What I Saw – by Jackie Philpott

 

Melges 2024 World Championship

In August I sailed over to the San Francisco Yacht Club to deliver a belt buckle to Sean Mulvihill. Sean raced in the 2023 Singlehanded Transpacific Race on S/V Jamani, a J120. The reward for completing that race is a beautifully crafted bronze belt buckle. Sean had not collected his buckle while he was in Hanalei Bay, so delivering it to him created a pleasant destination sail for me.

I called ahead to the SFYC harbormaster, but the call went to voicemail. I sailed over anyway. When I arrived there was a sign on the guest dock that read “No Parking on Guest Dock. Regatta in progress.” Well, I wasn’t going to stay long, was I? Tying Dura Mater up to a cleat, I walked up the ramp where a fella was hanging up his foul weather jacket on the hand rail.

“Hello! Do you know where the harbormaster’s office is?”

Peter Karrié smiled at me, said, “No idea. I’m from Germany.” Peter was here to race in the Melges International Championship Regatta, held this year at the San Francisco Yacht Club. The Melges is a high-performance racing keelboat that behaves like a dinghy. For this regatta they are a one-design fleet, which means that they must all have identical hulls, rigging, equipment and sails. For example, International Melges 24 hulls can only be manufactured by Melges Performance Sailboats in the U.S. or by Yacht Services Ltd. in Szczecin, Poland, both of which are referred to as licensed builders. They are very fast and beautiful to watch on the water.

San Francisco Yacht Club is tucked away behind the Corinthian Yacht Club between Belvedere and Tiburon. On this sunshiny day it was probably the nicest place to be in all of the Bay Area. I walked up the ramp toward where people were sitting under umbrellas on the deck, eating lunch. Boy did they look comfortable. And I was kind of hungry, too. But I was on a mission: Find the harbormaster, apologize for my disobedience and announce my intention to stay only long enough to deliver Sean’s belt buckle.

There was a slew of Melges race boats on trailers in the club’s yard, and people were busy doing all the things sailboat racers do to prepare for battle. I went from boat to boat, but nobody had a clue where the harbormaster’s office was located. They were all from Croatia, Italy or… Wisconsin. Yes, all those foreigners and not one of them knew how to find the harbormaster. So, I gave up, chatted with people about their boats, their race ambitions and their general happiness on this lovely day.

I chatted with Team Full Throttle, and the brothers Porter from the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. Brian Porter, Senior, owner and helmsman, towed the boat from Wisconsin, stopping off in Idaho to visit friends. Brothers Brian and A.J. Porter flew out with the bowman, Matt Woodworth, to round out the four-person Team Full Throttle.

The Lake Geneva Yacht Club was founded in 1874, and in 2023 The Melges National Championship races were held there. This regatta at the San Francisco Yacht Club was the Melges 24 World Championship. I asked the Porters how they had qualified for this regatta and Brian told me that he thought it was open to anybody who was willing to drive or fly here with their boats. Sailors from a yacht club with that kind of pedigree might get grandfathered in to any regatta they want to attend. Certainly, there seemed to be no sense of urgency among these three youngest members of the crew. They were here in California to have fun. Or maybe it was because they knew that they would be competing against international teams.

Regardless, they told me they were here in California to have a good time. I asked whether they would have time to sail for fun while they were here. They looked at each other and laughed, told me they would sail in the regatta, then they would look for fun on land.

I asked about ice boats and the Porter brothers laughed, pointed to Matt and said, “He is the iceboater. Not us!”

“Those people are serious!” was their opinion. And yes, he races iceboats on Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. I agreed with them and promised to send on the Bay and Delta Yachtsman Magazine column from April of this year, in which I wrote about iceboating in Madison. Helmets are used when iceboating in Wisconsin. I didn’t see many helmets on this day.

Team Full Throttle came in fifth place in this regatta. Even against international teams, Badgers can be ferocious.

