Latitude 38 March 2023

F Prime deep water double-fingered concrete slips from 30’ to 100’.

F Guest berthing available for a weekend or any day getaway.

F Complete bathroom and shower facility, heated and tiled.

F Free pump-out station open 24/7.

F Full-service Marine Center and haul-out facility.

F Free parking.

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Alameda Canvas and Coverings

Alameda Marine Metal Fabrication

Atomic Tuna Yachts

BAE Boats

Boat Yard at Grand Marina, The Blue Pelican Marine MarineLube

Mike Elias Boatworks

Mosely’s Café

New Era Yachts

Pacifi c Crest Canvas

UK Sailmakers

This Month's Featured Brokerage Listing

Beneteau First Line 46.1

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MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

JOIN OUR SUNSET SAIL ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY WITH SKIPPER LIA DITTON,

Lia is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman, the youngest competitor and only woman to finish the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in 2005, and In 2020, Lia set a new women's world record for rowing solo from the US mainland to Hawaii.

Join us for wine, appetizers, great conversations and a breathtaking sunset!

FEATURED YACHT

(3) 42' AquaLodge Houseboats 2020 - $115,000 ea. Mark Miner (415) 290-1347

TRUE LOVE offers a tasteful blend of function, luxury and cruising performance. She is a well-designed steel sailboat that offers the ultimate margin of safety for offshore world cruising. Professionally designed and built by Waterline Yachts of Sydney, British Columbia, Canada, Waterline vessels are distinctive and highly regarded as some of the finest long-distance cruising sailboats in the world.

A truly unique feature of TRUE LOVE is her integrated pilothouse offering 360 degree views. The pilothouse can be fully enclosed or opened to the cockpit with power aft windows that drop down at the touch of a switch. This creates an excellent place for round-the-clock passage making as well as enjoyment daysailing, dockside or at anchor. Please contact Mark Miner at 415-290-1347 or mark@rubiconyachts.com for viewing.

Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location. NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.

55’ WATERLINE PILOTHOUSE CUTTER, 2000 $590,000

YACHTS

(3) 42' AquaLodge Houseboats 2020 - $115,000 ea. Mark Miner (415) 290-1347

Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location. NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.

601-5010

RUBICON YACHTS

(3) 42' AquaLodge Houseboats 2020 - $115,000 ea. Mark Miner (415) 290-1347

Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location.

NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.

RUBICON YACHTS

Available Now/Early 2023

CALENDAR

Non-Race

Mar. 1-29 — Wednesday Yachting Luncheon, via YouTube, noon. StFYC, www.stfyc.com/wyl.

Mar. 4 — Sail a Small Boat Day, Richmond YC, 10:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. Test-sail a variety of small craft. Free boat rides, free hot dog lunch. Info, www.richmondyc.org.

Mar. 4, Apr. 1 — Northern California Dockwalker Volunteer Training, online, 10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Cal Parks, https:// dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29230.

Mar. 4-25 — Small Boat Sailing, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, weather permitting; RSVP in advance. Free. BAADS, www.baads.org/sailing

Mar. 7 — Full Worm Moon on a Tuesday.

Mar. 8 — Tides & Tactics with Kame Richards, Richmond YC, 7-9 p.m. $20. YRA, www.yra.org

Mar. 8 — Singlehanded Transpacific Race seminar, via Zoom, 7:30 p.m. Provisioning: food, water, medicine. Free. Register, https://tinyurl.com/3bcb5f8j

Mar. 8, Apr. 6 — Newport to Ensenada Race seminars, 7 p.m. 3/8: Seal Beach YC; 4/6, Del Rey YC. Info, www.nosa.org

Mar. 9 — Speaker Series, Corinthian YC, Tiburon, 7 p.m. Sounds of the Ocean with Michael Stocker, Ph.D., founder of Ocean Conservation Research. Free. RSVP, speakers@cyc.org

Mar. 9, Apr. 13 — Single Sailors Association Mixers, Oakland YC, Alameda, 6:30-9 p.m. $15. Info, www.singlesailors.org.

Mar. 11 — She Tells Sea Tales, Northwest Maritime Center, Port Townsend, WA, 6 p.m. $20-$30. Info & registration, https://nwmaritime.org/shetells

Mar. 11-12 — First Aid/CPR for Mariners, Los Angeles Maritime Institute, San Pedro, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $375. Info, www.maritimemedicalguides.org

Mar. 12 — Spring forward one hour for Daylight Saving Time, 2 a.m. (Beer can racing will soon follow!)

Mar. 14-16 — Mariners Weather Hazards Workshop, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL, and online (hybrid), 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT. Registration, https://tinyurl.com/2sne4372

Mar. 15 — Rules Quiz talk with Dave Perry, St. Francis YC, San Francisco, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 17 — St. Patrick's Day.

Mar. 17-19 — Youth RS21 Clinic with Dave Perry. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.

Mar. 18-19 — Whalefest, Old Fisherman's Wharf and Custom House Plaza, Monterey, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, https://whalefest.org.

Mar. 20 — Vernal Equinox, 2:24 p.m. PDT.

Mar. 25 — Safety at Sea Seminar Hands-On Training, Cal Maritime Academy, Vallejo, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. $235. Must be preceded by an online or in-person Offshore Course. Pacific Cup YC, https://admin.pacificcup.org/course/sas

Mar. 25 — Southern California Dockwalker Volunteer Training, online, 10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Cal Parks, https:// dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29230

Mar. 25 — Sea Music Concert with fiddler Kevin Burke, online, noon-1 p.m. Free; donations accepted for the San Francisco Maritime Park. Register, https://givebutter.com/8LL2n3

Apr. 1 — Sailing Convention for Women, Bahia Corinthian YC, Corona del Mar, 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Workshops on land and water; speaker Marie Rogers. $270, 3/1-3/26; $290, 3/27-4/1 includes meals. Gail, (951) 677-8121. Registration, www.sailingconventionforwomen.com

Apr. 1-2 — Advanced First Aid/CPR for Mariners, Call of the Sea, Sausalito, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each day. $375. Info, www.maritimemedicalguides.org

Apr. 3-8 — Pram Build Week, Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito. Info, www.spauldingcenter.org

In Stock: 2022 Jeanneau SO 440 - 3 cabin, 2 heads, electric winches, dodger and walk around decks

Coming in 2023: Jeanneau SO 490 - 3 cabins, 2 heads, electric winches, inverter, and more

Coming in 2023: Jeanneau SO 380 - owners cabin layout with 2 cabin, 2 heads and Jeanneau walk around decks

New Arrival: 2023 Jeanneau SO 349 - 2 cabins, 1 head family cruiser

CALENDAR

Apr. 9 — Easter.

Apr. 12 — Singlehanded Transpacific Race seminar, via Zoom, 7:30 p.m. Anchoring; Satellite Communications. Free. Register, https://tinyurl.com/3bcb5f8j

Apr. 15 — Singlehanded Transpacific Race Emergency Steering Trials, location TBA. Info, www.sfbaysss.org

Apr. 15-16 — Spring Fling, Svendsen's, Alameda, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Free admission. Free Almanac Brewing suds at the Latitude 38 booth, 4 p.m. Info, www.springflingboatshow.com

Racing

Mar. 4 — Linda Newland All-Women's Skipper Race. IYC, www.iyc.org.

Mar. 4 — Berger/Stein Series, Palos Verdes Point & Return. Del Rey YC, www.dryc.org

Mar. 4, Apr. 1 — Mercury NorCal Series #1 & #2. EYC, www.encinal.org

Mar. 4-5 — California Dreamin'. StFYC, www.stfyc.com

Mar. 4-5 — BAYS Winter #3 (youth). SFYC, www.sfyc.org.

Mar. 4-5 — E.E. Manning Regatta, with ocean and bay courses in Long Beach. ABYC, www.abyc.org.

Mar. 5 — Bob Furney Memorial Race. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

Mar. 10-12 — Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup/Cal Maritime Intercollegiate Invitational. LAYC, www.layc.org/harbor-cup.

Mar. 11 — Spring Shorteez Regatta. CPYC, www.cpyc.com

Mar. 11 — Long Distance #1. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org

Mar. 11-12 — Big Daddy Regatta, with buoy racing and a dance party on Saturday and a pursuit race Sunday. Theme: On the Boat Again. RYC, www.richmondyc.org.

Mar. 11-12 — J/105 & J/88 Invitational Regatta. SYC, www.sausalitoyachtclub.org

Mar. 11-12 — Intercollegiate/High School Regatta. StFYC, www.stfyc.com

Mar. 12 — Single/Doublehanded Series #1. SeqYC, www. sequoiayc.org.

Mar. 12 — PHRF Spring 1 & 2. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

Mar. 14 — First Tuesday Night Beer Can Race. SCYC, www.scyc.org

Mar. 15 — First Wednesday Night Beer Can Race. SCYC, www.scyc.org.

Mar. 15, 22, Apr. 5, 12 — J/22 Spring Series. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 17-19 — San Diego NOOD Regatta. SDYC, www. sdyc.org.

Mar. 18 — SSS Round the Rocks. SSS, www.sfbaysss.org.

Mar. 18 — Rosenblum Regatta. SFYC, www.sfyc.org

Mar. 18 — Londerville Regatta. HMBYC, www.hmbyc.org

Mar. 18, Apr. 1, 15 — Spring Series #1-3. SSC, www. stocktonsc.org

Mar. 18-19 — Spring Dinghy Regatta for 5O5s, C420s, RS Fevas & Teras, ILCAs, Optis. StFYC, www.stfyc.com

Mar. 25 — Rites of Spring. OYC, www.oaklandyachtclub.net

Mar. 25 — Jaws Race. SYC, www.sausalitoyachtclub.org.

Mar. 25 — Champion of Champions in Santa Cruz. SCYC, www.scyc.org

Mar. 25, Apr. 8 — Spring Series. CYC, www.cyc.org.

Mar. 25-26 — San Francisco Cup. StFYC, www.stfyc.com

Mar. 26 — Doublehanded Buoy Fiasco. Round four Santa Cruz marks in any order/direction. SCYC, www.scyc.org

Mar. 26 — One Design Spring. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

Mar. 26 — Pre-season Warmup at Shoreline Lake. FSC, www.fremontsailingclub.org

Mar. 26 — Club Series #1. CYC, www.cyc.org

Mar. 26-Apr. 1 — Newport Beach Team Race Week, Palmer Trophy and Baldwin Cup. NHYC, www.baldwincup.com

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BENETEAU OC34.1 #34 $310,085

BENETEAU OC38.1 #713 $333,597

BENETEAU OC30.1 #265 $250,819

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CALENDAR

or www.jibeset.net.

VALLEJO YC — Tiny Robbins Midwinters: 3/4, 4/1. Info, www.vyc.org or www.jibeset.net.

In the Tropics

Mar. 10-16 — Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race. NHYC, www.nhyc.org

Mar. 14-18 — Banderas Bay Regatta. Racing and fiestas for cruisers. Vallarta YC, www.banderasbayregatta.com.

Apr. 28-30 — 75th Newport to Ensenada Race. Optional 90-mile Newport-San Diego course. NOSA, www.nosa.org.

May 17-20 — Tahiti Pearl Regatta, îles Sous-le-Vent, French Polynesia. Info, www.tahitipearlregatta.com

June 25 — Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race to Hanalei starts from San Francisco. SSS, www.sfbaysss.org

June 27, 29, July 1 — Transpac Race to Honolulu starts from L.A. TPYC, www.transpacyc.com.

July 21-24 — Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous. Latitude 38 is a sponsor. Info, www.tahiti-moorea-sailing-rdv.com.

Please send your calendar items by the 10th of the month to calendar@latitude38.com. Please, no phone-ins! Calendar listings are for marine-related events that are free or don't cost much to attend. The Calendar is not meant to support commercial enterprises.

March Weekend Tides

Predictions for Station 9414290, San Francisco (Golden Gate)

March Weekend Currents

NOAA Predictions for .88 NM NE of the Golden Gate Bridge

Source: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov

South Beach Harbor is a great way to experience San Francisco. Boats of all sizes are welcome in our protected harbor. Bring your boat to South Beach and enjoy all the attractions of the city, including the new Chase Center.

LETTERS

⇑⇓ THREE BRIDGES, A STRONG EBB, AND ALL KINDS OF FIASCOS

Take 5 More wanted to start the race going east, but found it hard to get on the west side of the starting line in the midst of all the boats going west with the ebb. We were carried west, tacking across the oncoming boats, and finally crossed the start line 25 minutes past our start time.

At least we were not over early!

We went to Red Rock first, skirting the south side of Alcatraz, and headed to the shallows of the East Bay where we put up the kite and got there in the fog. We rounded, and got a great lift from the south to get back to TI, where the wind died and left us short of rounding Yerba Buena. Thirty minutes later, it filled in from the SW, and we got out of the way of two outbound container ships, past the Cityfront and around Blackaller to finish. It was a huge mix of conditions and a lot of fun. We are first time finishers!

Grant Kiba

Take 5 More, Olson 911 Bay Area

Grant — Nice work! How many went to Red Rock first?

2023 Waitlist OPEN

Latitude — We got to Red Rock around 1:001:30, and on the way, we hung with Hang 20 (Express 27) for awhile, and could see several more boats approaching in the fog rounding Point Blunt. Approaching Red Rock, we were squeezed between Renaissance (Islander 36) and Maybe Baby (with four to five crew members? I think they DNC'd and just went out for a good time?).

At one point, we were maybe seven abreast on the approach rounding counterclockwise. It wasn't a big crowd there. Maybe I saw 15 or 20 boats? The wind filled in at about 12 to 15 knots, and our douse went better than expected.

Grant Kiba

⇑⇓ NO FINISH, FUN DAY

bit before noon, we sailed back into the Bay, well behind the feet. We continued to Red Rock then TI. We were fortunate to connect the puffs at TI for a clean and quick rounding and somehow managed to win our class. A

We were sailing the Islander Bahama 30 Strange Magic, and Stacy and I were the second boat to reach Treasure Island in the group that went to TI first (early starters). Snafu, just ahead of us, got around first, then we made it around just as the ebb started pushing, which locked the boats behind us out of rounding the island.

We blasted across the Berkeley flats and reached Potrero as the fleet at Red Rock started to stack up in the ebb. We managed to crab across toward the west, but ended up anchored near the 580 bridge west of Red Rock. We gave it till

Here is an unlikely, very Three-BridgeFiasco-esque moment as told by Dave Gruver of the Olson 25 'Sketch': "We made a break for Marin after rounding Blackaller ahead of the fray. Bad idea. The wind died and we got fushed out the Gate. When the westerly fnally flled in a

Fiasco indeed!"

DAVE GRUVER

LETTERS

4:30 p.m. before pulling the hook and trying to make the island. With little wind, retirement came around 5:30 p.m., with a very short motor back to our slip at RYC.

No finish, but still a fun day on the water.

Mark Werder Strange Magic, Bahama 30 Richmond Yacht Club

⇑⇓ AND THEN, AND THEN

I was on Tenacious Cuttlefish with my dad. We went straight to Red Rock — making sure not to go through Raccoon Strait — then headed over to TI and rounded, keeping it to starboard. Then we finally went to Blackaller, then get our wind stolen twice. We came in second with our fleet.

Addison Mercer

Tenacious Cuttlefish, J/24 Richmond Yacht Club

Addison — Outstanding! Congratulations! You are going to be a sensation when you get to high school! Keep it up and

Mary Ann Mercer

It made sense to almost everyone to go to Blackaller frst, but we heard about 12 boats simultaneously calling for buoy room with no wind, no boat speed and an adverse current. Tricky moment.

⇑⇓ ORDER OF OPERATIONS

Neither clock nor counterclock. Red Rock first, followed by TI, followed by Blackaller. We followed the wind, fled the building ebb at the Gate and used it where we could and got lucky. Team Ferox.

Anja Bog Ferox, Pogo 36 Sequoia Yacht Club

⇑⇓ WE'RE HERE IF YOU ARE (FINISHING)

Great coverage out there on the water! Race Deck was on station to the very end, so don't ever worry about us if it had been possible to finish by 6:59 p.m. We were actually hoping that everyone was able to get around in time. I am looking forward to reading all the stories in the March issue.

Carliane Johnson

⇑⇓ WAIT, WHAT?

Most great sailing venues have at least one pretty offbeat, keep-your-humor-handy kind of race, but I haven't seen any that matches the Three Bridge Fiasco for the "Wait, what?"

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LETTERS

type of entertainment.

I did not get to go this year, but next year, baby!

Milly Biller Big Pink, International 110 Inverness

⇑⇓ TO RACE OR NOT TO RACE DURING THE WEST COAST'S WILD WINTER WEATHER

Thank you for the bump in communication, Latitude, and great article. Midwinters are often a fun respite from the summer bash, until they are not. Encinal Yacht Club plans alternate dates into the schedule for exactly this reason [very bad weather], and we're happy to defer for a chance of a better day in March.

Brent Draney Encinal Yacht Club Commodore

Brent was commenting on the January 6 'Lectronic Latitude: To Race or Not to Race.

⇑⇓ BETTER SAFE(TY SQUAD) THAN SORRY?

I am a big fan and supporter of Latitude 38 and all the people and clubs that work to get us out sailing.

The To Race or Not to Race article reminded me of another experience. I drove to my gym of 25 years (JCC San Rafael), to get in a normal workout. When I came to the door, I was told by an exiting employee that the gym had closed at 1 p.m. because of the predicted storm, so that the employees could drive safely home. (It was the first they'd closed early in 25 years!)

Since I have not watched (by choice since COVID) news for a few years, I asked the gym employees what was predicted in the storm, and they said the local news had said there would be "rain and high winds," and said it was going to be dangerous. I said it was insane to overreact about a normal winter storm — it's not like there were tornadoes ripping through Marin! I also said that when I drive in wind and rain, I just slow down a little to be safe!

It seems people are over concerned about safety. Instead of teaching people how to use common sense and make their own decisions, regulation and hype are often excessive. (Back in the '50s, when my parents and family were sailing their 28-ft Friendship sloop around Point Conception, if the weather was bad, they went back and anchored until it was acceptable.) And then (most of) the news media feeds on people's fears and emotions as well, to sell ads.

weather was a mix of ferce, inconvenient, at times overblown, and at times deadly. At least 22 people were killed in California alone. Above, Ox Bow Marina saw several big trees fall, crushing boat sheds.

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PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

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LETTERS

When I got back from a bike ride in Tiburon — the day races were canceled — the weather looked to be about 5-10 knots and smooth water. I was happy to see a yacht club out of Corte Madera with a fleet of about seven small boats out on the water teaching sailing!

So, let people race. If it requires a reef, put it in. Or if it is too aggressive, stay home.

Memo Gidley Basic Instinct, Elliott 1050 Sausalito

⇑⇓ LET'S NOT FORGET THAT IT WAS PRETTY BAD

For three nights it blew 60 mph [at Half Moon Bay Yacht Club] and destroyed our docks. The RS Venture survived the blow, but we do not know when we will be able to replace our dock.

Kelly Pike California Inclusive Sailing

⇑⇓ THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS

Sending our #CYC sympathies to those affected by the storms.

Corinthian Yacht Club of Bellingham

⇑⇓ KENICHI HORIE, MARY CROWLEY, CAL CURRIER WIN CRUISING CLUB OF AMERICA AWARDS

I applaud the CCA's recognition of Kenichi Horie's many solo transpacific crossings. My wife and I met Kenichi when he visited Balboa YC after his initial passage, and went sailing with him in our Thistle.

John Thorne

John was commenting on the January 4 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ REGARDLESS, I APPLAUD THE YOUNG MAN

Great respect for all three of these sailors. I am a bit surprised, however, that the CCA would recognize 16-year-old Cal for his transatlantic passage.

I vaguely remember hearing something about it, but this article caused me to Google. That led to a 9/20/2022 Cruising World article by Herb McCormack about Cal's voyage. One of the things that struck me was the email from his dad

Cal Currier, seen above in Lagos, Portugal, last summer, might be the youngest person to sail alone across the Atlantic. But we may never know, as the gatekeepers of such feats no longer ratify youngest and oldest categories.

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LETTERS

to Herb looking for some press coverage of his son. And I quote: "On July 6, I received a rather matter-of-fact, out-ofthe-blue email from a fellow named James Currier informing me that his son was on the ninth day of a voyage that, if successful, might establish a new youngest-ever milestone for the sailing record-keepers."

The young man went from never sailing to singlehanding across the Atlantic in six months? I can't help but wonder why the rush? Why not do it as a gap-year project after high school? Take the time to learn both the skills needed and the boat, enjoy the process, etc. By the way, I do not believe the Singlehanded Sailing Society based in the Bay would have allowed Cal to enter their race to Hawaii — to do so requires showing some experience in completing some shorter singlehanded races.

Further, in the article Herb reminds us that the group that keeps sailing records stopped acknowledging "youngest" records: "The gatekeepers for sailing records — the World Sailing Speed Record Council — no longer ratifies youngest or oldest claims or attempts, and its rules do not include such categories. Smart, really, because there's no use encouraging dangerous behavior."

Maybe the motivations were pure, but it raises my eyebrows when I hear of another "youngest to do a death defying feat." Regardless, I applaud the young man and I wish him the best in the future.

Joseph DiMatteo Latitude Nation

⇑⇓ PAUL CAYARD WITH THE HAT TRICK

Paul Cayard has done the Trifecta: The Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race, Olympic classes and America's Cup campaigns, and don't forget the numerous 5O5 nationals and worlds. All from a kid who started sailing El Toros at Lake Merced.

Kit Stycket

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Kit was commenting on the January 11 'LL: Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Member

Paul Cayard

⇑⇓ HIGH TIME

So well earned.

Mr. Cayard exemplifies a world-class champion and a great sportsman, and it's high time he is recognized as such.

Tim Dick Malolo, Lagoon 42 Mexico

⇑⇓ WHEN THE BAJA BASH IS THE BAJA BARELY-A-BASH

Nice to learn there are additional good times to make the journey from Mexico back to the US. [PJ is commenting on the January 9 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.]

Three of us — a father and son who I hired, plus me — took my sailboat, a Hunter Passage 42, from Mazatlan to the north end of the Long Beach/L.A. harbor around the end of March or early April 2015. We made a one-night stop in Cabo after topping the fuel in San Jose del Cabo. The dad part of the crew had previously captained boats in Cabo, and

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it was fun to meet some of his friends and see the boats they were captaining. While walking, we saw a huge sailboat that had its own seaplane on a hoist!

Some sailing, but mostly motoring with one overnight stop in Turtle Bay to refill the extra fuel jugs. Walked around the village and found a restaurant that, fortunately, had very good (mostly) seafood. The owner also was a commercial fisherman, and told us the commercial boats were staying in the next day due to expected high winds. The next morning was calm, so we decided to give things a try. We stayed to the inside of Isla de Cedros, thinking that if we encountered high winds at its north end we would continue to have protection while returning to the bay.

Luckily, all remained calm to light and we continued with a very easy journey. When we arrived at Ensenada, we went to Hotel Coral and Marina and relaxed for a day or two, then the crew made arrangements for a bus to take them back to Mazatlan. Once again topped off all fuel. Along with being a great hotel/marina, Hotel Coral also provides transportation to get through all of Mexico's check-in or -out processes. I highly recommend anyone entering or exiting Mexico to use their services. As I recall, there was no charge. As with all such things, be sure to give the driver a good tip as they do a lot of work to get one through the process.

A pet peeve of mine: Few people tip while in Mexico. When someone does good work or provides even slightly out-ofthe-norm help, give a good tip! It is simply the thing one should do. That said, wages in Mexico are very low, and prices of everything everyone must buy, especially food, have been increasing almost as fast as prices in the US. Wages do not keep up! Not even close. Peeve off.

PJ Landresse La Cuna, Hunter Passage 42 Mexico

⇑⇓ WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS THING ON A SAILBOAT?

Having sailed south to north more times than I can remember, the key to every passage has been leaving enough time to pick the best weather window. To quote the old adage: "The most dangerous thing on a sailboat is a schedule."

We 21st century sailors forget this, and find ourselves assuming we can leave anytime we please.

I painfully recall spending two and half days slogging around Points Conception, Sur, Cypress, Año Nuevo, and Montera just so I could arrive in San Francisco "on time." One of the dumbest things I've ever done.

Beau Vrolyk Schooner Mayan Santa Cruz

⇑⇓ REMEMBERING THE BIG BANG

Scientists and engineers working on the atomic bomb vis-

Kitti Brown and Mike Brost play a game of backgammon in decidedly non-bashy conditions — sailing north from Mexico back to the US — late last year.

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ited Port Chicago Naval Magazine (site of present day Concord Naval Weapons Station on Suisun Bay) to study "the effects of the detonation." The team was led by Captain William S. Parsons, who headed the Manhattan Project Ordnance Division and was the man responsible for creation and delivery of the atomic bombs.

Though best known for his role in arming the 'Little Boy' bomb as the Enola Gay B-29 bomber flew to Hiroshima, Parsons went on to serve as Technical Director for Operation Crossroads, the spectacular and public 1946 tests of atomic bombs against naval ships, and later became the first "atomic admiral" who was instrumental in establishment of the Nevada Proving Ground and in setting US nuclear policy.

In a 1948 speech to the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Parsons acknowledged that the data from the Port Chicago explosion provided the first realistic expectations of the damages from an atomic bomb.

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Daisy B Herndon

Daisy was commenting on the June 2019 'Lectronic with the same name as this letter. That story marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most horrendous events of World War II, which occurred here in the Bay Area. On July 17, 1944, a mishap at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine (site of present day Concord Naval Weapons Station on Suisun Bay) triggered a massive explosion that killed 320 sailors and civilians; injured another 390; destroyed two ships, shattered windows as far away as San Francisco and registered 3.5 on the Richter scale. It was the worst non-combat loss of life during the war not caused by enemy action

⇑⇓ DOING THEIR BEST TO GO GREEN

Looking forward to seeing Ocean Crusaders' TP52 J-Bird cross the finish line [in the Rolex Sydney Hobart] after suffering gear failure. She is the first electric-powered entry, but they were forced to have a diesel on board. Will be great to hear their experience as they challenge the rule makers to embrace cleaner ocean technologies.

Jen Wilks

The TP52 'J-Bird' had hoped to be the frstever all-electric entry in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, but the boat was forced to have a diesel on board, according to a reader.

Jen was commenting on the December 28, 2022, 'LL: Rolex Sydney Hobart Runs Down the Coast of Australia

⇑⇓ THE PAINFULLY SLOW BUT SLIGHTLY ENCOURAGING NEWS ABOUT GREEN SHIPS

In 1980, I drafted and was part of the creation and submission of Senate Bill S.2992 to authorize a study of sail-assisted technology as a means of reducing energy costs

There are 27 tombstones in the Golden Gate National Cemetery honoring unknown soldiers who perished in the Port Chicago disaster, as well as 17 victims who are identifed by name.

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In January, France-based shipowner NEOLINE announced construction on a 446-ft roll-on/roll-off vessel that will feature two folding sails with 3,000 square meters of sail area; delivery of the vessel is planned for 2025. Though there are a handful of so-called green ships trickling onto the high seas, a major shift in both ethos and technology still seems frustratingly out of reach.

for inter-island transportation in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and for other purposes. My Senator at the time, Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii, sponsored the bill, and his office worked with us for months to gather the data and prepare it.

It is sad how lethargic government is. Imagine if we, as a nation, had begun to direct and implement this 40 years ago. We would be leaders in sailing cargo today. Big oil fought this and won. (You can read the entire Bill and all the exchanges with the leaders in the back of my book, Dear Mom, The Bare Chronicles. It's free on Kindle. Sorry, out of print now.)

This doesn't have to be rocket science, folks. It's the oldest transportation tech on the planet. Not doing it is simply stupid.

Barry Spanier

Rosie G, Custom Antrim Junk Emmeryville

Barry was commenting on the January 27 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ WHAT, EXACTLY, IS HAPPENING ON THE OAKLAND ESTUARY?

The journalism here describes the dangers and decay allowed by the City of Oakland on its streets and waterways. I don't tolerate or give anything to polluting bums.

Captain Curt Taras

Curt was commenting on the February 6 'LL: Oakland Waterfront Free-for-All.

⇑⇓ THE ESTUARY IS PRETTY GREAT, IF YOU ASK ME "Journalism?" How about including a beauty shot of Jack London Square, Almar Marina, the free dock adjacent to Brotzeit Lokal, Brooklyn Basin, or the bike paths along the Estuary? Ironic, too, that the beauty shot of Long Beach shows the Queen Mary rusting in the background. (Hasn't it been condemned?) [Former Oakland Harbormaster Brock] De Lappe's article focuses on derelict boats in the Estuary. I agree 100% this problem should be fixed, but Oakland has been improving facilities on land, and should be given credit for that. The cleanup of Union Point Park last year was a big, positive step. I'm more troubled by the tent community between Jack London Aquatic Center and Lake Merritt, negating the investment made to improve that walkway.

Neal Holmlund

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Neal — When Brock de Lappe contacted us a year and a half ago about the deteriorating state of the Oakland Estuary, we were shocked. In July 2021, we had spent a pleasant afternoon kayaking from Alameda to the very locales you mentioned: Brotzeit Local, Brooklyn Basin, and the public dock in Jack London Square. It felt vibrant, safe, and was so, so much fun — and we didn't see a single derelict vessel.

As has always been the case with anchor-outs and homelessness, the problem is out of sight and mind just enough to seem nonexistent.

In October 2021, we paddled from Alameda to the waters between Coast Guard Island and Union Point Marina to find a flotilla of about 10 boats, many with full-time liveaboards, anchored-out. That flotilla has only grown in size in the last year, and many boats sank or were washed ashore during storms, especially this past January. There are also other public docks near the Jack London Aquatic Center that have effectively been taken over by a few boats, as well as a few anchor-outs on the Alameda side, across from Jack London Square, some of which sank last year.

