expeditious, Bartz Schneider
- 3 — Phat Jack, Robert Lugliani
ORC A
The St. Francis Perpetual Trophy, which was anonymously donated to StFYC in 1966 to encourage competition between large offshore racing yachts, was presented to the winner of the ORC A fleet.
- 1 — Lucky Duck, Dave MacEwen
- 2 —Vasara, Sameer Gandhi + Carlos Badell
- 3 — Merlin, Chip Merlin
ORC B
The ORC B division raced for a Rolex timepiece and the City of San Francisco Perpetual Trophy, which has been contested since 1968 and features one of the original spades from the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.
- 1 — Pacific Yankee, Drew Freides
- 2 — Warrior Won, Chris Sheehan
- 3 —Skeleton Key, Peter Wagner
ORC C
The Atlantic Perpetual Trophy, featuring a ship's bell from the 1905 Transatlantic-record-breaking schooner Atlantic, was awarded to the winner of the ORC C fleet.
- 1 — Feather, Zach Berkowitz
- 2 — Bacchanal, Ronald Epstein
- 3 — Chance, Barry Lewis
Classics
The Classics competed for the Classic Cup Perpetual Trophy.
- 1 — Mayan, Beau + Stacey Vrolyk
- 2 — Hurrica V, Mark Sanders
Additional Awards
The first place winner of each ORC division also won the ORC West Coast Championship.
The Storm Trysail Team Trophy went to the best scoring three-boat team, with one boat from an ORC class, one from a one-design class, and one from any other class. This year's winners, "Team Hooligans," comprised of Pacific Yankee, Niuhi and Skeleton Key.
The 61st Rolex Big Boat Series will be held September 10-14, 2025 — starting making plans to join us at St. Francis Yacht Club.
For more information visit rolexbigboatseries.com.