RegattaCentral

WELCOME TO THE 2021 OPEN OCEAN REGATTA!

The Open Water Rowing Center in Sausalito, Ca hosts the 44th Open Ocean Regatta. Parking is available at the boathouse, and volunteers will direct you to parking in the Schoonmaker complex.   The post-race lunch will be a box lunch this year and Covid-19 social distancing guidelines will be followed.  Chairs will be available, and please observe the six-foot spacing rule.

BOAT RENTALS & STORAGE

Boats launch from our water-level docks early in the morning; they can be quartered at the OWRC boathouse the afternoon and evening before.

Boat rentals are available on a prepaid, first-come, first-served basis. OWRC rents boats to rowers who have been cleared to safely row the type of boat that they are renting. California requires that all boaters have a personal flotation device in their boat; PFD’s are provided with each boat rental. Boats are rented on a first-come, pre-paid basis. 

RACE COURSE

The Open Ocean regatta features two courses of varying length and water conditions for open water scullers in shells and traditional boats. Categories include singles, doubles and quads. The 2021 regatta will include a Coastal Rowing Category for singles and doubles. US Rowing age handicaps are applied to results, and both lapsed times and handicapped times are awarded medals. 

In the event the Diablo course cannot be run, we will introduce an alternate course. It will be roughly an equal length: rowing from the start to a marker just before the Golden Gate, to a marker just past downtown Tiburon in Raccoon Straits, past the Green Buoy at Point Belvedere, then Cone Rock and back to the start.

Long Course: 

Diablo Course (7.7nm): The Diablo course requires rough water skill and endurance. The course is 14.3 kilometers long. As rowers pass under the Golden Gate Bridge and enter the Pacific Ocean, they will encounter a flood tide of approximately 2 knots. After the turnaround at Point Diablo, that flood tide will carry rowers back all the way to Peninsula Point, Cone Rock and Finish. The course encounters all types of conditions, interesting turns, and breathtaking views.

• Start Line

• Race Mark just before Pt. Diablo (boat or large inflatable buoy)

• Buoy “3” near Peninsula Rock

• Cone Rock

• Finish

• All markers kept on port side of boat.

Alternate Long Course: Tiburon Course If weather conditions are unsafe for rowing in the ocean, we will not go out under the Golden Gate. The Tiburon Course is approximately the same length (14km), offering challenging open water conditions. The Alternate Long Course is:

• Start Line

• Race Mark at the Needles, just before Golden Gate Bridge (boat or large inflatable buoy)

• Tiburon Ferry Terminal market (old town Tiburon)

• Buoy “3” near Peninsula Rock (anywhere between the buoy and the rocks)

• Cone Rock

• Finish

• All markers kept on the port side of boat. A power boat with an OWRC flag will be the dividing mark for the boats heading to and from the turn-around at the ferry terminal.

 Strawberry' Course: 

Named for the Strawberry Peninsula, the Strawberry Course is 5.3 nm (10.4 km) in more protected water, leaving from and returning to downtown Sausalito, navigating four buoyed turns to Strawberry Peninsula and back. This course can be completed in flat-water boats with favorable weather.

• Start Line

• Cone Rock (on port)

• Pylon ‘14’ (on port)

• Down Strawberry channel and around 5/6 channel markers

• Race Mark (Orange Buoy) (on starboard)

• Finish Line