What's most concerning about the situation, however, is that there has been no response from the City of Oakland. After years of regular enforcement, the city settled a $280,000 lawsuit after destroying two boats — which de Lappe described as derelict — in 2019. Ever since then, Oakland has gone silent, and has been absent, on all matters concerning the Estuary.

As with any shoreside city, there are numerous faces to the waterfront. Immediately adjacent to Union Point Marina, several vessels have sunk or been washed ashore. Note the yellow booms in the water in the middle-right of the photo, which are surrounding a 73-ft wooden boat that sank late last year.

Here's the "beauty shot," and the fip side of the Oakland Estuary, just a short paddle from Union Point Marina.

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LETTERS

Because Oakland has never responded to our numerous inquiries, we are forced to speculate as to why the city has let the waters off Union Point Marina become a freefor-all. (The Coast Guard has told us that they do not have the "authority or the jurisdiction to remove vessels, unless there's a pollution nexus, or unless there is an anchored vessel obstructing navigation in a channel.") Maybe the City of Oakland is simply trying to avoid more erroneous lawsuits. Maybe they figure that since the majority of the Estuary has become such a sought-after destination, a dozen-plus boats at the end of the waterway is an acceptable solution — or at least the lesser of several evils.

Sorry for the dubious journalism there. We welcome the City of Oakland to respond to our questions and set us, and the record, straight.

⇑⇓ SAUSALITO WORKING WATERFRONT VICTORIOUS OVER HOUSING THREAT

Special congrats to the Sausalito Working Waterfront Coalition (SWWC) for their win from the leaders of Alameda's Save Alameda's Working Waterfront (SAWW). We couldn't be happier for you!

Nancy Hird Alameda

Nancy was commenting on the February 6 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ A TINY VICTORY IN THE FACE OF A LARGER EXISTENTIAL CRISIS

Given that human population is the overreaching issue that few are willing to face, I am thrilled to see this tiny victory. The state [of California's] housing mandate is shortsighted given transportation, geography, and other basic infrastructure shortfalls.

Milly Biller

Surely we have run this beautiful photo of 'Matthew Turner' — which is emblematic of the extraordinary talents and abilities of the City of Sausalito — many times. We would prefer, instead, to run a picture of the extraordinary members of the Sausalito Working Waterfront Coalition. They have been working tirelessly, attending countless meetings that run late into the night, and standing before the forces of development and overpopulation to preserve some slivers of the history and culture of one of the Bay Area's great waterfront towns.

⇑⇓ HOORAH! BUT THE THREAT IS STILL THERE … Being raised as an anchor-out and living in the various gates areas, it's nice to see people trying to keep some of the original flavor of the Sausalito Waterfront. But still, as with all counties, the pressure from big plans or requirements to keep building houses means Sausalito is in danger of becoming like — and even worse than — L.A. as far as overcrowding and traffic.

Memo Gidley

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⇑⇓ SOME GOOD NEWS IN FLARE DISPOSAL

Thanks Latitude 38 for addressing this ongoing issue [of flare disposal]. For years, I've had a couple boxes of expired flares in my garage awaiting proper disposal. Recently I moved, and again was confronted with what to do with these. On a whim, I called my local police station. Lo and behold, they said "bring 'em on in. We'll take care of them." I don't know if this was a one-time fluke or a regular service of the SFPD, but I jumped on the opportunity and am now finally expired-flare free!

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⇑⇓ OH MEXICO

Ben Shaw, Host of Out The Gate Sailing Dovka, Hallberg

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Ben was commenting on the February issue's Sightings: A Flaring, Dead-End Economy

This isn't an ultimate solution, but lots of cruisers heading to Mexico round up flares from friends and dockmates and bring them down for fishermen along the coast. In the past, we brought down a lot of them. At one point, a port captain helped us give them out to the local fishing fleet. (Maybe this can be an unofficial item for the Baja Ha-Ha.)

Pat McIntosh

⇑⇓ HOW DEEP DO THE WATERS RUN IN ANGEL ISLAND'S AYALA COVE?

I've been visiting Ayala Cove over the last five years and, anecdotally, I feel it's more and more empty lately. I've run aground multiple times, most recently on a Hunter 34 that draws 5'6" — I was at the dock, and when I tried to go to a mooring ball, I ran aground right next to the end dock. I think the tide was around 1/1.5 feet. I managed to get myself off by having my crew heel the boat, and then stayed the night at the dock.

Nicholas Waton Member and Commodore, Cal Sailing Club Member, Tradewinds Sailing Club

Nicholas was commenting on the December 16 'Lectronic with the same name as this letter.

In an extremely unoffcial survey conducted by Latitude 38, there seems to be agreement that Ayala Cove on Angel Island has gotten shallower over the years, and that boats drawing anything more that 5.5-ft are likely to encounter the bottom on lower tides. There also seems to be agreement that the bottom is soft, that the docks are in disrepair, and that park rangers are well aware of all these problems.

In summer 2022, we contacted the California State Parks to tell them that, over the years, we've heard many complaints that Ayala Cove has become too shallow in places. "Are there

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LETTERS

any plans for dredging?" we asked.

"Currently we have no plans to dredge Ayala Cove," a California State Parks spokesperson told us. "The mooring field and docks have been full almost every weekend, so this is news to me. I'm aware some of the larger sailboats — 36-ftplus, depending on draft — may have issues at low tide.

"All deferred large maintenance projects, which would include dredging the cove, compete statewide with other projects," the spokesperson continued. "For example, the repairs currently planned for [dock repairs] were awarded last year through the statewide selection process."

⇑⇓ PLAN AND NO PROBLEM

We are frequent visitors to the Ayala Cove mooring balls on our Pearson 362, and it's a great experience. But while on my kayak this last year, I did take a lead line around to each ball at dead low tide and it ranged from 4'11" to 5'1". Plan on the tide coming and going and no problem.

⇑⇓ NO PROBLEM, IT'S SOFT

Art Ewart

We have been going to Ayala Cove for many years.

The Encinal Yacht Club has at least one cruise out per year to Angel Island. We are darksiders now, and our Nordic Tug 42 only drafts around 5-ft. The NT42 seems to be golden at anything over MLLW [Mean Lower Low Water]. Our Slocum 43 cutter had a draft of 6.6-ft, and I can confirm that the middle of the mooring field has silted in a lot over the years. It was problematic going there at anything near a low tide, and we were dredging at MLLW, making maneuvering for the buoys interesting.

But the bottom is super-soft. Try to come in on high slack water, preferably on days with minimal tide changes. Again, if you "hit" the bottom while moored, it is very soft. If your draft is over 6-ft, stay to the moorings on the outside edges.

Mark Wieber

⇑⇓ I'VE TOLD THEM THAT IT'S A PROBLEM

This is so frustrating. I ask a park ranger about this every time I visit Ayala. All the rangers know the cove is supershallow — I've been told multiple times that the park service is aware, but that no budget has been allocated for dredging. It sounds like feedback isn't getting passed up the line.

Merope is a Baltic 38 that draws 7.25-ft. In our experience, we need a +1.5 tide to get into and out of the docks facing west. The docks facing east are a no-go at anything other than a +2.5. The mooring field is deepest close to the beach (perhaps 5- to 6-ft at a zero tide) and super-shallow in the center (1.5- to 2.5-ft at a zero tide). The moorings close to Raccoon Strait are not quite as deep as those close to the beach.

There have been so many times we've wanted to stop at Ayala, either to dock or pick up a mooring, but can't because the cove is too shallow. The silver lining is that the bottom is soft mud, so if you can get in before the water goes out, you'll

There is, however, broad disagreement over exactly how many boats enjoy Ayala Cove on a typical weekend.

LATITUDE ARCHIVES

LETTERS

City of Vallejo Marina

be fine until it comes back in.

The Navionics app can create a layer of bathymetry, taking into account the forecast tide level if the device it's running on is connected via NMEA to a depthsounder. I took advantage of a very high tide once to criss-cross the entire field to get an accurate chart. Unfortunately, that layer was lost when I had to replace my phone.

And the mooring field is hardly ever full that I've seen — usually just on holiday weekends — but the docks do fill up, at least the ones that are open. The last time I was there, I think I counted five or six docks that were closed because the pilings have rotted and fallen away.

Graem

⇑⇓ WE RAN AGROUND THE VERY FIRST TIME, AND NOW TAKE CARE NOT TO

A yala Cove has always been a favorite of ours. We've been going for years, and, after getting stuck in the mud the very first time we went, we always plan on going at a minimum +2 tide. We have learned that it is more shallow in the middle, so we tend to grab moorings on the outer edge.

I've heard that the silting has gotten worse due to the increased ferry traffic years ago. When you watch the big ferry from San Francisco come in, you can see the water turbulence all the way to the moorings.

We draw almost 7-ft, and are 39-ft overall.

Greg and Lynn Escapade, Cal 39 mk II Currently in Banderas Bay

⇑⇓ BEWARE THE DARK SIDE

Yes please dredge Ayala Cove! My boat draws 7-ft and I have not gone back there in the past three years, as back then, the keel was already in the mud at low tide. Seems like everyone around the Bay should move to stinkin' short-draft powerboats as most cruising spots are getting silted in and nothing is being done.

Ludo

⇑⇓ DON'T FORGET MOORING BALLS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

In our Catalina 36 (5.5' draft), we find you can't get to the middle moorings at MLW due to silting, but agree the mud is soft and harmless once you're in. We have heard the outer rings of moorings are deeper due to tidal scour, but haven't tested it yet.

We agree the rangers know very well how shallow it is, but shake their heads at the possibility of getting money for dredging. Their higher priority seems to be docks, as that is where they spend more time and energy.

In addition to better maintaining the docks at Ayala Cove, and dredging, I would like to see a half dozen anchor balls established on the East Garrison side of the island.

Sandy Paige

Regardless of what is and is not agreed upon regarding the waters of Ayala Cove, the California State Parks system won't have the money to dredge it for quite some time. Sailors will have to fnd other solutions for the time being.

LETTERS

⇑⇓ HOSPITAL COVE

That's what we all called A yala Cove back in the day, in the 1970s, when there were no moorings there. Visiting boats were few, since most were "helmed" by sailors unafraid to sleep on the hook — plus everyone needed swinging room. Lunch stops in Hospital were generally limited to those able to deploy and retrieve ground tackle quickly and easily. It was a quiet, peaceful place, with plenty of water for vessels with 7-ft or more draft.

I don't recall the depths or how much scope was needed, but wonder if the mooring field exacerbated the silting and rising bottom by deflecting and slowing currents through the cove. Have all those cables or chains formed a loose mesh to hold the soil?

It might be telling to know the dredging history out there, though I suppose there's no going back to anchoring-only should it show dredging wasn't needed before moorings.

To know if that's the cause of silting, I wonder if one also needs to know how much less Delta water was being sent to Southern California, and whether there used to be enough water and current to carry the silt away.

If the cove was scoured enough naturally not to need redredging, and if the moorings caused today's need, would it be any easier to get the feds to dredge it, once, and soon, if they trusted it needn't become a habit? That would likely return some peace and quiet to the cove, while making it a great place for newbies to safely learn anchoring. On nice weekends, the place might not resemble a supermarket parking lot.

Here are a few tales from that cove: In the early '90s, there was a story about a couple who steamed into the crowded cove in a Felony 34 or some such. The man aimed for one of the last moorings available and yelled for (it was presumed) his wife to grab the mooring with the boathook. Our neighbor said he never slowed the boat below four knots yet his wife managed to snag the thing, then had to let go of the boathook. The man swore loudly.

Most in the cove heard the yelling. The guy reportedly motored into clear water, hung a 180 and steamed back, now yelling for his wife to "grab the [expletive] boathook and don't let go!" She lay down on a side deck, head and shoulders under the lifelines. He again failed to slow the boat, but she managed to comply, and promptly slid into a stanchion and off the deck to bellyflopping next to the mooring ball.

The guy motored out of the cove, turned west and disappeared around the island, leaving his wife on the mooring. She wasn't there long; people jumped into dinghies and went to her rescue. They rowed her to the dock and ferry. "Lawyers were giving her their cards," said one witness.

In the late '60s, a Sausalito sailor did an anchor -check in Hospital Cove before turning in. All was well. A little before dawn, nature called. Rather than wake his wife by using the head, this husband tiptoed to the ladder. He described easing the hatch open, stepping out on deck and grabbing his schooner's main shrouds before looking around. When he did, he was shocked to see they were under the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge. His fine old boat hadn't hit a thing — he was sure if it had he'd have jumped awake.

Brooks Townes Pacific Northwest

⇑⇓ WE RECEIVED AN AMAZING NUMBER OF HEARTFELT COMMENTS UPON THE PASSING OF DAVID CROSBY Sail on Sailor, dear David, who was so encouraging when we met at Red Rocks, then again in Boulder on tour with his son. I play Lee Shore as my closer. "Women are calling me to

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LETTERS

end my tales; See you, the next quiet place."

Paul Noel Fiorino

I had to look up, read the lyrics, and listen to Southern Cross, which I always associate with CSN [Crosby, Stills and Nash, and sometimes Young]. Steve Stills wrote lyrics to a Curtis Brothers song, reworking it into Southern Cross

I imagined it to be describing a passage on the schooner Mayan. (It looks like her on the record cover. Remember those?) I fell down this rabbit hole thinking about David Crosby, Mayan, Southern Cross and playing it (on the sound system) when we crossed the equator on a passage from Eureka to Fatu Hiva.

Thanks to David Crosby for the harmonies to the soundtrack of my youth, and wooden boats. Fair winds and following seas.

Bill Huber

I was Joe Walsh's tour manager in the '70s. We were in Sausalito recording when Joe bought a 30-ft Alden sloop with a club-footed jib he found there. David came by to check it out, and spotted the clam-shell pulls on the drawers in the cabin. His Alden did not have this distinctive Alden touch, and he took one to be copied for casting his own set. I hope they may still be part of the outfitting.

Bill Robbins

I'm 69 and a former sailor (both a recreational and a former US Navy sailor) and I have loved the music of CSNY since I was 15 also. Guinevere and Wooden Ships stand out, as does Ohio. I liked the Byrds, even earlier as a young boy in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Richard Fohrenbach

David wrote this beautiful, haunting, psychedelic music which would become Wooden Ships. He brought it to Paul Kantner, who then wrote most of the lyrics. The song first appears on the last Jefferson Airplane album Volunteers which is a masterpiece, as is the entire album. David sang harmony on the song — he was the greatest harmonizer ever. He and Paul are probably writing together again right now, two of the greatest hippies ever. Ever. R.I.P., guys.

Mike

We, as Baby Boomers, are blessed to have this beautiful music bookend our journey from launch (of awareness) to the end of our voyage on the other shore. The music is timeless, almost ethereal, and will outlive us all. It sounds as fresh now as it did then, and I'll listen to it until the day I die. David, from your earlier "choir boy" looks (the Byrds) to the later rough'n'gruff, moustachioed persona. we grew old together. You were loved. Bon voyage, matey!

Valerie Soper

Fair winds and following seas, David Crosby.

Gear

LETTERS

In 1974, I worked as a trim carpenter refurbishing McWayne Marine Supply in Honolulu's Kewalo Basin. Boat owners would dock at McWayne for nautical supplies and boat maintenance.

One after noon, I saw Croz [David Crosby] using the store's pay phone. Didn't have any idea why he would be in there. Later that evening, I told a friend about it. "Oh yeah," he said. "Croz has a boat called Mayan. Probably sailed her all the way from California."

Ronnie King

Fare well to the Southern Cross and beyond.

So I'm sailing for tomorrow, My dreams are a-dying. And my love is an anchor tied to you with a silver chain. I have my ship, and all her flags are a-flying. She is all that I have left, and music is her name

ZRA

⇑⇓ DETERIORATING SITUATION AT DOCKTOWN

It took three men and one wheelchair to get Bill Fleming to the hospital, because the docks here at Docktown are in shambles! We almost dropped Bill in water.

Shame on Redwood City. Shame. City council: Shame on those who treat us like non citizens.

Please help.

We have four or five residents who have medical problems and need safe docks. If you do not want to provide your tenants with safe access, maybe you can tell me why?

Don't ghost me — this is a serious safety issue. My next call is to the Coast Guard, or the city's insurance provider.

Edward Stancil Docktown

Edward Stancil, a longtime reader, occasional Latitude contributor and Delta Doo Dah supporter, has been struggling with Redwood City for years to keep Docktown viable for the liveaboards. A resident of Docktown himself, Stancil has tried to bring awareness to the condition of the marine infrastructure there. The situation has become difficult for the boating tenants, particularly the liveaboards who have nowhere else to go.

Have a story, thought, adventure or comment? Please email us at editorial@latitude38.com, and include your name, your boat's name, and its model and hailing port, or just tell us where you're from.

It wasn't easy getting longtime Docktown resident Bill Fleming to the hospital via a wheelchair on old, decaying docks.

Itwas great to see how many readers took the positive approach to this photo. Far from considering the boat (presumably there is one attached to the visible mast and rigging) a complete loss, many readers chose to look forward to its being back on the water. "High tide in six hours. She'll float right out. Lunch?" — Dag Gano. "It's a start, Marge. But eventually we'll sail off this island back to civilization." — RT. "A true sand castle." — @sailing.new.horizons. And Dennis Fritts' response, "We christen thee Sandy Bottoms!" We hope you passed that by Neptune, Dennis. Of course there were many more fun results, but we don't have room to print them all, so below is the winning comment, and the next top ten.

"The MacGregor 36's sand ballast never quite gained popularity." — Craig Murk.

"I told you kids to rinse off before coming aboard." — Jennifer Conklin.

"Went a little overboard with the sandblasting." — @finding_cloud.

"Is it me, or do the winches seem sticky to you?" — Ian. "Take off your shoes, please. We don't want to get sand down below." — Bill Huber.

"We must have gotten the tide wrong…" — @teambouchonsailing.

"Holy crap, we may be aground." — Gary E Morris.

"OK… break out the anchor, we'll try kedging off." — David R.

"Jim, look! The new playground equipment on the beach is nautical themed!" — John Krossa.

"That new nonskid deck really works!" — Tod Beebe.

"The dream I had long held was to voyage afar in a sailing boat; to see people and places in a manner possible only by this means; to move in humble harmony with the sea and the wind and to count these formidable elements as my friends. In this way of life, I expected to encounter new experiences and people, to discover new values, and to enrich my life." — Richard J. Vogt, Altering Course.

The winner: "Dave's steps preparing his boat for the coming hurricane season were considered extreme, by most, on the island." — Kelvin Meeks.

THE INTERNET

hank easom leaves his mark

On a rainy Saturday in mid-January, a crowd of well-wishers gathered at Easom Rigging in Richmond for the unveiling of the newest piece of hardware on San Francisco Bay: the Hank Easom racing mark, which pays tribute to one of San Francisco Bay racing's greatest treasures, friends and competitors. The clouds parted and the skies dried just as Hank arrived for the joyous reveal party. The buoy was installed in its permanent mooring site off the Marin headlands — otherwise known as Yellow Bluff — on Tuesday, February 7.

On February 14, Hank Easom passed away. He was 88.

A lifelong resident of the Tiburon Peninsula, Hank began sailing a Moon boat with his older brother, Bruce, at age 8, but didn't win his first race against the adults until age 11. At 13, Hank landed a job working at Clipper boatyard in Sausalito on the condition that he buy a kit and build a 20-ft Clipper dinghy. Upon completion of the boat, Hank sailed his Clipper from Tiburon to work at the boatyard in Sausalito every day. Hank got a taste of his first big win as a 15-year-old crewing on a Mercury. He and his skipper won the 1950 Mercury National Championships representing Sausalito Yacht Club.

Hank mustered out of the Coast Guard on March 11, 1955, and on March 12, established Easom Boatworks on the historical Marinship waterfront in Sausalito. He continued to race at every opportunity, often recruiting his workers as crew — while Easom Boatworks quickly built a reputation for quality.

Hank had a long, winning legacy on San Francisco Bay, with headlines announcing his winning ways. "Hank Easom Sails to Win In Mallory Cup Series Test," read a 1983 San Francisco Chronicle headline. "Easom Adds Lipton Cup," read another.

We cannot help but remember Hank Easom as the owner, steward, and masterful tactician of Yucca, his classic 8-meter yacht. Built in 1937 and raced competitively under his ownership for 53 years — from 1964 until 2017 — this beautifully maintained wooden sailboat still graces San Francisco Bay. Not surprisingly, Hank's 36-ft Sabre Spirit Serenade still found its way to the podium.

Crewing for Hank was a rewarding experience for Bay Area racers looking for on-board camaraderie and the opportunity to hone skills in sail trim and tactics. Hank had decades of experience in navigating the nuances of the Bay's tricky wind and currents. Many of Hank's male and female crew have gone on to success racing their own boats.

Selected as Yachtsman of the Year by the St. Francis Yacht Club in 1971, and the San Francisco Yacht Club in 1990 and 2014, Hank Easom is the embodiment of gracious Corinthian spirit, which shapes and guides our lives on and off the water.

Three weeks after the January 14 reveal party, Hank won his last race in the Golden Gate Midwinters aboard Serenade by beating his closest competition … by 20 minutes — a remarkable achievement. Serenade also came in first in his class and first overall.

The buoy unveiling was a gathering of longtime crew members of both Yucca and Serenade, plus a large crew of friends and supporters, and the drivers that brought the buoy to fruition. The idea for the new buoy came to Ron Young, a friend of Hank's and longtime Bay Area racer frequently seen sailing his IOD Youngster, when an updated Blackaller buoy (named, of course, for Tom Blackaller) was placed off Crissy Field in January 2022. The Hank Easom buoy is the result of many months of advance planning and hard work by Ron Young, San Francisco Yacht Club Staff Commodore Carl Lewis, and Hank's nephew Scott Easom, who is also the head of the YRA Buoy Committee. The buoy is being funded by members of the San Francisco Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club, and Sausalito Yacht Club and individual benefactors, with ongoing maintenance provided by Easom Racing and Rigging.

After the unveiling, the buoy was set by the Ar my Corps of Engineers vessel John A.B. Dillard Jr. on February 7, the name Hank Easom emblazoned on the side.

us sailing's

After a three-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, US Sailing held its first in-person Leadership Summit in Clearwater, Florida, in early February. The summit's goal was for attending sailors to "connect, discover and grow." After three years of Zoom calls — the last leadership summit was held in January 2020 in San Diego — attendees realized the value, and the pleasure, of getting together in person. Over the years, the event strove for professional development of individuals involved in the management of sailing programs and organizations.

Numerous West Coast sailors attended, including the president of US Sailing, Rich Jepsen; Beau Vrolyk, the current commodore of the St. Francis Yacht Club, which

leadership forum

had an additional 14 club members and staff at the summit; Emily Zugnoni from Alameda Community Sailing Center; Doug Paine from Treasure Island Sailing Center; Kevin Straw of Mission Bay Aquatic Center; Los Angeles Yacht Club Staff Commodore Marie Rogers; Bay Area Mercury sailor and leadership development coach Larry Ledgerwood; Stephanie LaChance and David Forbes from Club Nautique; members of Richmond Yacht Club; and several other West Coast entities.

Why do all these Californians fly 3,000 miles east just to talk sailing? The summit is an opportunity for dedicated program volunteers and staff to up their game,

hank easom — continued

Hank was able to view the buoy a few of times off the shores of Sausalito, and expressed his gratitude to everyone who helped the honor come to fruition before his passing.

Like Hank, the buoy itself will be impressive on San Francisco Bay. The bright-yellow, seven-foot-tall by four-foot-wide LED-lit buoy will be much easier to spot against the Marin shoreline than its predecessor, which was less than half the size of the new Easom mark.

But most importantly for racers and race committees, the mark will not move! The 400-pound buoy should remain solidly on station with its 1,800 pounds of anchor and chain. For those planning on getting close to the buoy on a mark rounding, the foam siding should make them feel a little more courageous (or comfortable) to call room and sneak inside. The location of the now-permanent fixture on San Francisco Bay was recorded on February 7 as: 37º 50.491' N, 122º 28.078' W.

As we round the Hank Easom buoy in the coming months and years, we're sure that many racers, like us, will recognize it as the first time we've ever passed Hank Easom while sailing on San Francisco Bay.

— latitude / john

Clockwise from top left: Scott Easom (Hank's nephew), Hank Easom and Ron Young; Hank winning the St. Francis Yachtsman of the Year award in 1971; the buoy party fowers wishing Hank farewell lots of rode; the buoy off Yellow Bluff in Sausalito.

LATITUDE / JOHN

RANDALL VON WEDEL

LIFEONTHEWATER.US

the freedom of cruising without starlink

In my decades of reading Latitude 38 , I've always appreciated the publisher's perspective on cruising, which, to me, seemed to embrace camaraderie, community and the benefits of simplicity. I remember stories he wrote about throwing electronics off of his Olson 30 La Gamelle and what I thought was a keep-it-simple approach aboard Profligate. But now, as espoused in the December 2022 Ha-Ha Wrap Up, it seems we need Starlink's 24/7 internet so we can clean a fish.

On the Ha-Ha in 1999, I caught my first fish since I was a kid. Having no idea what to do, I grabbed the VHF and called for assistance — which produced several lighthearted chuckles from the fleet. One skipper explained how to deal with my catch. I bought him a beer in Cabo, we became friends, and then we spent a lot of good times together that season. I wonder if the boat on the 2022 Ha-Ha became friends with the creators of the YouTube fish video.

The same Ha-Ha article lauded Starlink for allowing access to YouTube when repairing one's boat. For decades, people have solved problems at sea with parts at hand, using their heads and reference books, and relying on fellow cruisers. Nigel Calder's Boatowners' Mechanical and Electrical Manual has saved my butt several times. YouTube is not the oracle of boat life that so many think it is. There's great info out there, but there is also misleading and potentially harmful material. (Check out this Noonsite article about it by Googling: Noonsite Insights YouTube versus cruiser reality).

24/7 internet is fantastic for those who need to work, as well as those addicted to posting on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. It is essential for those who seem to be out cruising, but spend nearly all their time shooting video and editing, blogging, Zooming, gathering followers, creating a brand, and hustling for more Patreon patrons. But all of this is chipping away at the core of the cruising community, keeping people below decks at anchor (perhaps watching other people's curated cruising on YouTube?), and removing people from the environment they have just sailed to. There seems to be less desire to engage with new cultures; we see cruisers walk through Marquesan villages without even a friendly kaoha to the locals. 24/7 internet encourages the use of Facebook groups for sharing cruising information — a practice that excludes those not on FB or who don't have high-bandwidth internet. Unlike email groups, this makes the sharing of potentially crucial information (safety issues, theft risk, missing boats) exclusive rather than inclusive. Mobile connectivity is even reducing the essential use of VHF as sailors leave their radio off, preferring to send a WhatsApp or Iridium GO! text within the anchorage.

I know there will be plenty of sailors who think I'm an old fogey living in the past ("Get off my lawn!") and telling people how to cruise. That's not the case at all. There are many ways to cruise, from Pardey minimalist to multi-million-dollar yachts. Yet after more than 20 years of cruising, some things have become clear. Those who keep it simple seem to have more fun, and those less connected electronically are more connected to the locals and the environment. If you leave an industrialized country after years of being connected 24/7 and believe that's what's necessary to live a fulfilling life, it's easy to justify staying in that life and practically impossible to see your way out of it. Luckily, I had an epiphany at the Islas Revillagigedo in 2019 and realized the detrimental effects of our societal addiction. (You can read about it here on my website: www. migrations.brucebalan.com.)

We don't eschew technology aboard Migration: We do appreciate being able to receive weather and send emails to our family via our HF radio or Iridium GO!. The electronic charts we use (and offer at TheChartLocker. com) help us navigate safely. But we limit our time online and feel it enhances life in countless ways.

In the January 2023 Latitude, Marga Pretorius of the KP44 Dogfish

us sailing

learn from others, work through issues in program management, develop fundraising and recruitment skills, and generally fill up the knowledge fuel tank that's going to inspire and improve the sailing activities they operate back home.

Participants were able to hit the beach to try out a range of training boats from RS, Zim and Hobie for some actual sailing. Participants dug into the nitty-gritty details of race management, event management and insurance issues. The event aims to help nonprofit and for-profit sailing operations develop best practices for the success of

"Hoping Starlink will never invade this space," wrote Bruce Balan.

— continued

their programs, and for the broader success of sailing in general.

The next US Sailing Leadership Forum won't be held until 2025, with exact dates and a location yet to be announced.

In the meantime, if you're looking to raise the game in your program, you can attend the US Sailing National Sailing Programs Symposium, which will be held in Savannah, Georgia, in 2024. This event is aimed at growing the knowledge base around teaching and instructors for youth and community sailing programs.

— latitude

starlink free — continued

wrote that Starlink allows her to continue her surveying business even without a mobile signal. She also wrote, "But on the other hand, it felt as if something was lost — that wonderful isolation of cruising through remote anchorages cut off from the world has been pierced."

She's right.

Though Elon Musk has changed our view of the night sky for decades to come, no one forces us to follow blindly by imbibing whatever technology we are served. It is up to us to make conscious decisions on which route we sail. If you choose carefully and come to the conclusion that the 24/7-connected route is yours, sail on.

But please consider trying other possibilities before you set your course and buy Starlink. You may be surprised that forgoing the perceived freedom of constant connectivity leads to a freedom you never knew existed.

