2011 4.7 and Master Worlds Preview

SFBayLaser

SFBayLaser

Member
For those planning to attend the 2011 4.7 or Master Worlds in San Francisco next Summer, you can watch the Finn Gold Cup racing this week to start getting an idea of what it might be like. The Finns are launching from Steve's Marina, as will the Lasers, which is conveniently located on the waterfront in the Richmond Riviera. They are racing right on the Berkeley Circle (pretty much right here, scroll up to see where the boat launch is), in the teeth of the gale so to speak, so wind speeds will be at the maximum of what the Lasers will see next year (since we don't plan, necessarily, to sail in the windiest section of the circle, but see here yesterday's winds from the iWindSurf archives to help demonstrate that its not always nukin' either). The Finns also sail waaaaay longer courses than the Lasers - yesterday's second race had them doing a 1.8 mile beat! Still, you can see the action and get a flavor for the racing.

The Finn Gold Cup website has SailGroove doing live on the water video of the racing as well as video interviews of top and interesting sailors, Kattuck on the water tracking of the boats during the races, photo galleries and, finally, write ups of the racing after the fact. Lots of good information there to start thinking about next year!
 
Hey Tracy... is there accommodation nearby, or is the plan for people to stay across the bay in San Francisco proper?
 
TonyB said:
Hey Tracy... is there accommodation nearby, or is the plan for people to stay across the bay in San Francisco proper?
Click to expand...

There are no large hotels within walking range, if that is what you mean.

If you look at the satellite image of the marina, just to the west is a large condo/townhome complex and there is the possibility for a few rentals there, which would be walking range.

However, this being California, where everything is interconnected with freeways, you are really going to want to have some form of transportation... which very closely resembles an automobile. That will allow you to zip up north to the Napa Valley (less than an hour from Richmond), or up to Lake Tahoe (less than 3 hours from Richmond), over to the city (in theory about 30 minutes but you gotta cross a bridge somewhere...), south to Monterey/Carmel (around 2 hours), etc. So, if you get a rental car then you are free to decide where you want to stay and there are pretty endless options at that point, from staying in the city (which, of course, is going to present lots of night life options), to closer to venue.

Nearest the venue is Point Richmond (scroll to east on the map) where there are a few bed and breakfast type places and one reasonable motel. Also around Point Richmond, and close to the Richmond Yacht Club, are possibilities for short term rentals on homes/condos/apartments, though they will probably be happiest if you are looking for a 2 week stay. To the west is Berkeley/Emeryville where there are several large hotels running the full range from acceptable to luxury. In the general area of the venue its best to stay to the south of the 580 freeway, any accommodations immediately to the north of it are not going to be of an acceptable standard (even though they might appear to be close). Further away, besides the City, one can also cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to find a number of places in Marin County. To/from the venue will be "anti-commute" so traffic would not be an issue in the mornings. Finally, further north/east of Richmond are a number of small towns which have ample accommodations... and it only gets warmer as you go that direction!

The event website is under construction now and aiming to go live probably in the October time frame and will try to provide more details.
 
Note that former North American Laser sailor Zach Railey, Paige's brother, is holding down second place in the Gold Cup!

The physical fitness required to race those boats downwind when the "O" flag is up is simply amazing. The top 30 or so of these sailors are monster hunks of muscle, that's for sure, and their aerobic ability must be up there with world class runners. You can really see the difference fitness makes, the distance they put on the rest of the fleet is incredible. Really something to watch.
 
Thanks Tracy. Sounds like a car is the way to go then - driving on the wrong side of the road will freak me out a bit though!
 
Tracy, so essentially no accommodation close to the venue other than one hotel, Hotel Mac I think it is called?

Big wave and strong wind event sounds good but driving a fair distance everyday to an event doesn't sound so good.

Are you going to have one central hotel where competitors can stay or will it be just a general free for all in the surrounding area for suitable accommodation?

That Richmond area looks the closest area to the venue. I see what you mean about not much accommodation there though.

I am not particular about quality of accommodation at a regatta myself, I would happily camp if it put me 5 mins away from where I am sailing. It is about not having to deal with the stress of driving and always rushing around when you want to relax and just enjoy the sailing. The nice hotels can wait for a time when you can properly enjoy them. Maybe I can crash out on a yacht in the marina!
 
Tracey, are the US champs going to clash with the masters worlds next year or is it possible to do both...the 2011 planner has dates which look like they overlap? cheers! mike
 
Sean said:
Tracy, so essentially no accommodation close to the venue other than one hotel, Hotel Mac I think it is called?

Big wave and strong wind event sounds good but driving a fair distance everyday to an event doesn't sound so good.

Are you going to have one central hotel where competitors can stay or will it be just a general free for all in the surrounding area for suitable accommodation?

That Richmond area looks the closest area to the venue. I see what you mean about not much accommodation there though.

