Singlehanded Sailing Society

Bringing solo sailors together since 1977

2025 SHTP!

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Upcoming Events

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January 8, 2025
  • Meeting: SHTP Seminar #3 (OYC & Zoom)

    January 8, 2025  19:00 - 21:00
    Oakland Yacht Club, 1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA 94501, USA
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    Rigging, sails, repairs at sea


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January 22, 2025
  • Meeting: Competitors for Three Bridge Fiasco

    January 22, 2025  19:00 - 21:00
    Oakland Yacht Club, 1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA 94501, USA
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    In Person Competitors' Meeting for the Three Bridge Fiasco


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January 25, 2025
February 5, 2025
  • Meeting: SHTP Seminar #4 (OYC & Zoom)

    February 5, 2025  19:00 - 21:00
    Oakland Yacht Club, 1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA 94501, USA
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    Returning the boat (under sail or by freighter)


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February 19, 2025
  • Meeting: Competitors for Corinthian Race & Awards

    February 19, 2025  19:00 - 21:00
    Oakland Yacht Club, 1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA 94501, USA
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    In Person Competitors' Meeting for the Corinthian Race
    Awards for Three Bridge Fiasco


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February 22, 2025

Recent News

Drake’s Bay Race Announcement

From the SSS and OYRA Race Chairs:

The Offshore Yacht Racing Association, the Single Handed Sailing Society and the Corinthian Yacht Club invite you to join us for the first ever combined Drakes Bay race on August 16th and 17th 2014.  SSS and OYRA will act as co-organizing authorities and CYC will act as our host yacht club as they have for many years providing the race committee on both ends.

The first gun will be at 09:40 each day with the Saturday start in Tiburon and the finish in Drakes Bay.  Sunday start is in Drakes Bay with the finish back at CYC on Sunday afternoon.

OYRA season racers are already signed up for this regatta. SSS and one time racers who wish to join us need only register through the appropriate Jibeset portal for your chosen organization.  All racers will need to comply with the NCORC equipment requirements and will need to complete the usual Jibeset boat information and crew lists the same as for other ocean races.

Racers who are participating in both series can still compete in both, but you will need to complete the boat information and crew list for both races.  If you are doing both series with a different crew count you will need to use the lower crew number for this combined race (for example racers doing OYRA double handed and SSS single handed would need to do this race single handed to be scored in both series).

After the race on Saturday you will get to enjoy the rugged beauty of Drakes Bay while anchored there over night, or better yet if conditions permit raft up with other racers and make a fun evening of it.  Think pot-luck!  

Short-handers – those of us with full crews often have more crew than we have bunks, do you have any to spare?  Feel free to solicit or accept bribes of food and drink for your available bunks!  Please let Paul know if you have any extra room so he can hook you up.

As we did last year we plan on getting US Coast Guard approval to do distress flare practice in the anchorage after Saturday’s race.  Bring your expired or non-SOLAS flares so you and your crew can experience actually using them.  We will start around 2100 or after the last boat arrives in the anchorage.  Please monitor the race channel at that time because we can’t start until given the green light by the USCG and we need to check in and out with them before and after.

The sailing instructions will be up in the OYRA and SSS sections of Jibeset as soon as we have all the details finalized.  Pay close attention to things like starting order since we may combine fleets and there may be a finish line check in both days.

If you have any questions please reach out to your usual contact or email Paul for SSS at [email protected] or Andy for OYRA at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you there and making this an event to remember!

An update from the Commodore

Topics

Three Bridge Fiasco Final Words, Opportunity and Action
Greater March Madness Doublehanded Series
Get Ready for Shorthanded Sailing in the Ocean
We need a PRO on March 29th… are you available?

 

Three Bridge Fiasco Final Words

The Three Bridge Fiasco “awards” meeting is taking place on Wednesday March 26th at Oakland YC starting at 730pm.  I strongly encourage you to “come on out” and get your t-shirt (and so I have less shirts to carry home too J).  After presenting Three Bridge Fiasco awards (which you know will not take very long), we’ll be running the Corinthian race skipper’s meeting.  We also have a guest speaker – Mike Dvorak – computational fluid dynamics Prof at Cal (that means he knows where the wind blows – and maybe more importantly where it does not!).