— bruce balan

bay area sailor bill erkelens

In a January episode of Good Jibes, we had the pleasure of chatting with Bill Erkelens, a Bay Area sailor who has turned his passion for sailing into an impressive professional career. Bill has worked with some of the most successful Grand Prix teams on the global circuits, including the Maxi yacht Sayonara, Oracle Racing America's Cup campaigns, and Volvo Ocean Races with Team Alvimedica and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

Currently, he is COO of 11th Hour Racing's "Sustainably Committed" campaign in the current edition of The Ocean Race, managing the team's dayto-day operations from shore.

One significant difference between his current and previous roles is that while the 11th Hour Racing Team aims to win, it also aims to combine the sport with philanthropy: specifically, using sailing as a vehicle to create awareness and action around ocean health. Starting with an LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) study of their own new boat build, the team has created a legacy that is infiltrating the racing world.

"It's essentially coming up with a footprint of the build," Bill explains. "All the energy, the power, the materials that went into it, and where they came from, and what the net impact was [in] creating the boat. And looking at the waste, what was recycled, what wasn't recycled, and coming up with a final impact."

Along with improving their own footprint, 11th Hour has helped create change within the entire IMOCA class, which has adopted new rules for new boat builds. "If they look at the study we did, if they do a better job, they can get credits toward performance, essentially," Bill says.

When not working around the world, Bill is happy racing with his wife Melinda aboard much smaller sailboats. Together, the couple participates in local West Coast regattas including the Bay Area's Three Bridge Fiasco and Delta Ditch Run, Oregon's Double Damned, and the summertime lake circuit.

Offshore, Bill has sailed more than 100,000 miles across 10 crewed races to Hawaii, five Pacific Cups — doublehanded with Melinda — and several deliveries. Much of it was in small boats, including the Moore 24, Dogpatch 26, Wiley Wabbit, Hobie 33, Donovan 30, D Class Catamaran, and a Tornado.

He admits to being a boat junkie. "I love boats. I own several at a time and tend to fix them up a little bit, race them, and then sell them."

Bill's expansive career was almost inevitable. His parents were avid sailors and would regularly take him and his two brothers on scuba adventures in the Catalina Islands, aboard their Columbia 26. When his father began racing on the Bay aboard a Bob Smith-designed quarter tonne, named Hippaposterous, and a Tom Wylie half tonner, Moonshadow, and eventually, the Wylie one tonner Lois Lane, Bill spent his free time riding along and eventually enjoying his first crew job. "As a little kid, I could run up and skirt the jib without getting too much weight off the rail."

He rubbed shoulders, or perhaps initially knees, with many of the local racing sailors, and was eventually big enough to be invited on deliveries, which he then did every summer. "I started making a few bucks doing it and it was a nice way to spend the summer in Hawaii, or at least a few weeks of it," he says.

But the turning point for Bill happened in 1980, the summer he turned 15. He was aboard a routine delivery from Hawaii back to California on a Serendipity 43 named America — nicknamed the "Mailbox." "It was blue and the mast was red and [it] looked like a giant mailbox," he explains.

The boat, skippered by Robert Flowerman, was filled with Bay Area legends Jock McLean and his future wife Annie, Bill Melbostad, Charlie Merrill and Carlos Badel. After losing its rudder in a gale off the California coast, America caught a tow from a passing ship. They were given a drogue, "a gigantic Amazon tractor tire," Bill recalls, and proceeded to be pulled through the water at more than 12 knots.

"It was a challenge rigging it all, and I don't think anyone else had fun on the boat, but I really enjoyed it," Bill continues. "After that, year after year, I would do deliveries to and from Hawaii for the Kenwood Cup, or continued on outside column of next sightings page

green ships are coming,

Great news! The maritime industry seems on the verge of a breakthrough in socalled green propulsion. Well, maybe.

For the past several years, there have been bold headlines and exciting concept drawings of state-of-the-art commercial ships featuring auxiliary wind or green-fuel options. At the same time, the fleet of fully electric vessels, which are seeing steady increases in range and power, is growing. A number of maritime leaders — including the world's largest shipping company — have multiple vessels under construction as we speak. Is the future now? Is the future soon? Or will the future forever be on the horizon, blurry and ungraspable?

Spread: Bill and Melinda Erkelens sail the Hobie 33 'Sleeping Dragon' in a Richmond YC Wednesday Night Beer Can Race in June 2 2 . It was the frst sanctioned race after the initial COVID lockdown.)

Inset: Bill and Melinda won the Moore 24 Delta Ditch Run Perpetual Trophy in 2019 with 'Flying Circus', Moore 24 #11.

TBF PHOTOGRAPHY

very, very slowly

Stories announcing new technology are fraught with peril. As markets and new innovations sort themselves out, it's unclear exactly what technology will emerge, but it's easy to get caught up in the fervor of what might be. When it comes to lower-emission commercial vessels, however, it does appear as if some kind of change is approaching.

Well, we think.

Are we approaching a tipping point? When will there be a critical mass of new wind-assisted and/or alternative-fuel ships that shift economies and the scales of production in a meaningful way, thus offering efficient, lower-cost alternatives?

continued in middle column of next sightings page

erkelens — continued

returning from Transpacs."

Bill is grateful to the mentors who influenced his sailing and his career. "I appreciate everything that they did for me. It was something that basically gave me the foundation to be able to do quite a bit more all over the world."

But before he went global, Bill met his future wife, Melinda, through sailing on the Bay. After deciding to do the Pacific Cup together, doublehanded, they found the Dogpatch 26. They sailed and campaigned the boat for several years before their goal was realized in 1994. They were hooked. Work then kept them from the race for many years, but they never lost the urge and over time found their way back into the fleet. And while not all couples find racing together a positive experience, Bill and Melinda have it down pat.

"You don't see each other the whole way," Bill laughs. "One's sleeping and one's sailing." — latitude / monica

headwinds facing donald lawson

The last time we spoke with Donald Lawson — just a few months ago at October's Annapolis Boat Show — he was gearing up to sail from Southern California to Hawaii and then attempt to break the singlehanded aroundthe-world sailing record. Seemingly full of optimism despite having put the boat on the bricks at Anacapa Island the month before, Lawson assured us the damage wasn't bad, and that he would be making repairs and then sailing to Hawaii to begin his around-the-world record attempt around February of this year.

These would serve as the first two attempts in an ambitious campaign to break nearly three dozen ocean sailing records over the course of the next decade.

So when well-known sailmaker and professional sailor Sylvain Barrielle posted photos of the famous ORMA 60 trimaran — formerly named

green ships

In the April 2019 issue of Latitude 38 , we asked, "Will there be a new age of sail in the shipping industry?" At the time, there were some encouraging trends. "From a [global] fleet size of around 60,000 ships, roughly 10,000 could be using wind by 2030," Gavin Allwright, the secretary of the International Windship Association, told us back in 2019.

Here's one of those bold, exciting headlines that makes it feel as if we're already in the future: In late January, French-based shipowner NEOLINE announced they'd begun construction on a 446-ft roll-on/roll-off (or "ro-ro") vessel that will feature "two fold-

Spread ' efant', formerly known as the record-breaking 'Mighty Merloe' and 'Groupama 2', looking worse for wear in Acapulco, Mexico, in early February. Inset: 'Mighty Merloe' in happier days, smashing the Transpac race record in 2017 while owned by Howard Enloe.

— continued

ing 'Solidsail Rig System' carbon fiber masts and 3,000 square meters of sail area." Delivery of the vessel, which is being built in Turkey, is planned for 2025.

Here are more exciting headlines: A.P. Moller–Maersk — the largest shipping company in the world with a fleet of vessels (708 as of 2019) said to be larger than the US Navy — has ordered a total of 19 dual-fuel "green-methanol vessels," six of which will be delivered in 2025.

That's great news, right? (Possibly.)

Last year, Viking luxury cruise line

headwinds — continued

Groupama 2 and Mighty Merloe — to his Facebook account on January 27 showing the boat looking pretty wrecked in Acapulco, Mexico, we were more than a little confused. With visible hull damage, exposed core, multiple headsails in tatters, a non-functioning engine, a missing bowsprit and a mainsail that was dumped into the cockpit, the boat's condition had deteriorated significantly since it was in the Bay last summer.

It was a sad sight to see, to say the least. We wanted to know more. The more we dug, the more incomprehensible the story seemed to get.

Without making any social media or website updates to announce his radical changes in plans or his departure from California, Donald and his wife Tory reportedly showed up in Cabo San Lucas around Christmastime with a laundry list of issues on board their trimaran. This is where things get even more difficult to understand. Some social media posters were making claims of helping Lawson with gear and supplies and the boat being in a state of disarray, though Lawson is disputing these claims.

Many posts and comments on social media have now been deleted, and Lawson himself is now limiting, editing, or turning off comments on most of his social media posts, which makes things harder to track. After Lawson publicly swept the Anacapa grounding and subsequent tow under the rug and never made any public mention of it, we don't know whom or what to believe.

Lawson's trimaran, now named Defiant, was reportedly headed to the Panama Canal and expected to be there around January 8. When we communicated with Donald via Instagram messenger in early February, we asked him what he was doing in Mexico, and he replied that they'd stopped in Acapulco as a result of damage, but had been en route to the Galápagos Islands. Lawson claimed that he and his wife hit multiple storms and also debris in the water, which resulted in hull damage and tattered sails. He also reported engine troubles and an inability to charge his batteries. While in Acapulco, Lawson increasingly became the subject of speculation and scrutiny on social media and internet sailing forums. He says that he remains determined in his efforts to set solo ocean sailing records.

As of the original writing of this article, which appeared as a February 10 'Lectronic Latitude, Lawson and his local team are reportedly already working on hull repairs as well as sail and motor repairs, while the boat remains in the water.

We were skeptical when Donald first began his campaign aimed at setting 33 ocean sailing records, but we are eternal optimists and always root for the underdog. The fact that Lawson — who has never raced across an ocean in an organized race, crewed or solo, and has never crossed an ocean on a multihull of any sort — managed to start a nonprofit organization and get his hands on the fastest ORMA 60 ever built was an impressive start. We applaud Lawson's efforts at promoting diversity, equality and inclusion in a sport that is rather pigment-deficient, but objectively speaking, his record-setting campaign is beginning to look like a very lofty dream that got way ahead of reality or possibility.

ORMA 60s are fast, fickle beasts that died out as a class; the result of being too radical for even the best sailors on Earth to handle. And an ORMA 60 has never been in the Southern Ocean, where the leaders in the Golden Globe Race have been battling a 60-knot depression: enough breeze to flip an ORMA 60 that is under bare poles.

Since our February 'Lectronic, we understand that the ever-ebullient Captain Donald Lawson references many friends and associates offering help and advice as he repairs his trimaran. When the boat is shipshape again, Lawson plans to sail through the Panama Canal, with the intention of eventually hauling his boat in Baltimore in May to make proper repairs, and continue preparations for his solo around-the-world record attempt. latitude

boat still sunk off treasure island

Since mid-December, a sailboat has been sunk less than 20 yards off Treasure Island, with about 15 feet of mast — adorned with flapping scraps of sail — sticking out of the water. Between January's biblically bad weather and a backlog of work for the Army Corps of Engineers, it's not clear when the vessel will be removed.

"Spotted [a] sunken boat on north east cor ner of Treasure Island," reader Craig Russel wrote us on February 8. "Been there about six weeks. When it was still floating, it looked to be 35- to 38-ft of water."

The Coast Guard told Latitude that the owner of the vessel was returning from an anchorage when they ran aground. The Coasties responded to an ensuing oil spill on December 12, 2022. "A contractor removed 50 gallons of product from the vessel," the CG told us. A Latitude reader asked: "Fifty gallons of fuel removed? How big is this boat?" Good question. Based on the size of the mast, we'll guess that the vessel is between 30- and 40-ft. Still, that does seem like a lot of fuel for a sailboat.

The Coast Guard said that the Port of San Francisco requested that the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) remove the sunken boat. "ACOE intended to remove the vessel in January, then the storms arrived. ACOE are [now] removing more priority hazards along the navigation channels caused by the storms and runoff," the Coast Guard told us. With yet another atmospheric river bearing down on the West Coast as of this writing, the sunken sailboat may be there for some time.

Reader Ros de Vries wrote, "Saw the sailboat during [Three Bridge Fiasco] and was keen to hear the story. The puzzling things are that:

"a) The sails were unfurled, or ready to unfurl — why didn't the operator, ahem, sail away from TI? b) Surely a quick call to TowBoatUS would have prevented the grounding, sinking and consequent expensive retrieval.

"Finally, did the operator simply vanish?"

Someone put a picture of the sunken boat on Craigslist in jest, saying, "Possible water damage. As is, where is. No low balls."

— latitude

second day of sailgp's australian leg canceled; boats damaged onshore in weather event

SailGP was forced to cancel the second day of racing in Sydney, Australia, in late February after hurricane-force winds ripped through the onshore base and team compounds. Team Canada's F50 catamaran and at least one of its wings were severely damaged in the gusts.

"It was some of the most wind I have ever seen in my life," Canada SailGP Team's driver Phil Robertson said. In a viral video, one of Canada Team's wings can be seen on a crane, blowing like a tiny flag in a gale and swaying in circles until it finally crashes into nearby tents. The chaos looked worse than it was — no one was seriously injured, and the SailGP leadership hinted that the damage would not affect the remaining two events on the schedule, including the final here in San Francisco in May.

Still, it's been a bizarre third season for SailGP, with a few close calls.

The three races completed in Sydney on day one — Friday, February 17 — officially constituted a "completed event" under the SailGP rules. France took the win, while the United States SailGP team took second. The Sydney event was the ninth of 11 legs in season three of SailGP's global grand-prix circuit. The foiling cats will head to New Zealand in March, then race in the "Grand Final" on the Bay on May 6 and 7.

"It was all-hands on deck … but ultimately, Mother Nature won," US SailGP Team CEO and driver Jimmy Spithill said of the weather event that wreaked so much havoc. France won all three races on day one, while Spithill and the US took a pair of second-place finishes. The US SailGP team is in sixth place overall and 11 points behind season-points leaders Australia. Mathematically, the US is still in it. "Morale is high, but there's

green ships

announced that they are building ocean ships that will run on hydrogen fuel cells, while Royal Caribbean Group, which owns three cruise lines, said they will launch a ship in 2023 that will be equipped a combination of fuel cells, batteries and dual-fuel engines that use liquefied natural gas, according to the New York Times.

Maersk's methanol and Viking's hydrogen fall onto a spectrum of greenness on which they can be produced. If you use fossil fuels instead of renewables to make biofuels — which is the dominant method at the moment — then guess what? The product isn't going to be very green. And how about Royal Caribbean's LNG ships? "Methane, the primary component of natural gas, traps even more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide emitted from heavy

CRAIG RUSSELL

sailgp — continued — continued

fuel," the Times reported in December 2022.

The commercial maritime industry finds itself in something of a three-steps-forward, two-and-a-half-steps-back pace in their effort to green a tiny handful of vessels. The progress is infuriatingly slow, but undeniably steady, with the industry inching (like a melting glacier) toward a lower-emissions future. Ten years ago, it seemed as if renewables stood no chance against big oil and coal. Now, "new onshore wind and solar projects cost roughly 40% less than coal or gas plants built from scratch," according to Bloomberg.

So yes, we will confirm that all of this is, in fact, good news. These new ships may be the first trickling grains of sand that build into a mountain of change.

— latitude / tim henry

still work to do," Spithill, who is no stranger to big comebacks on San Francisco Bay, was quoted as saying.

In a separate incident on the first day of racing in Sydney, Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team crew member Matt Gotrel fell overboard as the team was on the final stretch to the finish line and traveling close to 50 mph. Gotrel fell through the fairing during a jibe; attached by a safety line, he was dragged perilously underneath the boat while bouncing off the water. "We were in pretty good shape in the race and went into a jibe, [and] we had to take some evasive action on Canada," said team driver Ben Ainslie. "That little bit of movement on the boat sent Matt flying through the fairing. He was like a rag doll at the end of his tether, with two foils up quite high." Gotrel suffered muscle strains and bruising, but was not admitted to the hospital.

As long as we're talking about freak incidents surrounding SailGP's third season, don't forget leg eight in Singapore in January, when lightning struck Team New Zealand's F50 shortly after the conclusion of the final day of racing. One person suffered minor injuries.

Be safe out there SailGPers! We'll see you on the Bay, soon.

— latitude

A montage of sailing news. Clockwise from left: A sunken sailboat has been sitting on the bottom off Treasure Island for at least six weeks, and will likely still be there after this issue hits the stands; French-based shipowner NEOLINE's 446-ft ro-ro vessel will hit the water by 2025; The Canadians took the worst of a spate of bad weather in Sydney in late February, losing a wing, and suffering damage to their F5 cat the SailGP base looking a bit worse for wear.

SAILGP

SAILGP

NEOLINER

DAVID CROSBY —

Whenrock legend David Crosby passed away on January 19, he left behind an enormous musical legacy, including his stirring harmonies with bandmates Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. Besides his renowned musical harmonies, he also found harmony at sea. This led to many miles of sailing and endless sailing friendships formed aboard his famed, 59-ft LOD wooden schooner Mayan.

After publishing our online story of his passing, we received many comments highlighting how much his music resonated naturally with sailors, including CSN songs Southern Cross, Wooden Ships, Lee Shore, and many more. The songs are anthems forming the soundtrack of many sailors' lives.

Reader Bill Huber wrote a comment reflecting the thoughts of many; "I had to look up, read the lyrics, and listen to Southern Cross, which I always associate with CS&N. I imagined it to be describing a passage on Mayan. (It looks like her on the record cover… remember those?) I fell down this whirlpool thinking about David Crosby, Mayan, Southern Cross and playing it (on the sound system) when we crossed the equator on a passage from Eureka to Fatu Hiva. Thanks to David Crosby for the harmonies to the soundtrack of my youth, and wooden boats. Fair winds and following seas."

The freedom of the seas. David Crosby soaks it up under the bright colors of 'Mayan's spinnaker.

His connection to the sea and sailing often appeared in his music, but his actual sailing life, while tightly woven and well known along the coast of California, was less well known to his worldwide fan base. His dad was an Oscar-winning Hollywood producer, so he grew up in Southern California learning to sail in small boats like many other SoCal kids. It was there he first found freedom and escape at sea.

David Crosby was "launched" on August 14, 1941, in Southern California, and the schooner Mayan was launched six years later in Belize. Mayan is her original name and a tribute to the region's Mayan culture. He was best known for his musical career, but he was also well known for his sailing and his years while owning the 59-ft Alden schooner. David bought Mayan in 1969, when he would have been about 28 years old. After 45 years of ownership, David reluctantly sold her in 2014 to current owner Beau Vrolyk. We connected with a few folks for more stories of both David Crosby and his boat, including Beau Vrolyk, Sausalito wood craftsman and Mayan crew member Billy Martinelli, and 1970s dock neighbor Brooks Townes. The boat and its owner had a long, storied life in both Sausalito and Santa Barbara, so there are many more stories than can be told here.

While his sailing life started on other boats, the schooner Mayan is David's sailing story. It was an escape that came to fruition in his adult life when he bought the Alden-designed schooner at age 28, in 1969. Sailing aboard her was what he would do for more than 40 years to escape from the demands of the music world and to recuperate from concert tours.

The wooden schooner Mayan is in harmony with David's foundational love affair with wood. He collected and played fine acoustic guitars and expanded upon his growing fame when CSN sang Wooden Ships at Woodstock in 1971. He wrote the song while sitting in the cabin aboard Mayan not far from today's Spaulding wooden boat center and during Sausalito's heyday as an epicenter of creative artists, musicians and traditional wooden-boat enthusiasts and tradespeople. It was an era when dreamers, craftspeople, artists and engineers gathered along the shores of Sausalito to create a lifestyle with visions far beyond the ocean's horizons. CSN's music inspired many to dream of the Southern Cross, and local, skilled hands built the tangible craft from these dreams.

Billy Martinelli spent many years working closely with David on various projects aboard Mayan. Billy connected with David while working for Harold Sommer on Wander Bird. He remembers one of David's helpers, Christine, walking down the dock and striking up a conversation. Not long after, he was working for David aboard Mayan and dating Christine. Though he and Christine eventually went their separate ways, they finally got back together — and married — after 40 years apart!

Billy remembers many visits to David's home in Mill Valley, where he kept a growing collection of hardwoods he wanted for projects he envisioned aboard Mayan. David also kept a full woodshop in his garage that Billy eventually bought when David and Mayan moved south to Santa Barbara in the late '80s. Billy moved the woodshop to the waterfront in Sausalito, where it became the foundation of Billy's 30 years as a wood craftsman serving Bay Area boaters. These are the same tools he used to build his scow schooner Gas Light, which is still sailing and chartering on San Francisco Bay today.

One of the big projects Billy did on Mayan was moving the galley aft from the forepeak to amidships to port to make cooking more comfortable at sea, and moving the head forward. Another time, Billy replaced the topmast under the sharp eye of Myron Spaulding.

COURTESY BEAU VROLYK

David Crosby and current owner, Beau Vrolyk, with 'Mayan' in the background.

STACEY VROLYK

Along the way, the single pipe berths were converted to doubles for the many guests David had on board. And — this was the '70s after all — Billy built a secret compartment for David's stash.

This was useful when they sailed Mayan south around Point Conception, where the boat was regularly greeted by a Coast Guard boarding party. Billy recalled how David's skill as a singer also translated into a silver-tongued talent with the authorities. He remembers, "David would tell his crew not to talk and let him handle the Coast Guard. He'd greet the boarding party respectfully and politely show them around the boat while handing them autographed photos of himself shaking hands with President Jimmy Carter or of the band, and giving the crew tapes of his music. He'd be talking boats and earned their respect as both a mariner and rock musician." Invariably Mayan would pass the inspection and the Coast Guard would head off with a new collection of CSN music and memorabilia.

It was also in the early '70s that Billy remembers David repowering Mayan. David was attentive and knew what he wanted on the boat, which was a 3-liter,

HARMONY AT SEA

130hp Mercedes Unimog diesel auxiliary. David called Mercedes in Stuttgart, Germany, ordered the engine, and then had it flown to San Francisco. It is still aboard and running fine with about 6,900 hours on it.

Another adventure Billy remembers is when the smooth-talking David managed to get on the good side of the Feds when he wanted to sail to San Clemente Island. The island was always off-limits to recreational sailors since it was used as a Navy

ordnance battered the island and put on a tremendous fireworks show. Billy says the whole boat was shaking. When morning came, both the patrol boat and Mayan were OK. But David wasn't done with the patrol boat. The next day, after a few drinks, David went over for a visit to the patrol boat, eventually talking them into giving him a tour of the boat, then a ride aboard, and finally a turn at the helm, though they wouldn't let him take it to full speed!

bombing range. David sailed there anyway and the patrol boats quickly came to kick him out since a target practice was scheduled for that night. David started passing out his photographs and tapes, and then asked the crew of the patrol boat where they were spending the night. They said right there in the harbor, so David asked if he could anchor right behind them, which, to the surprise of Mayan's crew, they permitted. Sure enough, the night sky and island lit up as heavy

Escapades with drugs aboard were frequent in that era, leading to many parties, run-ins with the law, and adventure sails. Another story Billy recounted was a time when Mayan was hauled out at Lido Boat Yard in Newport Beach. The parties aboard kept going while she was up on the hard. One evening when things were getting too loud, the police showed up and one of the guests jumped into action by flushing the bag of pot down the head. This led to the police picking the bag up from the ground below the boat.

It was also under David's stewardship in the early '80s that he had Sausalito resident Spike Africa rerig the boat. Spike was a well-known, salty character on the

'Mayan' powering through a brisk Bay chop during the 2019 Rolex Big Boat Series.

"It was a mixed blessing, having him next door. At times it was a little hectic; other times a treat to hear him and his friends play live 20 feet away."

DAVID CROSBY —

Sausalito waterfront who was known as the President of the Pacific Ocean and was the mate for Sterling Hayden when he sailed off to Tahiti with his kids. Spike spliced the new standing rigging on both spars. When the rigging was inspected during a 2003–05 rebuild by Wayne Ettel in Southern California, they decided it was just fine. About 40 years later, the rigging was only recently replaced in 2022 under current owner Beau Vrolyk.

David was very generous with his boat, letting Billy take friends and sail her around the Bay whenever he was out of town. When the two of them sailed together, often with Mary Crowley, Spike and many others, Billy says he never talked about music or tours. "All he talked about was Mayan and boats," says Billy. "We'd walk through the boat and talk about upgrades and changes he wanted to do using the stock of hardwoods he'd collected." For inspiration, David would often roll a "fat one" as he contemplated the next project he wanted to tackle.

Many local sailors found their way aboard for parties during that particularly boisterous, bohemian time along the Sausalito shoreline. It was another era in life along the waterfront, from which many frequently-told but now-fading stories were created.

When not on boat projects, Billy would also help sail the boat between Northern and Southern California and crewed for David on a trip to Mexico. The boat would winter in San Francisco and then head south for the summers, when David would spend much time cruising the Channel Islands. David let Billy bring his surfboard, and it was David who brought his own scuba gear and underwater photography equipment aboard. One of David's best friends and frequent guests was diving and underwater photography pioneer Bev Morgan.

Billy remembers David as being a very good shipmate, very knowledgeable and attentive to the boat and sail trim. However, he definitely preferred sailing downwind to upwind. As Billy remembers it, "David was a very conservative sailor

who did not like to overpower the boat. He wanted it safe and comfortable. After getting south, Mayan would do easy cruises in the Channel Islands with CSNY road manager Bob Wilson's Sea Runner and another schooner, Sea Cloud."

While Mayan was an escape for David, it was also host to many from the musical era of the '70s. Billy describes cooking for Carole King on Mayan, and visits from James Taylor, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and many others. Vrolyk saw photos of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and numerous other rock artists of the '70s who spent time aboard Mayan. As Beau pulled into ports in Northern and Southern California, he was often greeted by folks asking if David was aboard and relaying stories of when they'd partied or sailed aboard.

Beau described David's commitment to the schooner: "Without David's deep affection for Mayan, she would have never survived. In the mid-'90s, he moved her to Santa Barbara, and by 2000 she was in need of a full refit.

"The master shipwright Wayne Ettel

Left column, top down: 'Mayan' while under construction in Belize; The original line drawings for 'Mayan' show a long, shallow keel with centerboard; John Alden originally drew 'Mayan' with a gaff rig. Right: An early sail under her original rig.

(who recently rebuilt Chubasco's hull) went over her and then sailed her back to Santa Barbara, where she would stay as he and David discussed her future. After that sail in the strong winds and big seas, Wayne decided, 'This boat needs to be saved.' In 2005, after two years of work at Wayne's yard, she was relaunched with her hull and deck entirely rebuilt, her rigging renewed, and her engine rebuilt. Mayan would not be here today without David having poured affection and treasure into her."

1970s dock neighbor Brooks Townes has some fond memories of his time berthed next to Mayan in Herb Madden's Sausalito Yacht Harbor. "Mayan was in SYH's Pier 3 (later called C-dock) next to the Freda (my home at the time) in the late '60s, beginning of the '70s. CSNY road manager Bob Wilson's gaff schooner Sea Runner was on the other side of the Freda. The Croz and friends added icing to Pier 3's resident cast of great and interesting liveaboard characters.

"David was a fine boat husband and employed numerous local boatwrights. He had numerous nicely done inlays, ivory porpoises and such, here and there, about the boat. As reported, he was a mite mercurial and could be nasty one morning, pleasant and considerate in the afternoon, but considerate in general. When the 'straights' on the dock complained about too many groupies and their antics, he would do his best to quiet things down and usually succeeded for a while.

"It was a mixed blessing, having him next door. At times it was a little hectic; other times a treat to hear him and his friends play live 20 feet away. Mostly he

and his friends enlivened the dock nicely. Best was getting invited to crew an evening sail on the Mayan, leaving David free to play music under sail with his pals, ghosting along at sunset."

Wecontacted the current owner, Beau Vrolyk, about his ownership, and more about David's life and his stewardship of Mayan

While getting to know David during the purchase of her, Vrolyk heard more sailing stories from David's past. One was the genesis of the song Southern Cross, released in 1982. In Beau's recollection, David said it all started with a party on board a schooner in the Channel Islands. However, this time it was aboard a larger schooner, with an 80-ft waterline, chartered by Stephen Stills. While they were anchored off Catalina, in a state of maximum enhanced creativity and daring, the large crew decided, on the spur of the moment, to sail to Tahiti. The crew went ashore to clean out the only grocery store in Avalon. They

left little behind for the island residents as they provisioned the schooner for a long passage and a large crew. With zero planning (besides buying food) they hoisted sails on a course for Tahiti within 24 hours. It was when many "saw the Southern Cross for the first time."

When Beau first approached David about buying the boat, it was clear he really didn't want to sell it. The boat had been on the market at a high price, so no offers were coming in. This was just how David liked it. Beau was looking at another schooner in Southern California with Wayne Ettel when Wayne mentioned that he should look at Mayan. After explaining that the price was too high, Wayne suggested he contact David anyway.

When David eventually called Beau, he said, "Do you want to buy my boat?" When Vrolyk said yes, David invited him to Santa Barbara and showed him around the boat.

After a two-hour lunch at his favorite taco joint, David finally said, "I'll sell you the boat." However, it was still a painful process for David. He was still upset about selling the boat, and it was a year after shaking hands and talking once a month that the deal finally came together.

'Mayan' at rest at Tinsley Island in the Delta.

David gave this photo to Beau Vrolyk, showing David and his wife, Jan, sailing 'Mayan' between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz.

COURTESY BEAU VROLYK

BEAU VROLYK

DAVID CROSBY

Part of the reluctance was that David had promised his son Django a sail to Hawaii; if he sold it, he wouldn't be able to do it. Beau told David he would be welcome aboard to sail with Django any time. He made the offer many times over the years but Crosby was always on tour and never took him up on it.