I am not particular about quality of accommodation at a regatta myself, I would happily camp if it put me 5 mins away from where I am sailing. It is about not having to deal with the stress of driving and always rushing around when you want to relax and just enjoy the sailing. The nice hotels can wait for a time when you can properly enjoy them. Maybe I can crash out on a yacht in the marina!
Click to expand...


I can't right now answer question about "central hotel". My impression of Halifax was that most masters found their own lodging nearer the venue (certainly I did). And you also need to remember that SF is the number one tourist destination in the US (so we're told) and I'm guessing that nearly everyone who will come here will have a different idea of where best to stay. So we're still wrestling with the "central hotel" idea.

For the ultra serious who don't care about accommodation, there are motels within 5 minutes driving and they will be published on the website when it goes live. And, as I mentioned, there are possibilities for short term condo/townhouse/home rentals as well.
 
Mike M said:
Tracey, are the US champs going to clash with the masters worlds next year or is it possible to do both...the 2011 planner has dates which look like they overlap? cheers! mike
Click to expand...

Wow! Training in Santa Monica Bay for a Master Worlds on San Francisco Bay!
Well, I suppose they can get breeze there. And we can light winds here too. And the water temperature there is not really much warmer than up here. And you can fly to Disneyland from here faster than you can drive there from Santa Monica.

A higher authority put dates for Master Worlds where they are (we originally had them later) and, unfortunately, the US Championship dates had already been picked (to fit with the original masters' dates). So.... yes, there is now a conflict. But in the hierarchy of world regatta conflicts this one loses... so far.
 
Hopefully everyone planning to be at the 2011 4.7 and Master Worlds has been watching the Finn Gold Cup! They staged out of the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor (aka "Steve's Marina" after LaserForum member SOrosz who is the harbor master there) and raced in the windiest section of San Francisco Bay. They saw winds ranging from a low of 12-15 (today) to a peak of mid-20's (yesterday) and everything in between over the course of the week.

I **think** because their courses were so long (ie 1.5-1.8 mile first beats) they saw a tendency for the right side to be favored. For long courses this can often be the case because the wind bends a bit around Angel Island. However, when we race down there in Lasers, Melges, Etchells, etc., on 1 mile beats (or shorter), and maybe slightly to the right of where they set up (as would be the case for the Masters), we can often see left or even small shifts up the middle be the winning combination. So, I'd not take what the Finnsters did as the only option. I tend to think since their weather mark was out in the "deeper" water (20-40 feet) and feeling the current more, their course placement was in the center of the Berkeley Circle slot AND because their weather mark was relatively close to Angel Island, the top of their beats was what gave the right the advantage in the wind/tide combinations they saw. But that's the beauty of racing on the Berkeley Circle - its not a simple race course!

The medal race today was quite exciting to watch. It appears the Spaniard in second place conceded victory to Ed Wright from the start and went after the GBR boat in third overall, driving him back to last place at the first mark rounding. Former North American Laser sailor Zach Railey almost overcame the point difference needed to move into third overall - he needed to win the race with the GBR boat in last and it almost happened. Zach finished a relatively close second, the GBR boat just pulled out a ninth! Really fun to watch that!
 
Sean said:
Tracy, so essentially no accommodation close to the venue other than one hotel, Hotel Mac I think it is called?

Big wave and strong wind event sounds good but driving a fair distance everyday to an event doesn't sound so good.

Are you going to have one central hotel where competitors can stay or will it be just a general free for all in the surrounding area for suitable accommodation?

That Richmond area looks the closest area to the venue. I see what you mean about not much accommodation there though.

I am not particular about quality of accommodation at a regatta myself, I would happily camp if it put me 5 mins away from where I am sailing. It is about not having to deal with the stress of driving and always rushing around when you want to relax and just enjoy the sailing. The nice hotels can wait for a time when you can properly enjoy them. Maybe I can crash out on a yacht in the marina!
Click to expand...

I got some feedback from a couple of the Dutch Finn sailors about the hotel they stayed in which is a short drive away. They said it was fine even though it's in a dull residential area off the freeway and the price was good enough that they rented a Mustang convertible to drive around in for a few days. There are certainly nicer ones not much further away so people will have options to choose from. The driving isn't that bad around here even if you stay a ways away from the marina. Now if you opt to go to the US Championships in Marina Del Rey instead you'll have the legendary LA traffic to contend with. . .
 
Charters available for 2011 Laser Master Worlds

For those looking for charters for the Master Worlds, Svendsen's Marine is offering Laser Radials and Fulls... To inquire about chartering, go here:

http://www.svendsens.com/charters/0211_Charter_Form.html

...and submit the form. It's just name/email/phone, and you can indicate whether you're interested in a Radial, Full, or both. Once you submit the form, a Svendsen's Laser specialist will contact you (usually the same day).

Also, someone was looking for applications - here are those links:
Master Worlds sailors:
http://events.laserinternational.org/en/events/overview/100z62
4.7 sailors:
http://events.laserinternational.org/en/events/overview/100z61

...They're suggesting people apply as early as possible for the Master Worlds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top