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Rolex has sponsored water sports since 1927 when its Oyster timepiece successfully survived a woman’s English Channel Swim. Ever since, Rolex has recognized and rewarded human brilliance and talent in the world of sports and especially water sports. Although the sport of sailing is now open and accessible to many; however, the Rolex Big Boat Series is only for Pros.

The grand opening is witness to five boats soaring across the start line and heading towards San Francisco while seventy-five more big boats await their turn. The Rolex Big Boat Series has now become a tradition that has 45-years of successful sailing behind it. The annual regatta invites only the finest sailors to race their largest yachts in the bay’s trying conditions. In 1964 Queen Elizabeth’s 64-foot Foxhound was invited to be part of the first race; however, since their decline many other famed Big Boat names have been part of the race.

The competition sees sailors giving the race their best over a period of four days on courses stretching from Treasure Island to the Golden Gate and beyond. This often adds up to a distance of 15 miles or more covered per race. The Bay Tour is a Sunday regatta that has a grueling 40-mile race to Point Bonita.

The most popular names on the sailing scene a decade ago were Roy Disney and Larry Ellison. Roy Disney would compete in his Pyewacket while Larry Ellison sailed in his Sayonara. The name to watch out for these days is Jim Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti. Jim Kilroy is a Los Angeles real estate developer. For accompaniment are champion professional sailors and Olympians like Robbie Hanes and Paul Cayard, who keep these royals on their toes.

In 1964, Bob “R.C.” Keefe a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club proposed that a race should be organized for all the international big boat talent and that is how the series came about. The club then created the most exquisite and expensive trophy in sterling silver, crowned with pure gold sails and the club’s flag adorned with diamonds, sapphires and rubies called the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy. Some say it was the most expensive yachting trophy in the world. However, it later had to be re-designed in 1976 when a fire turned it into a puddle of precious material. The first year saw only 10 boats in the competition but now ten times the original number sail at the competition and all vying for the perpetual trophies in six divisions.

Now the competition is ruled by the 52-foot class. These boats are international Formula One racers and cost as much as $1 million. Jim Mitchell’s bright blue Vincitore is one such example. There are some bigger boats that are part of the race like Kjeld Hestehave’s Velos which is 73 feet. There is also room for smaller boats with amateurs. Vincitore’s Jim Mitchell is a money manager with homes in Seattle and Switzerland. He races under the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron burgee and won top honors along with the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy and a specially engraved $9,450 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master. Each winning skipper in the six divisions received a $6,000 engraved Submariner as a befitting reward from Rolex.

Tags: Rolex, Rolex Big Boat Series

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