"When we saw her in 2014, my wife Stacey and I fell in love. Wayne had preserved much of her original interior, built of the beautiful mahogany of Belize, where she was built. We've had Wayne return some of the interior closer to Alden's original design, and we recently had Matthew Coale in Santa Cruz return her rig to a traditional schooner with a gaff on the foremast.

"Of course, we'll race any boat we own, even though that was not why we bought Mayan. She has turned out to be far swifter than we expected, having taken second in the Classic Class of the Rolex Big Boat Series twice and first once. When racing or cruising in the ocean, she is amazingly stable and easygoing. We expect to continue cruising her in 2024, when she'll

have retired from being the StFYC flagship."

Martinelli and Vrolyk described David's affection for the sea as extending above and below the water. He was an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer. Mayan's 5-foot, shoal-draft keel centerboard design makes her an ideal vessel for anchoring near reefs for diving or surfing.

David's love for Mayan remained strong to the very end. Beau reports that, after he sold his entire music catalog in 2021, he called wanting to buy the schooner back.

"I talked to David a few weeks before he crossed the bar; he was happy and told me we were crazy to race her. 'Relax and go someplace warm with your family and friends.' It was great advice from a great sailor."

Fair winds, sailor.

— latitude/john

By the 2022 Rolex Big Boat Series, the Vrolyks had converted 'Mayan' back to Alden's original design with a gaff rig on the foremast.

THREE BRIDGE FIASCO —

Scott Sorensen and Burleigh Charlton on the Moore 24 'Kings of Nothing' head into the fog, making for Blackaller Buoy in an easterly at the start of the Three Bridge Fiasco on January 28.

Although it was a pretty shippy Three Bridge Fiasco, the conditions of Saturday, January 28, made it possible to finish. "Shippy" is not a typo. The numerous ships transiting San Francisco Bay sometimes altered the strategies of individual racers during the 10-hour race day. The bar pilots picking their

Left:

way through hundreds of small craft did a good job communicating with the racers and race organizers on the event's assigned VHF channel. If a ship was leaving the Richmond Long Wharf at the same time that you were coming or going from your rounding of Red Rock, or if a ship (or two!) headed for Point Blunt and the westbound traffic lane, you, the

recreational yacht racer, naturally sailed out of the way. If that wasn't possible, you started your motor and dropped out of the race.

Many of the 268 starters did drop out, for one reason or another, but mostly due to getting stuck in wind holes with adverse current. For example, quite a cluster becalmed around Yerba Buena

Singlehander Paul Sutchek was first to start, at 9 a.m., in the Cal 20 'Slainte'. He headed for Blackaller first, perhaps drawn by the mournful song of the fog horns on the Golden Gate Bridge. Right: A mob attempts to round Blackaller Buoy to starboard — all at once.

Island in the late afternoon called in their retirements.

What the heck are we talking about? Here's the skinny about the Three Bridge Fiasco: This race, organized by the Singlehanded Sailing Society, starts between Golden Gate Yacht Club

and the X buoy positioned off the rock wall out front. The slowest boats start at 9 a.m., and each PHRF (or BAMA for multihulls) rating has a different start time, from (theoretically) slowest to fastest. Skippers can cross the start line in either direction, take the three marks (Blackaller Buoy east of the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, Yerba Buena/Treasure Island bisecting the Bay Bridge, and the aforementioned Red Rock just south of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge) in any order, round them in either direction, and cross the finish line (same as the start line) in either direction. Oh, and this crazy race is for singlehanders and doublehanders only.

The start/finish line is r estricted within 50 yards, and this year the race committee posted volunteers at the 50yard mark on either side, with red flags marking the exact boundaries. Frankly, as a racer starting in a mob of other boats going in random directions, we never glimpsed the race committee or any of their flags. A violation of the start/ finish line zone resulted in a 20-minute penalty. The new SSS commodore, Chris Case, said, "That was the cleanest, clearest line that I've seen in Three Bridge Fiasco. The 150-ft restricted zone worked well this year."

Adding to the challenge of the mor ning was the fog. Even off into the sunny East Bay in the early afternoon, we could hear the Golden Gate Bridge fog horns still booming. Visibility was as low as

half a mile — but it was not the worst in recent memory. That honor belongs to 2020's race in a proverbial bowl of pea soup.

R eports from overall winners didn't mention issues with shipping traffic — and perhaps that's no coincidence. Topping the Singlehanded Division was Scott Easom sailing the J/100 Eight Ball Scott had just arrived home from the Pineapple Cup that morning at 1 a.m., having completed the 811-mile race from Miami to Montego Bay aboard Roy P. Disney's Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70 . "It was a shock to the system, coming from 85° weather," he said.

Scott sailed a counter clockwise course, heading to Treasure Island first. "If the wind is out of the south, go south first, because that's where the wind is." He admitted that, "Ya gotta get lucky." He had a great time sailing alone. "Eight Ball is well set up for solo spinnaker sailing." He's glad that the SSS is now scoring the powered-winch boats with everyone else. Sailing in a division by himself wasn't fun, and he feels that the PHRF ratings handle the power advantage properly.

Eight Ball was the third boat to finish overall, and completed the race an hour ahead of the next singlehander. But when the SSS posted the preliminary standings the next day, Scott saw that he'd been scored DNC (Did Not Compete). He contacted the race co-chair, Carliane Johnson, who told him that they hadn't

CARLIANE JOHNSON

Left: The J/105 'Advantage3' ran aground on the spit just east of the start line. It would not be the last boat to bottom out.

Right: Mary Lovely, Richard Reitmeyer and Chris Case, seen on the race deck at Golden Gate YC, were among the many volunteers who made the race possible.

THREE BRIDGE FIASCO —

received his mandatory radio check-in. Scott filed for redress. The race committee volunteers did have trouble with racers stepping on each other while trying to check in, and a weak signal in their own response transmissions.

In another scoring oddity, Scott's wife Leslie is listed as the skipper. Leslie is in Jibeset as Scott's emergency contact, but she never intended to sail the race.

Finishing first in the Doublehanded Monohull Division, Rufus Sjoberg and Dylan Benjamin sailed the J/125 Rufless. "Rufus and I have done a lot of Three Bridge Fiascos together, and this one seemed pretty fiasco-free for us," said Dylan.

"We decided our direction strategy beforehand, confirmed our strategy was still valid at the start, sailed a race that minimized extra distance/time, and luckily made few mistakes.

"It also helps to have 15,000-20,000 miles of sailing together."

Among the doublehanders, the Moore 24 fleet amassed the largest onedesign class, with 29 starters. Will Baylis and Rich Bergsund topped their division

aboard Orca, the fourth doublehanded monohull to finish. Rich filed this report: "The forecast had DNF written all over it. We were grateful for a break in the rain, but it showed little to no wind for the first several hours plus a strong ebb, bolstered by Delta runoff. Would we be left sitting through our 9:40 start, waiting for the westerly and basically starting all at once with the bigger, faster boats?

"This year our strategy was a process of elimination. Red Rock first was out — no current relief and no northerly worth chasing. Blackaller was a possibility, starting with the current, but with no wind it would be a haul back up-current through the 200+ boats starting behind us. We decided we'd rather do that leg with wind in the afternoon. That left Treasure Island first, tacking up the San Francisco shoreline into a hopefully building southerly.

"Starting on port, with a wall of Moore 24s on starboard tack going the opposite direction, is always a fiasco. Stalled below the line after stashing our outboard, 9:39:54 came and went. Time to reach for the beach. We crossed the line a minute or so late. We looked up and spotted five Moores ahead of us and

a little breeze filling from the southeast — it could have been worse.

" Tacking up the shore, the Moore group settled into a four-way race with #155 The Flying Tiger leading, followed by #117 Suerte, #38 Lowly Worm, then us in #85 Orca. We dodged a few swimmers and rowers, hugging the piers tightly. Maybe because of the cold, there weren't many fishing lines to worry about. As we crept into the lead, we could see some reasons for concern developing behind us — #36 Mooregasm, always a threat, was gaining." The Express 27 Motorcycle Irene, last year's overall winner, was quickly working through the other Moore 24s. "It was way too early in the pursuit race format to see a bigger boat like that coming up our tailpipe!

"In the fog, we couldn't see TI, so we stayed along the shore until we could at least see the Bay Bridge. We tacked across, over-standing a bit, but keeping some money in the bank to hedge the ebb, fog and larger TI obstruction zone." They rounded TI and set the kite for the long run to Red Rock. "We played the middle, Mooregasm went left, Motorcycle Irene went right, and we kind of lost track of people in the fog.

"Red Rock did not treat us well. Planning for a port rounding and still ahead of the pack, we were playing the cone for tide relief. We ended up positioned for

Top, left: On misty Yerba Buena Island, the light was still lit in the lighthouse. Right: the scene at the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Bottom, left: The first monohull to finish, 'Rufless', is seen here starting, while Billy Cook's Santana 22 'Brandy' sails from Blackaller to TI. Right: Scott Easom's J/100 'Eight Ball' was the first singlehanded boat to finish.

a starboard rounding. We sat in a hole while several big boats plus Mooregasm, Motorcycle Irene and another Express 27, Shenanigans, blew by us on the douse." Nick Gibbens and John Hayes on Shenanigans would go on to win the 19-boat Express 27 division, followed

HAVE A SHIPPY DAY

by the 'Cyclers, cousins Julia and Will Paxton.

"The breeze had now picked up nicely, and our #2 jib felt about right. We watched boats leg out on us on port toward Tiburon, including Will's brother Trevor [Baylis] on a 30-ft trimaran, Bottle Rocket, crossing our bow at a hundred miles an hour — not much we can do about that! Also gone for good were the J/125 Rufless, Aerodyne 38 Syzygy, J/109 WISC and the singlehanded J/100 Eight Ball

"The southerly transitioned to westerly, and the ebb transitioned to flood. Our Moore and Express competitors crossed our bow to the left, so we took the right side up the Tiburon shore for flood relief to Belvedere Buoy and over

toward Yellow Bluff. That move landed us back in the lead of our group of smaller boats, with Shenanigans close behind. Over to Blackaller, we had a relaxed set and spinnaker run to finish at 3:01:40.

"Congratulations, Bottle Rocket (first multihull) and Rufless (first monohull) and all 300+ boats (~550 competitors?) for a great day on the water!"

The first boat to finish repeated last year's performance by David Schumann and Trevor Baylis on the SeaCart 30 trimaran Bottle Rocket. "The forecasts sort of fell apart between 48 and 24 hours to race time, with no consensus between them," reports David.

"The morning of the race, we observed the general southerly flow and had a tentative plan to round TI first. As our start approached, we watched the bulk of the early starters head to Blackaller, then on to TI. A somewhat later group disappeared into the fog toward Red Rock.

"At our start the wind still looked good toward TI, so we headed that way for a planned counterclockwise route. We contacted TI at its midpoint through the still-thick fog and short-tacked the western shore for current relief.

"We rounded TI and headed out to Red Rock, favoring the shallower water

Clockwise, from top left: 'Orca' was the first Moore 24 to finish; 'Bottle Rocket', seen here still in the fog at the Bay Bridge, was the first multihull and first overall finisher; Scott Sellers and Mike Nunes on the J/105 'Beast of Burden' were the first "wrong-way" sailors to finish; but Randy Hecht and Russ Silvestri beat them to the top of the J/105 class with 'Niuhi'.

Nick Gibbens and John Hayes topped the 19-boat Express 27 division.

THREE BRIDGE FIASCO

to the east for current relief and because we thought the wind would be better over there. We were wrong about the wind and probably lost some time there before passing the Richmond breakwater and sailing on to Red Rock. The wind was still pretty light and still coming from the south at this point, but once we rounded Red Rock the wind started shifting toward the west. By the time we reached Raccoon Strait, the breeze had built to a solid 10 knots from the southwest, and we made our way to Blackaller, passing Eight Ball, then later Rufless. We rounded Blackaller in good pressure, set our A1 without taking down our jib, and sailed through the finish. A good day, and mostly to plan."

Rich Bergsund summed it up best: "Thank you, Singlehanded Sailing Society, for another great race. I imagine the Race Committee job could easily become its own fiasco, but you folks continue to pull it off year after year. It's always great to see the spectacle of hundreds of sailboats on our beautiful Bay on a nice January day — let's keep it going and see you next year!"

The next SSS race was the Corinthian on February 25, after this issue went to press. That race started and finished off GGYC for the third year in a row rather than at Corinthian YC. The series will continue with a third Bay Tour, Round the Rocks, on March 18. Go to www. sfbaysss.org for more info, and register for SSS races at www.jibeset.net — latitude/chris

SSS THREE BRIDGE FIASCO, 1/28

SINGLEHANDED SPINNAKER ≤108 — 1)

Eight Ball, J/100, Scott Easom; 2) Punk Dolphin, Wylie 39, Jonathan Livngston; 3) Barcanova, Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200, Stephen Gay. (8 boats)

SINGLEHANDED SPINNAKER 111-159 — 1)

Surprise!, Alerion 38, Bob Johnston; 2) Salty Cat, Wyliecat 30, David Rasmussen; 3) Joujou, Capo 30, Tom Boussie. (5 boats)

SINGLEHANDED SPINNAKER ≥162 — 1)

Constance, Tartan 34c, Paul Schroeder; 2) Slainte, Cal 20, Paul Sutchek; 3) Brandy, Santana 22, Billy Cook. (6 boats)

SINGLEHANDED SPORTBOAT — 1) Soliton, Synergy 1000, Douglas Kidder; 2) Akumu, B-25, Greg Ashby. (3 boats)

SINGLEHANDED NON-SPINNAKER — 1)

Katester, Sabre Spirit, Byron Reeves. (4 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED SPINNAKER ≤108 — 1)

Rufless, J/125, Rufus Sjoberg/Dylan Benjamin; 2) Syzygy, Aerodyne 38, Ethan Doyle/Ryan Treais; 3) WISC, J/109, Dan Brousseau/Jim Long;

4) Pegasus, Newland 36, Patrick Lewis/Andy

Goodman; 5) Aloha, Hobie 33, Kyle Vanderspek/ Eliza Richartz. (42 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED SPINNAKER 111-159 —

1) Agent Smith, Etchells, James Gregory/Joe McCoy; 2) Domino, Wilderness 30, Austin Book/ Ashley Hobson; 3) Arcadia, Mod. Santana 27, Gordie Nash/Ruth Suzuki; 4) Dazzler, Wyliecat 30, Tom Patterson/Sue Estey; 5) Uno, Wyliecat 30, Bren Meyer/Evan Fraiser. (29 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED SPINNAKER ≥162 — 1) Chesapeake, Merit 25, Jim Fair/BJ Price; 2) Impulse, Ranger 26, Dean Hocking/Dennis Webb;

3) High & Dry, Santana 22, Igor Polevoy/Keiran Hansen. (12 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED SPORTBOAT — 1) Outsider, Azzura 310, Greg Nelsen/Karl Crawford; 2) Lucky Duck, J/90, Dave MacEwen/Brendan Bradley; 3) 'io, Antrim 27, Buzz Blackett/Jim Antrim; 4) Furthur, SC27, James Clappier/Alex Verdoia; 5) Spirit, J/70, Andy & Kat Dippel. (26 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED MULTIHULL 0 — 1) Bottle Rocket, SeaCart 30, David Schumann/Trevor Baylis; 2) Flux, SeaCart 30, Jeremy Boyette/ Andy McCormick; 3) Caliente, Explorer 44, Truls Myklebust/Dave Tokic. (5 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED MULTIHULL 1 — 1) Ma's Rover, F-31, Mark Eastham/John Donovan; 2) Sea Bird, F-27, Rich & Mike Holden; 3) Greyhound, F-22, Evan McDonald/Ross Stein. (7 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED EXPRESS 37 — 1) Spindrift V, Andy Schwenk/Ward Naviaux; 2) pHat Jack, Jack & Jack Lugliani; 3) Bullet, Larry Baskin/John Curren. (6 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED ISLANDER 36 — 1) Renaissance of Tahoe, Steve Douglass/Kevin McPherson; 2) Kapai, Richard & Bryce Egan; 3) Luna Sea, Dan Knox/Justin Hughes. (5 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED J/105 — 1) Niuhi, George Hecht/Russ Silvestri; 2) Beast of Burden, Scott Sellers/Mike Nunes; 3) Kestrel, Eric Patterson/ Kim Heade. (12 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED OLSON 30 — 1) WYSIWYG, Hendrik Bruhns/Nathan Bossett; 2) Dragonsong, Sam McFadden/Don Schultz; 3) Flying Fish, Michael Berndt/Jeff Lee. (5 boats)

The Express 27 'Fired Up!' ran aground on Red Rock, one of the rounding marks.

DOUBLEHANDED ALERION EXPRESS 28 — 1) Allegro Non Troppo, James Titus/Rex Malott; 2) Zenaida, Fred Paxton/Arnie Quan; 3) Last Dance, Bruce Munro/Jim Coggan. (8 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED EXPRESS 27 — 1) Shenanigans, Nick Gibbens/John Hayes; 2) Motorcycle Irene, Julia & Will Paxton; 3) Under the Radar, Greg & Tim Felton; 4) Tule Fog, Steve Carroll/Chris Chapman; 5) Wile E Coyote, Dan Pruzan/Ken Bodiley. (19 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED OLSON 25 — 1) Sketch, David Gruver/John Collins; 2) Foul Air, John & Megan Zimmermann; 3) O'Mar, David Scott/JP Camille. (6 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED J/24 — 1) Downtown Uproar, Darren Cumming/Loren Moore; 2) Evil Octopus, Jasper Van Vliet/Jessica Ludy; 3) Shut Up and Drive, Brad Cameron/Jason Ward. (10 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED MOORE 24 — 1) Orca, Will Baylis/Rich Bergsund; 2) Mooregasm, Stephen Bourdow/Karl Robrock; 3) Lowly Worm 2.0, Scott Nelson/Polish Mike; 4) The Flying Tiger, Vaughn Seifers/Nick Nash; 5) Suerte, Nick Dugdale/Nico Colomb. (29 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED WYLIE WABBIT — 1) Hare-O-Dymanic, Ethan Petersen/Sarah Deeds; 2) Covfefe, Michael Lazaro/Will Larsen; 3) Wasta, Richard Jarratt/Steve Cameron. (6 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Bella, Alerion 38, Aidan & Kieran Collins; 2) Surprise!, Ranger 23, John Kiffmeyer/Emily Balestrini; 3) Sea Brisket, Olson 25, David Henry/William Pigors. (16 boats)

OVERALL SINGLEHANDED MONOHULL — 1) Eight Ball; 2) Punk Dolphin; 3) Barcanova; 4) Envolée, Figaro 2, Nathalie Criou; 5) Soliton (20 boats)

OVERALL DOUBLEHANDED MONOHULL — 1) Rufless; 2) Syzygy; 3) WISC; 4) Orca; 5) Shenanigans; 6) Outsider; 7) Niuhi; 8) Pegasus; 9) Lucky Duck; 10) Mooregasm. (232 boats)

OVERALL DOUBLEHANDED MULTIHULL — 1) Bottle Rocket; 2) Flux; 3) Ma's Rover. (12 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

CINDE LOU DELMAS

YOUTH REGATTA

In conjunction with the BAYS Winter Series

March 4-5 at SFYC

OPENING DAY on the Bay

Teme: Broadway on the Bay

April 30 - SF Waterfront Parade

CHISPA SMALL BOAT

Hosted at Seqouia Yacht Club

July 9, 2023

LIPTON CUP SERIES

Hosted at San Francisco Yacht Club

June 16-18, 2023

Lotsof kids will be sailing this summer! Making sailing accessible to all kids means finding ways to make it affordable, fun, and educational. More than the fun and adventure that sailing can bring, kids benefit in lots of ways from their youth sailing programs. With support from board members, instructors, and alumni students, underserved kids and the young people across the SF Bay have greater access to the sport, to the marine industry, and beyond.

For the past few years, local yacht clubs and sailing programs have had to be agile problem solvers as they responded to the ever-changing guidelines around facilitating programs safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. As they gear up for a great 2023 season, they are finding enormous success in their innovative solutions with increased enrollment during the pandemic, especially when it comes to youth programs.

Pegasus Voyages

Believe it or not, there's a real winged horse in Berkeley, and she's Pegasus, a 51-ft, full-keeled sailing vessel docked in Berkeley. Pegasus is the flagship of the Pegasus Project. Since launching in 1994, Pegasus Voyages has taken more than 20,000 kids from all over the SF Bay Area out on the water. According to senior captain and board member Robert Kingston, sailing is a privileged sport for the most part. It takes a lot of resources to buy a boat, maintain it, and find the free time to sail the boat — many kids of limited resources just do not have access to boating. Ultimately, that's been the mission of Pegasus Voyages since day one: help as many kids as possible enjoy sailing the beautiful Bay waters… or, "No Child Left Ashore," as defined by co-founders Peter Hayes and Lyuba Zarsky.

For 30 years, Pegasus Voyages' goal has been to first serve underserved communities. Kingston estimates that 80% of youth who sail with Pegasus are underserved. "And, 80 to 85% of people who live in the Bay Area have not actually been on the Bay!" says Kingston. "It's not just a boat ride. We really aim to offer a singular marine experience in our backyard, the marine wilderness that is our backyard right here in the Bay."

to happen!" It's a reassuring safety talk for the kids, but an educational moment too — they get to learn about the physics of sailing, how the wind in the sails works in conjunction with the weight of the keel to keep the boat upright even when it is heeled over in strong East Bay winds.

Most of their passengers have never sailed before, so Pegasus emphasizes safety on all cruises. From volunteer training to a no-yelling policy underway, the Pegasus team strives to create a safe environment for everyone to have fun. "We have a very specific safety talk, all lined up on the finger before we go out," explains Kingston. "When we're out there, it might feel like the boat is going to tip over, and I promise those kids it's never going

Left: Everyone can be a captain sailing with Pegasus Voyages. Right: The beautiful

Kids can go out weekdays or weekends through Pegasus programming. On weekdays, Pegasus partners with local public and private schools to offer trips to full classes of kids from 4th grade to 12th grade. On weekends, Pegasus takes smaller groups out, spending about four hours on the water. Imagine taking a large group of unruly students out onto the water — it would make even a teacher with nerves of steel nervous. But Kingston says he welcomes any and every kid aboard. "Sometimes teachers come pretty nervous; not nervous about sailing, but worried about their wiliest students and worried about keeping them under control," says Kingston. "I'll just stop them and say, 'You can just sit back and enjoy it.' You see these quote-unquote 'problem' kids in an unfamiliar environment for the first time taking it all in with the captain giving all the rules — those kids enjoy the trip with no issues." It's a dynamic environment. There's too much going on for kids to act out or play the class clown, as Kingston puts it.

Meeting the captains and crew can be influential for kids too. Some crew have been sailing with Pegasus for 30 years because they find it rewarding to bring their knowledge of sailing and the Bay to kids. "Our crew is there because they want to be there, volunteering their time, and the kids get that," says Kingston. "The kids see this in the crew as they interact and

'Pegasus' sails all over the Bay.

PHOTOS THIS PAGE PEGASUS SAILING

Captain Bob makes sure the kids have fun aboard 'Pegasus'.

realize, this crew is a friend!"

Mark Kaplan, the safety and training officer and board member for Pegasus Voyages, has been volunteering for 30 years, starting just after Hayes bought the boat. Kaplan is also a medical officer on board Cal Maritime's training ship Golden Bear. "We take it very seriously. All of us who are taking kids out are extravigilant about safety — we practice crew overboard, and we have an AED aboard," explains Kaplan, who is a physician's assistant and emergency medic by training. Having a medical officer aboard alleviates the crew's anxiety for any potential medical emergencies that could happen. "We've had kids in wheelchairs and in all kinds of situations, from autism, ADHD, to kids at risk of seizures — if you just treat them like kids, they're going to be fine. But you also have to have a plan, just in case," explains Kaplan.

Access to the sport of sailing also can introduce kids to career pathways otherwise invisible to them. Kingston is excited about piloting a mentorship program in the near future, and talks with kids about jobs in the marine industry. "Especially with the older kids, what I always try to impart is that if you like this sailing and it got you really excited, you should know there's a whole industry around it. You can get paid to work on boats!" Once the skills are there, approaching a boatyard is the next step, and there are plenty of yards in the SF Bay Area.

MANY OPTIONS

But initially, giving kids a positive first taste of the wind and salty sea air on the Bay is most important. "On a good, windy day, we take kids escorted up to the bowsprit, out in the spray, they're getting wet and screaming into the wind; they love it," says Kaplan. "We try to rotate kids through so they can all have their time up there. They'd never tell us, but they are all salty sailors when they get off the boat and have this new swagger."

**The Pegasus Project is always looking for experienced sailors as volunteers! Email Robert Kingston, senior captain at info@pegasusvoyages.org to find out more** www.pegasusvoyages.org

SF Sea Scouts

Seamanship. Service. Social. Scouting. Those are the pillars of the Sea Scouts all across the country — and San Francisco has its very own chapter! Kids from around the Bay have affordable sea time available to them through this branch of the Boy Scouts of America based near Aquatic Park.

It's a boating program for youth run entirely by volunteers. The heart and soul of it is their unique focus on building leadership skills through youthled activities. Tamara Sokolov, skipper and board member of the San Francisco Sea Scouts,

is a volunteer extraordinaire who puts countless hours into coordinating volunteers. She was once a Sea Scout kid herself, growing up locally. "I grew up in the area with a relatively low-income family. Scouting was one of the few things we could afford, really the only extracurricular we could afford. We were out sailing on the Bay every day." Sea Scout programs are priced annually and come in at a fraction of the price you'll find from yacht clubs and summer racing programs. For Sokolov, she lear ned sailing skills and that sailing serves you in life too. "I

Tamara Sokolov makes sure all the kids on the Sea Scout whaleboats are safe, learning, and having fun.

First and foremost, kids should have fun sailing in the summer — and that seems to be true for these kids from Inverness Yacht Club.

was a very shy, introverted kid. The leadership stuff we did as a kid made a huge difference," she recalls. "It was helpful to me as a person; I wasn't particularly good at anything when I was younger. Then I joined Sea Scouts and was suddenly VERY good at this one thing. Everyone needs that in their life: a thing they can master, a place where they thrive." That's what she hopes to provide to kids in the programs today.

Sea Scouts has been co-ed since the 1970s. This year, they have a male sailing club on Sea Scout Ship Corsair and a female sailing club on Sea Scout Ship Viking. These yearlong clubs serve kids ages 14 to 21, and are packed full of sea time and class time. The clubs meet separately on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and organize weekend overnight trips, competitions with other scout groups, and to top it off, plan a two-week summer cruise. Sea Scouts also has the Makani club, a co-ed junior boating club for ages 11 to 13. They do day trips throughout the year to explore the many nautical sites around the Bay.

COVID-19 certainly threw a surprise jibe into many clubs' sail plans, but the Sea Scouts worked with the changing guidelines and actually piloted new programs that have continued to thrive. "I'm excited about our summer camp. That's something we started in 2021 in the early stages of emerging from COVID. Social distancing meant cohorts of 12 kids at once," explains Sokolov. "It ended up being so intimate as a format, and it's a broad age range (11-15), so many kids have joined Sea Scouts this way: That was two years ago now, and those scouts have gone from little kids joining up to big kids running the boats!" They keep the group sizes small but keep adding weeks, welcoming 12 to 15 kids each week.

You get a boatload of smiles when you add kids to boats.

The kids work through a rank system where the Quartermaster is the Eagle Scout equivalent. As a scout advances through the ranks of Apprentice, Ordinary, Able and Quartermaster, they are given greater responsibility and trust.

New Quarter master Celeste is an adult leader who has been with the Sea Scouts for six years now. Celeste joined as a sophomore in high school at the age of 15. "I went sailing my first day and fell in love with it. San Francisco Bay has some of the coolest sailing conditions in the whole world!" she explained. "It was an incredible opportunity as a kid and now. A lot of sailing and boating is behind a paywall — I had a single mom, and if I had wanted sailing lessons on my own, I couldn't have done it. Now I have the chance to come back and teach." Now Celeste is a student at UC Berkeley who gives her spare time back to this youth sailing program.

As an adult leader, you facilitate all aspects of sailing knowledge acquisition. The program is both sailing and boat maintenance. "Saturdays are full days of maintenance, and Tuesdays are classroom time. While rank advancement includes practical aspects, it's anything from handling boats, navigation rules, environmental effects of sailing, how to be a courteous boater," says Celeste. "The program produces really well-rounded kids. All of our adult leaders, but Quartermasters especially, are extremely competent and great people you want to work with!"

Inverness YC

Max Wessener, 20, gives a lot back to the Inverness Yacht Club as head instructor in a program that taught him to sail as a kid and provided a community to belong to, all at IYC. "I was born and raised in Point Reyes Station. This sailing camp means a lot to me; it taught me

a lot about myself and gave me a lot of independence," says Wessener. "Being on an Opti by yourself in the middle of a bay is the first time you'll experience really doing things on your own. It's superspecial. I remember being in an Opti and looking up at the instructors thinking, these are my heroes!" Max started at this camp and then started sailing in IYC club regattas. He's now on the Cal Poly club sailing team.

Wessener found an entry point to a sport that has proved to be a guiding thread through his life. "I had no introduction to the sport aside from this camp. Every single instructor has gone through six years of this club," says Wessener. "All of my best friends are also instructors;

most of them are from Point Reyes and Inverness. It helps us stay connected now that we're off to college." Before his cohort of kid campers, being a local meant you were separate from IYC. But when Wessener was 10, one of his older friends tried sailing and said, "It's the best thing ever. You have to try it, Max!" The rest is history.