Opportunity

Curious what Dark and Stormy did to win this year’s Three Bridge Fiasco?  Wonder how they managed to be the only boat that finished?  What track did they take and what tricks did they use to make it to the finish line – just 9 minutes before the race deadline?  Jonathan Hunt and Rodney Hagebols, the crew of Dark and Stormy, are giving a luncheon presentation at the St. Francis Yacht Club on what they did to win this year’s 3BF on this Wednesday March 12th at the St. Francis Yacht Club.  Lunch starts at 11:45, Jonathan and Rodney talk at 12:30 and Q&A is around 1:15 PM.  Jonathan and Rodney told the St. Francis that they wanted their fellow 3BF racers to attend – and they said yes (at least for all 3BF racers that belong to a club that belongs to USSailing).  So take a long lunch this Wednesday and learn how Dark and Stormy managed to finish this year’s 3BF.

Action

The Corinthian race – Saturday March 29th – is a great opportunity for you to get your dose of shorthanded sailing that you missed in this year’s Three Bridge Fiasco, so why not come on out?  Register to race in the Corinthian here. If you already participated in the Three Bridge Fiasco,  you can do the Corinthian race for near the same cost as becoming a member of the SSS – which automatically gets you entry in all SSS races this year (except the Singlehanded Transpac).  So join the SSS – and join us in the Corinthian race.  Register to join the SSS, get full credit for your 3BF entry fee, and race in the Corinthian and the whole SSS season – at near the added cost of just one more race!  So register to race in the Corinthian and become an SSS member here.

 

Greater March Madness Doublehanded Series

For bonus points, SSS, BAMA, Island YC and Oakland YC have created a special race series for doublehanders – “The Greater March Madness Doublehanded Series” – that participate in the following races:

  • March 15        Oakland YC Rites of Spring
  • April 5             Island YC Doublehanded Lightship
  • March 29        SSS Corinthian
  • March 22        BAMA Doublehanded Farallones

The series allows for one throw-out – and costs just $10 to enter.  You can learn more about the Greater March Madness Doublehanded Series here.

Get Ready for Shorthanded Sailing in the Ocean

Next Coastal SAS class scheduled for  Sunday March 16 

New this year, the 4 hour “Coastal” Safety At Sea (CSAS) training class is required for 30% of crew (that’s “all of you if single handed and one of you if doublehanded) to participate in SSS (and OYRA) sponsored Ocean Races.   In addition, SSS increased the number of ocean races this season from 2 to 4 by the addition of Drakes Bay “to and fro”.  If you have already received SAS training in the last 4 years – wonderful and you are “all set”.  If not, now is a great time to get your CSAS SAS training out of the way early – or if you want to just be safer sailing in the ocean.  Note the 8 hours “Offshore” SAS training class is required by the Spinnaker Cup and the PacCup – and also covers the SAS training requirement for SSS ocean races.

March 16, Sunday

Coastal SAS (SSS, OYRA, etc)

9:00 – 2:00 PM

Santa Cruz Yacht Club in Santa Cruz

$45 per person (includes lunch)

Register by calling or emailing Santa Cruz Yacht Club [email protected] or 831.425.0690

Note: There is space for just ten more people in this class – so don’t procrastinate!

April 13, Sunday

Coastal SAS (SSS, OYRA, etc)

9:00 – 1:00 PM

At the Strictly Sail boat show at Jack London Square in Oakland

$65 per person (includes 2 day boat show pass)

Find details at http://norcalorc.org/events

May 18, Sunday

Ocean SAS (PacCup, Spinnaker Cup, Transpac, SSS, OYRA, etc)

8:00 – 5:00PM

Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda

Find details at http://norcalorc.org/events

We hope to see you there – and be safe!

 

We need a PRO for March 29th…

Due to some unforeseen changes, we just lost our PRO for the May 29th Corinthian race.  Are you a PRO – or do you know a PRO – that could lead the Race Committee for the Corinthian race on March 29th?  If yes, we would love to hear from you (and will owe you our first born)!  Contact SSS Race Chair Allen Cooper at [email protected]

Last

Don’t be bashful if you have any questions on any of the above (or anything else about shorthanded sailing).  Reach out to me. I love talking to fellow shorthanded sailors!

And see you out there on the water!

Cheers,

Jim Quanci

Commodore

Singlehanded Sailing Society

415-640-4461

[email protected]