View Full Version : Hoppe Regatta 2009
The annual Hoppe fun regatta is scheduled for Saturday, June 13. Come circumnavigate Angel Island (the direction is up to you).
START: The start - finish line is located off the Corinthian Yacht Club in Raccoon Strait. The race will start at 1300 hours (1:00 PM). (Prepatory signal 1250 hours, warning signal 1255 hours.) The power cruiser SOLSTICE is the committee boat.
COURSE: Sail around Angel Island in either direction.
FINISH: SOLSTICE - where you began.
CURRENTS: Be sure to check your tidal charts, they may be important to your strategy. Note too, that currents near Angel Island are 15 to 20 minutes after max at the Golden Gate. An old sailing adage is “hold to the beach.” Also, be aware of the major wind shadow behind Angel Island.
PROTESTS: No protests will be allowed. Rules of the road apply. First qualified boat to finish wins.
ALLOWANCES & HANDICAPS: No allowances for BBQ grills, TVs, excessive tool supplies or cruising gear.
AWARDS GATHERING: The regatta should end early enough to give everyone plenty of time to get to the 6:30 PM awards ceremony. Location will be the Encinal YC bar.
You are invited to attend the gathering whether or not you join the race. But, in ether case, please let us know your intentions and if you will need guest berthing. The final location will likely depend on the number attending.
I am planning on being there... (Race & Gathering) This will be my first Ariel / Commander regatta...
Sailing instructions have been mailed to all Bay Area skippers for whom we have addresses. If you don't receive a copy by Saturday, please E-mail me your boat number, name and address. ;)
Bill Phelon
minksf
06-03-2009, 10:52 AM
Portugal Princess is back from her coastal cruise and ready to RACE!
Michael
c-19
We Race Tomorrow -- Rain Or Shine! ;)
Another great day for the annual Hoppe Memorial Regatta on SF Bay. Fresh breezes and a strong ebb tide made for an exciting finish as the two Commanders raced to the finish line. Although MEPHISTO CAT appeared first from behind Angel Island first, coming around the Eastern side, it was PORTUGAL PRINCESS who crossed the finish line first – thanks to an ebb tide and a declining Westerly breeze.
Here's a view of San Francisco from SOLSTICE, the committee boat.
The two competitors MEPHISTO CAT and PORTUGAL PRINCESS
Approaching the start which was slightly fouled by an errant non competitor who did not seem to know there were other boats in the vicinity.
MEPHISTO CAT SAILS WEST around Angel Island
PORTUGAL PRINCESS SAILS EAST around Angel Island
The winner, PORTUGAL PRINCESS, crosses the finish line.
The second place Commander, MEPHISTO CAT, crosses the finish line.
Twelve skippers, crew and race committee members assembled at the Encinal Yacht Club for the awards ceremony & dinner. First, of course, there’s the bar:
Michael Bell receiving the "keeper" trophy (bottle of champaign) from Kent Smith.
Michael Bell receiving the new Hoppe trophy from Bill Phelon. [With some irony, since Michael is the creator of the new trophy!]
A great time was had by all at the 2009 Hoppe Regatta. PORTUGAL PRINCESS and MEPHISTO CAT are planning on a rematch next year. Expect to see some Ariels competing with those Commanders for the champaign trophy!
minksf
06-14-2009, 05:06 PM
Thanks to the Ariel Association for a wonderful regatta. I'm thinking next year you'll anchor tighter to the sea-wall to make the start even MORE exciting:)
I was looking forward to passing the new trophy along yesterday. I hop(p)e to see Mesthiso and every other Commander / Ariel in the bay area out next year (come to think of it...I did see Nemesis working on their boat on dock 5 today).
After 2 years of being a DNS, it's nice to have finally raced.
Thank You, Thank you, Thank you
Michael - Portugal Princess C-19
minksf
06-15-2009, 08:17 AM
Here is Portugal Princess' course and wind conditions at point blunt for the race.
carl291
06-15-2009, 09:29 AM
Nice Job Bill, Well done . Your prediction and clarion call for a 100% increase in Ariel/ Commander boat count was correct.
Might I ask you for this weeks lottery numbers? Before the drawing of course:D:D
This was altogether an outstanding sailing weekend!
The highlight was definitely the Hoppe regatta on Saturday. It was a bunch of fun and look forward to participating again! It is not often that we get to sail with fellow A/Cs
Many congratulations to the able skipper and skillful crew (certainly bucaneers in a former life!) of the fine sailing vessel 'Portugal Princess' on a well deserved victory!! - I look forward to sailing with Michael & crew out on the Bay again. Going opposite directions made it interesting, but It would have been fun to sail boat-on-boat. - Well, we'll have to do that next time!
And many thanks to the race committee for a great event. I enjoyed both the race AND the gathering / beer / dinner with every one afterwards - It was great to meet other Ariel / Commander skippers, sailors, and crew.
The weather was beautiful all weekend and the winds just like those that the SF bay is famous for... (- the exeption was a few lacking puffs at critical moments! - but I'll expand on this on the play-by-play soon on this page...).
Thanks again for a great event and I am already looking forward to next year!
PS. I started the day off from the Berkeley Marina and could not help noticing at least TWO Commanders & TWO Ariels tied up at the docks. And this is just on the two docks within 'earshot' of my guest slip... I think Michael mentioned a couple of Pearsons at his Marina...
- If you are the skipper of one of these boats you should get out there!
Here is the route data for the Mephisto Cat.
A small technical glitch prevented us from getting accurate time data (I forgot to turn on the GPS BEFORE the start :( ). - You can see this in the gap in the yellow loop which corresponds to the Hoppe regatta.
I am able to correct the DISTANCE data by joining the points at the finish line and the start of the track recording.
-We can safely assume that this is is the shortest route possible as this portion is plotted as a straight line...
Total distance traveled: 8.9 Miles
The time to finish: ?
Average speed (for recorded track portion): 5.0 mph
We set off in a counterclockwise direction and had a beautiful ride around Angel Island until a bit after the second tack inside Racoon straits when the usually reliable wind inside the straights died out and left us drifting (and tacking against a light current) with a great seat from which to see the Portugal Princess approach the finish line...
(The purple tracks are other trips...).
minksf
06-17-2009, 01:10 PM
Looks like you're using Mapsource. What time does it give for your final log point (finish line)? If you right click that course it should tell you under "Track Properties".
Hey Michael,
I looked at the data track. I did not mark the point as we crossed finish line so I cannot tell exactly where the marker is... :( Looking at the data close-up I think I can tell where we finished, but it is just an estimate based on a point of tack. As best I can tell, our finish time was in the 0:44 to 0:47 minute mark... or somewhere in there. Likely the latter, considering our lag. :o
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