SEA SCOUTS

Celeste started as a camper and has moved up to Quartermaster.

SEA SCOUTS

SARAH KILLINGSWORTH

Inverness Yacht Club sailing is fun for everyone.

The IYC building dates back to 1913 but launched in earnest in 1949, after a historical restoration of the original hall building. The IYC Youth Sailing program is one of the oldest, starting in 1950. Summer programs are open to kids ages 10 to 18 who will learn to be good mariners: They learn respect for their fellow sailors and stewardship of the environment.

David West notes that last year felt like the first normal year despite COVID-19. "We're a stable operation. We get some racing in at the end of sessions, but that's not at the core of what we do. We want to be able to give kids enough tools so that they can come back to sailing later on their own," explains West. "It changes how we hire leadership and the on-thewater team." The result is a real family feel at IYC — the kids all know each other and the instructors.

Wessener explained that IYC graduates youth campers into leadership roles at the club. West confirms this transition into leadership roles is part of the culture and programming at IYC. "When we do interviews for next year's counselors, the number of kids that expect to be counselors and wanna do it is always surprising," says West. "But becoming a counselor is truly a part of camp!"

What defines the culture at IYC is the high value they place on the relationships that kids form. IYC is building a sailing community for local kids, providing scholarships and special pricing to help locals have a bigger social network, a safe place to learn new things, and a sense of independence as they learn about the marine environment. West sums it up nicely: "As they fight through the social element of being embarrassed over inabilities, all the social elements of being in a group like that, they understand that responsibility for themselves and others." It's fine and fun, but learning to be a team that cares for one another and works through challenges together is an invaluable experience for young people.

Spaulding Boatyard

Spaulding Boatyard is a full-service boatyard, serving Sausalito and the greater Bay Area since 1951. Stepping into the chandlery is like stepping back in time — Myron Spaulding, the boatyard's inspirational namesake, built his own designs at the Marine Center, and his legacy continues through the youth and adult education programs offered there today.

Beginning in June, the Spaulding Marine Center offers various sailing and boatbuilding programs for youth. The summer camp programs provide kids with a chance to develop sailing skills and woodshop skills. Campers spend plenty of time on the water, but additionally, get to spend time in the historical woodworking shop learning

the fact that they're in this setting with all the historic tools sparks the imagination, sparks questions — pointing, 'what's that? What's it do?'" For Richard, it is important to give kids a chance to get their hands on tools, to be present and physically connected to the world as campers do in Spaulding's programs.

Spaulding welcomes kids of all ages

important maintenance and craftsman skills. From learning to use hand power tools to using nautical charts and tying knots, these campers learn a lot.

Heather Richard, a board member since 2022 who also runs her own charter company and works with Call of the Sea, instructed youth camps at Spaulding. Her educational background combined with her own sailing acumen as captain of her own vessel has led to her being involved in youth sailing for 25 years.

Richard has seen Spaulding's programs expand in the past few years. "It's Myron's legacy; he didn't want the boatyard to become a museum, he wanted it to remain a working shipyard. The idea is to get kids interested in boating, boatbuilding, and creating new things," she explains. "That's been the mission we try to fulfill as we keep it going. Just

There's nothing as much fun as building your frst boat at Spaulding Marine Center.

to participate in programming. For younger kids, the last couple of summers Spaulding has been beefing up a summer sea camp. Kids sign up for a week at a time and can do multiple weeks if they want.

"The idea is to try to put in half a day on the water, and a half day in the boatyard in the wood shop," explains Richard. They learn seamanship and rigging, but the kids can also work in the woodshop learning to build model boats, and help build the Pelicans, full-size wooden boats the kids sail in the program. Campers can also come up with their own woodworking project: skateboards, boogie boards, wooden models, and toolboxes; there have been a bunch of different projects done, depending on the age and the time they have.

Their new apprenticeship program is designed for young people who are not going to go to college or can't afford it, and who like hands-on learning. "It's a full-year apprenticeship, designed for those with a GED or those who have aged out of the school system," explains Richard. "It's a real paid apprenticeship program starting at $20-22/hr after six months. Then, they are placed with an industry partner in their primary field of interest. If they like rigging, we place

BOTH PICTURES LATITUDE / JOHN

Spaulding provides enthusiastic and knowledgeable mentors for students.

SARAH KILLINGSWORTH

Inverness Yacht Club kids learn sailing skills and self-suffciency in their youth programs.

SAILING — MANY OPTIONS

them with a rigger," says Richard. Some of their partners are Bayside Boatworks and List Marine in Sausalito, Berkeley Marine Center, Argo Yacht Rigging in San Francisco, Svendsen's Marine in Alameda, and Bay Ship in Richmond. The program is working with its second round of apprentices right now, so there will be different placements for kids reflecting their individual interests. The program starts in August, so applications will be available shortly, with a June 1 deadline.

Youth apprentice programs are a great way to help underserved groups break into boating as well as the wider marine industry. "Our funding sources are interested in making sure we help women, recent immigrants, and people of color into the program," says Richard, who intends to help bring greater diversity to their program and expand its reach to underserved communities. "I think we're going to also have some kind of a pre-apprenticeship in the summer.

If kids want to just come and work for us as a summer job, that is something we can discuss. If there's a high school kid, we would not offer formal teaching at this point, but we encourage kids to come early if they want to do the apprenticeship program and want to provide ways to get in the door."

This sampling of Bay Area sailing programs is a small fraction of the wide variety available to Bay Area kids. The Latitude 38 Sailing Calendar and website include a more comprehensive list of all the programs available.

— heather breaux

For a more complete list of Northern California sailing opportunities, visit: https://www.latitude38.com/feature/san-francisco-youth-sailing/

Pelicans are built and sailed by kids in Spaulding Marine Center's programs.

SPAULDING MARINE CENTER

it

disease,

harms aquatic life . Next time you need to take a load off while fishing or boating, save the waters you love by using an on-shore restroom or finding a floating restroom, pumpout, or dump station by downloading the free Pumpout Nav app.

®

For more information visit BoatCalifornia.com/pumpout

It’s gross, it stinks,

spreads

and

"There'sone thing I can count on when I sail on a boat that's venturing offshore for the first time: The head will break. Or become hopelessly clogged. Maybe this says more about the boats I sail on than the reliability of marine heads, but there it is. With this in mind, for the next trip down the coast on a friend's boat, first time offshore, I was planning accordingly: Saturday morning found me in my favorite hardware store, shopping for a bucket that would be a good fit inside the bowl of the Wilcox Crittenden "Third-Mate."

Now, I don't mind pooping in a bucket after the head goes south. But there's no reason to give up the comfort of a "fitted" seat, as per the literal requirements of the old offshore equipment rules. Back in the day, this was widely interpreted to mean that even if your boat did not have a head, at least your bucket had to have a proper toilet seat accessory. The modern version, strictly voluntary, is that every boat should carry a small bucket that fits easily inside the installed head bowl.

Icouldn't find the store's bucket department, so I took a number at the help desk and waited patiently for my turn at customer assistance.

Whoever had the number right ahead of me was not paying attention, and I was a little annoyed when the number was announced for the third time with no response. Finally, the customer came running up to the help desk waving the number. It was Lee Helm, naval architecture grad student and local waterfront urchin.

"I'm looking for, like, a hand-pump spray bottle, the kind used to spray insecticide," she said quickly before noticing I was next in line.

"Lee," I said. "Since when would you have anything to do with an insecticide sprayer? You won't even eat a boat sandwich unless the sprouts are certified organic."

"Max, it's only for wash water," she explained as we both followed the store's customer support expert out to the garden department. "I think I have a solution to several problems: soggy TP, clogged heads, and boat butt."

"Let me guess," I said. "You are planning to use this pressurized spray bottle for…"

"A seagoing bidet!" she finished my sentence. "It will, like, need a few mods."

The aisle with the pump-spray

bottles was not far from the bucket section, way out in the garden department. The store had a nice collection in stock, and Lee chose the two-liter size.

"I'll have to extend the discharge line, add a 90-degree bend so it points up, and convert the diffused spray into a narrow, pressurized jet of water. It needs to extend about eight inches from the nozzle," she explained as she checked the critical diameters with her pocket digital calipers.

"For sure, but like, you exaggerate," Lee accused him. "The inside diameter of the waste discharge pipe is usually like, 1.5 inches, but the ID of the pump cylinder is about two inches or more. And the area varies by the square of the diameter, so 18 to 24 strokes are more like nine to 12. Still, you're right about most crew: They never pump enough to clear the line, and the whole head compartment ends up hella smelly when the check valve leaks a little and the poopy waste seeps down from the siphon loop back into the bowl. Even with electric heads, no one holds the button down long enough."

"You got it," he confirmed. "Of course, the other problem is that people just insist on flushing their toilet paper, and that usually jams things up. And it's always me who ends up performing the emergency 'craniotomy' to get it unplugged."

"Craniotomy?" I questioned.

"Surgical opening of the head," our new friend explained. I gathered he was a medical professional.

Lee was all too eager to explain her new application for the hand-pump insecticide sprayer, and the modifications to make it work.

"With this simple device, hardly any TP needed!" she predicted. "Just a small wad for drying off. And that will be clean enough for the trash, instead of throwing gross, poopy TP out the little head window, where often as not it blows right across the cockpit."

"When did you become a fan of the bidet?" I asked. "Been to Europe or Japan lately?"

Meanwhile, another customer, overhearing our discussion of Lee's new project, had his own issues with marine heads.

"The main problem with heads," he volunteered, "is operator error. The stroke of the hand pump is only about four inches. The length of the discharge line is typically at least six feet, often closer to eight feet counting the anti-siphon loop if it's a big boat and the head is well below the waterline. To clear all the waste out of the discharge pipe, you have to pump 18 to 24 times! Almost no one does this, so on my boat I start each cruise by bringing each guest into the head, one at a time, to show them the stroke of the pump and the length of the discharge line, and ask them to do their own math."

"It all started during The Great TP Shortage of 2020," Lee explained. "My housing co-op bought the low-end $36 model, and we've never looked back. Saves time, saves water, saves money."

"How does it save water?"

"Don't need to shower as often!" she added, "when the dirtiest part of your body is squeaky clean."

Meanwhile, I was baffled by the bucket selection. The ones that were wide enough to completely extend beyond the inside diameter of the toilet seat, meaning they had to be more than about nine inches in diameter, were all too deep to fit in the shallow bowl of the head. The shorter buckets were too narrow and the wider buckets were too tall.

"You could use a paper paint-mixing bucket," suggested the store employee, "and cut it down to the right height."

"That would work, if I brought a

Lee's seagoing bidet, made entirely from components found at the local hardware store.

stack of them," I said. "Wouldn't even have to clean them if they're all degradable cardboard. But they might be a little floppy after cutting off the reinforcing around the rim."

"Or use a salad bowl," advised the doctor. "You could buy a laminated wooden bowl with a lot of taper. Drill some holes near the edge and splice in a three-strand rope handle, and it will look almost as salty as the traditional cedar bucket."

That plan vanished as soon as I spotted a bucket from Red Gorilla®. Wide and shallow, soft, rubbery flexible plastic, with two strong built-in handles for self-cleaning on a tow rope. It even claimed to be made from 100% recycled material.

WithLee's half-gallon pump-spray bottle selected, she and the doctor, who was there for a length of that inch-and-ahalf head discharge line, made off for the plumbing department, where Lee could select plastic tubing and other hardware

for the necessary modifications to complete her invention. First, she found the right size tubing and a small hose clamp to replace the misting nozzle. Then at the other end of the tube, she needed several short, small-diameter pieces of tubing to decrease the exit diameter.

"I calculate about one-eighth inch at the exit for the best combo of volume and pressure," she explained when I caught up to her. She eventually selected two sizes that would telescope inside each other at the end of the outlet pipe. "Might need a little duct tape for like, a tight enough fit," she added.

I showed of f my bucket, a perfect fit for the inside of the head bowl. "This will strike a blow against constipation," I predicted. "The 'Number Two' ailment of offshore sailing."

"Number one has to be mal de mer," said the store helper, I think just to prove that he got the pun. "But how will your bucket help?"

"Put yourself in the position of a first-time of fshore crew," explained the doctor. "You might be seasick for the

first day, to some degree. Not much food. Then when you can eat a little, it's nothing like at home. Dietary stress. And you're still all tense, trying to hold everything down and make a good impression as race crew."

Always bring a bucket that fits in the head bowl. This one is flexible, and the handles fold out of the way when the seat is lowered. The five-liter size from Red Gorilla® is a good fit.

You don't want to lose your head when heading offshore but, if you do, it's always good to have a Plan B (and a bucket).

"And no lower body motion to help the lower intestines move along," Lee added. "It's the perfect storm for like, no movement till day three, sometimes longer."

"And the bucket helps how?"

"If you're backed up on day three," I theorized, "then you know for sure that your poop will be more than the head can handle. Odds of a jam are high, so there's incentive to put it off even longer — maybe even to the end of the race if it's just down the coast and you're not going all the way to Hawaii."

right kind of breakfast cereal. Mixed whole grains like in Swiss muesli, with oats, wheat and flax seed, the kind that doesn't have to be cooked. Mix it up in advance with a generous dose of

RECIPE FOR LEE'S SUPER BREAKFAST MIX

"Guaranteed to keep you moving"

"Wheat germ always has the desired effect on me," I allowed. "But why the millet?"

"Works like little ball bearings," Lee claimed, but I noticed the doctor rolling his eyes, although he politely declined to challenge the assertion. "But mainly it's the whole grains, expanding and pushing everything through."

2 lb. multi-grain Swiss muesli or unsweetened granola

¼ lb. Kretschmer's toasted wheat germ

¼ lb. hulled millet

Raisins and cashew pieces to taste

Serve cold with yogurt or a milk-like beverage

"And of course, the bucket can't jam," observed the doctor. "Maybe I'll pick up one of those too; much better than taking the head apart at sea."

"I think it's best to approach the problem from the other end, if you, like, know what I mean. Bring the

wheat germ, organic millet seeds, and more raisins and cashew pieces for sweetness. I have it with yogurt, the morning of day two, and by lunchtime, I've already done the deed."

"What about a probiotic?" I asked.

"Probiotics can be effective," said the professional, "but people should experiment in advance with it. Not everyone reacts the same."

"My mix works for everyone," Lee claimed. "The crew will be asking for it on day three. But like, don't give it to the whole off-watch at the same time if the boat only has one head…" — max ebb

The sailmaker of choice to the world’s most high-performance race yachts. By sailors, for sailors.

Doyle Sails San Francisco Bill Colombo | +1 510 523 9411

Molly Stones – Sausalito

Taste of Rome - Sausalito

Woodlands Market – Tiburon

Whole Foods Market – San Rafael

Naos Yachts – Richmond

THE RACING

Molto Midwinters this month, from Corinthian YC to Golden Gate, Encinal, Oakland, Island, Sequoia, Monterey and Berkeley YCs and RegattaPRO. We also report on the California Dreamin' Match Race Series and US Sailing's annual awards, and we preview the America's Schooner Cup. Finally, we bid farewell to two Bay Area legends while glimpsing a new permanent buoy off Sausalito's Yellow Bluff

Corinthian Midwinters vs. King Tide

The January 21-22 edition of Corinthian Yacht Club's four-race midwinter series was more of a battle of Man and Machine vs. Nature than a competition between boats. On the side of Mother Nature was a king tide-driven ebb, with associated weird whirlpools, underwater waterfalls and conveyor belts of currents. In the aid of Nature on Saturday was a light and fickle breeze. On Nature's side on Sunday was the opposite, a blustery northerly that was building to gale force.

The currents proved a challenge right from the get-go, when no less than three boats got caught on the signal boat's

anchor rode. (We heard one rather loud crunch, so presume there was some hull-to-hull contact as well.)

The last division to start, NonSpinnaker 2, had strong current from the south, but very little wind. That fleet struggled to get south enough to get around the committee boat (and its anchor rode), so they started sailing away from the line and toward a little current relief closer to Angel Island after

their start signal. However, the Sailing Instructions called for boats that had not started within four minutes of their appointed time to be scored DNS (Did Not Start). None of that final division were anywhere close to crossing the start line at the four-minute cutoff. Rather than abandoning the division and postponing, the RC scored them all DNS.

The RC chose medium-distance courses for both days, ranging from 6 to 9 miles. For the first mark on Saturday, they set an inflated drop-mark in the

Scenes from January's Corinthian Midwinters, clockwise from top left: The Express 37 'Spindrift V' drifted into the signal boat's anchor rode and took a DNS (Did Not Start) on Saturday; Jeannette Daroosh aboard the Ranger 33 'Liquid Asset' in the starting area on Saturday; Buzz Blackett's Class 40 'California Condor' races back through Raccoon Strait on Sunday; the Farr 52 'Zamaazan' topped PHRF 1 but ran aground on a minus tide trying to get home to the San Francisco Marina.

vicinity of Yellow Bluff, off the Sausalito headlands. This mark proved incredibly difficult to round. Many crews made multiple attempts at the first rounding but found themselves swept toward the Golden Gate.

Bay Area racers who venture out the Gate are well acquainted with the South Tower Demon. Sneakier is the North Tower Sea Monster. On that Saturday in January, it wrapped its tentacles around keels and attempted to draw helpless vessels into its maw. Starting the engine was a last resort to escape, and even then the monster only released its grip reluctantly. Despite the ferocity of the monster, most boats were able to keep sailing and complete the race.

After a multi-year hiatus, the post-

For more racing news, subscribe to 'Lectronic Latitude online at www.latitude38.com

February's racing stories included:

US Sailing Open Sailing Series

Daniela Moroz Wins Fourth Rolex

Yachtswoman of the Year Award

SSS Three Bridge Fiasco SailGP

Paralympic Sailing The Ocean Race

February s Corinthian Midwinters

More Hank Easom/Yellow Bluff Previews of March Races, StFYC Spring Education, and more.

race Saturday party and buffet dinner returned to CYC's gorgeous ballroom, possibly the most fabulous yacht club venue in California. An energetic live band, Tinman, rocked the joint with classic hits, though they had started at 3:30, when boats were still racing or enjoying the sunshine in the harbor, and completed their gig at 7 p.m. Following that, volunteers handed out daily awards — CYC coffee mugs.

When we had checked the forecast on Friday night, the prediction for Sunday looked even lighter. By Saturday night the predicted direction remained northerly but the windspeed had changed from 5 knots or less to gusts of 30, with a wide gap between the prevailing wind and the gusts. Racers were in for a blustery afternoon.

The race committee sent them through Raccoon Strait to marks east of Angel Island (Southampton Shoal Platform or a shipping buoy west of it). At Point Campbell, the island's northeast corner, racers learned that Angel Island sucks. No offense to the lovely and enjoyable state park — we mean "sucks" literally. In the weird currents, escaping the island proved the challenge. Again, engines fired up and calls to retire from racing came over the regatta's VHF channel.

Once fr ee of the Point Campbell vacuum hose, those who made their escape without engine power found the gusty winds in the East Bay. At least here the wind allowed for mark roundings, and the racers cracked off to reach back through the Strait.

The final weekend of the r egatta, February 18-19 was too close to our go-to-press day in the short month for inclusion here; we'll report on that in April's Racing Sheet. In the meantime, see https://race.cyc.org/mids23 — latitude / chris

Golden Gate Midwinters vs. the Ebb

The Seaweed Soup Regatta missed its December and January races when the GGYC canceled due to incoming storms. So the club had hoped to get off two races on Saturday, February 4. The wind and current had other ideas.

The race committee assigned Course 4 to all the divisions. It's a 6.1-miler around Blossom Rock and Blackaller, with an eastbound start and finish at GGYC. The starts went off on time. Anyone observing might have thought the competitors were being pretty casual about crossing the line, but actually they were fighting a strong ebb in the light easterly. It soon became clear that a second race would not be in the cards

Cal Maritime Academy raced the TP52 'Heather' in the Corinthian Midwinters. Here they are setting the spinnaker and dropping the jib in a northeasterly breeze on Saturday, January 21.

IRA POTEKHINA

THE RACING

that day. For a bit, the wind freshened, and sail controls were hardened, but it was just a teaser, and soon crews were loosening lines again.

"It was another 'tour -da-bay' in a big winter ebb," reports Gordie Nash, who sailed his remodeled Santana 27 Arcadia. "After working/tacking the ebb current relief close to shore from GGYC to Pier 39, we found no more protection along the south Pier 39 breakwater. Time to leave the shore.

"On a starboard tack heading toward Treasure Island, we just made it past the east side of Alcatraz, then the east side of Blunt Point and almost cleared the Berkeley Pier. We stayed in the cone relief behind Treasure Island, then left TI on port tack for a starboard rounding of Blossom Rock. We just cleared it! We sailed the long way around.

"Because of the heavy overcast, drizzle and no visibility we were convinced that we were the last boat. There were almost no other boats left on the race course. After finishing, going home, and putting the boat away, we saw that the posted results showed Arcadia in second place in our class. Amazing surprise. Blind obstinance."

Of the 38 starters, 14 finished the one race. The next (and last) scheduled race in the series will be on March 4, and we'd expect the race committee to attempt two races again. See www.jibeset.net for

information and standings.

— latitude / chris

Encinal YC's Jack Frost

February 4 started out overcast and drizzling, with 5-knot winds from the northwest and a strong ebb building. After a postponement of Race 5 of the EYC Jack Frost series to see if the wind was holding, three fleets got a start. But the current was so strong that several starters were pushed over the line, then had to fight to return to clear themselves — even, in Fleet 3, resorting to putting up spinnakers. Another postponement was called before Fleet 4, the Olson 25s, started.

The boats were pushed with the ebb to the weather mark, then fought with spinnakers up to return to the downwind finish. Snowy Owl, the lead Express 37 in Fleet 2, was within a yard of the finish when the wind died and the tide pushed them back. No boats in Fleet 2 finished Race 5. Sketch stayed patient until the wind shifted to the northeast and filled, finally finishing first among Olson 25s.

Fleets 5 and 6 remained postponed, motoring or waiting on anchor for the predicted southerly wind to arrive. Finally, at 2 p.m., shortly before the race committee was going to cancel racing for the day, the new southeast wind arrived blowing 10+ knots. A short course was set and the last fleets went off on Race 5.

Race 6 started for Fleet 1 right on their heels to take advantage of the freshening wind and break in the rain.

See www.jibeset.net for standings. An extra day of racing is scheduled for March 4 to make up for the two canceled races on stormy January 7.

— margaret fago

Oakland YC's Sunday Brunch Series

OYC's 2023 racing season is underway, starting with the Sunday Brunch Series. Sunday Brunch races start in front of the OYC clubhouse, with the race committee working from a clubhouse deck. Since COVID, when race committee was minimal, OYC no longer uses flags; rather the races are called via radio only. The fleet and course are communicated at each countdown, warning, preparatory, one minute and start on a rolling start of the fleets. It works great for OYC's volunteers and racers.

The Sunday Brunch Series kicked off on January 15 in less than optimal weather. It had been raining for weeks, but we caught a break and the rain stopped mid-day. At that time, we had 27 racers registered, and 17 skippers and their crews came out for the first race. The wind was blowing just opposite of the norm. We could have run a reverse course, but chose to start downwind, with most boats popping their spinnakers as they crossed the starting line or

Encinal YC ran two Jack Frost Midwinters races on rainy, ebby Saturday, February 4. Boats had to work hard against the current, not always successfully. Above: Jack Peurach's Express 37 'Elan'. Right, top: the crew on Mark Wagner's Soverel 33 'Good and Plenty'. Bottom: Bob Walden's Cal 39 'Sea Star' and Steve Douglass's Islander 36 'Renaissance of Tahoe Vista'.

ALL PHOTOS THIS PAGE FRED FAGO

soon thereafter.

The wind was pretty light, 6-8 knots, and we decided to race the longest first legs of our courses and then bring the racers in, hoping to beat the next rain. Well, as with many a day racing, the rain pushed in early, bringing a bit more wind, around 11-12 knots and gusts of 15-16 knots. Many of the boats caught up to one another when the wind built, and the finish was hectic — many boats were finishing within seconds of one another.

The second race on January 29 gave us overcast with cold winds of 12+ knots gusting to 20. The racers sailed long first legs once again, with all finishing quickly, and no one got wet. But then came Race 3 on February 5. It brought us great wind at 14-15 knots and, with a frisky Mother Nature, gusts of 20-24 knots. It was aerobic racing all the way, with wind shifts and many a round-up to keep the racers on their toes. Lots of varying conditions make for challenging and exciting racing on the Estuary.

Prior to the race on January 29, Kame Richards, the retiring owner of Pineapple Sails, gave a very informative presentation on sail trim, from the perspective of big boats, small boats, tillers and wheels, and all the combinations. It's the little things that can make such a big difference when trimming the sails. February 5 had Ted Keech, an OYC member with

65+ years of racing experiencing, talking about mark roundings. A tip from Ted: When approaching the mark downwind, it's better to drop spinnakers with time to do the housekeeping of lines and the pole for a smooth rounding, no caught lines or sails, with focus staying on the mark, the immediate rounding, and the sighting of the next mark.

So it was racers to OYC prior to the races for speakers and brunch and up to the club after the race for a libation, a complimentary buffet provided by the race committee, and prizes — warm winter hats.

For info and standings, go to www. jibeset.net . The series continued on February 19, and the next race will be on March 5.

— debby ratto

IYC's Island Days on the Estuary

S unday, February 12 was a great day for sports: While some people were watching very expensive commercials, 24 boats raced at the fourth Island YC Island Days. The wind was blowing straight down the Estuary at a fairly steady 6-8 knots all day, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were in the 70s.

The fastest fleet had a 4.5-mile threelap course around Marks 3 and 5. Others, including the Columbia 5.5 and Santana 22 one-design classes, had a

4.0-mile two-lap course around Marks 2 and 5 for the first lap, and 3 and 5 for the second lap.

A racer donated some 55-inch bright yellow inflatable marks, and those stood out brilliantly against the background of the Estuary, making it easy to plan an approach from far away.

The classic Nunes Mercury Loco 2 earned special thanks, and a drink ticket, by graciously picking up a person who'd stopped by the race committee dock to wave to their significant other who was racing, but ended up with a last-minute ride on a glorious day.

After the race, sailors reconvened at the Boathouse Tavern to collect prizes and to watch some other sports.

— richard r.

Sequoia YC's Redwood Cup #3

What starts with a Royal Visitor, has starboard calls and jibes, finishes with commercial traffic, and has three letters (F-U-N) in it?

We'd guess that the arrival of the King of the Tides among people with close connections to the water is discussed as much as a visit from a monarch would be. A quick internet search made me realize that there were 43 sovereign monarchies in the world in 2022 — not sure if that counts King Neptune.

On January 21, the members at Sequoia YC decided to honor the visit

Estuary midwinter racing action. Above: The Tartan 30 'Lelo Too', skippered by Emily Zugnoni, on the downwind leg, heading to the last mark of Oakland YC's Sunday Brunch Race 3 on February 5, taken from a deck of the clubhouse on the Alameda side of the Estuary. Right: IYC Island Days on February 12. Top: Jim Dumas's Farr 1020 'Tramp Boat' and Lisa Rohr's Harbor 20 'Puff Mommy' work their way upwind while others run down the Estuary. Bottom: Paul Mueller and a new friend sailed the Mercury 'Loco 2' — and they won the Non-Spinnaker Division.

TAMMY M ERCADO

SLACKW ATER SF

THE RACING

regardless. Tides 10 feet high definitely unlock new possibilities. Our more adventurous skippers decided to skip the guest dock and tie the boats up directly to the clubhouse decks, to enjoy decktails from their boats, with the rest saluting to the once-in-a-year event.

After the appropriate salutations were given to King Tide, the boats cast off quickly to make it to the next event of the weekend, the third race of the Redwood Cup Series.

Three weeks of rain, ugly runoff and crazy winds had kept most of us off the water lately. Some had even developed mild symptoms of landsickness. Sunny skies, measurable winds and the absence of our signature South Bay chop were exceptionally beckoning.

We had decent representation from the Open 5.70 fleet for one-design racing and a true variety in the PHRF fleet ranging from 237 all the way down to 15.

Easy conditions allowed teams to bring on new crew to get them familiar with the boats and our racing venue. Wind of 4-8 knots proved to be just enough to overcome the 2.3 knots of ebb (thanks to our seasoned Race Fleet Captain for advising a plausible course). It got us moving and got us doing enough tacks for "Starboard!" to matter, with a couple of jibes added to the fun.

All the driftwood kept our eyes sharply looking around for what not to hit — good exercise for attention on both the water and on the sails.

As we r eached our leeward mark, one by one, we dropped our spinnakers, trimmed up, and turned our boats toward the San Mateo Bridge.

The usual seascape got an extra addition this time: a bulk carrier coming in with two tugs. A total capacity of over 70,000 metric tons is a very sharp reminder to any sailing vessel about their true size on the water. Following a quick dialog on the radio between the Race Captain and the commercial vessel, the race got called off promptly with extra reminders to everyone in radio range about what Restricted at Maneuverability means.

Once all the boats were back at port safely, put away nicely, wetsuits peeled and fish tacos acquired, drinks were poured at the post-race debrief. By the cozy heat from the clubhouse fireplace, we remembered that while it's sad to get a race called off, these big ones bring commercial traffic to the Port of Redwood City, which gets our waterways dredged so that we can race. Sometimes we need to step aside and give them the space they need.

Even though nobody scor ed any

points this time, everyone agreed that we had a great time and enjoyed the regular NorCal weather. We got our landsickness under control for the week. Can't wait for the next one.

See www.jibeset.net for standings and info.

