Latitude 38 May

VOLUME 563 May 2024

GRAND MARINA

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

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

nestled in the tranquility of the Alameda Estuary.

Come and see what Grand Marina and the beautiful island of Alameda has to offer. Be sure to reserve a spot in advance by calling (510) 865-1200 or email marina@grandmarina.com

41' and 43' slips are currently available!

Leasing Office Open Monday thru Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. 2099 Grand Street, Alameda, CA 94501 www.grandmarina.com

F Complete bathroom and shower facility, heated and tiled.

F Free pump-out station open 24/7.

F Full-service Marine Center and haulout facility.

F Free parking.

F Free on-site WiFi. And much more...

Directory of Grand Marina Tenants

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

Photo Credit: Lupe Molina

BOAT LOANS

YACHTS

(3) 42' AquaLodge

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

$150,000

2004

$120,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

40’ OCEANIS CENTER COCkPIT, 2000

$131,500

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

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.

36’ fREEDOM 36

$39,500

San Rafael (415) 453-4770

RUBICON YACHTS

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. SAN RAFAEL • 25 THIRD STREET • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • (415) 453-4770

COVE • 3300 POWELL ST, #105 • EMERYVILLE, CA 94608 • (510) 601-5010

ALAMEDA • 1150 BALLENA BLVD., SUITE 121 • ALAMEDA, CA 94501 • (510) 838-1800

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

50’ hUNTER 50, 2012

$379,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

42’ TAYANA CENTER COCkPIT, 1990

$115,000

San Rafael (415) 453-4770

38’ IRWIN CENTER COCkPIT, 1983

$125,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

50’ BENETEAU OCEANIS 50

$149,000

48’ C&C LANDfALL, 1982

$105,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

40’ NORSEMAN 400, 1987

$149,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

38’ S WAN 38, 1974

$125,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

40’ SALAR 40, 1975

$115,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

37’ RAfIkI CUTTER, 1978

$99,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

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.

33’ PEARSON VANgUARD, 1986

$25,000

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

Emery Cove (510) 601-5010 31’ PACIfIC SEACRAfT MARIAh, 1978 $39,900

32’ BENETEAU 321, 2000

$68,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

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. SAN RAFAEL • 25 THIRD STREET • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • (415) 453-4770

CALENDAR

The Robert Perry-designed Tayana 48 is a perfect blend of design and quality construction. The Tayana 48’s n keel and skeg-hung rudder provide great sailing performance and she is easily sailed by a shorthanded crew with her electric genoa furling, staysail on xed furler and Leisure Furl boom with electric main halyard winch. A full cockpit enclosure protects the crew from sun, wind and adverse weather. Viking is well-equipped and blue water ready. All upgrades by the current owner were undertaken with o shore sailing, sail handling and security at anchor in mind. Equipment and recent upgrades include Leisure Furl in boom furling and electric halyard winch, electric genoa furler, new standing rigging in 2021, bow thruster, Webasto hydronic heat with heated cockpit, recent Raymarine electronics, SSB radio and Iridium GO satellite hotspot, low hours Northern Lights generator, Simpson Lawrence high capacity dinghy davits and a 960 watt solar array.

Non-Race

May 1-29 — StFYC Wednesday Yachting Luncheon, via YouTube, noon. Archived at https://tinyurl.com/3kbp3vdh.

May 2 — NorCal Dockwalker Refresher Training, online, 2-3:30 p.m. Info, http://tinyurl.com/5edu6tta

May 4 — Island-Wide Open House, eight Alameda YCs, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. Info, https://tinyurl.com/yc657wcj

May 4 — Swap Meet, Point San Pablo YC, Richmond, 8 a.m.-noon. Marine gear, etc. Free. Info, www.pspyc.org.

May 4 — SoCal Dockwalker Training, Shoreline YC, Long Beach, 10 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Info, http://tinyurl.com/5edu6tta.

May 4 — Sea Chanteys, Maritime Museum, San Francisco, 6-9 p.m. Free, but RSVP to peterkasin@gmail.com

May 4-5 — US Sailing Girls' Skiff Clinic in 29ers, Belvedere. SFYC, https://theclubspot.com/regatta/HDRGXF56Hc

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

May 5 — Opening Day, San Juan Island YC, Friday Harbor, WA. Boat Parade, 2:15 p.m.; live music, 3:30 p.m.; awards, 4:30 p.m. Theme: Let's Rock. SJIYC, www.sjiyc.com

May 5-26 — Keelboat Sailing, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco, noon-5 p.m. Sundays, weather permitting. Free, but sign up in advance. BAADS, www.baads.org/sailing

May 10 — Maritime Career Fair, Waterfront Campus, Orange Coast College, Newport Beach, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Info, https://tinyurl.com/ycxr29rf.

May 12 — Mother's Day.

May 12 — Second Sunday Work Party, Sausalito Community Boating Center, 9 a.m.-noon. Nick, (415) 992-1234 or www.sausalitoboatingcommunity.org

May 12, 26 — Sunday Sailing on Santa Monica Bay, Burton Chace Park Clubhouse, Marina del Rey, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $15. Info, www.marinasundaysailors.org

May 16-19 — Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show, Westpoint Harbor in Redwood City. Latitude 38 will have a booth. Info, https://pacificboatshow.com

May 18 — Boarded! Pirate Adventure, Spanish galleon San Salvador, Maritime Museum, San Diego, 10:30 a.m. or 12:45 p.m. $35-$83. Info, www.sdmaritime.org.

May 19 — Open House/Introductory Sail, Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, www.cal-sailing.org

May 19 — Andy Mirkovich, Accordion Master, Gig Harbor BoatShop, WA, 2-3:30 p.m. Ages 21+. $25-$30. Info, www. gigharborboatshop.org

May 19 — Haydn Voyages, Maritime Museum, San Diego, 2:30 p.m. The Hausmann Quartet plays Night Music. $12-$70. Info, www.sdmaritime.org.

May 23 — Full Flower Moon on a Thursday.

May 27 — Memorial Day.

May 30 — Electric or Diesel?, Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito, 5:30-7:30 p.m. A presentation by Mike Gunning. Free. Info/RSVP, www.spauldingcenter.org

com

June 1 — Dragon Boat Races & Festival, Alviso, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Kayak & cardboard-canoe races + anything humanpowered. South Bay YC, www.southbayyachtclub.com.

June 6 — SoCal Dockwalker Training, online, 10 a.m.12:45 p.m. Info, http://tinyurl.com/5edu6tta

June 6 — Corinthian Speaker Series, CYC, Tiburon, 7 p.m. Ronnie Simpson on the Global Solo Challenge, Dismasted, Rescued, Retired. Free. RSVP, speakers@cyc.org.

June 8 — US Sailing Offshore Safety at Sea Course, Southwestern YC, San Diego, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $300; Pac Cup racers use coupon code PV4. Info, https://sailaweigh.org.

June 8-9 — International Offshore Safety at Sea Course

CALENDAR

with Hands-On Training, SWYC, San Diego, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $400; discounts for Pac Cup racers: use coupon code PV4. Info, https://sailaweigh.org.

June 9 — International Offshore Safety at Sea Course Hands-On Training only, SWYC, San Diego, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $325; discounts for Pac Cup racers: use coupon code PV4. Info, https://sailaweigh.org

June 9 — International Offshore Safety at Sea Refresher Course, SWYC, San Diego, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $325; Pac Cup racers use coupon code PV4. Info, https://sailaweigh.org.

June 15 — Nautical Swap Meet, Owl Harbor Marina, Isleton, 8 a.m.-noon. Info, www.owlharbor.com

Racing

May 3-5 — Yachting Cup. SDYC, www.sdyc.org

May 4 — Anniversary Cup. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.

May 4 — Commodore's Cup. BVBC, www.bvbc.org

May 4 — Frank Ballentine Race. CPYC, www.cpyc.com.

May 4 — Commodore's Regatta. SCYC, www.scyc.org

May 4, 18 — Spring Series. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org

May 4, June 1 — Mercury & Snipe NorCal Series on the Estuary. EYC, www.encinal.org

May 4-5 — Great Vallejo Race. Race to VYC on Saturday and back to RYC on Sunday, with a party Saturday night. YRA, www.yra.org

May 4-5 — Etchells Regatta. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.

May 5, June 2 — PHRF Spring. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

May 11 — Spring Series. CYC, www.cyc.org

May 11 — In the Bay Series on the Knox course with race commitee by SFYC. YRA, www.yra.org

May 11 — Singlehanded Farallones. SSS, www.sfbaysss.org

May 11 — J/105 Women Skipper Invitational. StFYC, www.stfyc.com

May 11 — Around Monterey Bay. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.

May 11 — Intraclub #1. RYC, www.richmondyc.org

May 11 — Point Dume Race. Del Rey YC, www.dryc.org

May 11 — One Design Championship Series, Lake Washington, West Sacramento. LWSC, https://lwsailing.org

May 11, June 8 — Summer Series, Redwood City. SeqYC, www.sequoiayc.org.

May 11-12 — Moore 24 Roadmaster Regatta. SCYC, www. scyc.org.

May 17-19 — International 14 skiff Nationals. RYC, www. richmondyc.org

May 18 — Bluewater Bash starts. 150-mile ocean race. YRA, www.yra.org

May 18 — Duxship Race. YRA, www.yra.org.

May 18 — Behrens Memorial Regatta. TYC, www.tyc.org.

May 18, June 1 — North Bay Series. VYC, www.vyc.org

May 18, June 8 — South Bay Bridge Series. Info, www. jibeset.net

May 18, June 8 — Single/Doublehanded Series. BenYC, www.beniciayachtclub.org.

May 18, June 15 — Spring One Design #2 & #3. SCYC, www.scyc.org.

May 18-19 — Elite Keel. SFYC, www.sfyc.org

May 18-19 — Elvstrom-Zellerbach/ILCA PCCs/Spring Dinghy. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

May 18-19 — Spring Regatta on Lake Yosemite, Merced County. LYSA, www.lakeyosemitesailing.org

May 18-19 — Etchells Orca Bowl in San Diego. SDYC, www.sdyc.org

May 19 — Single/Doublehanded Series. SeqYC, www.

May

— One Design Spring 5 & 6.

CALENDAR

May 19, June 2 — Shorthanded Sunday Series. YRA, www.yra.org

May 19, June 9 — Club Series. CYC, www.cyc.org.

May 24-26 — Hank Jotz Memorial El Toro North Americans. WSC, www.whiskeytownsailing.org.

May 25 — Master Mariners Regatta, with after-party at EYC. MMBA, www.sfmastermariners.org

May 25 — Half Hog. InvYC, www.invernessyachtclub.com.

May 25 — Race of Champions. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org

May 25 — Start of Spinnaker Cup, S.F. to Monterey, and CA 500, S.F. to San Diego (part of CORW; see below). Info, www.offshoreraceweek.com

May 25-26 — Whiskeytown Memorial Weekend Regatta. WSC, www.whiskeytownsailing.org

May 25-June 1 — California Offshore Race Week. Info, www.offshoreraceweek.com.

May 26 — Spring SCORE #2. SCYC, www.scyc.org

May 26 — Baxter-Judson Series Race #2. PresYC, www. presidioyachtclub.org.

May 27 — Veeder Cup. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

May 27-28 — Coastal Cup, Monterey to Santa Barbara (part of CORW). Info, www.offshoreraceweek.com

May 30-June 1 — SoCal 300, Santa Barbara to San Diego (part of CORW). Info, www.offshoreraceweek.com.

June 1 — Go for the Gold Regatta on Scott's Flat Lake, Nevada County. GCYC, www.gcyc.net

June 1 — Merton Yolles Race. CPYC, www.cpyc.com.

June 1-2 — US Sailing Match Race Qualifier in J/22s. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

June 2 — Champion of Champions. SCYC, www.scyc.org

June 5-9 — J/111 North Americans. LAYC, www.layc.org

June 7-9 — Dickson Cup, youth match racing in Solings. LBYC, www.lbyc.org

June 8 — 33rd Delta Ditch Run, Richmond to Stockton. RYC/SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.

June 8 — Chispa regatta in RS21s. SFYC, www.sfyc.org

June 8 — Bender 3-4. InvYC, www.invernessyachtclub.com.

June 8 — MBYRA Little Boreas Race to Moss Landing. ElkYC, www.elkhornyachtclub.org

June 8-9 — J/105 & Express 37 Regatta. EYC, www. encinal.org

June 8-9 — S.F. Sailing League. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

June 8-9 — 5O5/Laser NorCals/ILCA District 24 Championships in Santa Cruz. SCYC, www.scyc.org

June 8-9 — Cat Harbor Layover Race, Berger/Stein Series. DRYC, www.dryc.org

June 14-16 — Lipton Cup. PICYA, www.liptoncupsf.com

June 14-16 — South Tower Race, Stockton to Golden Gate to Stockton, nonstop! SSC, www.stocktonsc.org

June 15 — Farallones Race. YRA, www.yra.org.

June 15 — Doublehanded Long Distance. MPYC, www. mpyc.org.

June 15-16 — Classic Boat Invitational #1. SYC, www. sausalitoyachtclub.org.

June 15-16 — Women's Sprint 4 in RS21s. SFYC, www. sfyc.org.

June 15-16 — US Match Race Championship Qualifier in San Diego. SDYC, www.sdyc.org.

June 16 — One Design Summer. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.

Beer Can Series

BAY VIEW BOAT CLUB — Spring Monday Night Madness: every Monday night through 6/24. Nick, (510) 459-1337 or www.bvbc.org.

WHALE POINT

CALENDAR

(415) 238-3977 or beniciayachtclubracing@gmail.com.

BERKELEY YC — Every Friday night through 9/27. Tim, (530) 919-9781 or www.berkeleyyc.org.

CAL SAILING CLUB — Year-round Sunday morning dinghy races, intraclub only. Info, www.cal-sailing.org

CORINTHIAN YC — Every Friday night through 8/30. Marcus, (415) 435-4771, racing@cyc.org or www.cyc.org

COYOTE POINT YC — Sunset Sail, every Wednesday through 10/23. Mark, (408) 718-1742 or www.cpyc.com.

MARINE ICE CHESTS by Igloo

54 Quarts, #86446: Now $7999 120 Quarts, #8306805: Now $12999

FLAGSHIP

AQUA KEM

Toilet Treatment

Biodegradable. For use in all freshwater flush, portable toilets for odor control.

1 gallon, #94079: NOW $3799 1/2 gallon, #24260: NOW $2399 32 oz, #20721: NOW $1399

VARNISH by Pettit GRILLS by Magma

Highest UV protection available.

Quart

Pint, #12015 NOW $3599

Quart, #2015 NOW $6999

Perfect Grill for a Sunday night dinner on your boat. Stainless steel. Mounts easily with optional mount to your boats rails.

Charcoal #10-004: NOW $16999

Propane #10-205: NOW $22999 Rail Mount #10-080: NOW $5999

FILL-IT EPOXY FILLER

by Smiths

Flexible, expands & contracts with wood. Cures overnight, easily sands the following day.

12oz. Kit, #9030:$2999

Quart Kit, #9027: $7999 Gallon Kit, #9029: $24999

CETOL MARIN E by Sikkens

Quart:

Marine Gloss

Natural Teak Marine Light Now $4999

Gallon Now $12999

ENCINAL YC — Friday nights, Spring Twilight Series: 5/3, 5/17, 5/31. Brendan, (510) 289-1193, www.encinal.org or www.jibeset.net

FOLSOM LAKE YC — Every Wednesday: 5/3-8/23. Info, www.flyc.org.

GOLDEN GATE YC — Friday nights: 5/3, 5/17, 5/31, 6/14, 6/28, 7/19, 8/2, 8/16, 9/6. Paul, (415) 867-9022, www.ggyc.org or www.jibeset.net.

ISLAND YC — Fridays, Spring Island Nights: 5/10, 5/24, 6/7, 6/21. Ed, (775) 336-7398 or www.iyc.org.

