The San Francisco Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society’s Three Bridge Fiasco is infamous. I have been intrigued over the years by all of the stories I have heard of the hundreds of boats on San Francisco Bay trying to navigate an unprescribed course around three bridges (or their neighboring marks) in unpredictable and often painfully light conditions.

I was excited as always to be doublehanding with my boyfriend, Brendan on his boat, Siren. Siren is a Santa Cruz 33, and is one of my secret boat crushes (don’t tell Cassiopeia!). We headed out of Richardson Bay at around 0830 on a perfect winter’s day, surrounded by dramatic and captivating beauty that only San Francisco Bay can deliver. Every time I have the opportunity to sail up there, I seem to fall more and more in love with the varied conditions and jaw dropping beauty of that enchanted place.

I was at the helm as we approached the starting area near Golden Gate YC. As I laid eyes on the hundreds of boats circling the area, I felt so nervous that my stomach jumped up into my throat. I had never been on the water with this many boats in close quarters before, and it was startling to me. As we tacked around with them jockeying for our starting position, I was heartened however, by the palpable competence of all of these sailors as they danced skillfully and calmly with us. Having Brendan at the helm was doubly comforting, because there is absolutely non one with whom I feel safer on a sailboat. HIs peaceful confidence instills the same in me.

Part of the challenge and fun of this race, is that there is no set course, only marks around which one must pass. Direction and order in which you do this is up to you. We decided to head to Treasure Island first, which may not have been the best choice in the end, as it took us over an hour to round the island due to light flukey wind and strong currents, but we finally made it.

We sailed almost all the way to our second mark at Red Rock, but by then we were drifting and decided to retire and head back to Sausalito. Only a handful of boats finished that day, but it was wonderful to be out on the water all day in that wonderful place nonetheless. I was also grateful as always for time on the water with Brendan and Siren!