October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38

ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES
When it was announced at last
year's awards ceremony that the '09
Rolex Big Boat Series would function as
the US IRC Nationals, we were hopeful it
would turn out to be one of the biggest
and best in recent memory. That was, of
course, before the bottom dropped out of
the economy. All of a sudden we were left
wondering just how many boats would
actually make it.
Thankfully, the developing strength of
the West Coast IRC fleet meant that the
45th anniversary of the regatta — held
September 10-13 — showed you can't
keep the West Coast's premier event
down. Although the fleet of 95 boats
— 29 in four IRC divisions and 66 in
seven one-design divisions — was about
Page XXX • Latitude 38 • October, 2009
Jim Mitchell's IRC A-winning R/P 52 'Vincitore'
also took home the 2009 US IRC national title.
16 shy of last year's total, the quality was
high, and the mass sufficient to produce
both great racing and spectating.
Along with their typically excellent
race management and parties, hosts St.
Francis YC and Rolex broke new ground
on the spectator side of things, adding
features like live race tracking for the IRC
divisions with mark-by-mark updates
that included corrected times.
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary
of the passing of the still-admired Tom
Blackaller, this year's event kicked off
with an open mic tribute to the two-time
Star world champion, America's Cup
campaigner and one of the most colorful
in the pantheon of Bay Area sailing
characters.
After an awesome opening two
days, with breeze into the low 20s and
sunshine, the one thing no one had any
control over — the weather — produced
a somewhat anti-climactic coda to the
regatta. Frontal activity rolled in Friday
night, bringing with it thunderstorms
and lightning and killing any chance
of consistent breeze, or sun, for that
matter, on the final two days. Although
two races were held on both the Cityfront
and North courses on Saturday in a
relatively steady breeze that never got
above 10 knots, Sunday was a different
story. The regatta ended with a bang
for the four IRC divisions as well as the