KONOCTI BAY SC — OSIRs (Old Salts in Retirement) every Wednesday at noon, year round. Info, www.kbsail.org

LAKE WASHINGTON SC — Every Thursday night through 10/3. Mark, owing78@yahoo.com or www.lwsailing.org

LAKE YOSEMITE SA — Every Thursday Night: May-Sept. Dennis, (209) 722-1947 or www.lakeyosemitesailing.org.

MONTEREY PENINSULA YC — Sunset Series, every Wednesday through 10/9. Mark, (831) 236-5191 or www. mpyc.org

OAKLAND YC — Sweet 16 Series, every Wednesday: 5/18/28. Debby, (510) 390-1620, www.oaklandyachtclub.net or www.jibeset.net

RICHMOND YC — Every Wednesday: 4/3-9/25. Fred, (510) 612-2426 or www.richmondyc.org

ST. FRANCIS YC — Wednesday Evening Series for Knarrs, Folkboats & J/22s: 5/1-6/26 & 7/31-8/14. J/22 Summer Series, Wednesdays: 7/10, 7/17, 7/24. Thursday Night Foiling Kite, Windsurf, Wing: 4/18-6/13 & 7/18-8/22. Friday Night Foiling Windsurf, Wing: 5/17, 6/7, 7/19, 8/16. Info, (415) 563-6363 or www.stfyc.com

PELICAN Yacht Braid Made in the USA *our LOW PRICES! on $100+ orders. (any combo or sizes or colors)

HEAVY DUTY BILGE

CLEANER by Seachoice

Quarts NOW $1199

Gallon NOW $1999

SANTA CRUZ YC — Every Tuesday night through 11/5. Every Wednesday night through 10/30. Info, www.scyc.org

SAUSALITO YC — Thursday night Spring Sunset Series: 5/2, 5/16, 5/30, 6/13. Info, www.sausalitoyachtclub.org.

SEQUOIA YC — Sunset Series, every Wednesday through 10/2. Andrew, (408) 858-8385, www.sequoiayc.org or www.jibeset.net.

SOUTH BEACH YC — Spring Friday Night Series: 5/3, 5/17, 5/31, 6/7, 6/21. Mike, (650) 823-1131 or www.southbeachyachtclub.org

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE WINDJAMMERS YC — Every Wednesday night: 6/12-9/18. Sam, (530) 318-3068 or www. sltwyc.com

STOCKTON SC — Every Wednesday night: 6/5-8/28. Andy, (209) 483-3677 or www.stocktonsc.org.

TAHOE YC — Monday night Lasers: 5/27-8/26. Dick Ferris Summer Beer Can Series, every Wednesday: 5/29-8/28. Dan, (530) 583-9111 or www.tahoeyc.com

TIBURON YC — Friday Night Spring Series: 5/10-6/14. Rob, (415) 577-7199 or www.tyc.org.

TREASURE ISLAND SC — 3v3 Vanguard 15 Team Racing every Tuesday night through 10/1; Thursday night Vanguard 15 fleet races: 5/2-9/5. Info, https://vanguard15.org.

VALLEJO YC — Every Wednesday night through 9/25. Mark, (916) 835-2613, www.vyc.org or www.jibeset.net.

MARINE SERVICENTER

Is Your Motor Choking To Death?

CALENDAR

•

In the Tropics

June 16 — Grandes Navegantes, clockwise race around Todos Santos Islands, Ensenada. Trophy donated by Ramón Carlín, Mexican winner of the first Whitbread Race. Club Náutico Baja, https://clubnauticobaja.mx

June 21-24 — Tahiti Moorea Sailing Rendez-Vous. Latitude 38 sponsors. Info, www.tahiti-moorea-sailing-rdv.com

July 15 — First Pacific Cup starts, San Francisco-Kaneohe, Oahu. PCYC, https://pacificcup.org

Oct. 6 — Todos Santos Regatta, Ensenada. Counterclockwise race around Todos Santos Islands. Club Náutico Baja, https://clubnauticobaja.mx or clubnauticobaja@gmail.com

Nov. 4-16 — Baja Ha-Ha XXX (but still PG-rated), San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Info, www.baja-haha.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.

May Weekend Tides

Predictions for Station 9414290, San Francisco (Golden Gate)

May Weekend Currents

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

1036 1318/1.7E 1636

2318

5/05Sun 0200/2.0E 0530 0830/2.5F 1142 1418/1.7E 1724 2042/3.1F 2348

5/11Sat 0018/2.3F 0312 0606/2.0E

2212

2312

5/18Sat 0112/1.4E 0430 0736/1.6F 1054 1306/0.9E 1606

2300 5/19Sun 0142/1.5E 0512 0830/1.9F 1154 1354/0.9E 1642

2318

5/26Sun 0230 0530/2.1E 0936 1324/2.3F 1736 1924/0.7E 2130

5/27Mon 0042/1.9F 0318 0624/2.1E 1018 1412/2.4F 1830 2018/0.7E 2230

Source: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov

BACK ON THE WATER– FASTER

At the premier Bay Area boatyard, we thoroughly plan and schedule your project before your boat even hits our slings - resulting in fewer delays and a faster turnaround - getting your boat ready to cruise sooner.

Catch a Sail

Zepp Sticks®

The innovative and cost-effective system for easy mainsail furling on sailboats.

When moored, Zepp Sticks may be converted into a framework for a sunshade.

✓ Easy to install & reliable

✓ No lines or complicated mechanisms to foul the mainsail

✓ No compromises to performance of mainsail

FOR MORE INFO

Use the handy QR code Visit Us : www.zeppsticks.com Email Us : zeppsticks@gmail.com

LETTERS

⇑⇓ setting our own youth sailing priorities

February's Max Ebb hit the nail on the head yet again. While US Sailing is doing the best it can on its Ted Stevens Act-mandated priorities, there is tremendous opportunity for local and national sailing communities to set our own priorities that support our own sailing experiences.

To expect that US Sailing will swoop in whenever we need it to with individualized solutions to regional participation problems misses the point of what that organization is. In the same way that our national government in Washington needs activists to actually push them to get things done, US Sailing needs to see that our communities are actually taking these problems seriously. As long as these conversations are only happening aboard Max's friend's high-end racing yacht, I fear US Sailing will not be getting the message.

Instead, this sailor suggests we should put our money where our mouths are, or at least walk the walk. The Bay Area is home to a wealth of sailing programs that support kids simply messing around in boats, rather than signing 10-year-olds up for years of solo bathtub sailing where they can't socialize and be a kid.

Folks could consider donating their time and/or money to organizations that promote youth development on the water through sailing, provide exposure to sailing to folks who wouldn't otherwise get the chance, encourage diverse kinds of sailing, and provide pathways for new participants to stay in the sport and succeed in whatever capacity they wish for themselves. The Bay abounds with volunteer opportunities and part-time work where we enthusiasts can provide our expertise, energy and passion to help this place remain the strong sailing community that it has always been.

US Sailing is a great organization and we have a significant opportunity to help them help us — but we have to walk the walk for our own community before we expect anyone else to save us.

Chris Childers Executive Director Treasure Island Sailing Center

⇑⇓ turmoil at us sailing

The breakup between AmericaOne and US Sailing's Olympic program is truly depressing. What is clear is that the athletes supported by the AmericaOne foundation are doing well in international competitions. There needs to be a real hard look at who runs the Olympic Program and US Sailing. It's just a shame that this is coming to a head virtually on top of the Olympics this year.

Vince Casalaina Snipe Sailor

Vince was commenting on the March 4 'Lectronic: Olympian JJ Fetter Calling for US Sailing Resignations. We agree: The lawsuit by US Sailing against AmericaOne, and the general animosity between two of sailing's most strategic supporters marks a bleak moment in the politics of the sport, especially with the Olympics just three months away. There has been long-standing debate around what US Sailing's core

president and any other board member who supports the suit.

Pro sailor and coach Tony Rey resigned from US Sailing's board of directors following the federal lawsuit filed against AmericaOne after National Sailing Hall of Famer JJ Fetter called for the resignations of US Sailing's CEO,

Dry Storage Available Power and Sail

LETTERS

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

mission should be. Should it focus on developing talent and managing the US Olympic sailing team, while also overseeing racing rules, certifying junior instructors, holding safety-atsea training and growing participation/inclusion in sailing?

Or, as Chris said in the letter above, should local and national sailing communities set their own priorities and support their own sailing experiences, including non-racing programs that might not breed competitive athletes, but may very well create lifelong sailors?

⇑⇓ a MaX EBB correction

Please let Max Ebb know that the US Navy ship in his last article on "Wind, Spray and Speed" [in the April issue] is not "a guided missile frigate." Clearly visible in the photo is the number "72" — from this clue, we can determine the vessel is either CVN-72, DDG-72 or CG-72.

The absence of a flight deck and things with wings parked on it rules out the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72. The two remaining options of DDG-72 (Destroyer, Guided Missile) and CG-72 (Cruiser, Guided Missile) are not frigates. A brief examination of photos of these two ships shows that CG-72 has the boxy superstructure while DDG72 has the sloped-sided superstructure.

I invite Max Ebb to contemplate the design changes that happened between 1980 and 1985 that changed the superstructure of ships so much. A hint: Check out the Wikipedia article about the Sea Shadow (IX-529).

Chief Thomas Hoover US Navy, Retired

⇑⇓ sailing on the coast guard Brigantine EaGlE

The Newport-Bermuda run reported on in the March issue prompts me to relate a similar journey from New London, Connecticut, in late-August 1953 aboard the USCG Eagle, a [295-ft barque] training ship.

I was part of a crew of 'Swabs' (newbies), being 17 and fresh out of high school. "Learning the ropes" takes on new meaning on this beauty, and then there was the bit about climbing the rigging, edging out over the royal sail, and furling it hand over hand, feet on a wobby line running beneath the yard (boom). No safety straps in those days, especially under an old salt like Captain Bowman.

We got to Bermuda more or less intact, although somewhat sleepless after swinging in hammocks above tables in the mess hall. (The changing of the watch at midnight was

The United States Coast Guard's 295-ft (LOA) Gorch Fock-class barque 'Eagle' is also known as "America's Tall Ship."

THE FINEST SAILS BEGIN WITH THE BEST SAILCLOTH

Great Job Randall on the Figure Eight Voyage. Sixty thousand miles in the world's toughest oceans with Hood Sails.

Our patented woven Vektron® sailcloth performs like the laminates with the durability of Dacron®, especially in roller furling applications. In fact, Vektron® is lighter, lower stretch, and retains its shape over a longer life than any sailcloth we've ever offered to cruising sailors. That's because Hood Vektron® is woven, not laminated to Mylar® film. And you can be sure that each sail we roll out is built by hand, with the same care and craftsmanship that has been the Hood hallmark since 1952. To discuss your sailcloth needs – whether our state-ofthe-art Vektron® or our soft, tight-weave Dacron® – give us a call today.

Mōli, Randall Reeves with Full Batten Mainsail, 125% Genoa and Solent Jib

38

3MTM Perfect-ItTM Gelcoat Compound + Polish is a profesisonal-grade formula, designed to be used as a single-step compound and polish or second step finish for eliminating P1000 and finer scratches, scuff marks, and other surface blemishes from gelcoat surfaces (even darker colored gelcoat).

• Removes P1000 and finer scratches while offering a high gloss, fine finish and reducing time and expense

• Formula provides longer wet time for extended product life & easier cleanup

• Suitable for all gelcoat surfaces including marine, RV and industrial

LETTERS

San Diego Marine Exchange

2636 Shelter Island Drive

San Diego, CA 92106 (619) 223-7159 (800) 336-SDMX Mexico 001-800-336-7369

Sailing Supply / Downwind Marine

2804 Cañon Street

San Diego, CA 92106 (619) 225-9411 (800) 532-3831

great fun.) We went ashore with great anticipation, only to be called back to the ship after a few hours: A hurricane was coming! We went through the eye of the hurricane, which was relatively calm, after the t'gallants had been shredded in the first half of the storm. (They were the only sails that unfurled). It was good to have a reliable diesel engine to keep us headed! A fine trip to initiate us Swabs!

Terry Jackson Berkeley

⇑⇓ the kind of seafaring tales i love to read

The March edition of Latitude is my favorite one ever, and I've been reading for about 30 years. "Morpheus to Bermuda — Doublehanded or Nothing," was fantastic! I could feel the boat lifting off the water and smashing back down as I read, and it reminded me of several incidents I experienced while sailing from Tahiti back to the Bay.

After competing in the 1995 Tahiti Cup from San Francisco, the skipper and I were doublehanding from Tahiti to Hawaii with no autopilot on his Santa Cruz 50. Squalls in the tropics normally arise at night, but we hit a nasty one during the day. We had the No. 1 jib up and had to peel to the No. 4 right in the middle of the squall. After attempting to tie the wheel with bungee cords so we didn't tack unwillingly (it didn't work; the boat tacked anyway), I joined the skipper on the foredeck to make the headsail change. After the peel was completed, we looked at each other like, "I can't believe we survived that!"

The first three nights out of Oahu on the way back to San Francisco were a nightmare, despite having picked up more crew in Hawaii. The route from there to here is hard to starboard until you reach 38 degrees, then turn right. So we were sailing hard to weather, and around 10:00 the wind started blowing 40 knots with gusts to 50, right on the nose. Santa Cruz 50s are ultralight racing boats, and the boat was being thrown into the air and slamming back down. The constant pounding all night, for three nights in a row, was beyond unpleasant.

These are the kind of seafaring tales I love to read. Thanks Latitude. Once again you show that you're the best.

Jeff Hoffman Oakland

Thanks, Jeff. We'll have more Latitude Platitudes later in these Letters.

The Santa Cruz 50 'Hana Ho' gets a little loose on the Bay in 2018. We tip our hat to Jeff Hoffman, the author of this letter, who doublehanded a Santa Cruz 50 from Tahiti to Hawaii nearly 30 years ago.

LETTERS

⇑⇓ a Bay area legend

S.F. Bay's own Ray Conrady was navigator on [the 1974 Whitbread]. I met Ray when he relieved me on board the 100-ft schooner Whale's Tale in Nadi, Fiji, so I could could go watch America's Cup in Fremantle in 1987. He was super-competent and a true gentleman.

Ray was also the "young" navigator on board the Jeremiah O'Brien when it returned to Normandy to honor the Greatest Generation soldiers that saved the world from the Nazis. Latitude 38 could do an entire issue on the amazing local legend. Just sayin'.

Jim 'Homer' Holm Santa Cruz

Jim was commenting on the March 20 'Lectronic: Club Náutico Baja Opens 'Grandes Navegantes' Regatta to US Racers.

⇑⇓ what's great aBout the BaJa ha-ha?

Somehow, a random group of people from all different aspects of life join together for an adventure of a lifetime. Some rich, most poor, others looking for a new direction in life. Some expert sailors, some rookies, others just trying to get their saildominium to Mexico for the season. The great thing is we are all a group, everyone helps, everyone supports each other, and everyone supports his fellow sailor.

When we leave port, there is a great camaraderie between the boats. Picture sharing, kindly sailing maneuvers as we leave port, and a laid-back attitude. After a couple of hours, solitude sets in. "Where is land? I can't see another boat on a 12-mile radar window; are we heading the right way?"

And then … we arrive (Tortuga,

and once again we are a

Santa Maria, or Cabo),

group. Awesome beach parties,

That's Jeff Ellsworth on the right as Gilligan, Steve Ellsworth on the left as the skipper, and an unknown Ginger/Mary Ann in the middle.

"Do you recognize the second sailor from the left in the team photo?" asked Jim Holm, giving a shoutout to Ray Conrady, part of the crew of the Mexican Swan 65 'Sayula II', which won the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74.

BORN TO DREDGE

Lind Marine is proud to announce it has launched an entire NEW FLEET of marina and homeowner dredging equipment.

Providing services throughout the San Francisco Bay and Delta, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, since 1906.

