Jack London Yacht Club races for Sonoma charities

Acclaimed author Jack London set off for Hawaii in 1907 on his boat, “The Snark,” and more than a century later, residents have created their own miniature Snarks to race in Sonoma Creek.

The Jack London Yacht Club held its fourth annual Jack to Jack Yacht Race on Saturday to raise money for local charities, while also coming together after a two-year forced hiatus due to COVID-19.

“More water would have been a little more interesting with the boats staying more upright making their venture down through the rocks,” Jim Burch said, the founder of the event. “But we had enough water to have a lot of fun, and that’s what we did it for.”

The idea for the event came after the Nuns fire of 2017 which destroyed many homes in Glen Ellen, and many residents were reeling from loss. In response, Burch and Ana Dominguez founded the Jack London Yacht Club to bring the community together again.

“A lot of homes lost and people were pretty doom and gloom,” Burch said. “So the two of us went to work on an idea that we have to put a smile back on everyone’s face.”

Using redwood from trees damaged by the wildfire, participants in the Jack London Yacht race crafted 65 replicas of the Snark to race down Sonoma Creek, with the sails on each boat decorated with logo of the team, some choosing for a symbol for their charity while others decorate theirs like battleships.

“I wouldn’t so much call it a race, but a survival course,” Squire Fridell said, the commentator of the race. He added, jokingly, “Despite Joe Benzinger’s best efforts, he did not win. He cheated! But the Benzingers always cheat.”

Each boat costs $1,000 along with an additional $250 to enter the boat in the race. Burch said money from the event will be distributed by the Jack London Yacht club through grants to more than 30 charities, including the Sonoma Ecology Center, the Sonoma Community Center and Pets Lifeline.

“This is a real homespun thing with a lot of warmth to it. And we want to keep it that way,” Burch said. “It’ll go on for a long time, I’ll tell you that.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.