Despite a mild start to racing on day two of the Rolex Big Boat Series, competition was anything but easygoing. The wind quickly picked up to 15 knots and gave the 112 boats competing in four IRC and six one-design classes a challenging two races. For the hundreds of spectators lining the sea wall of the St. Francis Yacht Club, the boats were almost close enough to touch as they short-tacked upwind along the shore.

"We came off the line really strong in the start and we were able to dictate in the short tacking and that's where everyone would want to be," said Michael Kennedy (Chicago, Ill.) of racing in the Sydney 38 class course which took the fleet close into shore. "We put in 40-plus tacks going up the city front, which is really classic Big Boat Series. I think we tacked until the crew couldn't do it anymore." Kennedy's Copernicus, the defending class champion, struggled a bit in the first race, but came back to win the second. "We went the wrong direction on Berkeley Circle," said Kennedy about race one. "We missed the first shift and it was all over for us."

Copernicus did remarkably well in yesterday's two races, taking a second in both. What most of its competition didn't know at the time was that the boat's wheel was broken. It held for the first race, but as Kennedy went to put the helm down, steering hard, he heard it completely break. "We steered with the sails and rigged the emergency tiller," explained Kennedy. "Since the tiller is so small, about a foot and a half, I had to lie down in the cockpit and Jud (Smith, the tactician) was my eyes telling me to 'come up two degrees, down two degrees." The wheel was replaced in time for today's racing.

Copernicus is currently in second overall behind Jeff Pulford's (Coral de Tierra, Calif.) Bustin' Loose with local sailor Bill Erkelens onboard calling tactics. With three first places and a third, Bustin Loose will be the boat to watch in that class tomorrow. "Bustin' Loose and Howl aren't going to let us get away with anything," said Kennedy.

For the crew on Copernicus, tonight will be for rest and preparation for tomorrow, which is predicted to have higher wind speeds. "My wife Kate trims the jib and she's the one who probably needs the most rest," said Kennedy.

In the 1D35 class, Andy Costello (Point Richmond, Calif.) repeated his winning ways from yesterday, earning two more first places to lead the seven-boat class. With tactician Jim Barton, Olympic Bronze Medalist (1996, Soling), the team edged out Peter Stoneberg's (Belvedere, Calif.) Shadow. Stoneberg's team, which includes big boat expert Katie Pettibone and 1D35 class originator and Olympic Silver Medalist (1984, Finn) John Bertrand, is only one point behind overall.

In IRC A, John Kilroy's (San Francisco) TP52 Samba Pa Ti leads Roger Sturgeon's (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) STP65 Rosebud; while in IRC B, Lani Spund's (Los Gatos, Calif.) Kokopelli2 leads the 10-boat clas with a win in the day's first race. Dave Kirby's (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) J/122 TKO has a one-point lead in the 13-boat IRC C class over Mike Garl's (San Carlos, Calif.) Beneteau 40.7 White Dove. And in the 10-boat IRC D class, defending champion Gerard Sheridan's (San Francisco) Elan 40 Tupelo Honey leads the class by two points over Acabar, owned by Jean-Yves Lendormy (San Francisco).

Racing continues Saturday with two races planned. Coveted prizes for the fleet are six perpetual trophies - Richard Rheem, St. Francis, City of San Francisco, Atlantic, Keefe-Kilborn Memorial and the Commodore's Cup - and a Rolex Submariner timepiece for each winner.

Regarded by sailors as one of the world's premier sailboat racing events, the Rolex Big Boat Series joins the list of other prestigious Rolex-sponsored events in 2007: the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Rolex TP52 Global Championship and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Susan Maffei Plowden & Dana Paxton www.stfyc.com

Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 September 2007 )