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The Collective SSS Memory...

The YRA calendar is a example of continuing courtesy. If a yacht club has an event, they get to keep it whether the event is large or small. This courtesy is an example of how YRA operates smoothly.

As the calendar was perused, an open time slot was found - Super Bowl Saturday. No one would schedule a race to conflict with the Super Bowl, but Saturday was up for grabs. Typically, the Super Bowl was the last weekend in January.

Well, the race chair has the responsibility to come up with a race that fits wind, tide, and time constraints. Let's see the winds go from zero to gale force depending on storm conditions. The tide can be as predicted or way off based on increased runoff from the entire state of Cailfornia.

The SSS asks for a race. No problem..... Let me think about it overnight.
 
The next morning, ideas were running on overdrive. There is no way the SSS race chair can come up with a defined race, so the BEST thing to do was to DELEGATE the race to the skippers. The three marks were chosen as a challenge - Three Bridges or a reasonable approximation for each. Then, the course direction was also left to the Skippers. A reverse handicap start would theoretically having everyone finish at the same time.

The idea was presented to the SSS board (Dan Newland, Peter Hogg, Graham Hawkes, Fred Joyce - to the best of my memory). The response was the race was decidedly different, but Why Not! So, the Three Bridge Fiasco was off.

The race chair and race committe had their work cut out. Well, in 1984, it was easy with only two finishers.

The true success of the Three Bridge Fiasco race was guaranteed by the continuing efforts of the race committee. The race has continually grown and the details to make it work are ever evolving.

The original write up by Latitude 38 added the publicity. I still the issue as well as permission to reprint the article. How, do I get the information on the forum.

Ants
 
I kicked over a shoebox full of photos.

Some may be entertaining.

For the background, I bought a Lightning Class sailboat in 1975 when I was living in NH. Racing skills were non-existent, but I was having fun. The race committee left on my first race because I was too slow to finish.

With a little more experience (not necessarily more skill), I signed up for a regional regatta on Lake Champlain. It was blowing harder than I had experienced before. The knowledge to flatten sail and curve mast was missing.

To avoid capsizing, we sailed along the course with the main flogging. All the flogging shook loose the upper shroud. The result was documented in this faded Polaroid from the day.

image.jpeg

It was a learning experience, not a discouraging. The Lightning ended up with a metal mast and came to CA with me in 1977.

Ants
 
Before my SSS days, I sailed SBRA in my Lightning. The SBRA circuit included many events at the Richmond YC, but Tomales Bay and the Inverness YC was a fun place to sail. Here’s a picture from the late 70’s.
CFCB03D2-B6F4-4F4E-8826-820C257EBB77.jpeg
 
SSS commodores from the 1980’s.
Chuck Hawley around 1982 and 1983
Peter Hogg 1984 to late 1980’s
Ants Uiga 1989 (1/2 term due to move to So CA
Pat Broderick 1990 (finished out my term)

Before Chuck Hawley, was before my time. Maybe George Sigler. But, ask the old timers like Skip!

Ants
 
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