— marton neher

RegattaPRO Winter One Design

The RegattaPRO Winter One Design series, with asset and volunteer support from Sausalito YC, wrapped up on February 11. The January race date had been canceled due to a stormy forecast, and the December race date was very lightly attended, also due to stormy weather. Added to that, the November race day had the opposite problem: insufficient breeze.

"The organizers had hoped to find another day to race in order to make up for days that were unraceable in November and January, but no appropriate date could be found," said PRO Forrest Gay, who was filling in for Jeff Zarwell. "The Winter One Design Series is now complete with four races."

— latitude / chris

SYC/REGATTAPRO WINTER ONE DESIGN (4r, 1t)

J/105 — 1) Roulette, William Woodruff, 6 points; 2) Alchemy, Walter Sanford, 10; 3) Godot 2.0, Phillip Laby, 12; 4) Lulu, Steve Hill, 19; 5) Roxanne, Charles James, 26. (16 boats)

J/88 — 1) Ravenette, Brice Dunwoodie, 2 points; 2) Pelagia, Christos Karamanolis, 4; 3) Butcher, Dave Corbin, 6. (3 boats)

J/24 — 1) Evil Octopus, Jasper Van Vliet, 2 points; 2) Froglips, Richard Stockdale/Jerry Lucas, 5; 3) Feral Rooster, Paul Van Ravenswaay, 7. (6 boats)

J/70 — 1) Rampage, Tom Thayer, 2 points; 2) Son of a Son, David Fried, 5; 3) Sandpiper, Courtney Clamp, 5. (5 boats)

MOORE 24 — 1) efl , Joel Turmel, 3 points; 2) Mooretician, Peter Schoen, 14; 3) Moorigami, John Siegel, 15. (5 boats)

Full results at www.sausalitoyachtclub.org

Perry Cup on a Stormy Saturday

After the December and January editions of the Perry Cup midwinter series were canceled due to forecasts of rain and high winds, the February finale was jeopardized by a similar but slightly milder prediction. The race committee seized on the trend and announced that racing would happen. Three Mercurys — two from the Bay Area and one local boat from Monterey — responded.

A promising northerly greeted the racers as they left the harbor; it died on cue at the scheduled start time. For the next hour, zephyrs from every direction teased the mark-set boats: As soon as a pin and weather mark were set, the breeze died and filled in weakly from a different direction. Finally the marks were left where they were, and a sequence was begun on the assumption that the wind might occasionally come from the right direction for a "normal" race. The first attempt disproved that assumption, as the three competitors started on a broadish reach and finished on a close reach. Dave West and Chris Krueger won, with Randy Smith and Alex Verdoia second and Bradley Schoch and Scott Brubaker third. The wind held — kind of — for the next contest, so the marks were flipped. A reasonably square line turned into a heavy pin-favored one shortly before the start; West jumped on it and won handily.

Finally the real breeze came in with gusto out of the south. At about this time the AT&T golf in Pebble Beach was called off due to the wind; the Mercs stayed out and had a fine double-sausage race. Bradley and Scott won their first race ever, with Smith second and West third. That race made all the difference in the series, as it allowed West to throw out his worst score (9) and win the Perry Cup for the first time.

— jack mcaleer

It's not a normal sight to see race boats tied up directly to Sequoia YC's back decks.

Full results at www.regattanetwork.com/event/25414#_home

Astor, 100, to Race in San Diego Classic schooners such as America and Californian are invited to participate in this year's running of the 35th America's Schooner Cup Charity Regatta on April 1 on San Diego Bay. The schooner rig is rare today. Its roots lie in early American cargo-hauling and fishing. Schooners were designed with an emphasis on speed under sail. They are treasured as examples of maritime history and are widely regarded as the most beautiful of all sailing ships.

Public viewing of the start and finish of this annual race is best found of f the sandy beach south of the launch ramp on Shelter Island beginning at 11:30 a.m. About 18 schooners are expected to compete, including the 30-ft Lively, the 136-ft Bill of Rights and the 139-ft replica of America. The public is invited to watch the regatta from the decks of San Diego Maritime Museum's Californian or the

America, both of which will be carrying charter passengers while racing. The Californian is fully booked, but America still had space as of this writing.

The regatta draws schooners of all sizes and vintages from up and down the West Coast. Several larger schooners, such as the 71-ft John Alden-designed Dauntless, are expected to challenge the 86-ft Fife schooner Astor. Astor will visit San Diego to race the America's Schooner Cup on the occasion of her 100th anniversary of launching in Fairlie, Scotland, in 1923.

Astor won the America's Schooner Cup in five out of the six years she raced, from 1989 to 1994. Soon after, she began preparations for long-distance cruising. In 2000, she traveled to her original sailing grounds in Australia, where she had gotten line honors three times in the Sydney Hobart Race in the early 1960s.

After six years and 50,000 miles, Astor briefly returned to California before turning to the Atlantic. She transited the Panama Canal in 2008 and cruised the Caribbean and the East Coast of the US. In 2009, Astor sailed in Antigua Race Week, where she finished first in the concours d'elegance, first in the schooner class and third overall.

She crossed the Atlantic in 2011 via the Azores and Gibraltar. Astor headed north to attend the Fife Reunion Regatta in Farlie, Scotland, in 2013. She then returned to the Med to cruise

the south of France and the Balearics. She crossed the Atlantic in 2014 via the Canary Islands to Barbados to further cruise the Caribbean, then made her second Canal crossing to the Pacific Coast, bringing her home to Newport Beach in 2016.

We look forward to the return of Astor to the America's Schooner Cup after 29 years and 90,000 cruising miles.

This year's regatta will again support the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which provides financial, educational and post-combat support to members of the Naval Service, including eligible family members and survivors. The America's Schooner Cup event has raised more than $150,000 for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in the last few years. For more information, please visit www. americasschoonercup.com.

The public is encouraged to join us on April 1 for viewing on the beach at Shelter Island or racing aboard the America (https://nextlevelsailing.com/specialevents/2023-americas-schooner-cup).

— jerry newton

California Dreamin'

San Diego YC hosted the first stop of the 2023 California Dreamin' Match Race series on January 28-29 in J/22s. Racing for St. Francis YC, Nicole Breault and her Vela Racing team dominated the regatta, winning all 14 of their races. Julie Mitchell, Hailey Thompson and Karen Loutzenheiser sailed with Breault.

"The CDS Stop at SDYC has become my favorite way to kick off a new year of match racing," said Nicole. "Here's hoping the good vibes we shared on and off the race course signal what the rest of 2023 has in store."

The next Stop for Califor nia Dreamin' will be at StFYC on March 4-5, also in J/22s. The series will finish up at Long Beach YC on April 1-2 in Catalina 37s. — latitude / chris

US Sailing's Annual Awards

As we reported in 'Lectronic Latitude on February 8, kiteboarder Daniela Moroz claimed her fourth Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award, and catamaran sailor Ravi Parent is the 2022 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year.

US Sailing also presented less-wellknown awards to the following West Coast-based recipients:

The One Design Club Award went to Mission Bay YC in San Diego. In 2022, MBYC ran 151 days of racing. They hosted the High School Pacific Coast Championships, Doublehanded Nationals the US Youth Championships, Lido 14 Nationals (with 50 boats), and the

PERRY CUP, MPYC (6r, 1t)

MERCURY — 1) Space Invader, David West, 9 points; 2) Fast Break, Randy Smith, 9; 3) #563, Bradley Schoch, 19. (11 boats)

'Astor' (#88) and 'Dauntless' race in the 1990 America's Schooner Cup.

Express 27s in their last race of the Berkeley YC Midwinters, on February 11. But wait — there's more! The Winners Race, aka Champion of Champions, was sailed on February 26, after this issue went to press. More next month.

IRA POTEKHINA

THE RACING SHEET

Soling Nationals and PCCs. The club has a robust junior program and hosts five active high school sailing teams.

Kristen Zillman and San Diego YC received the One Design Regatta Award for the Women's Winter Invitational. Challenged Sailors San Diego got the Robie Pierce Award for adaptive sailing.

In the Community Sailing category, the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle received the award for More Than 10 Years of Hallmark Performance.

See www.ussailing.org for the entire list of annual awards.

— latitude / chris

RIP Hank Easom and Bobbi Tosse

On Tuesday, February 7, the new Hank Easom Yellow Bluff permanent buoy was anchored in position.

Hank passed away at home a week later, on February 14, at the age of 88. He had inoperable cancer.

The Yacht Racing Association, the Coast Guard, Carl Lewis, Ron Young and Hank's nephew Scott Easom collaborated to create and place the buoy. Individuals, participating yacht clubs

(SFYC, CYC and SYC) and the Belvedere Cove Foundation donated funds.

Hank's friends and crew surprised him with a presentation of the buoy in January. For more about this tribute to a legendary Bay Area sailor, see Sightings on page 52 of this issue.

Two weeks earlier, the Bay Area sailing community lost Bobbi Tosse; she passed away on February 1. A past Berkeley YC commodore (1993), Bobbi volunteered for BYC's and the Pacific Cup's race committees, and she served as the treasurer of the Yacht Racing Association — all for decades. We'll never forget her distinctive voice on the radio, presiding so effectively over BYC's races.

Bay Area racers will find the new YRA Mark #15, aka Yellow Bluff, and now aka Hank Easom, at 37°N 50.491' x 122°W 28.078'. As seen in this photo, Hank's Sabre Spirit 'Serenade' was the first boat to sail around the mark after it was anchored on February 7.

Latitude 38 will have more about Bobbi in the April issue.

This editor extends her personal condolences to the family and friends of both Bobbi Tosse and Hank Easom.

— latitude / chris

WHATEVER IT TAKES.

SAN DIEGO

2832 Cañon St, San Diego 619.226.2422

sandiego@quantumsails.com

SAN FRANCISCO

1230 Brickyard Cove Rd, #200, Pt. Richmond 510.234.4334 pacific@quantumsails.com

LONG BEACH

5122 Bolsa Ave #110, Huntington Beach 562.799.7444

nwheatley@quantumsails.com

BEACON MARINE 3695 Harbor Blvd, Ste 305, Ventura 805.232.1513

splomteaux@quantumsails.com

QUANTUMSAILS.COM

This month we hear from Art Hartinger of the Jack London-based Pied-a-Mer on a birthday present charter of a Moorings 5000 in the British Virgin Islands

Bareboat Birthday Cruise in the BVI

When my daughter Claire asked for a Caribbean cruise as a birthday present, I, of course, said yes. She wanted to bring as many of her 30-something friends as possible, so we looked for a big cat I could skipper, and settled on chartering from Moorings in BVI.

Claire and I chose a Moorings 5000 with five cabins, five heads, and an amazing layout. Knots of Wind was well equipped with electric winches, electric toilets, an electric grill adjacent to the aft settee, a television, microwave, watermaker, air conditioning, etc. I suggested to Claire that we hire a captain, as I didn't want the hassle of being responsible for so many "kids." Claire flatly said no because "it would change the vibe."

Moorings approved my sailing résumé, and I was committed. It turned out that Knots of Wind was super-easy to handle, and performed well, exceeding 10 knots of speed under sail throughout the trip. The boat was very clean and the layout was amazingly spacious, with three different indoor and outdoor spaces that could seat 10 people.

After spending an extra day and night in Puerto Rico with Tomek, Prakash and Claire, we took the 45-minute flight from San Juan to Beef Island, Tortola. We stayed at Village Cay, a hotel across the harbor from the Moorings base (because I had difficulty getting a response from the Moorings hotel). We liked it — not fancy, but clean with a good bar and restaurant.

Hands down great taxi driver: Dervin Stoutt, Stoutt's Taxi and Tour Services (284-543-4155). Dervin is super-dependable and, as a BVI native, he knows everything about the islands.

The large market for provisioning is

Below,

the RiteWay, close to the Moorings base. But there is a great place just steps away from the base called the French Deli — tons of delicacies, charcuterie, wine and liquor, pastries, sandwiches, and espresso drinks.

The boat checkout was relatively painless. Moorings no longer does a charter briefing, but you are supposed to watch a 30-minute, very basic video prior to the cruise, which I did. The boat checkout was quick, and the boat was designed to be idiot-proof, with battery systems that you do not touch, for example. But we checked out essential and new systems: engine starting/stopping; anchor and windlass; reefing system; generator and watermaker; and electrical panel.

We were underway in 15 Knots of Wind, and headed south past Soper's Hole en route to Green Cay. Green Cay is just east of Jost Van Dyke, and we sailed up and anchored near Sandy Spit, a tiny island with two palm trees that you can walk around in 5-10 minutes. There were only about four boats here, including a big luxury yacht. The group from the luxury yacht had a wedding going on, with everyone in suits and formal wear! Claire and her friends swam to the island but soon left to allow some privacy for the wedding.

We weighed anchor in the morning and motored over to Sandy Cay, as the crew wanted to snorkel and swim and visit the island. We dropped the hook and hung out for about an hour before heading over to Jost Van Dyke Great Harbour, where we took a mooring ball. Unlike in other parts of the Caribbean (think south), the balls throughout BVI seem very well maintained and supereasy to use, as they have a pendant so you can just loop lines through.

Claire, Mason, Myray and I took the dinghy to Foxy's, where we sampled their rum punch. We wandered down the road for some supplemental provisions, and stumbled onto a very cool Caribbean grocery store, Ruby's Grocery, on the northwest side of the Great Harbour.

We had to visit the world-famous Soggy Dollar and decided to dinghy over, given that the White Bay anchorage looked crowded. We had a great dinghy that could easily accommodate all nine of us. We beached the dinghy and strolled over to order Painkillers (Soggy Dollar is supposedly the "birthplace of the Painkiller"), and browsed through the merch.

Our crew liked to move, and they proposed heading back over to the anchorage near Sandy Cay to have dinner at Foxy's Taboo. So we cast off from Great Harbour and motored about 20 minutes around the corner to East End Harbour, where we took a Foxy's Taboo ball. Foxy's Taboo was empty. We walked in, and they said they were closed. As we were walking away and back to the dinghy, a guy ran after us and said "OK, OK, they will open up and cook dinner." So the nine of us had a great dinner. I had my first lobster of the trip… mmmm.

The next day we cast of f at about 0640 for Anegada. This was a 25-mile sail in relatively light wind (about 12 knots). We heard there was a lobster festival in Anegada, and the harbor might be crowded, so we decided to try out the BoatyBall website to reserve a ball just in case. The website was easy to navigate. You open up the chart and tap on the ball you want. They are numbered and the fee ($40) is charged to your credit card. The ball was empty when we arrived, and we easily moored.

left to right: Dad and daughter enjoyed Foxy's with the rest of the crew; Even with 10 people aboard, the spacious 50-ft cat never felt crowded, with people scattered on multiple deck levels; Blue skies over North Sound at Biras Creek looking ready to invite more charter guests.

ALL PHOTOS ART HARTINGER

The following day, we rented a Ford F-150 that could take all nine of us with benches in the bed — from Anegada Amazing Rentals just steps away, up the street from the dinghy dock at the Anegada Reef Hotel. The drive around the island was very cool, with stops at the flamingo pond, Big Bamboo at Loblolly Bay, the iguana sanctuary and the Anegada Beach Club. But oops, I forgot that we had to "check out" from the BoatyBall that Knots of Wind was still on. And oops, the website showed that another boat had already reserved our ball. This is a drawback of the BoatyBall system: You have to plan ahead and checkout time is noon.

We sailed the next day outside and

down the large reef extending to the south and east of the island, to snorkel off the reef. We dropped 125 feet of chain in about 25 feet of water and were treated to the best snorkeling of the trip. I'm glad to report there were lots of reef fish, schools of fish and relatively healthy coral. This was our first day of mechanical failure. The first was not so much a "failure" — the anchor rode was seriously twisted toward the end and it jammed the windlass. The only way to take pressure off the anchor rode was to rig a halyard and lift the anchor. We cleared, and it was all good.

The watermaker also failed. We were sort of spoiled and had been lulled into using lots of water given the endless

supply, and so we also ran out of water. Wait… are the heads "freshwater" heads? I think so because when the freshwater ran out, no one could flush. (I had never experienced fancy freshwater heads.) Our sail back was to North Gorda Sound, so none of this was anything but a threehour ever-so-slight inconvenience.

We entered North Gorda Sound under sail, and wow, it is still beautiful. We took a ball off the Bitter End Yacht Club, and life was good. Claire wanted to go to the restaurant at the Rosewood Little Dix Bay resort. Too fancy, but OK. We took a ferry from BEYC to Gunn Creek, where we met Patsy, who took us up and down a winding road in a rainstorm for a really good dinner.

Mason and Claire relax while the big cat moves comfortably along. She sailed well.

Below, left to right: The Ford F-150 took us across Anegada; The crew worked on their abs while also working on their tans; Taking pressure off the windlass, the twisted anchor rode issue was solved with the help of a halyard.

WORLD OF CHARTERING

The next day, we sailed out in the morning to the Baths — a must-see in the BVI. The Baths are a jumble of large boulders that create beautiful spaces on the beach, with light shining through and onto "private," cathedral-like beaches. This spot can be a bit crowded, so I took the cat in close, and the crew swam off the stern. I took the cat back out into the channel and relaxed until about an hour later, when I went back and picked them up.

Everyone loved the Baths, but this group liked to move. We went to Great Dog, and then George Dog, before heading back to BEYC at sundown. I made

my famous frittata for dinner, and I think it was well received.

We were nearing the end of our trip. On Friday, Tomek and I dinghied over to Biras Creek to check on the resort. This place is stunningly beautiful, as I recalled. As we were walking along the dinghy dock, we saw no-trespassing signs. A guy yelled from up the hill, and quickly came down in a golf cart. The resort had been destroyed by Irma and Maria, but they were working to renovate and restore things. He gave us a ride around the resort, which was still seriously damaged. The guy said they hoped to have it up and running in

several months.

Our last anchorage was at Cooper Island. We went around the bend away from the main anchorage to Hallovers Bay — a stunning anchorage where we anchored with only three boats. This was a great last, somewhat secluded anchorage.

In the morning, we weighed anchor at sunrise and sailed back to Road Harbour to return the boat. We took a sidetie and the cruise was done. The Moorings checkout was very brief and easy, and we disembarked in Tortola after a fun week. We will be back.

— art hartinger

DISCOVER THE TMM DIFFERENCE

Above, left to right Claire fnds uiet time on the top deck The Baths The big dinghy worked and had just enough room for the whole crew to get around.

TMM Yacht Charters is a premier charter yacht company delivering the finest sailing experiences in the British Virgin Islands. You can expect meticulously maintained yachts and first-class customer service. Our diverse, modern fleet consists of Lagoon, Fountain Pajot and Nautitech catamarans.

Luxury Reimagined

Walking a beach where the only footprints in the sand, are your own. Enjoying a refreshing drink from an island bar only accessible by boat. Waking up each morning with the fexibility to sail anywhere you wish. These experiences redefne luxury -- and are the hallmark of any yacht charter vacation.

This year, we invite you to discover unbridled freedom and authentic travel experiences with The Moorings. Unforgettable moments await.

CHANGES

With reports this month on Shindig's long "pit" stop; the final installment of Taliesin Rose's guide to off-the-beaten-track destinations for post-Ha-Ha southbounders; a fun look at what some 2022 contributors are currently up to in our annual Where Are They Now? feature — and a seabag full of Cruise Notes

Shindig — Oyster 485 Rob and Nancy Novak Return to Paradise Sausalito

Many of our non-sailing friends think of the sailing lifestyle as an endless cycle of cocktails and sunsets. I try to explain that those "social media" moments can happen, but that there's lots of hard work, knowledge and commitment required in between. Or as many cruisers describe the lifestyle: "fixing boats in exotic places."

We've certainly done our share of that. We've been seasonal cruisers for more than 10 years. We left San Francisco Bay in fall 2012, heading south to Mexico with the annual Baja Ha-Ha sailing rally.

A decade later, we've put 12,000 nautical miles under the keel through Mexico, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and Tonga, arriving in Fiji in 2019. We put the boat in a "cyclone pit" at Vuda Marina — a safe and secure way to store a boat in this cyclone-rich area of the Pacific. The boat is placed in a narrow trench dug to fit the hull, supported by truck tires and lashed to the ground. Then, as we have done since the beginning, we returned home

for the winter. The plan was to return in six months.

Then the pandemic happened and Fiji, along with most other countries, closed their borders. Fiji only reopened the country to travelers in December 2021. Armed with eight checked bags filled with supplies, boat parts, and water sports equipment, we finally returned to our boat in May 2022 — 30 months after we had left.

It took more than three weeks of hard labor to revive Shindig. Every boat system needed evaluating, maintaining or fixing. Although we had arranged for a boat maintenance person to periodically check the boat, two-and-a-half years of neglect was apparent. Several electronic systems were kaput, water tanks had mold, and every surface of the interior of the boat needed deep cleaning. I did 33 loads of laundry in the nearby hotel where we stayed during this time. After 25 days of hard labor, Shindig, with new batteries, fresh bottom paint and full provisions, was ready to sail away.

Now that the hard work was done, it was time to catch up on our own delayed cruising itinerary.

There are more than 330 islands in Fiji, and we're just starting to explore them. The country is known for its amazing soft and hard coral reefs, dramatic surf spots, and friendly locals. It's easy to be mesmerized by the beautiful changes in water colors, from dark blue to light bluegreen, with sunlight sparkling over the ripples.

But around the reefs, these breathtaking scenes belie the navigational challenges. There are many dangerous reefs in the Fijian islands, and a sudden decrease in water depth, especially when unexpected, can mean disaster for sailing vessels. For navigating these waters, we use a combination of electronic charts, Google Maps, downloaded journals from other cruisers, and the most basic approach for navigation, the GOAL system — "Go Out and Look!”

Many of the remote islands are only accessible by boat or perhaps weekly ferries with occasional supplies. In the very remote islands, visitors are invited to participate in a customary ceremony called sevusevu. This involves meeting with the village chief to request approval to visit the island and nearby anchorages. The Fijian

drink of kava, which is made from the powder of a local root, is mixed and shared with everyone in the group. It can numb your lips and, for some drinkers, imparts a relaxed feeling. The Fijians consider this ritual an important part of welcoming visitors. For the visitors, it provides sailors a glimpse into village life in Fiji.

After several years with very few tourists, the local Fijian economy has just

SHINDIG

Rob and Nancy confrm that absence does make the heart grow fonder.

This fre dancer put on a show at the Nanuya Island Resort in Fiji.

SHINDIG

restarted. The people are extremely friendly and it is very apparent that they are happy to see their main industry of tourism starting up again.

One of the most endearing parts of the Fijian culture is the strength of their word Bula. Handily, it's a universal word used for greetings, goodbyes, thank yous, and all expressions of joy. It's commonly shouted out, even from random people passing by on the streets. This word, and the "proper" word for thank you, vinaka, go a long way, with a smile, to begin friendships.

Fijians have an uncanny way of

IN LATITUDES

button, it was humbling to be sitting cross-legged with the village chief while receiving his permission to visit his community. These opportunities to meet friendly local people and share their ways continue to reinforce our appreciation for the sailing lifestyle.

The first season cruising in Fiji also resulted in many new cruising friendships. Perhaps not too surprisingly, most of the boats we encountered were from New Zealand. As we discovered some beautiful, unique areas to kitesurf and foil, we were often surrounded by like-minded Kiwi sailors, many of whom returned year after year to enjoy the islands. We also made fast friends with an Israeli couple and a few Aussies, and even reunited with Bay Area sailors who had spent the whole quarantine in New Zealand before continuing on to Fiji.

We enjoyed our introduction to Fiji so much that we have once again left Shindig in a cyclone pit at the same marina. And we're hoping this time that we can stick to that six-month timetable to return for more cruising in these beautifully remote waters this summer.

— Nancy 1/24/23

Editor's Note: This was not the first delay the Novaks have experienced in their cruising schedule. In 2019, a motorbike accident in Moorea saw Nancy being evacuated back to the States, and Rob and crew getting Shindig from French Polynesia through the Cook Islands and Tonga and on to Fiji. You can read more about that adventure in the January, 2020 Changes.

Taliesin Rose — Bavaria 46E Fennell Family

The Route Less T raveled (Part 7 — Panama)

Port Townsend

remembering your name. Even while we were meeting a dozen new faces a day, each one of the Fijians would call us by our first names after just one encounter. When I asked a young woman how they could remember every name, she replied simply, "We are in a very remote place in the middle of the ocean. We may never leave our homes to visit other places. So we're very happy that you want to come and visit us."

We've been touched time and again by the hospitality and generosity of the locals. After coming from a society where everything is possible with a click of a

Auntie Jade came to visit for Thanksgiving and we took the opportunity to rent a car and visit distant cousins at their off-grid retreat in the jungle on the Azuero Peninsula. Living off-grid in Panama is a lot like living on a boat. We stocked up the coolers with food and beverage and spent the long weekend cooking together, napping in the hammocks, playing in the pool, and enjoying each other's company.

We'd made very good friends with an expat family that lived near the marina, and together with Jade, we all got aboard Taliesin Rose and headed out for a week of cruising the Las Perlas archipelago. We had a total of six adults, four kids and one geriatric cat aboard — people sleeping everywhere — and it was a total blast.

We visited Survivor Island (known

ALL PHOTOS SHINDIG

Above 'Shindig' in Bora Bora. Left In the pit at uda Marina. Top left Nancy shops for fresh veggies at the market in iti Levu. Top center 'Shindig' right, with dinghy shares the Blue Lagoon area of the asawa Islands with mostly iwi cruising boats the consistent trade winds make this area popular for kiteboarding, foiling and other water sports. Top right Rob fxing the boat in an exotic place.

CHANGES

locally as Chapera), where the reality TV show was filmed at one time. In a very small-world moment, the only other boat in the anchorage looked very familiar. We took the dinghy by to say hello and it was former commodore of the Richmond Yacht Club Torben Benson and his lovely wife Judy, whom we had known for years from racing together in the Moore 24 fleet! We all sailed over to Contadora Island, took a walking tour, and met for dinner at Hotel Mar y Oro.

After dropping off our extra crew, we explored more of the beautiful islands of Las Perlas. We had a cove entirely to ourselves at Isla Bayoneta, where we went paddleboarding and climbed coconut trees. In Bahia San Telmo, we took a dinghy trip up the river and went to explore the wreckage of a submarine used for collecting pearls in the 1800s. And we explored a sea cave and howled at the full moon rising at Isla San Jose. We could have spent many seasons in the hundreds of islands of the Las Perlas, but Taliesin Rose was in desperate need of new bottom paint, so it was off to the boatyard.

We needed a travel lift to haul out, so we chose Flamenco Marina and Boatyard on the Amador Causeway in Panama City, near the entrance of the Panama Canal. The Amador Causeway is a wonderful area away from the bustle of the city, with lots of restaurants, parks and a long paved walkway where families and

couples come to enjoy strolling or riding scooters and bikes. There are these hilarious four-person covered buggy/bikes to rent, and it was a delight to watch families and friends trying to work together to make them go in the right direction.

Also on the Causeway is the Biodiversity Museum and Gardens. It was amazing to learn about the history of the flora and fauna of Panama and the surrounding areas from the time before North and South America were connected; about the migration of prehistoric animals after the land bridge formed at Panama; and about the astounding diversity of the plants and animals in the Panamanian jungles in the present day.

Another educational excursion was the Punta Culebra Nature Center, with exhibits of live insects, fish and animals, including a resident wild sloth who uses the telephone lines between buildings to go between patches of forest every morning and night.

Amador Causeway is close to the Casco Viejo, and we spent a number of days discovering the treasures of this thriving neighborhood of restored colonial buildings — reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans, with colorful, balconied two- and three-story buildings lining cobbled streets. The "Old Quarter" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is five walkable blocks chock full of restaurants, plazas, churches, museums, artisan markets, the Presidential Palace, and the National theater. Almost all of the buildings are historical and many have been lovingly restored, preserving the original colorful tile work, open balconies and grand stairways.

Casco Viejo is also the gastronomic center of Panama City and is home to restaurants featuring cuisine from all around the globe. From organic and vegan to world-class sushi, artisan chocolate and Geisha coffee, there is something for everyone. Casco is also famous for its bars. Moody whiskey bars and cocktail bars, low-lit and brick-walled breweries, and especially the rooftop bars. The architecture and history of Casco Viejo may be old but the scene and the people who inhabit it are anything but.

No visit to Panama City is complete without a trip to see the engineering marvel that is the Panama Canal, especially for mariners. The museum at Miraflores Locks is an informative and interactive experience that details the history and engineering that went into the building of one of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the World." One cannot help feeling the Canal is the midpoint of the maritime world, where ships from all over the world

meet and pass through the locks and Gatun Lake on their ways to get where they're going.

And it feels like the center of the cruising world, as well. Most cruisers going through the Canal have sailed thousands of ocean miles to get there, and have plans to sail thousands more — sailors from at least four continents all meeting in one place, trading stories and advice, making connections and friendships that will span the globe.

The Panama Canal is also a clear demarcation point, where one has to make concrete decisions on which direction to go. We had planned to go west to the South Pacific. As it turned out, it was the beginning of the end our adventure cruising full-time. We finished our work in the

Rowan, ikki, Lucy top and Emmy are commuter cruising these days.

TALIESIN ROSE

Who needs trees This sloth does his daily rounds via telephone lines.

TALIESIN ROSE

167044989/© SOLARSYS13/DREAMSTIME.COM

boatyard in January 2020, just as rumors of a new virus were being reported, and before we knew it, the world had shut down. We fared better than many because we were able to get back to Nicaragua and then Mexico (both countries allowed relative freedom of movement as long as we were respectful of rules), and we spent the first six months of the pandemic social distancing in essentially the same way we had been for the last three years: an unexpected gift of peace in a time of global turmoil.