Gena And Her Water Witch (Boat Boys Included)

From the deck of the yacht club, I watched as the lovely S/V Water Witch slowly approached the forbidden dock. Built in 1920, Water Witch is a 52-foot wooden cutter, restored by Gena and John Egelston. Three Egelstons were aboard this day: Gena, John and their son, who has a quick smile and a ready reach for lines and fenders.

“We won’t stay long! We’ve just come by for a drink of water!” called John to anyone who was listening. I myself was already talking with Gena, who told me that they were on their way to Aquatic Cove in the City. The Master Mariners Association had made arrangements to have a wooden boat cruise-out for the weekend, complete with music and libations.

John returned from the clubhouse with a tall plastic glass of orange and pink liquid, which looked suspiciously like a Mai Tai. He was smiling like a man with a Mai Tai, too, but then he handed it to his wife.

“I’m driving,” he informed those of us standing around. We all nodded and smiled back at him. Then the Egelstons cast off their lines and motored slowly away.

I’d been there for a while, so it was time for me to drop off the belt buckle and leave the beautiful San Francisco Yacht Club. After I did that I walked back to Dura Mater and passed Peter Karrié again, who was still waiting for his follies to dry. He offered to help me turn her around at the dock, head into the wind so I could raise her mainsail at the dock. People like to help me turn Dura Mater around and when they do I chat them up.

Peter talked about his own boat, S/V Nefeli, and his team members who were from Italy and Slovenia. Nefeli’s home port is the 125-year-old Segelclub Rheingau. The Rheingau is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch near Frankfurt. Next week Team Nefeli heads to Croatia for the next regatta.

I asked about the name of his boat, and Peter told me she is named after a beautiful nymph who was transformed into a cloud by Zeus. There’s more to the story than that of course, but you’ll have to look it up for yourself because this is not a Greek mythology lesson.

Team Convexity out of Chicago won this regatta. Why didn’t I interview the winners? Well, because I interviewed the first person I saw when I stepped off Dura Mater. That’s how it’s done here at What I Saw. However, here are the results if you are interested.

They can be found at https://2024worlds.melges24.com/en/default/races/race-resultsall

Steve Meckfessel Politely Disagrees

In last month’s column I mentioned that I had a conversation with Steve Meckfessel, one of the principal developers of the Marina Village Research Park.

Steve was involved in the development of the Research Park at Marina Village. He is also the largest investor and current manager of the 770-berth Marina Village Yacht Harbor in Alameda. The issue of the proposal to build a bridge over the Estuary came up when I very subtly sought his opinion.

After introducing myself and thanking him for his hospitality, I asked, “Hey, Steve! Waddya think about that Bridge idea?”

This is what he said: “I think the bridge is a crazy idea. I’ve been working in Alameda for 45 years, and started working on this project, Marina Village, 45 years ago. Before we bought the project I worked for Village Properties, the company that developed Marina Village, both the marina as well as the office and the Research and Development space. The research park.

“I just don’t think it’ll get that much use. Quite frankly, I don’t think it will be that pleasant of an experience going up to that height and into the wind. And it would block all the boats. It would mean the Estuary races, all the regattas, would be out of the question. Raising and lowering a bridge would require people on the water to stop and wait. The people on the land, the people who are walking or bicycling, will have to stop. It would require a barrier at both ends. Alameda, historically and currently, is a maritime town. There are 3000 slips/berths in Alameda. Per capita that represents the most boats of any city in the Bay Area. I think this proposal is turning its back on what has made Alameda what it is. It is totally bizarre.

“It represents good intentions, but you want to have a pleasant, wonderful experience? Take your bike on an open ferry! I would say that a ferry is the way to go. My analogy is like going to Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland. It would be really pleasant to go on that raft.

“My wife is Brazilian. Brazil has all these little ferries all over the place and you can just hop on ‘em. You can walk onto them; you can walk on with a bike or drive on in a car. The water is not a barrier!

“And ferries are so much less expensive!”

The Billion Dollar Bridge

“That bridge? That bridge will be a billion-dollar Bridge. How are they going to get the funding, and how many people are really going to use it?

