2026 Elvestrom Zellerbach at StFYC

For the west coast sailors who paled at the 6000 mile journey to Garda last weekend, StFYC delivered a standard 10-20 knots of shifty racing at the 2026 Elvestrom Zellerbach regatta. Saturday was forecasted to be full on but didn’t quite materialize, so instead the fleet sailed 3 races in 10 building to 18kts and a dying flood tide. Clean starts + balancing “go left for flood relief” with “don’t get stuck at the beach with no wind” was the name of the game. The RC took a short nap between races 1 and 2, so the 505’s organized a rabbit start + first wdwd leg themselves. By the end of race 3 the breeze was steadily topping 20, and the fleet headed in to enjoy some lasagna, beer, and conversation.

Sunday was forecasted to be much lighter, but we turned the harbor corner and were greeted with an immediate 12 knots that slowly built to ~18. The RC fired off 3 races, with Eric/Nic and Mike/Adam fighting for the lead and Tim/Pat and Clark/Blaine duking it out for the last podium spot. The course became slightly more open upwind and the breeze was slightly more right, so playing the middle of the course worked nicely on the upwind, especially towards the top where the left corner was getting light and squirrely. After racing, the fleet packed up and then enjoyed a taco buffet at awards.

A few personal takeaways:

– My permanent Crissy forecast is now 10-25 from 250-290.

– Tactics >> boatspeed for this regatta

– Tuning notes- on our new MEB main we are shroud cars back and ram down earlier- probably one click further on both throughout the 12+ range.

A couple callouts:

– Congrats Dave/Pete on your first 505 regatta; we’re excited to see you at more in the future!

– Great sailing Tim/Pat (and Tim/Aaron the weekend before in Santa Cruz)- they were podium contenders at both events, helped in part by Tim’s new boat. Ask Mike Martin about working for the Americas Cup and he’ll tell you he never did less sailing in his life, but apparently the same thing is not true for 505 class president.

– Thanks Clark/Blaine for making the trip down, it was great catching up and having you on the starting lineResults: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/DvWydBVpcN/results

Photos: https://stfyc.pixieset.com/2026elvstromzellerbachregatta/felixweidling/

Sailors	Sail Number	Boat Name	Club/Org	Net	Total	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7
1	Eric Anderson Nic Baird	USA 9248	N = 2	StFYC	6	8	1	1	[2]	1	1	2
2	Mike Martin Adam Lowry	USA 9106	Mike’s Boat	StFYC	8	11	2	2	1	2	[3]	1
3	Clark Hayes Blaine Pedlow	USA 9208	Pink Cadillac	Penn Cove YC	15	20	3	[5]	4	3	2	3
4	Tim Murphy Pat Diola	USA 8937	Laminar Blue	SCYC	18	24	4	3	3	4	[6]	4
5	Jimmy Franzone Bjorn Antell	USA 9116	Rocket Surgery	StFYC	25	33	6	4	[DNS – 8]	5	5	5
6	Andrea Ciccardi Luke Draper	USA 910	None	LNC	27	35	5	6	[DNS – 8]	6	4	6
7	Pete Meyerdirk Dave Pakula	GER 8965	None	St FYC	37	45	7	[DNS – 8]	DNS – 8	7	7	DNS – 8

Listing Category	Description	Typical Price Point (USD)
1	Pre- 1980’s boat of uncared or partially cored construction. Typically polyester or vinyl ester resin and outdated rigging. Suitable for day sailing, beach sailing, or an occasional local race or Portsmouth Yardstick regatta.	$0 - $2,000
2	1980’s or newer boat of fully cored hull construction. Could be competitive at the local and regional level in the right hands. Usually has some major issue preventing the boat from being truly completive such as being significantly over the minimum weight. May require significant rigging work to get racing but not worth duping too much money into.	$2,000 - $5,000
3	1980’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Some older and well-cared-for Lindsays and Hamlins could also be considered a Category 3 boat. Could be competitive at the local, regional, and national level in the right hands. Typically requires some significant amount of rigging work to be competitive at the regional and national level. May not have the latest mast, foils, or sails which would set it apart from a Category 4 boat.	$5,000 - $9,000
4	1990’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Some older and well-cared-for Waterats could also be considered a Category 4 boat. Ready to race at the regional or national level with only minor rigging work or upgrades. Could be competitive at a Worlds with some work and in the right hands. Typically includes modern high-aspect ration foils, newer racing sails, and all the latest systems.	$9,000 - $15,000
5	2000’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Typically carbon fiber construction. Turn-key and ready to race at the national or international level. Includes modern high-aspect ration foils, newer racing sails, and all the latest systems.	$15,000+

Listing Category	Description	Typical Price Point (USD)
1	Pre- 1980’s boat of uncared or partially cored construction. Typically polyester or vinyl ester resin and outdated rigging. Suitable for day sailing, beach sailing, or an occasional local race or Portsmouth Yardstick regatta.	$0 - $2,000
2	1980’s or newer boat of fully cored hull construction. Could be competitive at the local and regional level in the right hands. Usually has some major issue preventing the boat from being truly completive such as being significantly over the minimum weight. May require significant rigging work to get racing but not worth duping too much money into.	$2,000 - $5,000
3	1980’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Some older and well-cared-for Lindsays and Hamlins could also be considered a Category 3 boat. Could be competitive at the local, regional, and national level in the right hands. Typically requires some significant amount of rigging work to be competitive at the regional and national level. May not have the latest mast, foils, or sails which would set it apart from a Category 4 boat.	$5,000 - $9,000
4	1990’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Some older and well-cared-for Waterats could also be considered a Category 4 boat. Ready to race at the regional or national level with only minor rigging work or upgrades. Could be competitive at a Worlds with some work and in the right hands. Typically includes modern high-aspect ration foils, newer racing sails, and all the latest systems.	$9,000 - $15,000
5	2000’s or newer boat of epoxy resin and fully cored construction. Typically carbon fiber construction. Turn-key and ready to race at the national or international level. Includes modern high-aspect ration foils, newer racing sails, and all the latest systems.	$15,000+

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