Panama left me with one indelible memory in particular that was easily a

lifetime highlight and will forever be a treasured memory. We checked out of the country in Panama City and sailed northwest up the coast. One afternoon on a multi-day passage, I came up on deck for my watch. Rowan and the girls were all in the cockpit. As I took my first scan of the horizon, I saw two huge black fins sticking out of the water and heading straight for us. I quickly ran with the girls to the rail of the boat as a mother and baby orca swam directly to us, and just as they were diving under the keel, the mother turned on her side and looked me right in the eye. And then they were

gone. It still gives me shivers just thinking of all the things that had to align for that moment to occur. And for me that is cruising in a nutshell. Great amounts of effort, resources, and time; quite a lot of luck and privilege; stars and weather aligning at just the right times; and an open-mindedness to see the beauty of the wild places off the beaten path — to experience things that most never will. I hope our sharing the treasures we found along the way inspires others to keep a lookout for the hidden gems on their next adventure.

Signing of f for now.

— Vikki 1/4/23

Readers: This concludes Vikki's series about off-the-beaten-track cruising destinations between Mexico and Panama. We hope it has inspired at least a few current southbounders to check out some of these lesser-known stops — or discover a few of their own. Our hearty thanks to Vikki and the Fennell family for sharing their experiences. (If you missed one or more of these installments, you can review the series, which started in Changes in September last year, by logging onto www.latitude38. com and searching back issues.)

As mentioned, since these adventures, Rowan, Vikki and the girls — Lucy is now 12 and Emmy 10 — have become commuter cruisers. Currently based out of Port Townsend, Mom and Pop are back to landbound jobs — Rowan works as a captain and instructor at the Northwest Maritime Center, and Vikki is back teaching kindergarten. (The girls are both playing basketball and enjoying "real" school.) Late last year, the family returned to Taliesin Rose in Puerto Peñasco for another season of visiting old haunts and exploring new ones. Come spring, they'll fly home to Washington, where they are active racers in the local Moore 24 and Thunderbird fleets sailing the Salish Sea. Taliesin Rose will summer over in Guaymas.

Where Are They Now?

As much as possible, we try to keep up with contributors through the year(s) to see where they are now and what they're up to. Here's a catch-up with some of the boats and folks who were featured on these pages in 2022.

cruising adventures during COVID was bittersweet, but time was marching on, and part of our greater five-year plan was to settle down and start a family," writes

Tom Bosche

of the

Islander

36 Absolute. "So Katie and I spent a few months readjusting to land before deciding on our next steps, i.e., jobs and all of the other minutiae of life ashore that seemed so

Above 'Taliesin Rose' underway. Top left Whether you're transiting or not, a visit to the Panama Canal is not to be missed. Center isiting the remains of an American-built pearl-harvesting submarine at Isla San Telmo. Bottom The only thing more fun than a kid boat is getting together with other kid boats.

bothersome while at sea. Ultimately, we decided we had to come back to San Diego for any number of reasons, but deep down the sailing here was my main motivator. If we were to get back to work, we would need some wind in our sails and salt spray on our dodger whenever a free moment allowed.

"And it's worked out quite well so far! I'm back working in the cycling industry full-time, Katie is running her own child care business, and we have been racing whenever we can make the time. Earlier this year, we had Absolute trucked from Peñasco to Ensenada, where I re-rigged her before finally splashing and sailing her north past the San Diego buoy for the first time since November 2019.

"Closing out that adventure was an emotional moment, for sure, but it was far from our last. In September, we welcomed our first child, a sweet baby girl, into this world, and happier parents we could not be! She's challenged us in ways neither of us could have expected, all the while exuding an adorableness at levels I didn't think possible. I'm also happy to report at the time of writing she has logged nearly 80nm under her onesie, and she really does love having the wind in her little tuft of hair.

"The plan for now is to enjoy parenthood and our careers, while spending as much time as baby will allow refitting, upgrading and sailing our sweet Islander. We hope to do some offshore racing starting next year, so if you see us out there or on AIS, feel free to give us a hail!"

Sean Kolk and Kate Schnippering left Petrichor, their Oakland-based Catalina 36, on the hard at Marina Puerto Escondido last February — and decided to sail the rest of the year on OPBs (other people's boats).

Kate logged over 12,000 miles last summer, including two transatlantic crossings, aboard the 77-ft Tony

Castro-designed aluminum schooner Vinson of Antarctica (famously skippered on some high-latitude voyages by Skip Novak). The first was from Cape Horn to Cape Town (using only celestial navigation); then back again from Cape Town to the Falklands. In between, she spontaneously joined a passage with the Annapolis-based offshore sailing group 59 North, from the Shetland Islands to Tromsø, Norway. She's now working toward her RYA Yachtmaster Offshore with Ocean certs.

Sean headed for war mer latitudes, landing in Seattle. He took part in the Duck Dodge race on Tuesdays with other San Francisco transplants, and was introduced to sundry sailors from all over the Seattle area. He then sailed with the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club on Friday nights in their summer series, the Corinthian Yacht Club's fundraiser events, and out into the Salish Sea with PNW cruisers. Sean is practicing for northern sailing

Sean and ate are back aboard 'Petrichor' after taking some time off to sail OPBs.

goals, which might involve racing and community building.

Together again at this writing, Sean, Kate and Petrichor are back sailing the Sea of Cortez — after a bit of spiffing up that included pumping out a bilge full of hurricane water, reglassing the boat's "Catalina smile" (the hull/keel joint) and applying fresh bottom paint. You can follow Sean and Kate on Instagram at @S.A.Kolk and @kschnipp

to get Ellie from San Francisco to the Pacific Northwest," writes Tom Dilworth of the exquisitely restored and upgraded 1967 Ericson 30 featured in our June issue. "The plan was to go alone, as I wanted the freedom to travel only when the weather was right. My wife Barbara, who has sailed many thousands of miles with me, told me, 'When you get up to the PNW where there are no swells, I'll join you.' That was a smart decision, as the trip north was, in two words, cold and foggy.

"I left the Bay on June 1, and spent the first night fogbound in Drake's Bay. From there, it was Bodega, Fort Bragg, Eureka, Crescent City, and about six or seven harbors in Oregon. They were all very interesting and I met some really intrepid Oregon sailors. My folding bike was a real plus, opening up a whole new world of freedom and adventure wherever I stopped.

"But as I said, fog was a persistent problem. Back in 1976, Barbara and I sailed from British Columbia home to San Diego on our honeymoon cruise, and I remember being in fog off the Oregon coast where we weren't able to get celestial noon sights for several days. We literally didn't know within 50 miles where we were!

"It's so dif ferent today with AIS, chartplotters, and radar. So even when I woke up in the morning at my first stop at Drake's Bay, still in pea soup fog, I decided to go for it, something I wouldn't have dared to do in the old days. There ended up being a lot of that — navigating up the coast with marginal visibility. The instruments were my eyes.

"The Norther n California and Oregon harbors are mostly river mouths with bars. They were intimidating at first, but I quickly got the hang of them: you never enter or leave on an ebb tide. Once, leaving Coos Bay with no wind and minimal ocean swells in a full ebb, I broke that rule just to see what would happen. Ellie was doing 9½ knots out the channel and buried her bow multiple times. I can only imagine what it would be like in seriously adverse conditions.

"I only did two over nights in the entire

PHOTOS PETRICHOR

New parents Tom and atie have ended one chapter and started another.

ABSOLUTE

trip. The first was from Coos Bay to Newport, Oregon — sailing downwind in a southerly with a reefed main and preventer, plus a poled-out genoa. About midnight, an unforecast 'weather event' overtook Ellie, complete with heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. I dropped the main in the lazy jacks and rolled in most of the genoa. The boat was under control, but it was unnerving to say the least. People on shore talked about it when I got in. The other overnighter was from Astoria to Neah Bay, Washington — also in a southerly — and I was able to sail the entire way. That was the beauty of having plenty of time on a trip like this.

"After 'no more swells', my wife joined me for a few weeks cruisng in the San Juan Islands. Ellie is currently on the hard in Bellingham. Next summer: BC and Alaska."

Whirlwind crew — Maurisa and Michael Descheemacker and kids Russel and Josea — are back in Guaymas, "in the boatyard whence we came almost exactly a year ago,” says Maurisa. "We rented a small apartment in town while Whirlwind gets some hard-earned love and attention." So far, they've painted the topsides of the Seattle-based Alajuela 38, redone the nonskid, repaired the rudder, installed AIS, and gone through all the boat's systems replacing broken clamps, cracked hoses, and worn-out pump impellers. Next on the docket was replacing

IN LATITUDES

"Our kids, now 9 and 12, have grown again, so we decided to upsize again. We found our current boat back in Mexico. So Arrow is currently for sale in Vista Mar, Panama. She awaits her next set of sailors, poised for adventure a short daysail from the Las Perlas Islands."

San Lucas last November, we motored Fairwyn up to Marina Costa Baja in La Paz for Thanksgiving and Christmas," write Rick and Gayle Leland of their 1957 S&S 42 yawl — possibly the oldest and most well-traveled cruising boat currently out there. (In the April issue, we revisited a bit of her history, including a 15-year, 50,000-mile voyage under her previous owners.) "Since the boat sleeps four at most we rented a house for Thanksgiving for our extended family

"In January we sailed to the mainland

the standing rigging and installing additional solar panels. After that, it's south "to Panama to sell our much-loved Carter 37, Arrow."

Wait — what? Another boat?! How does that happen?

"Our boats seem to shrink!” Maurisa explains. "In 2013, we were a budding family of four with a newborn and a 2½-year-old enjoying our time on the water in a Compac 19. That soon became too small, and within the year we upsized to Arrow. In 2018, we sailed the boat to Mexico. Over the next three years, we gunkholed to the top of the Sea of Cortez, then south through Central America to Panama.

at Topolobampo (love to say that name) and boarded the Copper Canyon train at Fuerte, birthplace of Zorro! February found Fairwyn in the very clean and modern marina at Puerto Escondido, near colonial Loreto, where we commutercruised the many islands and anchorages within a week's cruise from there.

In May, we worked back down to Cabo for a planned bash back up to San Diego. PredictWind and our advisors at the helpful Commanders' Weather in New Hampshire indicated adverse conditions for rounding Cabo Falso through early June, so I left Fairwyn and flew home to wait for weather. The long hoped-for lighter breezes arrived as predicted, and we took off June 10. Two hours of rough wind and waves around Cabo Falso, one day of bumpy seas, then two days of glassflat ocean and we arrived in Turtle Bay — burning fuel the whole way but otherwise pleasant. With many other boats, we

Thanks to Tom's long and meticulous restoration updates, 'Ellie' looks better now than when she rolled out of Ericson's shop in .

Left 'Whirlwind' getting prepped for more cruising. Below The escheemacker family will soon head south to sell their other boat.

PHOTOS WHIRLWIND

PHOTOS ELLIE

JANIE NOON

'Fairwyn' glides past the carrier 'USS Abraham Lincoln' in San iego.

CHANGES

waited three days in Turtle Bay for more good weather. When it arrived, we took off, motoring through a day of adverse 15-kt winds, then enjoyed another two days of calm. We spent a night in Ensenada to watch the Warriors game and check out of Mexico, then on to San Diego, arriving Friday afternoon just in time to participate in the Koehler Kraft Wooden Boat Festival.

Since arriving in San Diego, we gave some love to the boat's sun-damaged finishes, dabbled in the local races for oldlady boats (don't ask about the finishes) and enjoyed a week's cruise to Catalina. Our plan is to enjoy Southern California for a year and head back to Mexico with the 2024 Baja Ha-Ha.

— Look for more 'Where Are They Now' stories next month.

Cruise Notes

Hola from Bahia de Banderas!" write Lance and Sherri Benedict (and Maybel the dog) of the Washington-based Seawind 1260 cat Queso Grande II. "We've really enjoyed the Sea of Cortez since completing the Ha-Ha. We went as far north as Caleta San Juanico (north of Loreto) with many stops along the way and discovered our new favorite bird, none other than the blue-footed booby!"

From there, they crossed the Sea over to Topolobampo and took the popular El Chepe Express train to Copper Canyon. As fascinating as the scenery was, interacting with the indigenous Raramuri and Tarahumara people of the area was better. "The entire inland experience has been the highlight of our journey so far," notes Lance.

During their 31-hour passage to

Mazatlán, they had numerous whale encounters — including "a couple of waytoo-close encounters" (everyone safe, including the whales). They particularly enjoyed a luxurious two-week stay in Marina El Cid and all Mazatlán had to offer, especially the many delightful old-town restaurants ("Topolo stands out!” notes Lance). After a couple of months in Banderas Bay, Queso Grande and crew will continue south to Costa Rica and Panama for hurricane season. "We hope to see and reconnect with other Ha-Ha boats along the way. Reach out if you see us out there! Queso Grande II, out!"

started, sliding into our Channel Islands Harbor homeport Friday afternoon, December 31, about 24 hours ahead of strong gales that would sweep the West Coast, and several weeks of atmospheric rivers and flooding that would follow," writes Mark LaFevers of Silver Linings, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2 that was our "cover girl" for the December issue. "After 65 days, 2,400 miles and dovetailing 17 different crew on various legs of our third 'Ha-Ha and beyond' adventure,

to Explore

QUESO GRANDE II

Lance and Sherri have been having a whale of a time since the Ha-Ha.

Rick and Gayle are the latest owners of the well-traveled wooden classic, 'Fairwyn'.

FAIRWYN

I'm still decompressing as January ends." Look for a more detailed feature by Mark about the nine-week cruise, as well as his firsthand experiences with Starlink and using a FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed) camera that displays high

definition black-and-white images to the chartplotter of what's directly in front of you, even in pitch-black, moonless conditions.

lina 42 Felicita out of San Diego have been at the cruising life for three months, and like everyone else, says Gretchen, "We got some things right, some things wrong, and have been totally surprised.

"Annoyingly, we missed the fact

that in the winter, Northers rip down the Sea of Cortez regularly, making La Paz cold and the anchorage uncomfortable. In hindsight, we would have left Cabo straight for Puerto Vallarta, then back into the Sea later in the season."

Happily, every major refit project they did proved useful. In particular, "We're loving our mesh enclosure screens — no bugs — and our upgrade to a higher capacity watermaker. Hello, 32 gallons an hour!"

The biggest surprise was how much they enjoy cruising with a buddy boat. "We met Salt Whistle on the Baja Ha-Ha and are finding great pleasure and comfort in learning the cruising ropes with another couple also new to this lifestyle."

Tim and Gretchen seated with buddy boaters awn and Rob of 'Salt Whistle'.

Above 'Silver Linings' southbound last year. Inset Mark center with four generations of the LaFevers family, including Mom, Nysa, sons Conner and Adam on left and right ends , grandson Connor, and Conner's mom, Ashley.

PHOTOS SILVER LININGS FELICITA

CHANGES IN LATITUDES

pandemic boat to be sure," says Bill, "but the idea was years in the making. Having experienced a number of offshore races, I wanted to try a passage in cruising mode. The Baja Ha-Ha seemed ready made for a first cruise.

Outrun spent a couple of months in La Cruz boatyard getting a new bottom and having other work done, while Shane Engelman and Karina Durand have been enjoying La Paz and Banderas Bay. The boat was due to splash down again in February, when Shane will do a bit more fine tuning before they take off for the Marquesas with the Puddle Jump later in March.

San Diego-based Sequester, a 2005 Beneteau 423, in October 2020. "A

"We bought the boat in San Francisco, took it to San Diego, and began the process of making it truly seaworthy for a long offshore passage through foreign waters. Engine refresh, standing rigging, offshore life raft, watermaker, satellite communications, dinghy and motor, pole and spinnaker were all added incrementally. A new autopilot turned into 'new everything electronic.'

"But, after we got to Cabo, we just weren't ready to turn around and head home. The sail from Cabo to PV was epic: 10-15 knots of wind on a reach — just like the pictures in the brochure!

"What a great winter we've had! Sailing

across Banderas Bay to visit new places like Yelapa; whale-watching pretty much every time out on the water; beer can races; new restaraunts and music and arts and markets. The people in the marina have been fantastic and the boat has never looked better, thanks to the willing services of one Jose who watches over the boat like it's his. I just can't seem to say no when Jose sees another thing that needs to be fixed, polished, cleaned or sanded!

"Winter is coming to an end. After the Banderas Bay Regatta in March, it will be a bash back north. We've scheduled three weeks for the trip so we can take our time and wait for good weather windows. We haven't even scratched the surface here in Mexico. We're just going to have to come back again."

SEAQUESTER

arina and Shane at Hidden Beach in Banderas Bay. Right 'Outrun' in the slings at La Cru .

Bill and Cheryl are eager to return to Mexico and they haven't even left yet

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DINGHIES, LIFERAFTS & ROWBOATS

The 18-ft 10-in ‘Helen Mae’ is handmade with eight kinds of wood, fiberglass, epoxy, lots of varnish. Four-oz. tanbark sails, oars, outboard motor mount (motor not included) and custom trailer. $10,000 Sebastopol, CA jerrykermode@gmail.com (707) 824-9893 www.tinyurl.com/3vkdcfh2

O’Day Day

Sailer. Multiple sets of sails. All the racing upgrades. Water Rat rudder. Dry-sailed in freshwater mostly at Huntington Lake, CA. $3,500 OBO Fresno, CA ken@tkcencal.com (559) 647-4451

24 FEET & UNDER SAILBOATS

#1479 with galvanized trailer. In sailable condition but needs some TLC. Trailer in excellent condition. Photos available on request. Will donate to 501(c) org. $1,050 OBO jtemrich@gmail.com

Clean daysailer. New 6hp motor. Three-year-old sails. Complete with trailer and lifting bridle. $3,000 Bodega Bay lritchey49@aol.com (408) 781-0253

Gaff-rigged sloop, strip plank Atlantic white cedar and steam bent oak frames. Bronze fastened. Built by internationally recognized violin builder, Scott Hershey. $15,000 San Diego scarpy47@gmail.com (619) 694-7696

Lyle Hess design, seaworthy rare sloop. LOA 23-ft, LWL 21-ft 10-in, beam 8-ft, draft 2-ft 8-in. Lapstrake hull, dual-axle trailer, 8hp outboard recently overhauled. Lots of sails. Good headroom. Various improvements. Downsized to smaller boat. $6,000 Phoenix, AZ (602) 938-0711

Brandn ew. Epoxy/wood construction. Arch Davis design. Includes trailer, sail, cover & oars. $10,000 OBO Carpinteria carpdory@gmail.com (720) 250-8060

With trailer, 5hp Tohatsu outboard, 3 sets of sails including spinnaker, spinnaker pole, whisker pole, anchor, and more. Standing rigging replaced last year. This boat sails regularly and is actively raced in the Bay. $2,000 obo Point Richmond redsmoothwater@hotmail.com (415) 271-3853

Rare West Coast Typhoon Weekender. Classic lines, great singlehander, ready to sail. Structurally solid, intact trim. New main, good jib-genoa, anchors, 250 ft chain/rode, low hrs Lehr 2.5hp short shaft, working trailer, plus gear. $7,000 Bodega Bay, CA johnjmack1@gmail.com (216) 501-3529

Hull #1109. Excellent shape. 2017 Triad trailer with spare tire. 2.3 Honda. (3) suits of North Sails. Crosssheeting cam cleats. New companion cover. Harken boat cover. J/70 spinnaker launch bag. Welded aluminum mast bunk. J/70 Third Hands with Keepers. Fresh water boat. $37,000 Sandpoint, ID rimar@turbonet.com (208) 290-6544

Latitude

Classy Classifieds

25

28 FEET SAILBOATS

“Everyday” is a short-masted pocket cruiser sailboat especially rigged for S.F. Bay, in reasonable condition with manual winches, jib and main furling systems, lines run aft. Older sails need replacement. Teak interior with V berth, aft side berth, fold-down center berth, galley and enclosed head. Needs TLC. Richardson Bay Marina (415) 328-3710. gkminder@comcast.net

#120, built locally from fiberglass at Svendsen’s in 2004. It’s race-ready with two sets of sails, dated 2018 and 2022. See more at website and join the best fleet on the Bay! $24,500 OBO San Francisco Marina cjlars@gmail.com (207) 317-0252 www. tinyurl.com/3ujv5dx9

PHRF racer and comfortable cruiser. Interior and exterior maintained in excellent condition by meticulous owner. Yanmar 1gm10 diesel with very low hrs. Garmin chartplotter, Raymarine VHF radio, emergency beacon and many other items. $10,000 Alameda Jnovie@aol.com (415) 271-3441

‘Fastlane’ sailed mostly at Huntington Lake, CA. Multiple High Sierra regatta champion. New Ullman Dacron main, used twice. Doyle spinnaker and genoa. Multiple other sails. Boat in good condition with trailer. $12,000 Fresno, CA ken@tkcencal.com

29 – 31 FEET SAILBOATS

‘Ohana’ has been raced and cruised since 1993. She currently has a Dacron racing main in great condition and a 150 genoa by Ullman that is raceable. She has 3 serviceable spinnakers and a 100% jib. Boat maintenance is all in great condition. The 4-stroke 4hp Yamaha outboard has just had its fuel system rebuilt and is running nicely. Garmin instruments include two GMI20 displays with depth, speed, water temperature and GPS inputs. The double-axle trailer with electric brakes is set up for ramp launch and recovery. See photos at website. $14,000 billsohana@comcast.net (541) 760-5467 www.tinyurl.com/mpder2m6

Perfect Bay boat. Beautiful, well maintained, turnkey. Feb 2023 bottom job and full engine service. Yanmar 2GM diesel. Wheel steering. Midboat Garhauer traveler, Garhauer solid vang, Lewmar self-tailing winches. Sleeps

4. Red hull. Owned 14 years but leaving Bay. $20,000 Firm Jack London Square sahealey@comcast.net (925) 323-7693

Way up here in Lake County. About 90% restored, ready to splash, but needs finishing, i.e., electrical, head, and stove (that kind of stuff). More pics on request. Did I say I keep the trailer? That’s the deal: Use it to transport, and I retain the trailer. $12,000 Kelseyville, CA stagestop@saber.net (707) 391-8542

November 2020

bottom and survey. 2000 new electrical system/control panel. 2013 installed Yanmar 2GM20F diesel motor. Two self-tailing winches. Was in Pittsburg till this past spring. Needs haulout again in November 2023. $12,500 Marina Village, Alameda f.j.marshall@sbcglobal.net (925) 260-6429

‘Legacy’ is a beauiful racing boat, and so is ‘Encore’. Want to own a pair of dueling pistols? Check out Wooden Boat issue 12 for all the details. Recent survey out of water. Send an email and I will forward it to you. $20,000 Treasure Island, CA sha32015@outlook.com (925) 219-2279

Well-maintained race boat. Has won more races than it has lost. New racing instruments: wind, speed etc. 10hp Farymann diesel engine. Fully reinforced reverse-turn strengthening members. 3 jibs, 2 spinnakers. Full Delta cockpit awning/dodger. 8ft Avon w/8hp Mercury. Best race record over the last 20 years on the Oakland Estuary. $12,000 OBO. Alameda marinesurveyor32@att.net (510) 769-6753

32 – 35 FEET SAILBOATS

Bird Boat 1932 . Aldendesigned #22. Many recent updates, including major restoration 2001 and 2022. Call for recent survey, details and pics. $17,500 Sausalito pjpillsbury@icloud.com (415) 444-6180

Lightly used, always fresh water, wing keel, very clean. Low engine hours. New full batten Ullman mainsail with Dutchman, bottom job and house batteries in 2021. Whisker pole, bimini and dodger. Full winter cover. $65,000 Obexer’s, West Shore Lake Tahoe jaykniep@cs.com (530) 906-0300

Two mains — Doyle Dacron, one never used. Foil track headstay. #1 Pineapple carbon, #3 Pineapple carbon. Symmetrical spinnaker in great condition, and other sails. Six-hp Tohatsu recently serviced. Bottom job Micron 2019. New sail cover. Clean interior. Recently varnished deck teak and tiller. Garmin GPS, VHF/stereo. CA registration up to date. Must sell. $10,000 OBO San Francisco, CA tlarocca@gmail.com (347) 406-4238

One owner. Furling jib, StackPack main, self-tailing winches, wheel steering, Yanmar diesel. Sleeps five. Head w/shower, galley sink, gas stove. Solar panel, autopilot, GPS, VHF. Six opening ports. Dinghy davits, inflatable dinghy, Honda outboard. Danforth anchor 200 ft rode, mooring line, docking lines, fenders, life jackets, full winter cover. Dishes, flatware, sheets, towels, tools, spares. Right price for someone who would love her. Email for details.

$19,000 Lake Tahoe bksalesrep@gmail. com (443) 838-5370

VESSEL MOVING

No ocean too big, no trip too small, no ship too large, no mast too tall. Sail or power, we move them all! When you are ready give us a call. Professional Service • cappytom@aol.com • (206) 390-1596

‘En-

core’ is a beauty. Recent out-of-water survey. Check out Wooden Boat issue 12 for more build info. I would prefer that both boats go to the same buyer, but they have been apart before. By far the fastest boat I have ever sailed. Mylar main and jib, spare Mylar jib and a #3 Dacron jib. 2 spinnakers. $20,000 Treasure Island, CA sawinery2004@yahoo.com (925) 219-2279

Elegant Columbia 5.5 for sale. Uniquely set up for daysailing doublehanded, with numerous features not found on any 5.5. Email me for details. $8,500 Alameda us28195@yahoo.com (415) 370-2822

‘Tooloco’ previously ‘Ripple’ sistership to ‘Terramoto’ is available. ‘Tooloco’ is a 35-ft ultralight water- ballasted planing machine designed by Paul Bieker, with a 40:1 sail area to displacement ratio. In the last 24 months she has been completely refit to include new: running and standing rigging, complete rewire with B&G 5000, new Quantum wardrobe, main, genoa, code 0 w/furler, J3, A1.5, A2, North main, A1,.J1, A2. New keel with cutter, rudder bearings, Awlgrip in/out+ nonskid, all deck hardware, clutches, turning blocks, lifelines, Yanmar 20GM rebuilt. Complete list available.. Turnkey program. I have purchased interest in a RP 51 to campaign this year, so selling the 35. $150,000 San Diego, CA larry.andrews@unitvestinc.com (760) 805-2883

One of only 3 JPKs in North America, two-yr waitlist for a new one. If you know JPKs then you know! Exceptional build & design quality. JPKs routinely place at the top of every major regatta in Europe. One of the best “do everything” boats ever. Planing hull, offshore or inshore, long-distance racing or family weekend cruising: the 1080 comes with few compromises. See JPK website 1080 info: www.jpk.fr/en/gamme/jpk-1080/. More info & pictures available. $235,000 Sausalito jng7000@gmail.com (916) 719-5225 www.tinyurl.com/4a823ebk

Beautiful, strong cruising cutter Herreshoff designed, bowsprit and boomkin, cedar cold-molded hull, full lead keel, spruce spars, sails in great condition (mainsail with 3 reefs; stays’l, jib; 120% Dacron; 120% 1.5 oz. nylon; storm sail; trys’l); Aries wind vane self-steering; 10-ft fiberglass dinghy; sails beautifully; no engine; sail into and out of upwind Berkeley berth or use 16 ft oar; 4 anchors (45# 35# 25# CQR, fisherman); windlass. $39,500 Berkeley kennoble40@gmail.com (925) 786-7878

Custom-built 38-ft cutter-rigged sailboat. Sturdy, fully equipped and ready for your next adventure. Cruise- /liveaboard-ready, internet equipped. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind beauty. Sunsets, dolphins, and picturesque anchorages are at your doorstep. $55,000 Sale La Paz, BCS, MX john@ingeniumbooks.com (647) 846-2611

2019 survey and refit for Mexico cruising. New electrical, solar, wind vane, windlass, 3 anchors, new opening portlights, 2017 standing rigging and lifelines, propane stove/oven, refrigeration, main, jib and genoa good condition, refurbished Westerbeke, 2022 bottom. $30,000 Owl Harbor, Delta paulasunn@gmail.com (530) 514-1584

‘Anna Salen’, with a traditional galley/dinette, 2-cabin, single-head layout and a separate V-berth and aft cabin, is perfect for families and friends, with some privacy.