Lind Marine Added Capabilities

 Fleet of 4 new dump scows designed to fit in all marinas and homeowner docks

 New electric clam shell dredge, ABS loadline, designed to dig out slips up to 90’ long

 Pile driving, dock repair, seawall repair and installation

 In house permitting department

 Survey boat with brand new state of the art single beam system

 Small and large vessel salvage

 Full service shipyard

LETTERS

everyone helps with other boats' issues, and we share tables at the restaurants. We all rejoin as a group and prepare for the next leg of our journey.

Sure, we communicate — some are more active on the Facebook group, some on VHF 69 (*Courage*), some just lie low. Anyway, the group stays together and helps each other make the trip.

Now that we have all made it to Cabo San Lucas, I wish you all the best on your journey from here. As for Barramundi, we are planning to head to La Paz and then on to Mazatlán. I hope to see you all on our passage south, then in the Sea of Cortez in the spring.

Fair winds and following seas to all.

Jeff Ellsworth Writing us post-Ha-Ha in November 2023 Barramundi, 36-ft Seawind 1000xl Latitude Nation

⇑⇓ five years on the wind Before turning to the dark side

Wind power will always be in our hearts, but we knew when it was time to sell our beloved Pegasus XIV so she could race again among her own kind, and for us to get into the comfort of cruising life on our Grand Banks 36. It's just a different set of challenges, but the onboard amenities make up for it.

Linda Newland

Linda was commenting on the March 29 'LL with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ what really counts

After 40 years of owning a sailboat on the Bay and three trips to Mexico in her, we decided the years were catching up, sold our Catalina 470, and purchased a Krogen Express 49 trawler in Washington. We now have Meander back home in Alameda. We and our friends love her just as much as the sailboat. Being on the water and messing around in boats is what really counts.

Charley Eddy

⇑⇓ work smarter not darker

We went to a trawler several years ago and it's the best thing we ever did. We are avid photographers and divers, so having a flat, square space is important, plus having a dive compressor and being able to charge lightening-quick between dives.

We chose a Selene 53, the most capable of trawlers with a low center of gravity and quality beyond reproach. We cruised for three years from San Diego to the BVI. An awesome trip, and the fuel expense was less than one quality sail for our previous boat.

It's not the dark side, it's the smart side. Jerome Mackai

"Arrival in the Marquesas, 2,900 miles across the ocean," wrote Jerome Mackai, owner of a Selene 53 trawler. The boat might be different, but the view sure looks the same.

Photo By Slackwater_SF

LETTERS

⇑⇓ Just Being on the water

We too sailed for seven years and 65,000 miles all around, up and down this big-beautiful blue pearl. Time goes by. We sold the IP 485 and bought a Norseman 480 power trawler, did America's Great Loop in eight months, and downsized one more time to a Nordic Tug 37.

We love her, and we love still being on the water. We're on our way to the Florida Keys for the next month!

Lars and Laura Larsen

⇑⇓ the 10-meter yacht sirius's former family

I am Brian Wald. It was my father, Arthur Wald, who owned the 10-Meter Sirius during the '70s. We — my father, brother Craig, and I — sailed for 10 years all over the West Coast and into Mexico. We raced Ensenadas, mid-winters, the Del Rey Cup, the first Puerto Vallarta Race, and Around Catalina Race overnight, where we beat Bill Ficker sailing Pat Dougan's Columbia, etc. One year, we raced 55 times, with 52 firsts, one second and two thirds.

Arthur was a good sailor, but not as expert as others. He was personally challenged to directly sail Sirius by our good friend Bob Lynch of Sally in the Del Rey Cup, where he won handily. However, we were very fortunate to sail with the likes of Burke Sawyer, Lanny Coon, Tom Blackaller, Roy Bream, Fred Huffman, and so many more wonderful sailors. I do remember several of you who have commented herein, and I'm delighted to know that you're all well.

I was in college when we first got the boat; we had it through my time in graduate school. She was maintained like a Bristol classic car, and no new invention or sail type was not tried to ensure her racing success. Arthur, when finished with the boat, donated her to the Boy Scouts of America, who in exchange offered him use of their recent donation — James Arness's custom built 58-ft catamaran Sea Smoke Once you've gone fast it's hard to go anything but faster. For two years we raced her on the West Coast — sometimes hitting 35 mph in the right weather.

I can say that once you've had a boat of that caliber of performance and crew, you understand what the best is all about. Great boat design, great sail design, great equipment, and a great crew all working in sync like a fine Swiss watch. What fun! I wish I could do it all over again.

Brian Wald

Brian was commenting on the January 2023 'Lectronic Latitude: A Sailor's Search for the 10-Meter Yacht Sirius

⇑⇓ people are always eager to tell us they think all is lost is a very Bad movie

The very first scene sets the tone. He goes on deck and

A beautiful "design study" of a 10-Meter by Heyman Yachts.

LETTERS

the boom sheeting is slack as if there is zero wind in the sail. There are no jib sheets on the winches, yet the jib is flying. There is no swell, and it looks as if the boat is floating in a bathtub. I could go on and on.

And that's before any of his poor seamanship has been exposed.

Chris

Chris was commenting on the July 2021 'Lectronic: All Is Lost Is All but Universally Despised by Sailors

⇑⇓ drink on aBsurdity

Our cruisers' group, all veterans of long passages, made a drinking game of All is Lost — Every time a goof was spotted, they all took a shot. By the end of the movie, everyone was wasted. Great fun!

Brian Calvert Seattle, Washington

⇑⇓ why MastEr aND CoMMaNDEr: tHE Far siDE oF tHE WorlD is the greatest sailing movie of all time (we only half-Believe that's true)

My wife Ann and I read the first 19 of Patrick O'Brian's 20 Jack Aubrey novels in the '90s, prior to a fulfillment of our prenuptial agreement (her insistence) that we plan and execute a multi-year sailing cruise after our retirement. We married in 1991. Her father had the same dream, but died prematurely at age 48.

I found the novels to be the best sea literature that I had ever read or have since read. I have been sailing for 59 years. I have made 19 bluewater passages, each in excess of 2,000 miles starting in 1966 on my 22-ft sloop Isle of Skye from Acapulco to Hawaii in vessels ranging from 19- to 67-ft, both racers and cruisers. O'Brian's descriptions of the sea and sea states, sailing ships, and life at sea (as reflected in the marvelous film Master and Commander) are unequaled in literature and film that I have experienced.

I'm a bit bewildered by the writer's admission that he has never read O'Brian, but can make a judgment on O'Brian's knowledge from third-party hearsay.

The late Patrick O'Brian is best known, especially among our readership, for the 20-volume Aubrey–Maturin series, from which 'Master and Commander: Far Side of the World' was derived. (The movie was said to be the amalgam of three books, including the eponymous volume.)

O'Brian was also a renowned translator of French works into English.

Tom Carr

Formerly of Bluebird, 19-ft

Mirror

Sloop Latitude Nation

Tom was commenting on the March 15 'LL with the same name as this letter.

Tom, please reread the article, because you'll find that we never made any judgment about Patrick O'Brian's knowledge. (We also don't think we have to have read every Aubrey-Maturin book in order to critique a movie as its own piece of art.) We did, however, include the famous (or infamous) quote from

LETTERS

Bay Area venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who befriended Patrick O'Brian and took him cruising aboard his 154-ft Perini ketch Andromeda la Dea. "His knowledge of the practical aspects of sailing seemed, amazingly, almost nil," Perkins wrote in an article for Latitude 38. "I introduced him to the helm, but he seemed to have no feeling for the wind and the course, and frequently I had to intervene to prevent a full standing jibe. I began to suspect that his autobiographical references to his months at sea as a youth were fanciful."

Those autobiographical references include this anecdote: "An uncle had a two-ton sloop and several friends had boats, [and] my friend Edward had a cousin who possessed an ocean-going yacht, a converted square-rigged merchantman, that he used to crew with undergraduates together with some real seamen, and sail far off into the Atlantic. Although I never became much of a topman, after a while I could hand, reef and steer without disgrace, which allowed more ambitious sailoring later on."

Fans of Patrick O'Brian might be offended by anyone doubting his sailing skills and knowledge. We have no definitive opinion on that front, but no one is questioning O'Brian's utter mastery as a writer. Great authors must often write about subject matter far beyond their knowledge and experience. If Patrick O'Brian was merely an average sailor who still managed to create the greatest series of seafaring novels ever, then, to us modest sailors and writers here at Latitude, that is a testament to his unfathomable talent.

"He was a genius and his books remain a towering, towering achievement," wrote Tom Perkins. (You can read his article here: www.latitude38.com/features/O'Brian.htm)

⇑⇓ people instantly chimed in to say, "actually, no. CaPtaiN roN is the g.o.a.t. of sailing movies"

Yeah, Captain Ron hands down for the win. And, as someone who sails, and as an enjoyer of cinema, I tried watching Master and Commander three times; never got past the first 30 minutes. I can't stay awake. Sorry, but that movie is boring as hell.

Matthew Johns

⇑⇓ CaPtaiN roN … the documentary?

Captain Ron is actually two movies in one: The first movie is a slapstick comedy about some guy buying a boat and his kids getting into trouble while his wife enjoys a vacation. The second movie is only unlocked after you've been sailing a few years, and it's a documentary.

Bryce Trapier

⇑⇓ ditto

Having been a sailboat delivery captain for 20+ years and having delivered boats with a family aboard, I don't view Captain Ron as a comedy. I see it more as a documentary.

The scene where Clarice (the island girl) is in the water

Just say the words 'Captain Ron' to a sailor, and you're sure to hear at least a few quotes from the 1992 classic. (Yes, we called it a classic.)

LETTERS

looking back over her shoulder with the "come-hither" look at Captain Ron is an exact reproduction of a travel poster popular back in the '50s and '60s promoting Jamaican tourism. The poster had the words "Come To The Islands Mon."

Steve Weisbrod

As a professional captain who grew up watching Captain Ron nonstop, it is a master class in how to be a real captain.

Brian Henry

This movie came out when I was young. Both the film and actually sailing/boating/fishing are exactly what made me want to be in the marine industry and a professional mariner. I only wish my hairline would have agreed.

Taylor Hood

I'm the original since the early 1970s, and I was honored when they selected the name [of the movie]. But sorry, I do not dock my boat that way.

Captain Ron Yacht Charters

"If

I didn't appreciate Captain Ron until I had to dock at Pier 39's west side going 5 knots for a turn in to beat the current and swells from the ferries for a perfect docking. Thanks for showing me how it's done, Captain Ron!

Heller Gregory

I was co-captain on a 70-ft schooner with the owner whose name is Captain Ron! We sailed six-day trips with the Boy Scouts. I'm Captain Kurt, and we showed that movie every trip. A lot of the Scouts didn't know who Kurt Russell was, so when they saw the credits, they would say "Look, Captain Kurt is Captain Ron!"

Captain Kurt Schultz

Captain Ron is the most realistic representation of "Let's just buy a boat and go for it." Wind is good for racing culture. Master and Commander is the best cinematic experience.

Scott Pasley

I'd never seen Captain Ron when my wife and I took a three-day bareboat sailing class in Maryland. There were two captains, and each kept trying to outdo the other with Captain Ron quotes. Since we hadn't seen the movie, it went over our heads; I just wrote it off as a Maryland thing. A few months later, I watched the movie and about pissed myself laughing. I rewatch it every so often and it never gets old.

Billy Simmons

anything's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there."

LETTERS

⇑⇓ a lesser-known sailing movie

I've been a huge Captain Ron fan for years for all the reasons cited. However, there is another great "sailing movie" that gets zero to no press: Kill Cruise. It's now on Tubi and stars (for one) a young Elizabeth Hurley, so you might turn it on for that reason alone. But that's just a piece of what I found interesting.

As far as being quotable, while it's no CR, my regular crew from a hundred years ago made quite a sport of it. Check it out — you won't see the ending coming.

Clark Robins

⇑⇓ eight Bells for hank Jotz

Henry 'Hank' Jotz, a champion sailor and well-known Northern California sailmaker, died in October at the age of 83. A winner of 12 North American or national championships, he excelled in several one-design classes, most notably the El Toro, where he won eight North American titles and seven Bullship races. Hank was a top 5O5 competitor, teaming with Mark Heckman in 1974 to win the North Americans in Ontario, Canada, with impressive single-digit scores in a fleet of over 100 5O5s. He partnered with Bob Sutton to finish second in San Francisco in 1975, and finished fourth the following year.

Hank won all these races using sails he designed. Racers with experience in the El Toro, Day Sailer, 5O5, San Francisco Pelican and many other classes know the iconic blue diamond logo, "Jotz Sails, Weaverville, CA." In the El Toro class, his sails were so dominant by the '90s that nearly all the top sailors carried them. In the Five-Oh, Hank developed a new allaround spinnaker design that was easier to fly, highly influential in the evolution of this Grand Prix class.

His sailing and sailmaking accomplishments are legendary. He once won the Finn Pacific Coast Championships at his usual sailing weight of about 125 pounds. (Typical Finn sailors weigh about twice that.) He finished third in the 1968 Flying Dutchman Olympic trials. El Toro sailors can argue whether Jotz or Kiu Lim, who won his ninth North American title four years ago, is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). Jotz was a "natural," and compares him with Warriors legend Steph Curry in terms of both dominance and sportsmanship — his willingness to teach, and his humility, set Hank Jotz apart.

Hank grew up in San Francisco, graduating from Mission High in 1958. His high school years were spent in the Sea Scouts aboard SSS Viking #100. He credited Sea Scouting for teaching him the skills of a mariner, which helped him build several boats, according to Kit Stycket. His racing career began in the Lake Merced Sailing Club, and he was another talented employee of Jim DeWitt's iconic Richmond sail loft. Jotz opened his own sailmaking shop in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco,

there from the '60s until the early '80s.

"Win or loose Hank was the same low-key, friendly guy, with a twinkle in his eye," wrote Tom Burden of Hank Jotz, who passed away in 2023.

LETTERS LETTERS

A Richmond Yacht Club member now owns Bear Grotto, the 25-ft multi-chine plywood sailboat Jotz built in that loft. A delicate piece of craftsmanship with no engine, Jake van Heeckeren was said to have designed it as a "Moore 24 Killer." Paul and Chrissie Kaplan of KKMI helped him launch his homemade boat at Gashouse Cove Marina.

In the early '80s, Jotz ditched his San Francisco sail loft, the St. Francis Yacht Club and urban life, and moved to a piece of remote wilderness property in the Trinity Alps near Weaverville, west of Whiskeytown Lake. There he built his own A-frame cabin, equipping it with dual solar-powered 12-volt DC and 110-volt AC electrical systems — just like a boat. Folks kept ordering, and he kept building sails, using a gas-powered generator to run his sewing machine.

He had no phone service until he got a cellphone in the late '90s; customers ordered by mail or in person. Hank would attend regattas in his mid-'70s Econovan, which he had outfitted as a cozy custom camper. By the mid-'90s, he'd put over half a million miles on the vehicle, replaced the engine more than once, and rebuilt the roof using fiberglass.

Folks bought Jotz sails because they were fast. In 1973, my dad bought a new El Toro for my sister. We agreed that the sail had to be a Jotz. When Hank delivered it at the price of $94, Emily suddenly had the best speed on Lake Del Valle. His sails are still fast. Last July, Leah Ford finished second in the El Toro North Americans flying a Jotz F-150. I was privileged to compete against Hank, or rather to get my butt kicked, regularly. He would often get a bad start and then would sail the right way, maintain excellent speed, and patiently pass everyone. He saw things the rest of us did not. Vaughn Seifers remembers an El Toro North Americans race at Howard Prairie Lake, as Hank, Vaughn and I rounded the bottom mark together. Vaughn went left on the next beat. Hank went right. He waved "Bye-bye” to Vaughn, in a Steph Curry-like bit of bravado. On the next crossing he was ahead of Vaughn by 100 yards. See ya!

