Will Big Boat Series be big again?

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The annual Big Boat Series held on San Francisco Bay is annually teased for not having big boats. It did in the 1970s and 80s with IOR maxis such as Kialoa, Windward Passage, Boomerang, and Il Moro di Venezia. They were followed in 1990s with the 70-foot Sled Class, but the boats have been shrinking for the past 25 years.

The “big boat” era was not only epic on the race course, short-tacking along the City Front rocks to avoid the flood tide, but also in the marina along host St Francis Yacht Club. We weren’t just in awe of their size, but also their crew. These were the rock stars of the sport, and the entire fleet was rafted up each night for the parties. Glory days of the sport? Seemed like it.

Sadly, the sport evolved. The costs of construction and crew soared, and clever yacht designers made keels too deep for the harbor. Cutting edge yachts now had to dock elsewhere, and soon stopped coming. A 50 footer is now the biggest boat. Be careful choosing an event name. Things change (remember the NOOD?)

With the opening of registration for the 2025 edition, I got to thinking of the good old days when I read a quote from StFYC Race Director Felix Weidling: “We have made changes in the NOR to attract larger yachts by adopting the ORC rating system and allowing the use of non-manual power winches….”

This will be the third year for Big Boat Series using ORC, but the first year the rating system assesses the benefit of electric or hydraulic winches, with the penalty broken into two categories:

• Sails: for when non-manual power is used for sheets and halyards while racing.
• Rig: for when non-manual power is used for the backstay, vang, or outhaul.

Total Penalty Amount:
• 0.3% for 10 m LOA and below; 10-18 m LOA computed linearly between 0.3% and 0.6%;
• 0.6% for 18 m LOA and above

The penalty is divided by 35% for non-manual power rig adjustment, and 65% for sail sheets.

The event organizers hope these changes attract the larger yachts from Southern California and competitors returning to California from the 2025 Transpac Race. Racing will be on September 11-14 in San Francisco Bay.

Event information – Race details – Facebook