October 30, 2017 (Tiburon, CA) This past Saturday, Memo Gidley came out with a win in Race 1 of the Single Handed Sailing Society’s Vallejo 1-2 race. This race takes place once a year and has been part of the shorthanded series that has been running in the San Francisco Bay for many, many years. Race 1, which took place on Saturday, was a single-handed (one person), 20 mile sail from Berkeley to the Vallejo Yacht Club. Race 2, which took place on Sunday, is a double-handed (two person) race back.

“The Vallejo 1-2 is a once-a-year race that I look forward to all year because it’s just you and your boat,” said Gidley. “I usually do Sunday’s race with my Mom as my crew back. But I was unable to do Race 2 this year so my racing was limited to Saturday’s event only.”

The start of Saturday’s race was delayed as the race committee wanted to wait for the breeze to fill in. Once it did and the race got underway, all the single handed boats were challenged into trying to find the best route against the light breeze and flood current. “My start was good; and then it was about looking for the most wind and the most current to help. Unfortunately they were usually in different spots!” said Gidley. “But Basic Instinct sailed awesomely and I made some good decisions on what route to take.”

A little over 5 hours later, Gidley heard the gun as he crossed the finish line first out of his competitive 12-boat class. “Always great to hear the gun as you cross the line – and even better when you are first! And then to dock-up and celebrate with your fellow competitors – it’s a great weekend. But because I had family obligations on Sunday, I turned right around and sailed another 20 miles back home!” said Gidley. “Even though I got home late and didn’t get much sleep since I had to catch an early morning flight, it was totally worth it!”