‘Anna Salen’s sail plan provides good performance in most wind conditions. The Ericson 34-2 is designed by Bruce King, as a racer/cruiser, with a traditional look and interior design. They have healthy sail area:displacement:ballast ratios, a moderate fin keel, and a semi-balanced shallow spade rudder; combined, they make ‘Anna Salen’ comfortable and fast With a fiberglass hull-to-deck joint, keel-stepped mast, and lead ballast keel, ‘Anna Salen’ will address your needs for performance cruising in a classic sailboat design. $34,900 Alameda, CA t.reigelman@gmail.com (925) 683-0425

This

Bristol-condition boat is being offered with a possible liveaboard slip in the bay area. She is a comfortable fast cruiser, liveaboard, and competitive racer with a great sail inventory and many upgrades performed in the last 9 years. Twelve feet of beam and clever use of space give her an amazing and practical interior. Possible trade for a motorhome or van + or – value. $29,500 OBO San Francisco driente@aol.com (650) 714-7777 www. schocksantana35.com/

This is your dream sailboat! New dodger, handrail canvas and mainsail cover, three jibs, and spinnaker. New interior cushions, recently replaced head and stove. A BUY at $36,000. Call for details. $36,000 South Beach Harbor naylorken@comcast.net (408) 446-1160

36 – 39 FEET SAILBOATS

The

Great coastal cruiser. New gelcoat – decks & inside. Yanmar diesel. Danforth anchor. Roller furling. VHF, AM/FM/CD stereo with Bose speakers. EZ Jacks. Onboard head. Adjustable backstay. $25,600 San Francisco South Beach Harbor cameronkane@gmail.com (415) 307-5805

A Westsail-like boat, 11-ft beam, 5.3-ft draft, 41.3-ft LOA, 20,000+lb dis, Volvo MD3B frozen — needs replacing, sails old, dodger newer, very stout boat, polyester resin/fiberglass hull, wood deck 1.5-in thick. $7,000 OBO ghenry1102@ yahoo.com (510) 501-4927

Blackwatch 37 is a predecessor of the Tartan 37 and is ready to be out on the water. She used to be a racing boat and was recently outfitted to go cruising. New in last 2 years: Autopilot, watermaker, electric toilet, windlass, anchor & rode, solar. $25,000 Tiburon ilchianti@gmail.com (916) 995-7853

Solid cruising boat with lots of great features. Photos show her in good condition, but she is a project boat to some degree. Needs work on motor and some electrical as she is an older vessel. Batteries in good shape, all new thru hull fittings. She is a proven cruising boat with a full keel, plenty of head room and storage. New standing rigging of this past year and new electrical wiring and LED lights, VHF antenna, new hot water tank. Brought overland from the East Coast so life lines, stations and bow sprit were removed and will need to be reinstalled (all are included). Stainless frames for both dodger and Bimini but no canvas. Sails and covers are in fair condition. Interior cushions are in good condition. Nice interior layout. Well suited for someone with time and a little experience to complete the projects mentioned. Priced to reflect engine and other work to be completed. $25,000 neg. Sausalito jaygrant11383@gmail.com (415) 413-6707

Dick

Carter-designed Olympic sloop. Westerbeke 50hp diesel, dual steering, 12.75-ft beam. Lines run below deck. Full standing headroom. Lewmar winches. Fast cruiser. $12,000 Oakland cattail1956@yahoo.com (510) 537-9689

‘Honu’ is for sale. Proven cruising boat with a full keel and wooden spar, plenty of headroom and storage. Worm wheel steering/seat, Perkins 4.108 50hp. A lot of new things on it since 2018: solar panels, electrical panel, batteries, inverter/charger, standing and running rigging, mainsail, EPIRB, B&G electronics, etc. A lot of spare parts and products. Teak removed in 2021, new nonskid. ‘Honu’ is on dry storage in the Cabrales Boatyard. The mast is down, and a few hardware items need to be reinstalled on the deck. SSB needs tune-up, fridge lost its coolant. Finish installing the watermaker. ‘Honu’ will bring satisfaction to its new owner.

$70,000 Puerto Penasco, Sonora, MX bbhonu@yahoo.com (510) 213-9739

Con-

dition: 9.5 of 10. Totally equipped for cruising Mexico- watermaker, solar. Super electronics, new canvas, solid sails, rocna anchor, all chain. Really clean Catalina. Marina slip included! $68,000 Marina Palmira, La Paz, MX davidjvidmar@gmail.com (541) 727-1409

Frers-

designed ketch owned by the same family since 2003. Kids are grown and grandkids are busy so time for us to move to the dark side. Nearly everything above deck and down below has been replaced or upgraded. Great boat, easy to sail with inboom furling on the main, all lines led aft to electric winches, nice cruising interior, at a great price. ‘Daring’ will take you anywhere in comfort and safety. Details of upgrades and photos at website. Serious inquiries only, please. $149,000 OBO, Broker Inquiries OK, Transferable CBYC Slip San Pedro, CA craig@novamar.net (714) 356-9816 www.dawn48.com

Proven cruiser available in PV, MX, with optional assist to first port for buyer; get to know your boat! Owner aboard now. Dependable boat, needs cosmetics, hull painting, refurbishing interior, make it to your standards. Has reliable Perkins 4-108. Sails are excellent, VHF, Garmin plotter, fishfinder, excellent power windlass, 4 anchors (Fortress FX45#, French Plow 35#, 30# Danforth), 92gal water, 72gal diesel, 30gal holding, plus Avon with 5HP Mercury outboard and more. Was hauled in Puerto Vallarta area, Feb 2023, Fiberglass spots repaired, bottom painted, new zincs, etc., returned to water. Owner onboard with clear Title. Call USA 541361-0239 ASAP for appointment. $39,000 Puerto Vallarta, MX boatstuffster@gmail. com (541) 361-0239

Great family and Bay boat. Replaced main and roller jib eight yrs ago. The stainless standing rigging was inspected five yrs ago. Fitted with autopilot and radar. Great start boat to get out on the Bay and sail.

$15,000 OBO Berkeley Marina kh.weisenberger@gmail.com

‘Nimbus’ is an excellent racing and cruising family sailboat for San Francisco Bay. Fiberglass hull and deck, varnished mahogany interior with teak and holly sole. Accommodations: Large “V” berth forward with head to port. Hanging lockers to starboard. Main salon: two settee berths, center table stows out of the way. Double quarter berth to port aft of the navigation station. Galley: Stainless steel sink, icebox, stove/oven. Mast and boom aluminum with stainless steel rigging. Manual jib furling system. Mainsail with two reefs. Jib and spinnaker. Engine: Westerbeke 38. Nimbus sits in a 40-ft slip in the West Basin of the San Francisco Marina. Slip rights available, additional cost. $20,000 West Basin, San Francisco Marina daphnej@pacbell.net (415) 385-4157

40 – 50 FEET SAILBOATS

‘Agave

Great cruiser. Outfitted for offshore. Totally self-sufficient with solar-operated watermaker and Frigoboat. Custom interior. Too much to list — get in touch for details. See YouTube at link below.

$49,900 OBO San Carlos, Sonora, MX alindyrosen@cybermesa.com (360) 7587452 www.tinyurl.com/56t6webp

Type of vessel: ketch. Estimated speed: 10 kt power, 6-8 kt sail. Built Netherlands 1980. Time of lay-up: fall 2012. Hull: length 48-ft, beam 15-ft, draft 7-ft. Frames: varied dimensional steel. Topsides single skin steel plate, 1/4 thick estimated; bottom single skin steel plate, 1/4 thick estimated; deck and bulkheads steel plate. Hull layout: V-berth, forward head, forward triple berth, settee/berth, chart station, galley, captain’s berth, engine/ machinery/maintenance room, after master bath, after head, straight inboard diesel engine auxiliary powered. New bow thruster (2010), electronics, autopilot, forward underwater sonar. Six-cyl Leyland diesel, midline, 350 gal water, 250 gal fuel. Pictures at website. $54,900 Cleveland, OH maudeij@yahoo.com.au (954) 2352527 www.guapasailboat.com

DIY Friendly Bottom Paint Packages Insured Boat Work Professionals Welcome! VallejoMarineCraft@gmail.com • 707-554-2813 • www.vallejomarinecraft.com

QUALITY MARINE SERVICES ~ ABYC accredited electrician Installations/Upgrades - Maintenance /Repairs, Selfsteering, Solar, Watermakers, aloft rigging, Vessel Management - Offshore Prep & consultation qmsboat@gmail.com • (858) 218-4718 ALAMEDA

Azul’ (hull #172 out of 173 made) is well-equipped for cruising and has been professionally maintained her entire life. She is a two-time veteran of the Baja Ha-Ha and a three-time champion of the International Banderas Bay Regatta (both spinnaker and non-spin classes). Kyocera solar, Spectra watermaker, Lewmar bow thruster, Raymarine touch screen instruments, LeisureFurl main, Achilles dinghy, Mercury outboard, 140 gal fuel capacity, Icom SSB, hard dodger, custom arch with dinghy hoist and much more. See link with all the details on her history, equipment lists, parts inventory, photos etc. Boat held in LLC. $315,000 Paradise Village Marina, Nayarit, MX agaveazulmark@gmail.com www.tinyurl.com/2d58b8h5

‘Endeavor’ is a strong, sea-kindly vessel, designed by Henk Tingen and built in Holland in 1958. Purchased 1987 and brought back from near-extinction. We had 13 years cruising about the world; maybe now it’s your turn. Fall in love with your dream boat. Lots of good kit included, can be ready to sail to Norway in 2023! Contact C. Masters for complete list. $100,000 Ipswich, Suffolk, UK svendeavor1958@gmail.com (206) 9603793

Sun Odyssey

440 fully loaded, option to continue in CN charter fleet/tax shelter. No sales tax on purchase via Assignment of LLC. Teak decks, radar, liferaft, bow thruster, EPRIB, 415hrs on 57Hp engine. $475,000 OBO Sausalito jkrensavage@gmail.com (650) 906-1713

10k PRICE DROP! PPJ veteran, ‘Mandolin’, our seaworthy home 14+ yrs. Cruising equipped, stable at sea, custom Hasse sails, meticulously maintained. Galley renovated, rebuilt shower, refinished floors, many upgrades. See boattrader link for specs & photos. $117,900 San Diego, CA loriserocki@yahoo.com www. tinyurl.com/2p8pu38k

‘Upside’ was built in Santa Cruz. She is an ocean racer/ cruiser. Masthead sloop with rod rigging. This boat is an amazing sailer: It’s very nimble and super-responsive, can do 360 almost on the spot. She is well maintained and ready for weekend club racing and longer trips to the islands today. It is a true turnkey. $61,900 San Diego, CA nadav59@gmail.com (949) 554-9841 www.tinyurl.com/4znhuu9e

Cutter

rig, New Zealand Yachts, center cockpit, aft cabin, cold molded kauri pine, Dynel cloth, Epiglass design: Jim Young N.A. Re-rigged 2018, New standing and running rigging, North main and jib, lazy jacks, Harken mechanical backstay tensioner, B&G wind and depth instrumentation, Simrad radar, Yanmar 4HJ, 50hp, ZF Trans, Fireboy auto fire extinguisher system, slipstream Aust. Feathering prop, toerails, handrails, caprail, companionway hatches, forward cabin top hatch varnished. Steering: mechanical, hydraulic. Natural gas stove/oven. New 300-ft 5/16 high-test chain, stainless plow anchor, Engel refrigeration, Lavac manual heads. $100,000 Reduced Long Beach, CA jimwaide@gmail.com (949) 838-5880

Fully

loaded in mint condition — This boat was truly loved on! She is ready to take you anywhere in the world with safety, class and style. Please call for extensive inventory list. Must see her! $425,000 Alameda, CA lrtravioli@hotmail.com (559) 269-7669

POWER & HOUSEBOATS

Designed by the renowned William Atkin for doublehanded exploration of the North Atlantic in 1928, this boat has sailed from Hong Kong to Cape Horn, Germany, France, the East Coast, Panama Canal, and West Coast. She is ready for more, with the right stewards. Her old-growth Burma teak construction on Philippine ironwood framing makes her as tough as her forebears: the Colin Archer rescue vessels of Norway. Recent haulouts have kept her bottom in good shape, and her low-hours Beta 28 diesel sips fuel and moves her right along. Her displacement, hull shape, and rig make her comfortable when other boats are not. $28,000 Must sell, make an offer Westpoint Harbor, Redwood City robert.schulke53@gmail. com (650) 245-0226

MULTIHULLS

Lovely ocean-sailing vessel. Needs TLC. Excellent deal as a fixer project. Now in Emeryville, CA. Three cabins, two baths. Complete details and photos on website. All serious offers considered. $49,000 OBO make offer Emeryville, CA gmeader@gmail.com (415) 987-3948 www.maxfx.biz

51 & OVER SAILBOATS

Modern mini-houseboat. Includes transport to your slip in the Bay Area. See Airbnb review — link below. $1,500,000 Steinberger Marina e.stancil53@gmail. com www.tinyurl.com/d7dzbbvm

CLASSIC BOATS

F25C. Extensive refurbishing of beautiful, classic, carbon-fiber, Farrier design has just been completed by Spectrum Marine. This rare gem is now offered for $32,000. Call for an appointment to view. (310) 310-4914, Los Angeles, CA. $32,000 OBO Los Angeles, CA (310) 310-4914

Extensive refit in 2000 — Lefiell mast, standing rigging, Yanmar 50hp, custom hard dodger, new fuel tanks, LP water heater, BBQ, windlass, roller furling main and jib, MPS, etc. Winner best maintained at SGYC 4 years. New house and start batteries, dinghy. See pictures info at website. Strong cruising boat and great liveaboard. Call Ron. $119,000 San Diego ron@griffinformation. com (619) 226-6071 www.tinyurl.com/ yc7r4p8m

Highperformance sailboat. Yanmar 110hp turbo diesel. All new electronics, motor 2021; receipts available. Complete solar panel, 8000W inverter. Fast boat: Cruises at 8.7 knots, capable of 25 knots. Trades considered. $55,000 OBO Puerto Peñasco, MX cabralesboatyard@gmail. com +52 (638) 112-0204 www.tinyurl. com/6jkb7e6m

Es-

cape winter! Taiwan trawler. Fiberglass hull, teak interior. Large fwd cabin. Fullsize pull-out in saloon, large galley. 125hp Ford Lehman. Autopilot, 400W solar. Well maintained by Navy veteran, USCG 500 Ton Master. Located in tax-free US Virgin Islands! $79,000 St Thomas, USVI kirktek@gmail.com (540) 353-6245

The Extreme 40 is a super-fast high-performance catamaran. Simple to maintain and affordable to run. Sailed with a crew of 4 or 5 or shorthanded with 2 she is ready to sail today and comes with an extensive inventory of sails, spare parts and a 40-ft workshop container. $69,000 Sausalito, CA kylegundersen@ gmail.com (415) 341-7787 www.tinyurl. com/yc44abx3

PRICE REDUCED:

‘HIgh Five’: Cookson-built Farr 40 / Kevlar hull. Volvo Penta 40 hp; 250 hrs on engine and saildrive. Includes multiple sails. Extremely well maintained. Call to get more details. $43,000 Morro Bay, CA goldconcept@sbcglobal.net (805) 5501118

‘Vela’ is fully outfitted for the 2023 Transpac with updated sail inventory and rigging. She has successfully competed in several offshore events including a podium finish in the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race in 2022. ‘Vela’ is turnkey and ready to fulfill your dream of sailing across the Pacific in both comfort and style. Check out her YachtWorld listing. $299,000 Cabrillo Way Marina, San Pedro, CA stevedd@pacbell. net (213) 925-7895

Low hrs

Yanmar diesel. NEW: worm drive steering, SS fuel tanks, solar panels, air head, Simrad plotter and more. Completed extensive boatyard overhaul. Master Mariner race winner, Transpac vet. $11,000 Owl Harbor sagieber@gmail.com (206) 384-1175

Light, fast cat built at Delta Marine in Seattle. Roomy, 2 full staterooms, galley up, Spectra watermaker, large spillover freezer, 10 Lewmar hatches, solar, SSB, spinnaker, Rocnas. Cruised Zihua to Peñasco last 6 seasons. $100,000 OBO Puerto Peñasco, MX svepiccat@gmail.com

PARTNERSHIPS

Seeking non-equity operational partner to join our experienced and friendly partnership. $2,000/yr. Clean and well maintained, comfortable and spacious (Lapworth) design easily accommodates 5–7 people. Moored in Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Sausalito Yacht Harbor bill.martorano@sbcglobal.net

Dehler 34, 1986, tiller, Yanmar. An established non-equity sailing partnership: $275/ month includes fuel, insurance, two preassigned weekend days, four weekdays per month. No charge for vacant days. Maintenance fee $1000/year. For details call/text. South Beach Harbor valtaft@ gmail.com (650) 670-5300

Looking for partnership on 30-50-ft sailboat, preferably East Bay. Equity and non-equity considered. Have 20+ years of experience sailing on the Bay and chartering internationally. I have partnered successfully on a 31-ft Beneteau for five years. Now I have a small sailing dog that I want to sail with me and the others are allergic. Looking for a clean boat in good condition that is sailed regularly, and responsible, nice sail partners. Berkeley ddodgesf@gmail.com

BERTHS & SLIPS

Many attractions on the Pier, clean private restrooms with showers and laundry facilities. Discounted secure parking available. $4,400 San Francisco sailingfearless@gmail.com (415) 745-2292

Gated facility. 56- to 60-ft slip for sale. 30-/50-amp service. TV + internet, swimming pool, bocce ball, barbecue, concrete docks, easy access to main channel. Incredible view of Mt. Tamalpais. $10,000 San Rafael cmbross@comcast. net (415) 716-6339

Galilee Harbor is a low-income cooperative community in a marine service harbor. Applicant must own the vessel and meet requirements for membership. Please see our website for information and to get an application. Sausalito, CA applyGHCA@ gmail.com (415) 332-8554 www.tinyurl. com/2fc24m3y

I no longer need my 36-ft slip (#B28) at Pier 39. The slip has about 10 years left. Pay XFER fee ($1,200) and it’s yours. No text, just call or email. $1,200 Pier 39 S.F., CA rwnicho@ hotmail.com (415) 648-7960

PROPERTY FOR SALE OR RENT

. Last available buildable lot in the Sanderling Island! Build your dream home and enjoy the views from this large waterfront lot with existing pilings facing an immaculate and unobstructed view of S.F. Bay! Perfectly located in quaint Point Richmond. Adjacent to Richmond Yacht Club and a short distance to local shops, fine dining, and regional parks. Easy commute to San Francisco and Marin. Protected by breakwaters; bring your powerboat/sailboat! Make it your own! $699,000 Point Richmond, Ca amparo@feagleyrealtors. com (510) 684-5312 www.tinyurl.com/ bdhshfwx

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Due

to a family move out of the area we are reluctantly selling our well-established industrial sewing business. Bullseye Canvas has been operating out of the Santa Cruz harbor since 2006. Our market is mostly in the custom manufacturing of marine covers, dodgers, biminis, enclosures and upholstery. In addition to the marine market, we also manufacture architectural covers and shade structures. 420sq.ft. harborside shop. Loyal customer base. The market demand is high and this business could easily grow by 4X to support that demand. Enjoy growing this thriving business in Santa Cruz while having the flexibility to make your own schedule. Training or apprenticeship available. $50,000 Santa Cruz paul@ bullseyecanvas.com (831) 295-3330 www.bullseyecanvas.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Like working with sailboats? Join our team! We are hiring a Senior Customer Service Representative (CSR) to provide excellent customer service to our existing members, sailing school students, and prospective members. The workday is focused on helping clients choose their path to sailing adventures. You will also help open and close the office, completing a checklist of activities, and maintaining an attractive office environment. Full-time five days a week, including one weekend day. Berkeley, CA mark@inspiresailing. com www.inspiresailing.com

Like to work on sailboats?

Inspire Sailing School is hiring a fleet service technician. Full-time, five days a week job including a weekend day each week. Prior experience working on sailboats required. Responsibilities include checking in (cleaning) and preparing boats between charters or classes; assisting instructors, students and members with troubleshooting; reporting, tracking, repairing broken items; completing preventive maintenance. Once onboard for 90 days, benefits include healthcare, free sailing lessons and discounts on saiboat charters. Berkeley, CA mark@inspiresailing.com www.inspiresailing.com

Enjoy breathtaking sunsets from this lovely 3BR, 1BA home perched above the gentle shore of Beal’s Cove, perfect for kayaking adventures, watching wildlife, and relaxing by the sea as the afternoon light floods the windows. You’ll love exploring all the islands have to offer during the day and retreating to the cottage in the evenings to catch the gorgeous pink, purple and orange hues of a Harpswell sunset. marcia@homesandharbors.com 866-835-0500 www.tinyurl.com/43475rkj

. Love to sail? Make a great living in the Pacific Northwest running a fantastic charter business! After 34 years it is time to sell our dream job. We have already done the hard work for you. Dedicated client base, beautiful website, five-star reviews. Outstanding modern 55-ft sloop with moorage. USCG Coastwise trade endorsement. Great income if you are ready to take the helm of the best job in the world! San Juan Islands, WA islandsailor600@gmail.com

CREW

I have some ocean experience, some racing experience and some Spanish. I can help with expenses, sail changes, driving, and cooking. Thanks, Michael. S.F. Bay michael.s.121@att.net (707) 354-4326

Join us for an ocean passage in 2023 andy@sailingbiz. com (707) 953-0434 www.sailingbiz.com

CLUBS & MEMBERSHIPS

Moved

Slips 30 -75 at great rates! Amenities: parking, bathrooms, laundry, pump-out, free wi-fi, keyless entry. Guest berths also available. Call for availability. 451 Seaport Court, Redwood City, CA 94063 crevay@redwoodcityport.com (650) 306-4150 www.redwoodcityport. com/marina

Dramatic waterfront Alameda 3BR/2.5 BA townhome with a private 44-ft deep-water slip attached to the property. An impressive 2,054 sq ft with multiple living spaces all designed to overlook the glistening Ballena Bay. $1,249,000 leah@leahtounger.com (510) 701-6497 www.tinyurl.com/3wdmepyu

overseas and sail in different waters now. Selling (transferring) two Passage Maker memberships to Club Nautique, single member plus additional family member. All the Club’s social, charter, and boat access benefits with sail training through Offshore Passage Making with US Sailing Certification. ($8,000 from Club) $5,500 San Francisco dfgillen@gmail.com

NANCE We are looking for a motivated individual who can join our team and assist on maintaining our beautiful marina and buildings. Hours are flexible and it can be full- or permanent part-time work. This could be ideal for a retired military person. We prefer that the individual has skills/ experience with construction, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, painting, mechanical equipment and machinery, welding, diving, etc. These are not requirements, but a willingness to learn and a strong work ethic are essential. We offer training with most of these skills. Liveaboard moorage is available in our marina at a discounted rate. If you have interest please email your résumé. Sausalito, CA mikerainey331@gmail.com

Seeking a contractor to work 20 hours as project manager for special projects related to our liveaboard community. Responsibilities include maintaining regulatory compliance with environmental agencies, documenting annual income reports, providing administrative support on legal issues, and helping to initiate and coordinate fundraising and grant writing. Occasional onsite evening meetings required; flexible in-office and remote hours. Requirements include proven computer skills, excellent communication and presentation skills, and project-management experience. Sausalito, CA galileeharbor@gmail.com (415) 332-8554 www.galileeharbor.org/

Custom canvas business ISO sewers! More sewing/making experience the better and willing to train for the right can-do attitude! Quickly growing company looking for another great fit in our team. Great benefits and culture. PT/FT Point Richmond david@compass-canvas.com (415) 299-3415 www.compass-canvas.com

Inspire Sailing Berkeley is looking for sailing instructors to join our growing team! USCG OUPV License is required, though if you are interested in getting your captain’s license we can help out there too. We have opportunities to teach aboard both tiller- and wheel-steered sportboats as well as larger cruising boats. We focus on the education of adults in a fun, welcoming and safety-oriented environment. Located in the heart of SF Bay, we are just minutes from the best sailing grounds, not miles! Do you enjoy racing? Our performance program is going strong and we need racing- and spinnaker-experienced captains as well. US Sailing and ASA Instructors welcome! Competitive pay! Free boat use! Fun! Berkeley, CA careers@ inspiresailing.com (510) 831-1800 www. tinyurl.com/bdhdzn6c

SLO Sail and Canvas is hiring for multiple positions in our busy sail loft in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California. We specialize in building boat covers, trampolines, and sails for sailing dinghies, one-designs, and beach catamarans. The following job opportunities are open for immediate fulfillment: Sailmaking Department Manager, Manufacturing Assistant — Industrial Department, Production Sewing & Prep — Trampoline or Boat Cover Department, and Office Assistant. To learn more about each job opening, visit website. erik@ slosailandcanvas.com (805) 479-6122 ext.9 www.tinyurl.com/fpdkrmt

Spinnaker Sailing in Redwood City is looking for ASA-certified sailing instructors to teach out of our Redwood City Marina location. Part-time, flexible schedules, midweek and/or weekends. Please contact Rich or Bob by phone or email. Redwood City Marina office@spinnakersailing.com (650) 363-1390 www.spinnakersailing.com

Wanted:

Licensed Captain with towing endorsement for TowBoatUS./Vessel Assist on the San Francisco Bay and Delta. Preferred if you live by SF waterfront, Alameda or Bethel Island areas. towboatus.bay.delta@gmail.com (925) 382-4422 www.towboatusdelta.com

Spinnaker Sailing in Redwood City is looking for someone to assist in the maintenance and repair of our fleet of 30 sailboats. Should be familiar with sailboat rigging, ship’s systems, outboard motors, light electrical, plumbing and diesel engine service. Consider either part time or full time. Pay rate commensurate to experience. Call or email Rich. Redwood City, CA rich@spinnakersailing.com (650) 363-1390 www.Spinnakersailing.com

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Positions available! Two Harbors Harbor Department, on the west end of Catalina Island. Looking for experienced boat operators for seasonal harbor patrol positions (March – October). Harbor patrol assigns and facilitates the use of 700+ moorings on the west end of Catalina Island and assists with transporting passengers to and from shore. USCG license required for passenger transport, seasonal mooring included for patrol personnel with liveaboard vessels. Inquire at website. Jrconner@scico.com (310) 510-4254 www.tinyurl.com/wheb7kvn

Join the captains at Club Nautique and start teaching US Sailing’s most comprehensive curriculum of sail and power courses, both offshore and inshore, in the nation. We have openings now for USCG-licensed captains who exhibit exceptional communication and boating skills, and the willingness to train and work in a professional environment. All instructors are classified as employees, not independent contractors. Fulltime and part-time positions available. $28-$35 depending on experience. schooldirector@clubnautique.net (510) 865-4700 x313 www.clubnautique.net

At the gorgeous Cielo Y Mar condos. Located in Punta Mita, 35 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, available to rent from private owner. On the beach, 10 feet from the water, they offer spectacular views of ocean and mountains, the biggest infinity pool in the area, an endless beach, great surf breaks, great fishing, tremendous views of whales, bird life and the islands. While uncrowded and tranquil, just a fiveminute walk to several waterfront restaurants. Choose from a spacious, beautifully furnished one- or three-bedroom unit, or an amazing two-story penthouse with lovely shade trellis on the top floor. To reserve, call or email Dona de Mallorca. puntamitabeachfrontcondos@gmail.com (415) 269-5165.

NON PROFIT

GEAR

(UK Sails) new. 1.5oz fibermax nylon. Selden GX 15 top-down furler and line. Hardware, block cleats. Luff 52 ft., leech 44.23, foot 27.50. Area 888 sq. ft. Launching bag. $6,600 Marina del Rey samalley@ malleyglobal.com +31 (310) 893-4024

Selden B200 boom 18-ft, complete HW + 2 internal reefs: $1750. RodKicker 20 vang: $400. Doyle full batten main, P=50-ft 4-in, E= 17-ft 4-in: $1750. Doyle StackPack: $500. All excellent. 10% off 2+items. Offers considered. chyrne@comcast.net

MISCELLANEOUS

Dive into “Exploring Our Amazing Ocean: trivia, coloring, challenging puzzles and games with S.T.R.E.A.M. educational pages!” Discover fascinating scientific and historic facts. Test your ecological and habitat knowledge. Vacation diving, aquariums and more! Paperback. ISBN 9781960000071 $20 Amazon bookstore - type in ISBN or book title musepublicationsllc@yahoo.com

TRYING TO LOCATE

ISO owner of a Lake Union Dreamboat bought at auction from Oyster Point Marina after she sank. I have fittings that I want to return. Peninsula Sheilaholmes@mac.com

Volunteer docents wanted to staff educational science exhibitions. Volunteer or contract graphic designer wanted. Photographers and photography wanted. Ask about other volunteer positions. info@ sailingscience.org (510) 390-5727 www. sailingscience.org/

Rubicon

Yachts is seeking a professional yacht broker/salesperson for its new Alameda, CA office. Yacht sales experience required, must be a self-starter, membership in CYBA is a plus. Contact owner/ broker Mark Miner. Alameda, CA mark@ rubiconyachts.com www.rubiconyachts. com

The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors strives to make sailing accessible to people with disabilities. BAADS is always on the lookout for donated boats to support its mission. Help an all-volunteer organization while receiving a charitable tax deduction. boatdonations@baads.org (415) 532-9831

Deadline for the April

Classifieds: March 15 Your ad goes live online immediately at www.latitude38.com

41’ NEWPORT 41 ’80 $49,500 Petrel. For an adventurer thinking of sailing to distant horizons and exploring the world Petrel could easily fulfill your dreams.

36’ CHB ANGELMAN 36 ’78 $49,500 Dancing Dog. Very sea-kindly and seaworthy cruising ketch. Meticulously maintained and ready for her next deserving owner. Give us a call!

26’ NONSUCH 26 ’84 $34,900 Solar Winds. Fast, easy sailing with unstayed cat rig and wishbone main. Amazing accommodations. A pocket cruiser ready for new adventures.

THINKING OF SELLING

Power or Sail, we have buyers waiting. Call us at 619.224.2349 or email: info@yachtfinders.biz

58’ CUSTOM YAWL ’38 $299,500 Jada. All-wooden historical yacht certified for Charter for up to 38 passengers. Completely restored. Performs with speed and grace.

38’ PEARSON INVICTA II ’66 $54,500 Jigger. Rejuvenated classic turns heads wherever she goes. Custom companionway, newer standing rigging and Yanmar diesel. A real treat!

53’ J BOATS J160 ’97 $379,000 Hana Hou. Fast and sleek cruiser with new electronics, new main and jib, new sail covers, dodger and bimini as well as many upgrades.

37’ TAYANA 37 ’77 $59,500 Night Heron. Superbly customized specifically for offshore single-handed sailing. Same knowledgeable owner has cared for her for 23 years.

37’ BANJER 37 ’70 $79,500 Knockabout. Very capable boat that has been cruised extensively, With her blue water gear she’s ready to carry on in comfort and safety.