One of the things that goes along with being a waterfront city is yacht racing, and Richmond sailors consistently keep up with the best.

At the prestigious Rolex Big Boat Series in the IRC B Class, Richmond sailor Brad Copper and his Custom Tripp 43 TNT held onto the lead by winning the last race and was awarded the City of San Francisco Trophy, one of the two golden spades used to break ground for the Golden Gate Bridge in 1933. Brad recently relocated from Campbell, Ca. to Point Richmond where he mounted a first year effort specifically aimed at winning this race.  It is considered to be the most prestigious race of the year for large sailing boats. His immediate competition came from Newport, R.I., Saratoga, Ca. and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Also taking first in the Beneteau 36.7 Class was Richmonder Edward Durbin in Mistral.

For years, I have encouraged our Recreation Division to provide more opportunities for Richmond young people to participate in boating activities, but they always have excuses like it’s too much potential liability. There are, however, opportunities offered by non-profits. See Sea Scouts and PAL Team Up for Youth Opportunities on the Bay, August 5, 2007. The Richmond Yacht Club has a terrific reputation for training champions, and it is one of the least expensive organizations of that type on San Francisco Bay.