Hank was an active member of the Whiskeytown Sailing Club. During the '90s the Whiskeytown Regatta on Memorial Day weekend was a big draw, with 50 junior and senior El Toros. Each year many of us would drive up a couple of days early to be welcomed at Hank's place for a multi-day party.

Hank's life changed again as health problems necessitated a move back to North Berkeley in 2019 to the home of his ex-wife and long-time life partner. They took care of each other during alternating bouts of illness; she preceded him in death by several months.

Hank Jotz was a mentor, teacher and friend to many, including me. He charted his own course and found success on his own terms.

Tom Burden Richmond Yacht Club

⇑⇓ after the coast guard proposed removing mile Buoy off santa cruz, the sailing community spoke out and saved the historical mark. But more Buoys are on the chopping Block

There needs to be consideration not only for those who may not have AIS/GPS equipment, but for those who may lose that capability — through either accident or equipment malfunction. Just because the Coast Guard itself isn't continuously engaged in SAR activities, should we cut back that aspect of their services? Certainly not. ATONs serve a real purpose: a definitive mark. As we move into a less-certain future, keeping the certainties we have makes sense. It's interesting that the Navy is re-instituting both celestial

LETTERS

navigation and LORAN.

Mike Bravo

⇑⇓ the enduring simplicity and reliaBility of charts

I have been all over the Bay Area with paper charts, and binoculars to find the channel markers — including on a few moonless nights. What more do I need?

I am not a fan of all electronic navigation. I have had devices shut down or give problems. It's really hard to have a paper chart fail, well maybe with a match if you keep it dry. They even work when soaking wet.

Joe Maciorowski

⇑⇓ virtual reality

In the proposal, buoys will be replaced by virtual AIS marks. If you have AIS, it will show on your plotter. AIS is VHF radio-based and does not rely on GPS in any way. If the GPS system goes offline, the world will have more problems than some sailboat. (Plane crashes?) If my GPS fails, I have a backup on an iPad and another on an iPhone.

The HMB weather buoy #46012 is off station and has been replaced by a Saildrone. I don't like that the hard buoys are possibly going away either, but they are very expensive to maintain.

Andy Newell Ahi, Santana 35

⇑⇓ gong BaBy, gong

The ultimate delivery of the technology — such as gongs, whistles, bells, and a physical structure or buoy serving as a reference point — might be simple, but Aids to Navigation, or ATONs, are major infrastructure with a major price tag.

Bay Area

Years ago, the buoy maintainers wanted to remove the Morro Bay sea buoy. A letter came into the local Aids to Navigation office saying how in foggy conditions they'd use their depth sounder to find the 60-fathom line then stay on that line until they heard the sea buoy's gong. (This was before buoys beeped.) Once at the buoy, they could find their way into Morro Bay. I heard the same story from my dad, who sailed aboard a jeep carrier in WWII.

Additionally the buoy, which by putting Santa Cruz on the chart, so to speak, is a source of civic pride for the locals.

John C. Dukat El Toro Class

⇑⇓ cost considerations

This would be a huge problem for a lot of the fishermen in Newport with non-upgraded vessels. You're going to force them to [invest] thousands of dollars they can't afford to use a fancy electrical radar that will likely have outages, as all electronics do.

What if our electrical grid shuts down? If we went to war and all of our tech was wiped out, would they still work? Keep the buoys that have greatly helped these fishermen navigate. Before he passed, my grandfather used to use the

LETTERS

light on the buoy and line it up with the bridge's lights — that was how he knew to navigate into the harbor.

Tasha

⇑⇓ Budget considerations

A $400,000 scientific research buoy in New Zealand broke loose in 2021. In our cursory research for buoy photos, we found numerous buoys that had been damaged, broke loose, were hit by ships, or — in the case of one ATON off Block Island — were riddled with bullet holes and sank.

Add to the list of buoys offline: the Bodega Bay buoy, with its weather and sea state info for us north coasters, and the 2M buoy, south of the main shipping channel into S.F. Bay. The 2M was super-helpful to keep mariners who were approaching from the south off the south bar.

If the Coast Guard is no longer willing to maintain the safety buoys that many of us depend on without the availability of electronics, it must be a budgetary issue and not an ability issue. (At least I would hope so.) I suggest that the CG budget be increased to cover this problem. If it is happening in California, it is undoubtedly happening nationwide. These buoys save lives, which is the sworn service of the Coast Guard.

Milly Biller

⇑⇓ cultural considerations

How come no one talked about the Mile Buoy being significant as part of the cultural heritage of Santa Cruz? The Mile Buoy whistle is the sound of Santa Cruz, just as much as the seagulls, the roller coasters, and the waves lapping on the beaches. I cannot imagine a still Sunday morning without that iconic sound reminding me of the long ocean swell rolling through.

Karl Robrock

⇑⇓ literary considerations

"I'm in favor of progress; it's change I don't like." — Mark Twain

Molesworth

⇑⇓ the rBoc weighs in

[Recreational Boaters of California, or RBOC] objects to the proposed mass decommissioning of traditional navigation aids as unlikely to make the waterways safer, and as creating greater risks likely to outweigh whatever benefits are expected from the closures.

In RBOC's comment letter submitted today to the United States Coast Guard, President Jamie Clark "respectfully noted with deep concern the Coast Guard's apparent plans to decommission a majority of the light and/or sound markers guiding craft into California harbors.

"As published in the Coast Guard's Local Notice to Mariners, it appears that USCG has concluded that electronic and virtual markers and guidance (V-AIS) are sufficient, and sound or whistle buoys or lighted buoys are no longer needed to guide recreational and other mariners into port in low visibility or bad weather conditions.

"RBOC urgently requests that the Guard reconsider this

LETTERS

planned mass removal of tangible aids to navigation. Literally every boater, sail racing group, and day sailor we've had the chance to consult so far, since your bulletin last month, thinks it's a bad idea, if not actively dangerous.

"Acknowledging that your buoy removal plans are subject to a series of comment deadlines, it still seemed clearest to respond to the entire program of degrading navigation guidance. Kindly accept this as a comment against all of the LLNR requests for comment."

PS: Nice work, Latitude 38. Thanks for your attention. The sheer number of nav markers suddenly up for the axe was surprising. Glad to hear that at least one harbor was able to successfully push back. This should tell other mariners that it's worth voicing their concerns to their local USCG post … and their Congressperson.

Jamie Clark President, Recreational Boaters of California

⇑⇓ angel island has needed new docks — and to Be dredged — for decades

My very strong point of view is that the State of California has no business operating [Angel Island State] park. It is the only one of the 423 state parks that is an island. Given the proximity of GGNRA [Golden Gate National Recreation Area, part of the National Park Service], the park should be ceded to the feds, now.

It is obvious the state can't take care of it!

By the way, I've written to you more times than I can recall asking Latitude to support a movement to get these repairs going, particularly the dredging of the mooring field. For the record, I've noted previously that the problem of the silting mound in the center of the field is due to the manner that the big Golden Gate ferries maneuver in and out. Their powerful props blow silt into the center of the cove.

Captain Jose Kanusee

Jose was commenting on the March 6 'Lectronic Latitude: Bay Area Boaters Unite To Push for Ayala Cove Dock Repair and Upgrade.

Captain Kanusee — Interesting you would blame the big GG ferries for something that has been slowly happening for at least 50 years (that I am personally aware of), when they have only recently (little over a year now) taken over the San Francisco-to-Angel Island ferry service. It is actually the dynamic of the ebb current that runs through the cove that deposits silt toward the center. During a large ebb current moving through Raccoon Strait, Point Ione [off Tiburon] catches a large stream of that current, directs it into the cove, and sets up a swift counterclockwise flow along the outside shore of Ayala Cove.

This swift current keeps the edges of the mooring field deeper, but the slower-moving water toward the center allows the silt to settle out there. I understand the cove was last dredged in the early '70s; yes it needs it again!

Captain Boatzguy

Captain Kanusee (we feel a little ridiculous for calling you that) — Latitude enthusiastically supports any and all repairs at Angel Island, and always has, and we've always done what's in our scope to support that end: report on the issue, talk to the people involved, attempt to shine a light. We spoke with the management, or superintendents, at Angel Island in 2022 about dock repairs, dredging, etc., and the district superintendent told us there was "a billion-dollar backlog on deferred maintenance" within the state park system. The docks

LETTERS LETTERS

SAN J U AN ISLAND S

were on the park's radar, but the implication was that it would take some time to get to the docks.

We also asked the district superintendent's boss, the state park sector superintendent of California, about dredging, and we shared many of our readers' concerns about depths in Ayala Cove. The head superintendent's response suggests that they're not even aware of a problem with the depth of Ayala Cove: "I'm surprised you only received eight comments on the subject. It appears from reading the responses that it is only an issue with boats drafting 5.5+' at low tide." We're not sure if the superintendent believes that every single boater has a 100% response rate in Latitude 38, and if our magazine represents the totality of the problem and the extent of the Park's data gathering. (We are so flattered if that is the belief.)

The superintendent continued with their, 'It seems like everything is just fine' response. "The docks and mooring field fill up on nice days and the perceived issue with boats not be[ing] able to use the cove only applies to larger boats with a deep draft at low tide. I would imagine if more boaters were having difficulties navigating the cove you would have received more responses?"

Regarding your assertion that the silting is caused by ferries: As you can see (no pun intended, though we wish we had), not everyone agrees with you, who are the only one making this assertion. Maybe you're right, partially right, or maybe you're completely wrong. And regarding starting a movement? We're flattered, Captain Kanusee. But we're just trying to keep our little cottage industry afloat.

⇑⇓ latitude platitudes

Latitude 38 has been my tether to the sailing community, a source of inspiration and information for almost as many years as it's been published.

It would be devastating if it were to cease to exist.

Michael J. Mellor

I could not live without Latitude 38 as a S.F. Bay sailor! Not fooling around! Every April 1, May 1, etc. is a very important day to look forward to! Thank you! Fair publishing winds and following readers, contributors and advertisers!

Robert Goldberg

I sail a couple of times per week, and over the past 40 years (I arrived in CA on April Fools' Day 1984!), I've noticed fewer and fewer sailors on the water. And that's AOK by me!

Andy Graham

It is a fantastic magazine put out by some amazingly fantastic folks who truly love sailing and the West Coast sailing scene. Reading it makes me feel connected to sailing here in

Evergreen-studded islands, abundant wildlife and peaceful anchorages. Experienced or new to sailing, we can help you discover the joys of cruising the beautiful San Juan Islands! Beginner to advanced liveaboard courses. Monohull and catamaran bareboat charters. Guided otillas too!

Sail & Power Yachts from 31’ to 52’

ur location

Our readers have understandably used strong language when speaking about the deplorable condition of the docks at Angel Island.

Kappas Marina

LETTERS

California and the West Coast. Reading the well-written stories about cruisers is always entertaining; I learn new things about faraway lands and people. Keep up the good work.

Jim Weaver

OK, I'll bite. You don't have roving reporter's? No Lois Lane looking for a sailing scoop? (I almost wrote "sloop.") No limousine waiting outside to whisk you to lunch at Scoma's? Well, I guess we readers will need to get off our collective duffs and send dribbles and drabs your way!

Rich Brazil

I'm still a hard-copy subscriber. I love the feel of the pages on my hands, the ability to leaf back or forward at will, to tear out a page to keep as a reference. Please never joke about not printing the monthly Latitude 38.

David Henry

I started reading Latitude many years, many dreams, many boats (and a few wives) ago and sometimes I was as despondent as the editor, but I would always grab the new Latitude and somehow reading it would get me through it all.

I still dream of casting off and going somewhere, and still feed that dream with each new edition. I read the hard copy and I must say that it is sometimes frustrating that there are printed continuations to online stories, but I don't go online to see what I missed.

Please keep printing a hard copy.

Mark

I was working at a boatyard 40 years ago, and John Arndt was the guy that went around to businesses to gain their subscription to advertise in Latitude. We were kids and that is how long he has been with L38. I don't have every hard copy, but I have most. Now that I live north of the Bay Area, I cherish Latitude even more than I already did, for the connection and the wonderful writing. Keep it up, you guys!

Milly Biller

Readers — This year on April Fools', we considered making a joke that Latitude 38 was lowering its sails for good. In a dark, sardonic mood, we wondered what the world would have looked like if there had never been Latitude 38 magazine. Would it be a dystopic void of sailing-less-ness?

We hate to complain, dear reader, because we love making this magazine, and we love the community. But it's tough. The business model for print journalism is pretty bleak. The hours are long and the paychecks are small. People want us to cover more regattas, politics and events, or to help start movements for million-dollar repairs. We want to do all that, too, but all of that takes a lot of time, resources and therefore money, money, money. And that would take a new business paradigm.

Thank you, everyone, for reading. Please keep grabbing the new issue, supporting our advertisers, buying subscriptions, making donations, telling your friends about us, and purchasing our swag. And above all, thank you for just sailing.

Have a comment? Email us at

LOOSE LIPS

Whenwe think about it, there's no real reason why someone can't fly their jib upside down, if they want to. In 1991, Tom LeDuc was returning to Ventura Harbor in his Catalina 22 when he came across the boat pictured below. "As I gained on it something looked odd about the sails from dead astern. They had been cruising happily along for quite a while like this, it was not an errant hoist that they were trying to correct," Tom wrote. "I had always been told that the breeze was stronger above the surface, but …"

We wanted to hear what our readers thought, so we chose Tom's photo for the April Caption Contest(!). Below are our favorite comments.

"If we hoist our sails this way, no one will notice we leave our fenders out." — James McCann.

"We generally sail bass ackward, so technically, it's a spanker." — Bill Huber.

"Bill's new 'Kite Sail' configuration failed to garner the expected envy — as the rest of the regatta rounded the mark." — Kelvin Meeks.

"Darn it … the boat's upside down again!" — @taneyhillart.

"The assembly instructions were in Swedish." — George Tillson.

"Remind me again — which is the tack and which is the clew?" — Barbara Blotzer Brown.

"Performance art for the harbor beachgoers is very popular in Ventura. Next up: A trebuchet will fling a dinghy over the crowd." — Bill Willcox.

"There's more wind aloft, so let's put the fat part of the sail up there." — Roger Briggs.

"Always need to rotate jib sails like one does automobile tires to keep wear even." — Frank Jesse.

"Fenders down, check. Mainsail not fully hoisted, check. Batten coming out of main, check. Genoa hoisted upside down, check. We don't care what anyone says. We are out on the water and they are all just keyboard warriors." — David Gruver.

If you have or find a Caption Contest(!)-worthy photo, please share with us at editorial@latitude38.com — we're always ready for a chuckle.

Winner: "Bill had told his wife she was wrong once before, he wasn't about to make that mistake a second time!" — Nod.

Tom LeDuc

stad amsterdam's new learning horizons after 'sc' buoy saved,

The Stad Amsterdam is a modern sailing ship, designed to the lines of a late-1800s cargo clipper. Conceived for the City of Amsterdam, she was jointly commissioned by Frits Goldschmeding, founder of Randstad Holding, and the Amsterdam City Council. Since her 2000 launch, she has welcomed thousands of guests, hundreds of events and numerous youth programs. "Being a commercial vessel, Stad Amsterdam can offer a range of services, from youth-sailing training to ticketed luxurious destination passagemaking, to private group excursions — such as what some experienced in the Caribbean earlier this year, prior to our crossing via the Panama Canal, then up the coastline to San Francisco," said Anne Cornelissen, sales manager of Stad Amsterdam.

In a routine year, the Stad Amsterdam circuit traces western Europe and Mediterranean coastlines, ventures to the Canary Islands, then across the Atlantic and through the Caribbean, north to the Bahamas and Miami, then heads to New England cities before a sail east to home. It is rare she makes a trip as far away as San Francisco; her last visit was 2018. However, as was the case around the planet, most travel ground to a halt during the pandemic, and its return has been cautious. Said Cornelissen, "As we emerged from COVID-era restrictions, a sense of exploration and desire to safely reconnect with peers prevailed. That spirit led to creation of our two-year World Tour."

