SIGHTINGS an el toro in the heart of the o Sailors know that everything looks better from the water. With that (among several) axioms in mind, I became obsessed with the idea of sailing an El Toro on Lake Merritt, which lies in the heart of Oakland. I used to live a few blocks from the lake, and would run its roughly three-and-a-half mile perimeter, back when running seemed like a good idea. I'd gotten to know the lake's many nooks and crannies — at least a dozen neighborhoods including tall buildings, old and interesting architecture, austere government façades, and a beach and grassy, shrubby parks. A tidal estuary and once part of San Francisco Bay, Lake Merritt has as many varied personalities as the city that grew around it over the last 170-ish years. Seeing the lake by boat — or rather, seeing the city from the lake — suddenly seemed as interesting to me as sailing outside the Golden Gate. And what better craft to explore the innards of the lake than the Bay Area-designed and lowest-tech vessel possible? I had no expectations of what the Lake Merritt Boating Center might be. It's big, well stocked and staffed, well organized, and run by the City of Oakland. All told, there's tons of sailing on Lake Mer-
LATITUDE / JOHN
LATITUDE / JOHN
continued on outside column of next sightings page
LATITUDE / TIM
Clockwise from top left: A young couple stops in to rent a boat; when's the last time you took a sailing test?; there was a fair bit of rowing traffic on the lake, but they stick to well-marked lanes; Charlotte Lenz sails an El Toro as part of a winter series; the Spanish Colonial/Art Deco Bellevue-Staten Building, with the Lake Merritt Boating Center in the foreground.
Page 64 •
Latitude 38
• September, 2018
coalescing the September is more than an entire season away from the New Year, and thus may seem like it's too early to nail down next year's racing schedule. But the folks at the Yacht Racing Association and Latitude 38 are already hard at work putting together the 2019 calendar. "Next year's racing season will be upon us sooner than later," says YRA chairman Don Ahrens. "Now is the time to begin compiling the 2019 calendar. Our goal this year is to complete the calendar process earlier than we have in the past in the hope that we can further minimize race conflicts and deliver a more enjoyable season to San Francisco Bay racers. Finishing the calendar process by mid-October will give yacht clubs the advantage of working with race
