ong, cold and rough. Sailing from the San Francisco Bay to the Farallon Islands single-handedly is not for the faint of heart.
"There is no crew, only the skipper. You run the boat yourself," says Menlo Park architect Doug McClaflin of the 58-mile Singlehanded Farallones Race. "It's long, it's cold, sometimes very cold, and it's rough."
Last year the 49-year-old McClaflin sailed 10 hours in his Catalina 42 Lanikai to win first place in his division for the second year in a row.
"After you spend weeks practicing and hours of being cold and tired, winning becomes the reward. You try not to let losing become an option," adds Mr. McClaflin, whose Menlo Park firm does architectural design for a variety of high-tech clients.
This year's race on April 14 will mark the 23rd year of the Bay Area classic, which started in 1977 when a newspaper advertisement solicited sailors to race around Southeast Farallon Island, a distance of about 25 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sixty "crazy singlehanders," as they were called, enthusiastically responded. Ten miles into the race, more boats were turning back than continuing, and only 14 completed the race, organized by the soon-to-be Singlehanded Sailing Society, a group officially formed after that first event.
Weather, always a factor in the race, has ranged from almost tropical to arctic. The race can last from eight hours in high winds to 24 hours in a light wind.
The Gulf of the Farallones can be one of the roughest seas in the world, and several lives have been lost in the race over the years due to the weather.
When Mr. McClaflin entered it for the first time in 1998, there were 10- to 12-foot seas and 25- to 35-knot wind.
"All I asked myself was, 'What in the hell am I doing here?' I came in third and loved it."
His biggest challenge last year was raising a symmetrical 60-foot spinnaker sail for the first time. The multicolored sail, which resembles a parachute after it fills with wind, usually requires several people to hoist due to its size and the many lines involved.
"As I rounded the south Farallon Island, I raised the spinnaker pole, hoisted the chute, and prayed," he says. "Setting that spinnaker alone was a challenge only to be topped by having to jib it at the Golden Gate Bridge as my competition tried to close in on me," adds Mr. McClaflin, referring to how he changed the sail from one side of the boat to the other while sailing downwind under the bridge.
Mr. McClaflin savors the interplay of nature, competition and skill in solo sailing. "Sailing allows you to come very close to nature," he says. "It places you between the wind and water and allows you to interface with both in no other way. The racing side pits the element of competition with a given set of rules, judging knowledge, strategy and skill. Single-handed sailing develops the depth of your own skills."
Last year, a 33-foot Hobie Cat beat out Mr. McClaflin for overall honors, since typically an ultralight or multi-hull boat will win overall. Ultralights reduce weight with lighter materials and advanced engineering. Multi-hull boats -- two-hull catamarans or three-hull trimarans -- do not need keels, as single-hull boats do, and thus are lighter and move quickly on the water.
A complex formula is used to rate each boat, which provides a handicap, used to group boats to make the racing fair.
In last year's race, 56 boats competed in seven classes. "Chevys with Chevys, and Porsches with Porsches," is how McClaflin describes the system that is based on the performance of the boat being rated.
Doug McClaflin learned to sail in Hawaii when he was 12. He would hang out at Hickam Air Force Base Yacht Harbor, where his mother worked as secretary to the harbor master. He kept an 8-foot El Toro at the Hawaii Yacht Club, and refurbished a 16-foot Hobie Cat that he raced at Kailua Beach, off Waikiki and Kaneohe Bay.
"We sailed around Oahu and from Maui to Oahu, but in all cases, it was racing."
Mr. McClaflin's wife, Susan, is also an experienced sailor, as are son Neil and daughter Leanne -- students at Menlo School.
"The entire family goes sailing, but I'm the only fanatic that races," adds Mr. McClaflin. "I never can enjoy sailing unless I'm racing or tuning sails. Sailing is racing. Can I get the boat going just a little faster?"
Lydia Anderson is a family friend and Menlo Park writer.