This adventure commenced in August 2023; seven months into the journey, Stad Amsterdam arrived in San Francisco on March 6. She remained until March 24, departing with 10 guests bound for Hawaii. From there, an additional 15 embarked, including local Master Mariners Benevolent Association member Pat Broderick. Over a span of two years, the clipper will also visit Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Mumbai, Cape Town, New York, London and more. Her return to port will be greeted by revelers at the 10th edition SAIL Amsterdam in August 2025, which happens every five years. This festival draws 800+ vessels and 2.3 million visitors. SAIL Amsterdam '25 coincides with Amsterdam's 750th anniversary as capital of the Netherlands.

From the moment of christening, an important mission of Stad Amsterdam has been to be a platform for youth training and employment, so it was only fitting that the World Tour kick off with a sail for youngsters. Stepping forward to sponsor leg one, the oldest independent financial institution in the Netherlands, Van Lanschot Kempen, made it possible for 30 to journey from IJmuiden, NL, to Porto, Portugal. A sponsor firm and diversity, equity and inclusion specialist wanted the guest mix to be a reflection of society, and to be sensitive to the fact that many guests are challenged daily by physical and/or medical hurdles; some find it hard to process emotions, yet all overcame fears and benefited from the experience. Rooted in acceptance of inclusivity and diversity, on-ship exercises gave time to connect, cultivate talents and grow. Individuals learned from one another, discovering that regardless of a person's background, people have more in common than not. Along the way, knowledge, skills, independence and self-confidence were gained. All found ways to lead a team, to communicate, and to delegate with self-respect and respect for others.

The Stad Amsterdam's World Tour presents options for a program to transpire in one of many global regions and for youths of any nation. Sessions span eight to 28 days, and with 13 cabins available, 30-40 can be accommodated with two or three to a cabin. Having hosted in venues around the world during the past 20 years, the Stad Amsterdam team has ample experience.

What do participants say is the most intimidating thing about participating? Believe it or not, "Most are afraid of whether they will fit in with the group. Despite being on board a large and complicated ship that they don't know, more anxiety comes from worrying about becoming part of a group where everyone starts as a stranger," said

The debate over whether to remove Mile Buoy, also known as 'SC', was short and sweet. When the Coast Guard announced a proposal to remove the mark about 1.5 miles SSW off Santa Cruz, the local boating community spoke out immediately, and SC was removed from the chopping block.

But "Safe Water Buoys" are being looked at for removal. Citing emerging navigation technology and the cost of maintenance, the Coast Guard has proposed removing six Safe Water Buoys along the California Coast — from San Diego to Humboldt — and replacing them with Virtual AIS (V-AIS) Aids to Navigation. The CG also said that bells and gongs will be removed from some five buoys in the Bay Area.

uscg may remove others

Among its many duties, the Coast Guard is responsible for maintaining a nationwide network of maritime navigational aids, or ATONs, including about "50,000 lighthouses, beacons and buoys marking more than 25,000 miles of navigable channels and 95,000 miles of shoreline in the United States and its territories," according to the Department of Defense. The Coast Guard told Latitude that they service these buoys triennially for regular maintenance, ranging from $30k-$600k/visit and every seven years for complete replacement of the buoy, which costs $110k—$1.3M/visit. Check out this month's Letters for an expanded discussion. — latitude

stad amsterdam — continued

Cornelissen. Youth sail journeys are often a first-development step to help build confidence. A progression can be to join the team: some later apply for a role as paid crew deckhand, hospitality or watch. The vessel employs 30 on each leg of the World Tour, and commitments run six to 10 weeks at a time.

Whereas S.F. Bay has a variety of in-Bay sailing programs, time sailing aboard a tall ship to or within a foreign location can be even more eye-opening. If your youngster has a yearning to sail, there are numerous options. Within the United States, consult Tall Ships America. Outside our borders, consider vendors such as Another Class Afloat, World Adventures or Sail Training International.

The Stad Amsterdam is headed west during the next year, but if you wish to catch her (somewhat) closer to home, consider Natal, Brazil, starting in April 2025. From there, she cruises the Caribbean until mid-May, then north to Miami. As temps rise, so will Stad Amsterdam, crossing latitudes en route to Baltimore, New York City and Boston.

— martha blanchfield

The 249-ft 'Stad Amsterdam' was a stunning sight on the Bay in March.

martha BLanchfieLD

swiftsure has new home the river of grass garage build

A few years ago, Stephen Buckingham started thinking about getting a new boat. That started him down the road of boatbuilding and boat uilding logistics. "I had long wanted to do the Singlehanded Transpacific race to Kauai, and I bought the Black Soo Starbuck for that purpose," said Stephen. "After racing in the SSS Longpac twice, I decided that was not for me." So he sold Starbuck and started looking for a smaller boat that would be easier to take on inland and Bay adventures.

"I looked a long time for a boat that could have a NorCal PHRF so I could also race. I was hoping to find one that is beacheable and trailerable and simple." But in order to get a PHRF certificate, there has to be at least 400 pounds of keel under you.

"Once I gave up on getting a PHRF then it really became wide open for designs."

Enter the River of Grass or RoG, a kit-built 15-ft micro cruiser designed in Florida at Bedard Marine. Stephen didn't have a shop big enough to build a 15-ft boat, as he lives in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, but he ordered the kit and had it delivered while he went looking for a space to build a boat. "The package of parts fit down in my small shop continued on outside column of next sightings page

A big blue Frers 58 — Sy Kleinman's well-known Frers 58 Swiftsure — is under new ownership.

Swiftsure called San Francisco Bay home for decades. She had an illustrious career racing on the Bay, doing Transpacs and taking hundreds of sailors — including iconic newsman Walter Cronkite — sailing. Swiftsure was eventually donated to Cal Maritime and subsequently ended up in Southern California. But the famed Frers was recently purchased by John Taussig, formerly of Santa Cruz, as a training platform for his nonprofit Marine Medical Guides, based in Seattle. Taussig sailed her from Long Beach to the PNW in early April and said that once she's updated, she'll be making return training trips to California.

Clockwise from top left: 15-ft kit-built River of Grass-designed 'Scoot' enjoys a sail in Richmond; Stephen Buckingham in his garage in San Francisco; 'Scoot' on the Ashby Shoal; Buckingham went all-electric; 'Scoot' makes its way out of the garage; it's a low-tide party at Ashby Shoal.

Stephen BuckinGham

Stephen BuckinGham

Stephen BuckinGham

the boat show is coming rog — continued

The first Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show (then called Pacific Sail Expo) was held in Jack London Square, Oakland, in April 1997. The show then moved to Richmond, and reopened post-COVID in May of last year at Westpoint Harbor in Redwood City. The second annual PSPBS in Redwood City will run from Thursday, May 16, to Sunday, May 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Latitude 38 looks forward to seeing our friends in the South Bay. We'll be checking out the recently opened The Club at West Point and the new Hurrica Restaurant. Last year's event got dampened by rain, but there were still some great boats to view on the wide docks of Westpoint Harbor.

below my apartment, and I was able to build the smaller parts while I looked for a bigger space." After about a year in the small shop, Stephen found an empty garage just two blocks from his place. "I just lucked out on that, I'm sure."

There was no one living in the apartment above the garage when he started, but that ended pretty quickly. "I didn't want to make too much noise and was worried about bothering them, but they were super-nice, and it turned out OK. I stayed as quiet as I could be and used my table saw and noisy chop saw back at my house."

Trying to lie low in a garage building a boat was one of many challenges Stephen worried about. "I was really worried about getting in trouble with the landlord, because I have a lease that says no working on your vehicle, you know, so certainly no building a fucking boat. My biggest fear was that I'd be halfway through the build and get kicked out." Then one day the landlord showed up. "It was the owner of the building. It turns out he was super-cool. The neighbors got into it too, so it was kind of a fun thing to watch as it turned out to be a very neighborly thing."

The little boat was christened in November 2023 at Richmond Yacht Club with friends in attendance, and has been named Scoot, after the little shorebird surf scoter. An image of a scoter is on the transom.

Although the RoG is designed to handle tough conditions, Stephen wanted his to be a little more stable for San Francisco Bay. He added a lead shoe to the bottom of the keel. The pouring was done at his friend Greg Nelsen's house, as melting lead on a San Francisco sidewalk probably wouldn't be prudent. Other nice features of the boat are a 24-volt electric drive, a refrigerator/freezer, a portable composting head, a twoburner stove, and full 12-volt electrics for running navigation lights, interior lighting and stuff. The boat was designed with the option to row and has storage for two long oars. It sails with a main and mizzen using wishbone booms like a Wyliecat. It has a V-berth inside an enclosed cabin — and all this in just 15 feet.

Stephen has a list of trips he'd like to do, and that list keeps growing. "Eventually Pacific Northwest would be pretty cool, the lower Columbia River, and of course Tomales Bay and the Missouri Breaks in Montana. I built a second rudder and centerboard that has no lead for going down rivers with the back of the boat covered in solar panels so I can drink ice-cold beer all the way."

He doesn't count out local venues. The Singlehanded Sailing Society has a group of friends trying to put together small-boat raids here in the Bay Area. "What I'd really like to do is organize a casual, laid-back raid in the area on different kinds of boats and just camp out with friends." That sounds like a perfect Delta trip to us, and we'll see you there.

— latitude /chris

a local sailor's clipper race dreams

John Arnold's arrival to the Clipper Round the World Race — where amateurs get a taste of competitive ocean sailing — began with an iconic sailor and a boyhood dream. "In England, where I grew up, I was always on the water, swimming and fishing and messing about in boats," said Arnold, a Bay Area sailor. "I remember watching Robin Knox Johnston on TV in 1969 aboard his boat, Suhaili, and I remember seeing him just surrounded by boats as he returned from the Golden Globe Race. I read Knox's book A World of My Own, and I remember thinking at the time, 'That's something I'd love to do someday.'"

After ascending the ranks in academia, learning to sail, having kids, and buying a boat, Arnold, 65, completed two races on Leg 4 of the Clipper Round the World Race in January. He's eager to sail a few legs in the 2025-26 regatta. (This year's Clipper Race just arrived in Seattle as of press time, and will finish in the UK in July.)

Steven Gorman

Stephen Buckin G ham

ready to celebrate local sailor's clipper race —

"It was an absolute blast," Arnold told Latitude of his Clipper leg from Fremantle, Western Australia, to Newcastle, above Sydney. "Helming was amazing, especially at night, and especially on the big waves. You're trying to keep the boat from broaching, and you're trying to go fast." (Arnold hit 22.7 knots during one of his tricks at the wheel.) "It's exhilarating once you get away from land. You go weeks on end without seeing anyone else — there are amazing nights and days, some interesting weather, and some really interesting people on board."

Though he harbored big dreams of ocean sailing one day, John told us that he continued to mess around in boats as a young man, but "didn't do a huge amount of sailing." In the early 1980s, he moved to San Diego for graduate studies and had some free time the first summer. "I took classes at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center in little boats. It was warm and sunny," said the British expat. Arnold relocated to Berkeley in the late '80s and was "super-busy" for years; he would eventually become a tenured professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley and run a research group, all while trying to squeeze in a little sailing and racing.

"I took some classes with Cal Adventures, graduated to OCSC, did the US Sailing certification, got bareboat-charter certified — and then I had two kids." Arnold eventually bought a Santana 22 with a friend, and they raced quite a bit. John even started singlehanding in his 'Tuna', which led to a discovery. "I'd occasionally see these beautiful boats — they were Alerion 28s. I thought, 'That's going to be my next boat." Arnold sails a few times a week, including beer cans, out of Richmond Yacht Club in his Alerion 28 Diana in a "great fleet with some great sailors."

Arnold's first taste of ocean-sailing experience came two years ago on an attempted delivery from Hawaii to California following the Pac Cup. "Numerous things went wrong and the skipper decided we should go back. But I loved it out there — the sea, the waves, the wildlife." John said he especially loved sailing at night. "The stars and the moon were just fabulous. I wanted to do more ocean sailing, but not necessarily racing."

But racing would be the gateway for John Arnold.

Upon his return from the truncated delivery, Arnold discovered the Clipper Race. "Complete amateurs could race. I had an interview online where you talked about why you wanted to do the race. I got a contract to go to the UK and do the mandatory four-week training in early 2023. I loved that — even though it was cold and wet, it was great fun. The Clipper organization is super-professional and safety-oriented. Everyone took it very seriously."

John said he's referred to as a "legger" in Clipper terms, as opposed to roughly half the people on board who are "round-the-worlders" and race all eight legs. (There's a full-time skipper on the Clipper 70, along with a first mate, or "Additionally Qualified Person.") Still, Arnold sailed a kind of mini big-ocean race. "The lowest we could go was 45 south — not quite the Southern Ocean. Lower than that, and they're concerned about ice. But we had to get down there to catch the wind. Everything was wet straight through, all the time — and it was hard to stay warm. We were beating five to seven days going south, then flying east toward Tasmania, tacking up the coast — kind of parallel, I guess, to the Bass Strait. We stopped in Newcastle for about a week to provision and refit, then did a much shorter race to Burleigh Beach on the Gold Coast in Queensland at 22 degrees south, where we were only wearing shorts and a PFD, and we were still hot."

The crew were "just incredible characters" from all over the world, John said. People were assessed by what they were good at, "but everybody gets a shot at what they wanted to do on the race," he added. There's also a "Wheel of Life" that assigns rotating chores to the crew, who rotate through cooking, minding the heads and bilges, helping the navigator, etc. "There was lots of pasta, rice noodles. We had an amazing worlder from Greece, Vasi, who, when she wasn't busy, would bake bread and make cakes."

The Clipper Race is "probably not for everyone," Arnold said. "You have to be used to being uncomfortable, wet, cold and exhausted." And then there are the boats themselves. "The loads on everything and the power

We can't think of a sailor we've met who doesn't think that becoming a sailor is the best thing that ever happened to them. Most sailors are dedicated to passing on their good fortune to others who haven't discovered sailing. Despite the enthusiasm and love for the sport and lifestyle, however, sailors often find it challenging to bring more sailors on board. It's a confounding topic, but one we've embraced with the Summer Sailstice celebration of sailing.

On April 23, Latitude 38's Good Jibes podcast was dedicated to all things Summer Sailstice to help describe why and how the 24th annual global celebration of

Inset right: John Arnold takes a selfie aboard the Clipper 70 'Washington DC' earlier this year. Spread: 'Washingtone DC' roars through the ocean en route to Newcastle, Australia. Inset left: 'Washington DC' skipper Hannah Brewis turned 27 this year, but already has some 40,000 miles of ocean-racing experience under her belt.

sailing with the world?

sailing is key. The public doesn't understand sailing. (In many cases, local Bay-side governments don't understand sailing or marine businesses, either.) It happens far away from land and out of sight of most people. When they see sailing and boating in the news, it's usually megayachts or disasters. But when people see sailing through Summer Sailstice, they see something fun and accessible. They see what you post for your sailing plans on the Summer Sailstice website. It can be any sailing in any boat, big or small, racing or cruising, competitive or just for fun. Raise your sails with us on June 22.

— latitude / john

clipper race — continued

of the boats is sort of beyond what I would have imagined. Everything is overbuilt and heavy. Even the big spinakers are very heavy sails and it takes several people to move them — drag them — around and pack them away. Raising/lowering/wooling sails can take hours."

But working with the crew in extreme conditions was part of the fun. "One watch I was on; even when things were going wrong — and things were often going wrong — everybody comes together and works the problem. The banter and jokes we had, even when people were worn out and tired, were really fantastic."

Arnold says that he hopes to sail across an ocean on his next Clipper experience, and he'll do plenty of local sailing in the meantime. He's going to try for another post-Pac Cup delivery this summer. The current semester also marks John's last after 35 years of teaching.

"There's a lot more sailing in my future," he said.