“And then, the way it’s been designed! With those long ramps? There are also a lot of eminent domain issues, the ownership of property issues. They don’t have permission from the property owners on either side. I don’t think going up that long, long, long serpentine ramp is going to be a pleasant experience, really. It’s not like the Golden gate bridge, where you start high because of the topography, then you just walk across the bridge, which is a whole other experience. The Golden Gate Bridge is high enough so you can motor or sail underneath it, without it having to be raised up and down.”

We Were All Bikers Once

“I used to be a biker, though I’m not any more. I know that someone who is 25 years old might push his bicycle up to the top of this bridge in order to bike across the estuary, but I wouldn’t try to climb up. For one thing, I would rather take my bike on the ferry and experience being right on the water.

“To my knowledge there is no money for it. There are multiple agencies and cities involved in this: BCDC, the Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard Island and the cities of Oakland and Alameda. So, the agencies involved have not yet approved the proposal, and the funding has not yet been obtained.”

A fella sitting at a table nearby offered his opinion. He said, “I just talked to someone yesterday. There is a small ferry docked at Jack London Square and he took his grandchildren on the water taxi three or four times to and from the marina. He said his grandchildren love to ride the water taxi.”

Steve had more to say: “Two thousand boaters and their crew members would be negatively affected by a bridge. I have a lot of respect for Alameda city representatives. We’ve worked together on things over the years. But I think this is just an absolutely crazy idea.

“I asked them whether they have factored into their budget the inverse condemnation claims from all the marinas, all the boaters? Because this bridge idea would affect their property values? I asked them, ‘Don’t you like the revenue the marinas bring in? What are you going to do when you have to pay everybody for what you’ve done to their property?’

“I’ve heard that, in the city, they consider the estuary a barrier. I don’t consider the estuary a barrier! They mean that it is getting in the way of people walking or biking from here to Oakland. So, they consider it a barrier. I consider the estuary to be an incredibly historic and important means of facilitating recreation and transportation. In my opinion the water is an artery of connecting communities. In my opinion the bridge would be the barrier.

“On the other hand, there is already infrastructure here for a ferry service. And ferry service is so much more pleasant.”

This was becoming a polite rant. I offered my own opinion: A ramp to the top of the bridge and down the other side would also have to meet ADA requirements (the Americans with Disabilities Act), which would require an incredibly long approach. And what if you didn’t have an electric wheelchair? Somebody’s going to push you up that long ramp? I don’t think so.

The bridge would have to have operators. What happens when it breaks down or when it’s stuck in one position or another? Bridge operators would have to be hired, with all the attendant costs of wages, retirement, health and pension benefits. Bridge operators would have to be paid regardless of whether the bridge was used or not, whether it would be broken or not.

Then we talked about the several bridges up river in the Delta which have been inoperable for whole seasons. We talked about the decision to remove the bike lane on the Richmond Bridge, and the opposition by business owners in Chinatown to add a bike lane through Chinatown in the City.

Steve sighed. He was winding down.

He noted that he was not aware that any City of Oakland representatives had participated in the discussions regarding the bridge proposal. He had not seen them at any of the sessions he had attended. They never came to any of the sessions. Of course, he noted, Oakland has its own challenges.

I asked him about the proposed anchor points for the bridge.

Steve said, “Down toward the Bay, in the Station development, the argument was that a bridge would enable people to get to the new Oakland Athletics baseball park. Well, the Athletics are in Las Vegas now. That would be a long bridge.”

2024 Jazz Cup from Richmond To Benicia

Every year there is a sailboat race between Richmond and Benicia called the Jazz Cup. The South Beach Yacht Club sponsors it and the Benicia Yacht Club hosts it. According to the SBYC website, the first year of the race was in 1989. It is almost always a downwind race most of the way, although I suppose some people have participated in it when the wind came from the northwest instead of the southwest.

I also don’t know why it is called the Jazz Cup except maybe because a jazz band plays on the patio of the Benicia Yacht Club. This was my first Jazz Cup and I forgot to ask. This year I was invited along to race on a schooner, the S/V Sir Edmund. Yes, a two masted boat that races. There are so many lines on that boat that the crew lost track of half of them. There are halyards galore, one for each mast, and also for the jib sails and after that for the spinnakers. There are all those winches and sheets. Whooeee! Lots of spaghetti wrapped around our ankles.

