The 2019 El Toro Stampede
By Tom Burden
Photos by Susan Burden
Battle for supremacy in both forward and reverse gear
A bottle of Tanqueray gin, a six-pack of root beer and a 25-pound bag of steer manure; these are among the unique, bizarre awards that have been handed out every year since 1947 at the El Toro Stampede.
Photos by Susan Burden
Battle for supremacy in both forward and reverse gear
A bottle of Tanqueray gin, a six-pack of root beer and a 25-pound bag of steer manure; these are among the unique, bizarre awards that have been handed out every year since 1947 at the El Toro Stampede.
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One of the oldest one-design dinghy events on San Francisco Bay, Richmond Yacht Club’s annual Running of the Bulls is an October tradition. And when you can hear the Blue Angels jets performing loud aerial acrobatics overhead for the Fleet Week celebration, you can bet the El Toro fleet is competing on the Richmond Riviera to see who sails quickest, in both forward and reverse gear.
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The Blue Angels
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All Throwers
The racing began with the first Stampede race, the All Throwers for everyone, held in the calm Potrero Reach waters near Parents Point. Our regatta included a 16-boat Senior Fleet plus six Juniors, who were given their own start. A pair of double windward/leeward races in breeze that built to ten knots delivered close racing. Knowing how to play the significant current determined who succeeded. Nick Nash sailed both fast and smart, winning the Stampede for the second year in a row. John Pacholski and Gordie Nash rounded out the top three.
Bull Throwers
Next, we were separated into four weight classes for the Bull Throwers, with the ultra-lightweight division going first, followed by lightweights and middleweights. I was in my usual spot in the over-180-pound “Clydesdale” division, battling for one of two spots in the Bull Throwers Final Race, which would happen after lunch. This was our shot at “El Sacko de Manuro,” a truly coveted Bullship award! These Bull Throwers elimination rounds finished inside the RYC harbor, for max spectator drama.
The racing began with the first Stampede race, the All Throwers for everyone, held in the calm Potrero Reach waters near Parents Point. Our regatta included a 16-boat Senior Fleet plus six Juniors, who were given their own start. A pair of double windward/leeward races in breeze that built to ten knots delivered close racing. Knowing how to play the significant current determined who succeeded. Nick Nash sailed both fast and smart, winning the Stampede for the second year in a row. John Pacholski and Gordie Nash rounded out the top three.
Bull Throwers
Next, we were separated into four weight classes for the Bull Throwers, with the ultra-lightweight division going first, followed by lightweights and middleweights. I was in my usual spot in the over-180-pound “Clydesdale” division, battling for one of two spots in the Bull Throwers Final Race, which would happen after lunch. This was our shot at “El Sacko de Manuro,” a truly coveted Bullship award! These Bull Throwers elimination rounds finished inside the RYC harbor, for max spectator drama.
Gordie Nash with El Sacko de Manuro which he plans to donate to the flower bed at Waldo Point Harbor (Gordie lives on a houseboat)
Lunch on shore was graciously provided by our PRO, Vickie Gilmour, who also donated her Grand Banks 32 for use as our Race Committee vessel, plus her 13’ Whaler for setting marks. Instant regatta! And then, after munching tuna sandwiches on the RYC deck, we readied for the In-Port Races.
Soda Special and Green Bottle
Ancient El Toro tradition calls for either a no-centerboard race, or a race that’s sailed upwind normally, with the downwind leg sailed stern first. Fortunately, Vickie showed mercy and picked the latter, sparing us the torture of attempting to sail upwind without a centerboard.
The elders in the Senior Fleet jumped into our Toros to begin warming up, with a perfect eight-knot breeze blowing straight down the harbor. Most folks spun out repeatedly and struggled to sail their Toro backwards downwind and maintain a straight course. Some sailors needed to sit up on the thwart and push the boom out by hand, having long arms looked to be a plus. But I had a secret weapon, and when I deployed it, my competitors were impressed.
My Toro has a strong, Dac-cord preventer, that runs through Harken blocks. When I want to engage “reverse” I just point the bow into the wind, yank on the old JC Strap, and out goes the sail. I could sit in my normal spot and concentrate on steering, so as we prepared for our start, I felt a bit like the skipper of Australia II with her secret winged keel. A laughter-filled dip start in front of Fred Paxton got me ahead, and the secret JC Strap got me the Green Bottle. John Pacholski and Chris Boome were second and third in the backwards race.
Soda Special and Green Bottle
Ancient El Toro tradition calls for either a no-centerboard race, or a race that’s sailed upwind normally, with the downwind leg sailed stern first. Fortunately, Vickie showed mercy and picked the latter, sparing us the torture of attempting to sail upwind without a centerboard.
The elders in the Senior Fleet jumped into our Toros to begin warming up, with a perfect eight-knot breeze blowing straight down the harbor. Most folks spun out repeatedly and struggled to sail their Toro backwards downwind and maintain a straight course. Some sailors needed to sit up on the thwart and push the boom out by hand, having long arms looked to be a plus. But I had a secret weapon, and when I deployed it, my competitors were impressed.
My Toro has a strong, Dac-cord preventer, that runs through Harken blocks. When I want to engage “reverse” I just point the bow into the wind, yank on the old JC Strap, and out goes the sail. I could sit in my normal spot and concentrate on steering, so as we prepared for our start, I felt a bit like the skipper of Australia II with her secret winged keel. A laughter-filled dip start in front of Fred Paxton got me ahead, and the secret JC Strap got me the Green Bottle. John Pacholski and Chris Boome were second and third in the backwards race.
Junior winner Evan Sullivan
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Evan Sullivan, who has sailed hard all year and shown tremendous improvement, finished first in the Junior backwards fleet, winning the Soda Special, the aforementioned sixer of A&W Root Beer. The Bull Throwers Final, with the top eight weight-division finalists, was a tough battle with most of the usual suspects including me having made the top group. Gordie Nash pulled ahead on the reach to Daymarker Eight and held on for the in-harbor finish for El Sacko de Manuro. |
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The El Toro fleet is seeing some new faces this fall, like Jim “Zorro” Grossman and returnees such as Chris Boome, so there is good competition everywhere in the fleet. There’s also willingness from top sailors to lend old sails and share advice. Look for more big fleets of El Toros in the upcoming RYC Midwinters with tough, fun racing.
Jim Grossman in his "Zorro the El Toro" alter ego
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Laser hero Chris Boome crosstrains in Vickie Gilmour's El Toro
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