— latitude / tim henry

as fate, and sharks, would have it …

In the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, where the horizon stretches endlessly and the sea teems with life, Larry Hall — the author of this story — alongside his stalwart crew, Jamie Odell and Keith Sjöholm, set sail aboard the Beneteau Oceanis 461 SV Francesca with the Barbary Coast Boat Club. Their destination: Half Moon Bay from the bustling shores of San Francisco Bay. Little did they anticipate the peril awaiting them beneath the surface. As the sun bid its farewell to San Francisco Bay, Francesca sliced through the waves with elegant precision, its crew filled with anticipation for the journey ahead. But fate had other plans. About five miles off the coast from Pillar Point, they encountered an adversary unlike any they had faced before: a great white shark.

The collision reverberated through the vessel, shocking the crew into a frenzy of panic. As the initial shock subsided, they were met with a chilling realization — the ocean was breaching their sanctuary. Water, the lifeblood of the sea, was now an ominous threat, seeping into Francesca at an alarming rate.

In a desperate bid to save their beloved vessel from succumbing to the continued on outside column of next sightings page

wood is good at

Nothing tugs at a sailor's soul more than the sight of classic wooden boats under full canvas cutting across the Bay. New boats have a lot of cutting-edge features and performance advantages, but it's the Bay's classics that have formed the foundation for sailing here for well over a century.

The Bay is lucky to have the annual Master Mariners Regatta, coming this year on May 25, when you can see a flotilla of these classic beauties come together.

It's a day to bring your camera, set your sails, and get to the starting line off the St. Francis Yacht Club by noon to see the fleet — from the locally built Bear and Bird boats up to the locally built Matthew Turner — that will sail around the buoys off Sausalito, Blossom Rock off San

Larry Hall, author of this Sightings and owner of the Beneteau 461 'Francesca', on a calm, glassy day in Clipper Cove.

the master mariners

Francisco, the North Bay by Southhampton Shoal and finish behind Treasure Island before the fleet heads down to the Encinal Yacht Club for post-race festivities.

This year includes a remarkable celebration of Terry Klaus' 47th year of sailing in the Master Mariners with his schooner Brigadoon, which turns 100 years old this year! Keeping a wooden schooner in sailing shape for 100 years takes commitment, and the Klaus family has made it happen. It's worth being out on the water on May 25 for Brigadoon alone.

Brigadoon will be joined by a fleet of Bay Area classics that will compete to win as well as recognize the history and heritage of sailing on the Bay. We'll see you out there. — latitude

fate and sharks — continued

abyss, Larry, Jamie, and Keith sprang into action. With the floorboards afloat and the pumps straining against the deluge, manual intervention became their only hope. Keith's steady hands gripped the helm, guiding Francesca through the tumultuous waters, while Larry and Jamie waged a battle against the rising tide, their efforts fueled by sheer determination and the primal instinct to survive.

Larry instructed Keith to send out a Pan Pan call for distress, not actually believing this would be a Mayday, though it was. Keith gave the information: the name of the vessel with three adults wearing life jackets, our exact location, and our emergency — we were taking on water. SV Wanderlust and SV Akimbo radioed back that they would be nearby if we needed immediate assistance. Every passing moment felt like an eternity as the crew fought against the relentless onslaught of water. With each bucket cast overboard, they pushed back against the encroaching flood, their hearts pounding in unison with the rhythmic lapping of the waves against their vessel.

Amid the chaos, a glimmer of hope emerged — a crackling voice over the radio, promising aid from the Pillar Point Harbor Patrol within 20 minutes. The Coast Guard, ever vigilant, dispatched a chopper to stand by. But time was not on their side as Francesca battled against the rising water. As the minutes stretched into an agonizing eternity, the distant hum of approaching rescue vessels pierced the cacophony of chaos. The Pillar Point Harbor Patrol, their saviors on the horizon, raced to reach Francesca's side.

With bated breath, the crew watched as their rescuers closed in. And then, like a guiding light cutting through the darkness, the Pillar Point Harbor Patrol arrived. They asked if we had access to our batteries. They had a high-powered pump in a bucket that they could hand off to us. In the high seas, this was a bit of a challenge, but the handoff was made. Larry hooked up the pump and placed it in the bilge. The pump finally got ahead of the ingress of water.

With their assistance, Francesca was escorted safely back to port. Once at the dock, the harbor patrol had arranged for a diver who would inspect the bottom and fill any holes, but none was found. They also had yet another pump for our use and assured us we were good to stay for the night. I had also reached out to a friend, John Daughters, also a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, who came down and gave Francesca a good inspection from inside. There were no immediate signs of the leaking or damage.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue over the tranquil waters of Half Moon Bay, Francesca stood as a silent sentinel, a testament to the enduring spirit of adventure that beckons sailors to distant shores, where every journey is a story waiting to be told. Only later did we discover that the impact with the shark had upset the rudder bearing and allowed water to enter Francesca through the rudder tube, creating a siphon effect. This was confirmed by Francesca's electrician when he saw the water trails along the rudder tube and through the rear lazarette.

But beyond the harrowing tale lies a deeper message, one that calls attention to the unsung heroes of the sea — the Pillar Point Harbor Patrol. Their swift response and unwavering support were instrumental in the successful rescue of Francesca and her crew. Yet, despite their invaluable service, Pillar Point Harbor faces an uncertain future due to funding constraints. In light of this, it is imperative that we rally behind the Pillar Point Harbor Patrol, advocating for the resources they need to continue their vital work.

Whether it's attending board meetings or reaching out to local authorities, every voice matters in safeguarding our maritime community.

So let us stand together in support of the Pillar Point Harbor Patrol, ensuring that they have the means to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies at sea. For as Francesca's journey has shown us, in adversity, the true strength of our maritime community shines brightest.

Written statements for the Harbor Board can be submitted to mhadden@smharbor.com — larry hall

lessons learned from the 2023 baja ha-ha

We were possibly the smallest boat and least experienced crew in the 2023 Baja Ha-Ha.

Rampant 2 is a 1982 Cal 9.2; a 30-ft, half-ton IOR boat from 1982. This is hardly the kind of boat one expects to see making a longer-distance cruise. We made it from Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard to La Paz and back in two months. In many ways, it was up to our expectations. In other ways, we were severely tested. The event set up by Ha-Ha organizers Richard Spindler and Patsy Verhoeven and their crews was polished and clearly shows their experience with this event. The support was there.

We were shocked by the loss of Boat Bum Gal. Thankfully, we did not make their mistakes. The information necessary to avoid that kind of problem was readily available, in books, on charts, online and in the comments before and during the rally by Richard and his crew.

But we, too, violated some of those admonitions, and somehow survived to make it back. Twice we attempted to make it into unfamiliar anchorages at night. Twice, we dragged. We failed to have enough spares (there are never too many spares!) and we spent a lot of time scouring La Paz for what we needed. It was not easy.

What we did learn is the Mexican people are kind, friendly and helpful, almost to a person. There are resources in Mexico if you are persistent and lucky. We had to deal with two boatyards and one emergency haulout. Both Marine Group in Los Cabos and Baja Naval in Ensenada gave great service to us. During the two months, we had seven different engine malfunctions, lost an anchor, chain and rode, spent a lot of money getting stuff fixed, and somehow managed to sail almost the entire way from Cabo to Oxnard without an engine in the so-called Baja Bash.

I think we got lucky.

Our most difficult incident happened on the leg going south from Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez back to Los Cabos. Our second anchor rode was in a milk crate in the lazarette and tipped over in a gale, and it found our prop shaft and wrapped tightly, splitting the packing gland in two. Four hours later, we somehow used our battery-powered grinder to break up the chain and cut away the nylon rode to reveal a lot of water pouring in through the now ripped-up packing gland. We slowed the leak with duct tape. We had a high-capacity bilge pump and a separate dedicated battery that more than managed the flow. It is still very scary to watch the ocean pouring into the boat, offshore, in a gale. The management of the situation was a lesson. We called the US Coast Guard, who started monitoring our situation. We had an AIS transponder so they knew where we were. The US Coast Guard coordinated with the Mexican coast guard, continued on outside column of next sightings page

cabo marina closes and

Cabo Marina underwent a sudden change of ownership recently, causing alarm and concern among boaters. Mexican navy personnel, national guard and state police arrived at the docks and secured the area with chains, and instructed boat owners to relocate their vessels, according to the Gringo Gazette, which said that the Mexican government did not renew its lease agreement with former owners Fonatur and the Island Global Yachting (IGY) company.

"This changeover marks a new chapter for the marina, promising a different management style and possibly new regulations." But by the end of the day, the marina was back in business under the administration of an organization known as ASIPONA.

Eric Taylor, the author of this Sightings and teacher of lessons about the Baja Ha-Ha, with a yellowfin tuna somewheres north of Cedros Island.

reopens after takeover

According to Megayacht News, the Mexican newspaper Diario El Independiente reported, "a siren sounded in the marina the morning of April 11. The siren reportedly alerted those in the marina that the docks were closed." The Independiente also reported that the Mexican government had officially published news of ASIPONA's receiving the concession for a 50-year period on March 22.

IGY is owned by MarineMax, which reportedly "believes that the takeover of Cabo Marina's facilities is illegal and that the alleged violations underlying the sanctions proceedings against Cabo Marina are illegitimate." Megayacht News said that "MarineMax says it's working with both American and Mexican government officials to resolve the situation."

— latitude / monica

ha-ha lessons —

and the consensus was that we should sail 70 miles south to Los Cabos.

We did this with a double reefed main, only, in 35 knots and a sixsecond wave period, downwind. Every hour we had a check-in call with the US Coast Guard. The Mexican navy sent out a boat and shadowed us all the way into the harbor at Los Cabos. The marina at Los Cabos sent out a tow boat when we were just outside the harbor to give us a tow to the fuel dock. The next day we learned two other sailboats had been dismasted in the storm that night and were towed into Los Cabos.

Northers in the Sea of Cortez are dangerous! Our experience in the northern Santa Barbara Channel is very different from what we experienced in Mexico.

Another one of the revelations was that we really didn't have to have an engine all the time. Our boat sails well upwind. We beat back up the Baja coast. It took nine days to get the 900 miles from Los Cabos to Oxnard in a 30-ft-long boat.

But we did not pound. The three capes were kind to us. As I said, we got lucky.

— eric taylor

Cruising Baja California will put you in some of the most beautiful spots on the Seven Seas, immerse you in a new culture, and teach you any number of lessons about cruising, passage making and seamanship.

eight bells for howard makela

On Wednesday, March 27, the marine industry lost a true legend with the passing of Howard Makela, owner of Makela Boatworks in Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. Howard had been doing what he loved — working on a wooden boat — when he fell from a ladder. He died two days later.

Many West Coast mariners will remember Howard as a skilled, meticulous shipwright who approached his work with passion and dedication. And despite being of an age where he could have easily retired and sat back to enjoy a fun, peaceful life, the 68-year-old tradesman preferred to spend his time repairing and working on wooden boats. Just as he had done for the previous 50 or so years.

His love for working on boats began under the tutelage of his father Fred and his Uncle Nick. Together, they started Makela Brothers Boatworks in 1947. The brothers had earned themselves a reputation based on their fishing success and their first boat, Condor, a 44-ft wooden fishing troller they (teenagers, just out of high school) had built for salmon fishing off the California coast. The self-taught, self-reliant young men went on to build at least 13 more boats and continued working together for 65 years.

saildrone launches its

Alameda-based Saildrone recently announced the launch of a new generation of 65-ft Surveyor-class unmanned surface vehicles, or USVs, which are designed for long-range, long-endurance autonomous deep-water ocean-mapping missions and maritime-domain awareness.

According to Saildrone — who built the new sailing robot along with Alabamabased yard Austal USA — the Surveyor is the world's largest unmanned, autonomous vehicle class in operation. The Surveyor will be providing the US Navy and other government customers with a cutting-edge solution for persistent presence at sea, openocean hydrographic surveys, and other missions requiring continual wide-area coverage.

continued on outside column of next sightings page

Clockwise from left: Howard Makela, left, with Miri Skoriak and Mary Makela, right, two weeks before Howard's passing; the 42-ft Malibar II 'Legacy' on the Bay; Howard aboard 'Legacy'; Howard and Carol Hasse from Port Townsend Sails, who made the sails for 'Legacy'. (Hasse later became port commissioner for Port Townsend.) Inset: The gorgeous, timeless lines of 'Legacy'.

largest sailboat ever

Saildrone reports that their vessels have collectively sailed 1,144,104 miles and spent 36,234 days at sea. Saildrones of all sizes are now deployed across all the oceans of the world, with remote pilots following their tracks and directing their courses to monitor ocean health, illegal fishing and human trafficking, and now will be "contributing to our defense and national security," according to Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins, who was at the launch of the Surveyor in Alabama along with Admiral Lisa Marie Franchetti.

Saildrone may well be the largest sailboat manufacturer in California, and certainly in the Bay Area. We look forward to crossing tacks with robots in the future.

howard makela — continued

Despite the access to so much skill and knowledge, young Howard Makela was not just given the tools and knowledge the elders possessed, but was required to learn through mastering smaller tasks and repairs, observation, and reading everything he could about building boats. This method proved successful. Over the course of his "apprenticeship," Howard repaired a sunken fishing boat that he salvaged from the Noyo River and used it to earn money fishing. He then spent his income on a bigger boat, and eventually bought a 49-ft troller that had been burned to its deck — it was a boat that had been built by his father and uncle at the Makela Brothers workshop. Eventually, as the brothers retired, Howard took over the business and established himself as a well-respected craftsman.

Most of the boats built in the Makela workshop were designed and constructed for offshore fishing — hardly surprising given that the nearby Noyo River had been a wellknown fishing waterway since the 1880s. Then there's the fact that the Makela brothers had always been fishermen in the summer and boat builders through the winter. Howard followed these footsteps, until a few years after marrying his wife Mary, when he realized he didn't want to be away from his family every summer and early spring. Hence, in 1994, he turned full-time to repairing boats.

But Howard's greatest passion for his work was in building new wooden boats. As his reputation spread, fishermen would bring a design and ask him to build their new boat. Later, diverging from the legacy he had grown up with, he also built sailboats. This came to be his "preferred work."

Howard's sailboat interest had been inspired and encouraged by West Coast boatbuilder Dean Stephens, a fellow Fort Bragg resident. In 1995, he completed the 38-ft ketch Idora, originally a 1934 Billy Atkin-designed motor boat, Ingrid. Howard built other boats such as Downunder, Makela Joy and recently, Tern. Perhaps his best known among Bay Area sailors is the 42-ft Malibar II Legacy, a 1924 John Alden design built at Makela Boatworks in 1999.

Legacy is a wooden staysail schooner with a Douglas fir hull and solid teak deck, completed using traditional wooden boat construction methods. She currently resides in Richmond and has been a frequent participant in West Coast wooden boat shows and Bay Area schooner races.

Bay Area sailor John 'Woody' Skoriak told us he's saddened at the loss of his good friend Howard Makela, whom he described as a dedicated wooden boat builder and shipwright, a wonderful husband and father, and a credit to the wooden boat community at large. "He was definitely one of a kind, and one of the nicest, most genuine, honest and gracious people I ever knew." His workshop was "picturesque, old and authentic," akin to the boatbuilding sheds one might see in New England. At Latitude 38, we were also saddened to hear of Howard's passing. He had been a customer for many years, running his first advert in September 2002 — the same ad that recently ran on page 77 of the April issue. The only thing that changed in the 22 years we've known the Makela family is their email address.

We consider our community, our readers and advertisers, to be family. We offer our heartfelt condolences to Howard's wife Mary, their daughters Macaella and Kiersten, and the countless extended family, friends and community members whose lives were intertwined with Howard Makela and Makela Boatworks. We hope there's some comfort found in the knowledge that Howard Makela was a true gentleman, craftsman and artisan whose work will be remembered for many decades to come.

