SIGHTINGS
Page 64 •
Latitude 38
• October, 2014
blue angels to fly Due to the absurd shutdown of the federal government last fall, the 2013 Fleet Week, routinely held over Columbus Day Weekend, was canceled. If you're a fan of the Blue Angels, biplane stunts and the parade of ships, you'll be glad to hear that Fleet Week is back on track this year, scheduled for October 9-13. In addition to the Navy's Blue Angels and the biplanes, the Patriots Jet Team and the Horsemen, a formation aerobatic team, will have thousands of spectators looking skyward. At Piers 35, 19, 15-17, and 30-32, Canadian and U.S. ships will be docked and open for free tours. Ships will parade
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE ARCHIVES
ST FRANCIS YC PHOTO ARCHIVES
50 years of 'big boat' memories Any sailing event that spans five decades is bound to have some colorful moments, and the Rolex Big Boat Series — staged on San Francisco Bay every summer — is certainly no exception. In observance of its 50th anniversary last month, we asked readers to join us in casting our minds back to particularly memorable incidents on the race course. "My first BBS was amazing," recalls Joyce Andersen. "It was 1988. I remember the late Raul Gardini's Il Moro De Venezia winning the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy and John MacLaurin's Pendragon II winning the Keefe-Kilborn Trophy. That regatta was a true spectacle with the race deck packed with spectators and people at the sea wall cheering loudly. The sound was deafening and everyone left that event with a huge smile on their face — including me." Of all the highs and lows, this incident was one of the most notorious: "In 1983 the Peterson 44 Secret Love captained by Lowell North crossed the bow, in close proximity, of the automobile carrier Nada II just off the St. Francis YC," recalls Gregg Waugh. Chuck Hawley also remembers that day vividly: "I was racing on Bullfrog, the Peterson 55, and you could hear the five blasts of the ship's horn from San Jose to Petaluma." In the summer of 1984 for mer Latitude 38 editor John Riise had just Anybody out there still have a blooper? started with the magazine. "All the great They could be a bear to handle, but Maxis came to town that year to put the more sail meant more downwind speed. 'big' in the Big Boat Series — boats like Kialoa III, Condor, Ondine and Boomerang." For a few frightful moments he thought he was going to be sliced in half when our photo boat's "Satanically possessed" outboard died and refused to restart. John was directly in the path of Condor, blasting toward him under a gigantic spinnaker. "I actually considered whether I should jump overboard or try to grab onto Condor Condor's lifelines when she arrived. Fortunately the driver jigged the wheel just enough that they slid by me about 6 feet away. I remember some not-so-nice commentary about my boating skills from the guys on the rail, but I was so happy to be alive that I didn't care." The following are some random remembrances from our 37 years of reporting on BBS, then RBBS: "In 1971 Mark Johnson’s legendary Alan Gurney-designed 73-footer Windward Passage was the top big boat, easily pounding Ken DeMeuse’s Blackfin. They were so far ahead in one race that John Rumsey actually went water skiing behind Passage going down the Cityfront!" "In 1976 Jack Rooklyn’s Ballyhoo came up from Australia to clobber legendary ocean racers Ragtime, Kialoa and Windward Passage. This was maybe the windiest year ever: Steve Taft recalls seeing 47 knots apparent while tacking past Alcatraz on Improbable!" "In 1981 Irv Loube's Bravura discovered the rock at the end of the harbor breakwater, known ever since as 'Irv’s Rock'." In the 25th anniversary event in '88 (mentioned above) "Raul Gardini and Paul Cayard teamed up on Il Moro to decimate eight other maxis with five bullets, while Tom Blackaller called tactics on the victorious Great News against nine hot 50s. Blade Runner hooked a buoy with her lazy runner and inverted her mast three feet, but it didn’t break." Through a half-century succession of rating rules and boat design evolutions the Big Boat Series has produced unforgettable moments and serious fun for thousands of competitors. Here's to another 50. — andy
