Inspire CEO Offers Perspective (and Tips) on 3BF
Guest Contributor: Leigh Hunt, CEO of Inspire Sailing and Modern Sailing
The 3-Bridge Fiasco is my favorite event on the SF Bay racing calendar. It’s a great kick-start to the sailing season, and I love the double-handed format because it demands a lot out of both crew members. 2022 will be my seventh time competing. Like my last attempt in 2020 I’ll be sailing Phoenix out of the Modern sailing fleet. I’m doing a double-handed entry with Jimmie Marquez a friend who is also one of our skippers and race coaches.
The 3-Bridge racecourse traverses the whole main Bay, and January weather often presents a wide variety of challenging conditions. Light winds often barely pushing the boat enough to overcome the tide which always seems to be flowing in the opposite direction from where you want to go! Sometimes you are sailing briskly focusing on your sail trim, and other times you are drifting so slowly you are watching your speed-over-ground to see if you are making any forward progress. It’s one of the few races in the year where your anchor can play a strategic role!
The biggest strategy decision to be made for this race is usually the order you attempt to round the three marks. We generally use as much weather and tides forecast data as possible to plan our intended route, then make the final assessment out on the course.
A clockwise course from Blackaller to Red Rock and then Treasure Island is often our preferred path, but we’ll see what the weather presents. The wrong call can have you drifting out under the Golden Gate Bridge, sitting at anchor off Crissy field, or stalled and drifting aimlessly just short of Red Rock.
As a less experienced racer it is always a good idea to watch where the majority of boats are headed. You may not win by following the pack, but for many of us a victory in the 3-Bridge is finishing before the 7 pm time limit!
My personal essential equipment for this race is our stern rail mounted BBQ grill, and we’re not afraid to use it! We’ll see you out there!
Here’s a link to a YouTube video from Leigh’s experience in the 2019 Three Bridge Fiasco, including fog, light winds, and drifting backward toward red buoy (occupied by a very outspoken guest!). You have to watch!