— latitude / monica

EVERYTHING AT ONCE —

It's

like this. The highest-ranking high school sailing team in Northern California is not recognized by the school.

That won't keep us from congratulating the sailors from Redwood High who won the Northern League Championship in April, but it might leave open the question of where to put the trophy. It might also leave us with surprised readers if we tell you that's not at all unheard of.

But there's good news. Eighteen schools were represented at the NorCals, whether they knew it or not. A historic trophy, repurposed, was on the line for the first time, with the sweetener for the winners of a foundation-sponsored trip to a regatta in Annapolis. Both prizes were aimed at pumping energy into the scene.

The Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation, Redwood City, hosted two days of racing, with 24 races combined for A and B divisions. "PY" won a lot of love for providing a matched fleet of Flying Juniors — no trailering to this one — and keeping the rotations moving. Top boat was Redwood A, skippered by Morgan Headington and crewed by Henry Vare. They finished with 6 points in the bank over the Bay School's Caleb ("We're a young team") Everett and crew Anna Rauh.

For the record, Redwood is located in Marin and ranked ninth in the Pacific Coast district, and Morgan and Henry most of the time would rather be wingfoiling. Because, for the record, FJs are not 21st-century fast. Their value lies on the chess-game side, as Morgan sums up: "FJs help me develop strategies for speed and distance to a starting line. But I feel the need for speed — unless I'm winning."

ALL PHOTOS KIMBALL LIVINGSTON EXCEPT WHERE NOTED

Akira Bratti and Whitney Feagin, depending on the breeze, and it's teamwork that keeps sailors devoted to this corner of the game. "Being part of a team is critical," Rhett said. "You don't always get that in club sailing."

It might also be true that, in the teen years, the social aspect is (almost) everything.

Rhett, like his teammates, sailed Optis in his younger years, but he is alone in winning his first Opti regatta not long after "getting the bad guys out." Back in the day, that was Rhett's little-kid way of understanding the chemotherapy that saw a frail, wasting body through leukemia. Now he's a robust survivor. Winning boat races is one way to keep Mom's eyes misting over.

winning team. Applause for the supporters — say it again, the supporters — of the Belvedere Cove Foundation, Encinal Yacht Club Foundation, Richmond Yacht Club Foundation, St. Francis Sailing Foundation and Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation.

The regatta is the Phebe King Memorial in C420s in June at Annapolis YC, which rebounded big-time from its disastrous fire. The Phebe King invitational, named after a College of Charleston AllAmerican from Annapolis who was lost to brain cancer at age 42, is populated mostly from the Mysterious East Coast, with the Midwest mixed in. Destination, iconic.

In youth sailing, everything is happening at once. You have your foiling fools popping up all over. St. Francis YC, next door to Crissy Field, offers wingfoiling classes because this kid, that kid and the next kid want to foil. The San Francisco YC has 29er skiffs to keep the speed freaks happy (which would include Rhett Krawitt), and along with Richmond Yacht Club, SFYC has RS21s, which are lightningquick. Optis remain the ubiquitous beginner platform, though StFYC and Sausalito YC have embraced the RS Tera for being a boat, not a box.

He's got that going, and Henry is fully invested in crewing, for now. With Morgan about to graduate, Henry said, "and Morgan being so talented, and because we're both wingriders and we're in synch, this is my opportunity to sponge everything I can."

The San Francisco Yacht Club is home base for the Redwood team, which went after B division with a vengeance. Fevaclass North American champion Rhett Krawitt took turns skippering with Mark Xu, and they topped B, while Encinal High's Emi Puertas skippered the secondplace boat. Redwood domination featured driver shifts plus crew shifts between

OK, the trophy: It began as the keeper for the 1981 California Cup, won in the Six Metre St. Francis VII by a crew of very young men, all of whom had been crack Laser sailors in their teens: John Bertrand, Paul Cayard, Craig Healy, Steve Jeppesen and Ken Keefe. Three out of five were Olympians-to-be, and five for five were world-class in any boat. Their stopover in Los Angeles for the California Cup was just a waypoint to Europe. There has never before been a regional award for Bay Area high school sailing. Morgan said, "Win or lose, it was great to see opportunities for high school sailing growing."

In thinking how to amp up the energy, adding a trophy was obvious, but more is more. Five of the foundations that contribute to Bay Area youth sailing are backing the trip to Annapolis for the

Elsewhere around the country, you find the top school teams well supported by their institutions, conspicuously so in Southern California, whose teams have won six of the last 10 national championships. NorCal teams run smaller, and often depend on freshmen stepping aboard boats for the first time. Bringing them in is good for the sport but not a path to dominance. Tim Hogan of Newport Beach, national interscholastic president for 19 years, was honored recently by the National Sailing Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievement, assiduously growing high school sailing by almost double. Hogan says, "We have 625 schools now, 6,000 kids, 400 regattas a year."

At PYSF, "High school sailing has been the fastest thing growing," and director Molly Vandemoer has watched that growth from 40 kids to 120 kids. They're split among 16 teams that mostly don't

PYSF supplied the fleet for 18 schools.

REDWOOD HIGH TOPS NORTHERN LEAGUE

have school recognition, and they don't have a prayer against the powerhouse Southern California programs. But they come back. For the sailing. For the team. For that moment of absolutely nailing the roll tack. "Ninety percent of our families know nothing about sailing," Vandemoer said. "I tell the parents, 'You're going to learn to drive a trailer.' I tell the kids,

'You're going to learn to teach, you're going to work on race committee, you're going to jump in on fundraising, and you're going to own a piece of this and it's not because Mom and Dad want you to.'"

Among supporters of youth sailing, one of the motivators is respect for the coaches, who are much more than sailing barkers. Underlying everything is

their commitment to keeping kids safe on the water. Then come boats and how to use them, and then, consequences. Kids get happy. Kids get frustrated. Kids melt down. The coach is there for learning to sail and learning to navigate life. I once heard a teenager say of her coach, "I know he gets paid, but he acts out of love."

Below: Rhett Krawitt shared Redwood's skippering role. Right: Henry Vare braces the boom and sights the jibe line for Morgan Headington's next move.

From left to right: Redwood High School's Akira Bratti, Henry Vare, Morgan Headington, Rhett Krawitt, Mark Xu, and Whitney Feagan with the Northern League trophy.

KERRY HEADINGTON

Caitie Bryson at Sausalito YC opened up enough to say, "There are people who assume I'm a 20-something noodling as a coach until a better thing comes along, but I'm a 30-something, and this is my career choice." Not the least of her problems now is supporting her continuing Marin Catholic sailors as their core team members graduate. How do you spell, r-e-c-r-u-i-t?

So many stories, and the un-winners have just as many, and their stories matter too. Here's one more.

The name is Jai Walthew. He's a freshman at Riordan, and Jai showed

Left: Encinal High's Emi Puertas close reaches to a timed start. Above: Nolan Balocki, left, introduced Jai Walthew to the joys of racing.

up at Treasure Island on a bright April Sunday morning for his third-ever howto-sail lesson and learned that he was on his way to Redwood City instead. And dude, you're going racing.

He had a day. Toward the end of it, Jai and skipper Nolan Balocki turtled on the finish line of the next-to-last race, and their combined weight was not enough to right the boat. They tried heavy thoughts. Not happening. They had to be towed, slowly and tediously, out of the way so the final race could start. Meanwhile, the crew of a Brusco tug was fired up at the dock and generously but anxiously waiting for room to get underway with a barge that had other places to be and everybody's clock was running and …

By the time Jai and Nolan got the stick pointed up, they were a lap and a half behind. They sailed the course. I figure they won their division.

— kimball livingston

www.latitude38.com/feature/san-francisco-youth-sailing

Maya Urfer kept it all under control for the Bay School sailing team.

A HARROWING PASSAGE

Wehad sailed Chinook 1,500 miles since the injector refit in Trinidad and arrived at the great gateway to the Pacific, the Panama Canal. We had seen many cool places, but everything in the Caribbean felt fairly approachable from an American perspective. We expected the next stage of the journey through the South Pacific to feel very exotic. Little did we know the adventure was about to begin a little earlier than expected.

Chinook, our 1980 Lafitte 44, doesn't back up well. So Marcus, one of the two Danish kids joining as line handlers, got into the dinghy with me to act as a stern thruster. We expected the prop walk to turn the boat to port and possibly into the other boats in the marina. I did push for a little bit, but it turned out everything went smoothly. Hopping from a dinghy to a moving sailboat was neat, but nothing compared to the rest of the day. Leaving the marina at 0330 was kind of exciting, but it contributed to our first issue. The channel was not well marked, so Carl, my sailing partner, started to turn before we cleared the channel. The rock underwater let us know immediately why there was a channel. I was at the bow working lines when I felt the telltale jolt. To Carl's surprise, he accidentally gunned the throttle. Usually that will drive you harder onto the rock or sand. Luckily, it was a short rock so we bounced over it and were on our way. If it were just Carl and me, we would have joked about it, but having all these line handlers on board made it a bit more embarrassing.

After we motored in circles in the dark, the pilot boats finally came out with Panama Canal advisors. All three of the sailboats scheduled to go through, Chinook, Luna, and Essentiel, had all required personnel. Luna,

ALL PHOTOS CHINOOK

a Beneteau 57, at 30 tons and with 160 horsepower, would be in the middle. We were to their starboard and the French catamaran Essentiel would be to port. The advisor on Luna took the lead and we all got rafted up and followed a car carrier toward the first lock.

As everyone put their fenders out, one from the cat got stuck against the wall. Their advisor attempted to recover it, and in the process, fell in the water. Man overboard! The cat trailed a line and he grabbed it and got back on. Luckily, the only other thing that got wet was his radio, but he had an extra, so the advisors could continue to coordinate.

The quick overboard scenario was the only hiccup in the first three locks. Everything ran like clockwork. The experience was focused on enjoying being in the canal, staring at the massive ships, and watching us slowly rise over the land. This was cool! Being in a confined space can be stressful

for a boat, but this was enjoyable! A smooth, uneventful transit doesn't make for a good story, though.

We got through the first three locks, and then it was on to motoring through Gatun Lake for a couple of hours. We didn't have to rush because our advisor, Guillermo, had slotted us in front of a ship at a reasonable hour ahead. People slept. It rained some. We looked at the jungle. We made burritos for everyone.

Luna had motored ahead, so it was just going to be Essentiel and us. Tying up to each other wasn't the most complicated. It became uncoordinated, however, when we were trying to steer into position. There didn't seem to be one person in charge, so turning and maneuvering had multiple decisionmakers. The French captain of the catamaran was making his own decisions and his advisor was not helpful. As it turned out, they had lost their starboard engine in the first lock, which they failed to tell us prior to tying up. Then a large vibration and noise emanated from Chinook. I worked my way

The view of Bridge of the Americas to welcome us to Panama City and the Pacific Ocean.

TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC

back toward the cockpit just as Carl was asking Johanne, the other Danish line handler, and Guillermo if there was a line in the water catching our prop. Definitely would be bad news. There were 16 knots of breeze pushing us toward a wall about 100 feet away, and we were tied up to an obstinate French catamaran with one engine, people yelling in Spanish, and a cruise ship bearing down full of people watching. Welcome to the Panama Canal!

I whipped open the floorboard above the drive shaft to see what the issue was. Water was spraying, bolts were loose, and the drive shaft and transmission were dancing to their own beats, completely out of sync. Frankly, I did not know what to do, but Carl had an idea. I took the helm and he jumped down below.

I made sure our line handlers were ready for anything, moving lines and fenders around as required. We were dead in the water and at the mercy of

Essentiel. Essentiel's captain, advisor, and our advisor were all very upset and yelling different ideas about what must be done. Guillermo wanted him to motor us into the lock, the French captain wanted to release us to protect his own boat. This, of course, would leave us adrift with an unstoppable cruise ship bearing down on us. Essentiel untied from us. Carl was still down below working, and I had four line handlers, a Spanish-only-speaking woman (the girlfriend of one of our line handlers), and Guillermo, floating on a 30,000-pound boat drifting through the most significant canal on the planet. No way to maneuver, no way to stop (we were in 75 feet of water, so the anchor wouldn't help), a wall 75 feet to leeward, and a massive cruise ship bearing down on us. Is this what it's like to be completely out of options? Well, no, not yet. Just by sheer chance, there was a pilot boat nearby. While I was pondering life and our

existence and Carl was working feverishly to fix the drive shaft, Guillermo had made the call. Now, with barely 60 feet between us and the wall, the 50-ft pilot boat slid in forming, a T with their stern on the wall, their bow firmly placed against our beam. There was a moment of concern they were going to break stanchions or damage our port side, but these pilot boat helmsmen are the real deal. In a matter of moments they had us fended off the wall and tied up alongside them. Shortly after, Carl came up, having mended the drive shaft. It turns out all the jockeying we did with the transmission had shaken the bolts loose, save one. Just on the precipice of absolute catastrophe. Carl had gone down below when we were rafted up to the cat, with lots of yelling, no pilot boat, and outside the lock. He came back on deck with the catamaran ahead, us rafted to the pilot boat, in the lock, and a massive cruise ship full of people taking pictures of us.

The pilot boat wasn't going to carry us through the last two locks, so the advisors' plan

SV 'Chinook,' our Lafitte 44, rafted up with a Panama Canal pilot boat. The French catamaran is tied up in front.

SV 'Chinook' (right), our Lafitte 44, rafted up with SV 'Luna' (left), a Beneteau 57, as we approached the first lock coming from the Caribbean side.

A HARROWING PASSAGE

was to have the cat tie up to the wall first, then have us tie up to them. The previous lock hadn't exactly been a happy experience, so we weren't too keen on this. The advisors run the show though, so Carl figured we could do it safely. The warranted apprehension did not take long to be confirmed. These were the Miraflores locks. One has spectator stands and even an announcer. The next one would have the fresh water of Gatun Lake mixing with the salt water of the Pacific on top of a strong current and stiff tailwind.

The advisors had us pushing farther and farther into the lock. They wanted to fit a buoy tender and the cruise ship behind us. The breeze and current pushed us closer and closer to the lock gates. Guillermo told us to go forward, and Carl was trying to explain that it takes a while for the boat to stop, especially with the current and wind pushing us ahead. Chinook was tied up to Essentiel, so our ability to stop was very limited.

The drive train started making very ominous noises again as the two

boats got close to the line handler on the wall. We figured it would only be a moment before he got the stern line on, bringing us to a stop. Despite this line handler's working for the Panama Canal, he somehow missed the lesson about how to tie up boats. He took the bow line first and put it on the bollard. If there had been a second line handler to take the stern line immediately, this might have been OK. If he'd had any inclination to hustle or move swiftly, this might have been OK. With neither of these saving graces, both boats started to rotate about the port bow of the catamaran. Putting Chinook in reverse would just pull us away from the wall, making it harder for the line handlers to throw the stern line. Not to mention the drive shaft vibration was steadily getting worse with every transmission shift.

The first time they threw the stern line, it missed. The two boats continued to rotate farther away from the wall. I looked at Carl standing at the helm. While no words were spoken, his face said the same thing I was thinking:

There is nothing we can do but wait and hope. Hope they get the lines secured. Hope we don't spin all the way around into the lock gate. Hope the boats aren't crushed against the concrete walls.

Two car carriers are seen side by side in the canal, dwarfing the sailboats.

See us at the San Diego International Boat Show June 20-23

Essentiel was a family of five with three boys. The oldest boy, maybe about 10, also saw the potential damage to their port bow as the mass of fiberglass and dreams hinged around that single bow line. His conclusion on what to do, however, could not have

TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC

the side onto a small catwalk and tried to push the bow away. Every adult who saw this knew right away the substantial injuries it could cause. One of Essentiel's hired line handlers ran over to pull the kid away, but it would have only taken an instant for disaster to happen. While calamity was dodged this time, it turns out the wife of Essentiel's captain had already been injured. At some point during the chaos, she had been tying a cleat.

