Picture by Dennis Lowe

Ahoy Sequoia

We had the privilege of receiving another very significant proclamation for our youth sailing program. Mayor Alicia Aguirre and the City Council of Redwood City honored us with their award on Monday, the 25th of February.

We were well represented by flag and officers at this event. We were also supported by Mike Giari, Executive Director of the Port who had previously awarded us their separate proclamation.

We know we do great work with our junior sailing program but moments like this remind us all of the tremendous effort the volunteers all put into junior sailing. There are too many to mention but clearly Peter McCormick, Kate and Dan Humphreys, Paul Morgan Witts all go above and beyond! As I mentioned to the Mayor and her council members - most of the Sequoia folks have day jobs and it is remarkable what they contribute to this fine program.

Sequoia has always been a great club. But what is very clear is we are now building a strong future and have great momentum. Importantly we are also building a brand.

Thank you for all that you are doing and a special thank you to all the great people who make junior sailing such a fantastic program!

Peter - your Commodore

The Sequoia Yacht Club Single-handed Series kicked off on Saturday February 23 with Race #1. There were 6 boats in the race.

Lulled by the light winds experienced in most of the previous winter races, the six single-handed skippers were reminded what makes San Francisco Bay such a great and challenging place to sail. Winds were from the NW and in the upper teens to low 20s at the start of the race, with gusts to 25+ not uncommon throughout the afternoon. The race committee sounded the horn promptly at 12:30 and the fleet was off beating to weather on the first 2.8 nm leg.

Once around the windward mark the next leg turned out to be a beam reach. Given a strong ebb current that helped build a 2 to 3 foot swell on the starboard quarter, it was time to do some surfing. Jibs and mains were let out and everyone experienced impressive boat speeds on the way to the next turning mark. This course required two jibes before setting sights on the final run to the finish line at the entrance to Redwood Creek. All in all it was an exciting and rewarding day on the South Bay. Pole Cat (Dan Doud, Wylie Cat 30) took first place, followed by Relentless (Tracy Rogers, J92) and Dare Dare (Nico Popp, Sunfast 3200). Complete race results can be found at www.sequoiayc.org. The next Sequoia single-handed race is on Saturday 4/27.

Note: Most of the racers were too busy to take any pictures, but Tracy Rogers aboard Relentless did have a GoPro camera going. The picture above was a still image taken from his video.

The final installment of the 2012/13 Redwood Cup is this Sunday 3 March. Skipper's meeting is at 12:00 followed by the base start at 13:30.

If the conditions are good we will sail two short races to make up for abandoning Race 1.

Please come out and enjoy the racing, then gather in the club house for refreshments after.

See you on the line,
John Ryan

The annual Sequoia Yacht Club St. Patrick's Day Party following the conclusion of the St. Patrick's Day Race and end of the Winter Series.

Al Montoya will be preparing a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Also featured is music and Murphy's Irish Dancers. This event is an annual highlight of the Sequoia social calendar.

The tall ships are in port and the crews are invited to join us, so come down to the club for a great evening.