At one point in the San Pablo Bay, we had six sails up. It was great fun. Afterward Sir E’s owner, Andy Schwenk, noted that we zigged when we should’ve zagged, so we didn’t do that well in the race. Who knew?

Once all the sails were up I didn’t have much to do besides take photos, so that’s what I did. Before we left the dock I was told to “just try to stay out of the way.” Lisa Wilson is the wonder girl who is usually the first mate on Sir E. Lisa knows how to do everything. However, Lisa was not available that weekend. I was told to stand in the companionway, where Lisa usually stands, and be available to… hand up the sandwiches. Which I did. And I like to think that I did it with aplomb.

The race was great fun and everyone was having a good time on the other boats, too. There was some trash talking and some happy yelling. It is that kind of race and all the spinnakers are real pretty, too. The sun was shining and we had excellent wind the whole way.

Once we arrived at Benicia Yacht Club we promptly went into the mud. We could still rock sideways a little bit. Sir Edmund has a 9-foot draft, so going into the mud was not unexpected. Not that it upset anyone. Once the other seventeen people disembarked for the bar, the boat plopped up out of the mud quite a bit and Captain Andy said we could stay for exactly one more hour before the mud would grab us again for the evening. So, we all walked around for a while.

When we arrived people were already swimming in the water between the boats that were rafted up. Why? Because it’s warm there! Here is Bob Walden, who snuck in ahead of Sir Edmund on his Cal 39 S/V Sea Star at the Carquinez Bridge. Bob sneaks up and passes other boats a lot, especially his friends’ boats.

The Jazz Band Paper Planes was playing on the Club’s outside patio and there were people already serving beer and food when we arrived at 3:00. The clubhouse has big windows and is full of sunshine. The people were very friendly.

I chatted with M.J. Schmidt, the club manager, who said that everyone at Benicia Yacht Club looks forward to the Jazz Cup. We talked again on the phone a few days later and M.J. told me this: “Jazz Cup is always a positive experience. It’s about opening Benicia Yacht Club up to the public, bringing in the community and sharing our club.”

MJ also pointed out that the beer that was being served was brewed locally in Benicia by the family owned and operated Bruhol Brewery. She welcomes all to come taste it for themselves during their Octoberfest celebration. You can visit www.brueholbrewing.com for more info on their brew plus the upcoming Oktoberfest event.

Benicia Yacht Club is open to new memberships, and you can email them at Membership@BeniciaYachtClub.org if interested.

News From Gary Mull’s Daughter, Kelly

Recently, we heard from Kelly Mull-White, Gary Mull’s daughter. Gary used to write for Bay and Delta Yachtsman Magazine, and oh, by the way, he was also one of the most prolific and successful American sailboat designers of the 20th century. I guarantee that every marina in San Francisco has a Mull Design in it. In Richmond my boat is surrounded by them and they are still sailed regularly. This summer Gary Mull, who is no longer with us, will be inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame at the Chicago Yacht Club in October. Kelly will attend the ceremony. She has promised to send us some unique information about her father, and we will post it here when it arrives.

Also In December

I have travelled to Port Townsend three times, and every time I did, I looked longingly out at the water to where lucky locals are sailing their boats. I have finagled a ride on a Nordic 40 sailboat, the S/V Denali, from Anacortes down to San Francisco. Captain Schwenk, he of the Schooner Sir Edmund, promises “the dime tour” of the San Juan Islands before we sail over to Neah Bay and down the coast of Washington, Oregon and California. Oh, be still my heart and I sure hope I don’t get sea sick. I don’t get sick on my own boat, but then again, it’s all about the sea state and whether I’m at the wheel or downstairs handing up those sandwiches. I’ll let you know, and of course there will be photos.

Until next month, thank you for reading. Write to me at jackie@yachtsmanmagazine.com and let me know if you have anything you would like to share. Enjoy your time on the water and let’s all be careful out there.