Annual Master Mariners Regatta
In keeping with a tradition that started in 1867 and was revived in 1965, the Annual Master Mariners Regatta is sailed on the Saturday of Memorial Weekend. The regatta features 75 to 100 traditional sailing yachts and work vessels competing on close San Francisco Bay racecourses.
As is tradition, the Big Schooners and work vessels need only hit the marks with a potato to constitute a correct rounding — a nod to the working-vessel origins of the race.
Race Details
- Start: Off the City front at the St. Francis Yacht Club — reverse start, with last boats starting at 1300 hours
- Course: Central Bay, finishing off the east side of Treasure Island (~1500 hours)
- Classes: 12 fleet classes crossing the Bay multiple times
- Fleet size: Typically 71–100 registered vessels, 50–80 finishers
- Start signal: Given by ALMA, an 1891 hayscow schooner operated by the National Maritime Museum
Viewing the Race
Because of the dynamics of San Francisco Bay and the courses selected, excellent viewing is available from approximately 1130 to 1430 hours along the San Francisco waterfront from Pier 39 to the Golden Gate Bridge and also on the Bay side of the Marin Headlands.
After the Race
After finishing, much of the fleet proceeds up the Oakland Estuary to the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda for a weekend raft-up, dinner, awards ceremony, and dancing. Boats that stay overnight enjoy a Sunday breakfast hosted by the EYC and a Sunday afternoon potluck BBQ.
Sponsors and House Flags
Vessels are sponsored by local maritime enterprises, who provide custom house flags that fly from their sponsored yacht throughout the weekend. The Sponsors Luncheon is traditionally held the Friday before the race at the St. Francis Yacht Club.
Sponsor flags are a key part of the regatta's visual identity — typically 36"×60" nylon pennants in the sponsor's colors, making the fleet very colorful as it fills the Bay.
The Jessica Cup
In addition to the Memorial Weekend regatta, the MMBA hosts the Jessica Cup in October — a race for gaff-rigged and traditionally designed yachts, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club.
History
The regatta traces its roots to 1867, when San Francisco's working watermen first raced their lumber schooners and hay scows as part of the Fourth of July celebrations. After a long hiatus, the race was revived in 1965 in honor of National Maritime Day.