Sudsy Nights In California

© Herb McCormick

Alice Leahey steers her J/105 Grace O'Malley towards the finish line during a California YC Wednesday-night race off Marina del Rey.

As a native New Englander, I always feel a bit adrift when visiting California. It's so big! And kooky! But seriously: Like Texas or Alaska, California is essentially a nation unto itself, vast and limitless, with an ingrown culture (and economy, though that's not so hot at the moment) that's all its own. Still, the three great California cities-San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco-couldn't be more different. From the general vibe to the specific geography, each place is unique and iconic. You often meet folks who reside in one of the sprawling metropolises who would never, ever consider moving to either of the other two. The three bustling cities are Golden State subsets, independent spokes in the ever-rolling wheel.

Except, that is, when it comes to sailboat racing.

At least that's what I came away thinking after a big drive up I-5 in early May from San Diego to Seattle, with stops in L.A. and 'Frisco. Unfortunately, I was a little too early for the beginning of the San Diego Yacht Club's summer series, but on a Wednesday off Marina del Rey, and two nights later, on San Francisco Bay, I had the chance to race like the locals do, and it was a terrific, eye-opening experience.

Beer-can racing is a summer ritual on both coasts and on select lakes and rivers across the land. In my hometown of Newport, R.I., you can literally race every weeknight from June through August, and I've watched many a fine sunset on a Shields or a J-24 while sipping a cold one after a spin around the buoys.

So I felt right at home walking down the docks at Marina del Rey's California Yacht Club to hop aboard Alice Leahey's J-105 Grace O'Malley for the club's appropriately named Sunset Series that runs from April through September. Old pal Tom Leweck, of Scuttlebutt fame, had invited me to spend a night at his home in Venice Beach, and since my timing brought me through on a Wednesday-and since the Farr 30 he was sailing that evening had a full crew-he leaned on his neighbor, Alice, to take me for a ride.