The heavy load mixed with the older catamaran caused the cleat to violently pull out of the deck, smashing into her hand. I could see blood and she was holding it close to her body and protecting it. At least they got the stern line fast on the second throw.

In the lock, Carl tightened the bolts on the drive shaft. Next up was the last

the sea. Fresh and salt waters mix, the current rushes, the wind funnels, and mistakes happen. When the gates opened, Guillermo wanted us to untie, wait for Essentiel to go forward and tie to the wall, then come alongside and tie up. Carl rightly insisted we would not come alongside Essentiel until they were in position and ready to tie to us. So the gates opened to the next lock and, just as if it were planned,

Canal traffic reminded the author of when the Ev-

A HARROWING PASSAGE TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC

the same imbecile line handler cast off the stern line first. And just as before, he made no attempt to hustle as both boats started to pivot dangerously. If the boats got sideways in the canal, we'd be up there with Evergreen in the Suez. The line was untied in time and so we were on to the next lock.

The final Miraflores lock. Traditionally, the most challenging one. It had been pretty challenging so far, so I wasn't sure what awaited us through this gate. We released from Essentiel and proceeded cautiously into the lock. Critically, there were Panama Canal line handlers on both the left and right walls. Seeing our reluctant catamaran partner struggling to move forward, we opted to go it alone. Carl confirmed with Guillermo we could tie up to the right wall on our own; with a quick radio call, Guillermo confirmed that could work. As seemed to be their MO,

ready for the wall and I was on the port side with a fender ball, keeping an eye on the wayward catamaran. While there was no contact, the catamaran had somehow turned nearly sideways in the canal, its port bow against the wall and stern swinging toward us. I was trying to do the mental calculation to see if we were at risk of getting hit. Before I figured that out, there was an issue developing on the other side of the boat. I rushed over to get the large fender ball in position and in the process stubbed my bare toe on some deck hardware. I did get the fender in place to protect the boat, but I started bleeding all over the deck in the process. And since it was wet, it looked way worse. And just to top it off, they released the stern line first.

Motoring under the Bridge of the Americas completed our harrowing journey into the Pacific Ocean. Now, a quick visit to San Diego and then on

The author, Evan Gregory, posing on the bow of SV 'Chinook' in the final Miraflores lock.

A NEWBIE'S GUIDE —

"Five inches between blocks for building speed, three inches for fast."

These were my simple marching orders for a full-throttle day of team racing. I'd read the Sailing Instructions, I had a shaky understanding of the rules … but for everything else, well, I'd just have to learn on the job.

It was Saturday, April 13 — an overcast but otherwise ideal day for racing at Encinal Yacht Club. Given the solid breeze and the preference for more tactical sailing, the Race Committee had declared that no spinnakers would be flown — and so my foredeck role was converted to jib trim. Within the first five minutes, my hands were burning from getting the boat dialed in. The skipper, John Hansen, is a man of geniality, but there is no time for coddling crew when team racing. When the boat goes upwind, you trim in without hesitation. The driver needs speed. The driver needs to fetch the mark. Luff to avoid a crossing. We're dead downwind; anticipate leaping forward to wing out the jib. A moment later, harden up as we hook an opponent. With swollen fingers, I looked at my fellow women on the other crews. No matter how unassuming, they all must have the kind of grip strength that could make Darth Vader hit the high notes.

SAILING PHOTOS EYC/TEAM

primer for those who may not be familiar with the team racing format. In essence, it involves two or more teams of boats sailing around a four-mark rectangular course, pushing for speed while simultaneously pummeling their opponents. The rules encourage a match-racing mindset, but the "team" in team racing emphasizes teamwork and transparent communication — victory is not solely determined by a single boat's ability to get around the course quickly, but by the collective efforts

And then there are the tactics. Team racing — like match racing — is all about weaponizing that Racing Rules book you have in your chart table, but with notable exceptions that make fleet racing seem quite civil. For example, hunting is the norm — and leeward boats can sail above proper course, to defend or antagonize with a deft luff up. Remarkably, for crews engaged in the sailing equivalent of épée, there is generally very little contact. This structured anarchy is made possible by a race committee and roaming umpires, the latter able to declare any number of penalty turns for boats that don't comply with the RRS "Team Racing Rules." Furthermore, short 10to 15-minute race durations and motivated participants mean that many races are packed into a number of round robins. Thus, there is very little time for emotion, or dwelling on past mistakes — 15 minutes at most and roughly a million maneuvers.

Ten minutes prior, we had stepped onto a boat still in motion. The previous crew deftly stepped out of the cockpit and we — a team of three sailors and clattering water bottles — bundled in. This was the hustle of Encinal Yacht Club's inaugural 2v2 Team Racing event: two days and over 20 races. And on Day 1, things were moving particularly fast. With a storm brewing offshore, we had breeze in the low to mid-teens, with all the shiftiness that the Alameda Estuary is renowned for. Out the Gate, some even madder souls were participating in the Doublehanded Farallones race. Later, one of the gentlemen aboard Westerly reported a punishing 38 knots true wind speed; a Farr X2's rig came down, and many simply turned back. Meanwhile, we were planing along on flat water — and with the rain holding off for the day, the only tempests were emotional ones, whether from a minor setback or a major lead change.

Before delving into the weekend of racing and my small part in it, here's a quick

of the team in outmaneuvering and outsmarting their rivals. The British Sailing Association's "Ten Minute Guide to Team Racing" states the mechanics of it well: "In two-boat team racing, the team who has the boat in 4th place loses the race. It's as simple as that. [First] and 4th are a losing combination. The boat in 1st had better do something to get their teammate back into the game." As a result, boats will regularly steam ahead into a generous lead position, only to turn back and help their comrade improve their standing.

For the weekend's event, the fleet of six RS21 boats was graciously loaned to Encinal YC by the San Francisco Yacht Club. The RS21 is a very responsive boat with an open and well-thought-out cockpit. My only previous experience on one had been the delivery trip across the Bay, and I can attest that even for first-timers, the boat takes only minutes to rig up and for the crew to get oriented. In short, the RS21 is an excellent platform for sailboat racing; with minimal time needed to learn the nuances of the boat, teams have maximum mind-space to push it to its

In team racing, if you finish 1st and 4th you lose to 2nd and 3rd.

PHOTOS BRENDAN MCNALLY

Team St. Francis Yacht Club got the right combination to come out on top.

THE 2024 EYC 2v2 TEAM RACE INVITATIONAL

potential. Most pleasingly, these boats surf as naturally as the Duke himself but also tend to go bow-down if you're not quick about stacking everyone's weight aft. With a masthead rig to boot, the asymmetric spinnaker can be precisely measured as "ginormous." For regattas like this, it's the kind of small boat that makes you agreeable about going with white sails.

Competing alongside Encinal Yacht Club's local teams — Red and Blue — were experienced teams from St. Francis Yacht Club and California Yacht Club. There was also a multi-club WaveRiders Alliance, sourced from across the Bay Area. Saturday began with a competitors' meeting, which was in part orientation to the team racing format, and in part a warm reunion for the sailors, who included collegiate folks, midlife diehards and yes, a fair few women including myself. It was great to mix across the spectrum of experience; on one end, there was Allie Blecher — the three-time winner of the US Women's Match Racing Championship — at the helm of California Yacht Club's boat. On the other end, there was me … a keen fleet racer who had skirmished a little, but had nothing to put on the team-racing résumé. Our team was "EYC Blue" — John Hansen and Thomas Erisman handling the helm and tactics, and then me, keeping the whole operation moving fast.

The seamanship on display was, indeed,

skillful. As someone committed to some simple controls and one continuous sheet, I got front row to the parallel threads of John and Thomas talking tactics, shouting out intentions to the other boats, calls of "starboard!" and managing the internal frolic of constant course changes. Adding to the excitement are the natural boundaries of the Estuary, whose banks are not much wider than the course itself. In one particularly memorable episode of intraclub treachery, "EYC Red" led us well past the mark and just kept going and going … Until both of us were moments from destruction by the concrete pylons supporting the boardwalk at Brooklyn Basin. Two little girls peered over the boardwalk fence — and as was related by Dan Pruzan of "EYC Red," asked incredulously, "What are you doing down there?"

The team racing format, however, does provide time for breaks — and with Encinal Yacht Club's docks and clubhouse being on the Estuary, a threerace "bye" did provide sufficient time to sit down with a sandwich and talk shop … or do other things. In one instance, a crew who will

not be named had overestimated the time they had available and had to be herded down to the docks, beers still in hand. However, in a more bucolic moment, I watched for 20 minutes while a young racer made white clover daisy chains on the Encinal lawn. Para bellum.

The first day concluded with the result we all had hoped for — all five teams were very much in the running for the win. After 15 races, three teams were tied for second place, including "EYC Blue" — with only two wins separating first place and last.

The California Yacht Club clubhouse burned down this past winter, but they're still sailing. They came north for the team racing.

Coming in 1st is not good enough. Your teammate needs to come in 2nd or 3rd.

A NEWBIE'S GUIDE

Ihad done my job with dogged determination, as had John and Thomas, who, despite an all-neurons-firing first day, were riled up and ready to scrap some more. There was a Sunday of racing ahead, and all our crews would rotate out … and if my hands can ever forgive me, we'll do it all again in 2025. — ros de vries

Author's note: A heartfelt thank-you goes to Encinal Yacht Club for their Race Committee, umpires, volunteer efforts and warm hospitality. Thanks also to the San Francisco Yacht Club for trusting the five participating teams with their boats. Of course, the racers deserve a big hand for embracing the Corinthian spirit, while putting on a spectacle that had many enthralled from the clubhouse and on social media.

For anyone who is team-racing curious — get to it! Contact San Francisco Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, Richmond Yacht Club or Encinal to find out more about team racing in your area.

Right, from top to bottom: San Francisco Yacht Club lent their RS 21s to the event and the estuary proved ideal for the tight, tactical team racing; Racers were driven right up against the wall at the new Brooklyn Basin; Umpires follow the action closely and assess penalties underway.

You can view recordings of the team races on Encinal Yacht Club's YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/@EncinalYachtClub

Second: California YC

Fourth: WaveRiders Alliance Fifth: Encinal YC

Team WaveRiders Alliance.

Team EYC Blue.

Team EYC Red.

First: St. Francis YC

Third: Encinal YC Red

Blue

Zeus S Chartplotter

MAX EBB — RACE CREW CARE

Itwas during post-race cocktails with my crew, at the corner table in the yacht club bar, the table with the best view. Lee Helm's phone made a sound like an old Telex teletype machine from the '80s.

"Text message coming in," she explained as she opened the message and read it out loud: "Lee, can you race with us next Saturday? Need a mainsheet trimmer too, if you know anybody."

"I'm going to, like, pass on this race," she said, typing fast with her thumbs. "I have a major progress report on my thesis to finish."

"Isn't that the boat you sail on as tactician?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a great gig," she confirmed. "I just hang on the backstay and call tactics, and I get to play with all the big kids in Division A. Most races I don't ever touch a line or a winch handle. But like, the logistics of that boat are sometimes a pain to deal with."

"Still, it's a privilege to sail as tactician at that level of competition," I noted.

"For sure, Max. But there are downsides. Example: I'm like, up late Friday night printing out the detailed tide charts, then I bike to the boat for the 0800 dock time, and then the boat doesn't actually cast off till 9:30. Grrr. And like, sometimes for a two-day event, the boat ends up staying at the host club on the other side of the Bay the first night, and no plan in place to

Swifture didn't always win, but Si and Phyllis always took good care of their crew. ALL IMAGES

get us back to our cars and to my bike. Had to take Lyft. From now on I'm going to insist that I meet the boat at the host club, if that's where the boat will be after the race."

"I hear tell that that boat feeds pretty well," added my foredeck crew, a big guy from Appalachia, another student whom Lee'd introduced to racing. "Calling tactics in the A division, you must be happier than a gopher in soft dirt."

He had never seen the ocean before coming out here for college, and was not at all bashful about admitting that he's in it mainly for the free lunches and yacht club dinners.

"Big sammies for sure," Lee confirmed. "But no custom orders. I have to bring my own 'tuna and sprouts on thin-sliced toasted sourdough, no tomato.' You'd think it would be easy enough to phone in custom orders to the local upscale deli."

"Does the owner at least spring for dinner at the club dining room?" I asked.

"He didn't have to when the boat was winning," Lee recalled. "Boats that win don't need to add perks. But like, this season the bottom is old, we have some gaps in the chute inventory, and the crew are in training. It's like, if we're finishing mid-fleet, even the new crew will, like, move on to a winning program after they, like, develop the skills."

"Chicken and egg mode," I said.

MAX EBB

"Need good crew to win, need to win to attract good crew."

"We know how much the sails cost," Lee added. "If the Saint Fancy Yacht Club is hosting the regatta, then it's just proper etiquette to treat the crew to dinner in the upstairs Saint Fancy dining room. It's way more economical than new sails in terms of speed increment per dollar."

"And for us starving students, it's a good way to keep the cows coming back to the same ol' barn," added the foredeck crew.

"For me it's not the money, it's the gesture," said my mainsheet trimmer. "And the post-race socializing — I was on a boat once that always did this interminable post-race post-mortem that could take up to an hour after we were tied up, when I really wanted to be in the yacht club bar. Sometimes it's even more valuable to debrief the other boats in the race instead of debriefing your own crew."

"That's why we do our debrief in email," I added. "I'm as eager to get to the bar as anyone."

"And the swag," Lee reminded us. "You know, crew shirts, custom windbreakers, sea bags, it all buys crew loyalty."

It was a pointed comment, because I was about three seasons behind in ordering a new run of boat logo shirts and fleece hoodies for my regulars.

AND FEEDING (ESPECIALLY

"Or the owner could drop hints that the boat is, like, planning to do Transpac or Pacific Cup, or even a Mexico race," added Lee.

"Attracts crew like flies to a dead snake on a hot country road," remarked the country boy.

"But some race programs run on a shoestring budget," I said. "In that case the main thing they have to offer is the chance to learn. That also means the boat needs to keep the crew on board with good tactics and good starts."

"And if the boat's too big for the driver to also do main, they need to find a main trimmer who is, or was, competitive on the college circuit," Lee suggested. "They know the interaction between main trim and helm. And they know how to trim a fractional rig. And like, best of all, good dinghy racers know how to sense speed and pointing without all those silly instruments that usually aren't calibrated anyway."

"So true," said the main trimmer. "The only really good knotmeter is

another boat close aboard trying to beat you."

"A few things you haven't mentioned," interrupted a woman from the next table who had been eavesdropping on our various rants. "The owner has to set a good example. They should be there before the crew dock time. No maintenance projects the morning of the race; the boat has to be ready. Make sure the head works if you expect to have a mixed-gender crew."

"Darn right," my foredeck crew agreed. "I hate racing with just a bunch of studs. There was a reason I signed up for the high school orchestra, even though they wanted me on the football team. I played viola, punched my ticket to the string section and the hot violin players…"

"Lee," I said, somewhat defensively, "I can see how a big boat should treat the crew like royalty with upscale dinners and swag, but on a small boat that can get to be a significant cost compared to the rest of the race program."

"There are reasons for that," she admitted. "Scale effects. The cost of a race boat varies by length of the boat to the fourth power. The number of crew varies by more like LOA squared. So crew bennies are a much smaller percent of the budget for the big guys."

"Where do you get LOA to the fourth?" I challenged. "Shouldn't cost be more proportional to displacement, which is LOA to the third power? Double the size, and the amount of materials to build the boat should only go up by a factor of eight."

"That's one theory, but, like, in practice, a pound of big boat costs more than a pound of small boat, so the exponent is closer to four. And the number of crew is pretty much proportional to deck area, which is LOA squared. Double the size of the boat, and crew costs go up by a factor of four, while cost of the boat, sails, and everything else goes up by a factor of 16. Compared to total budget, the big boat is only paying one-quarter as much as the

Modern boats require a new set of crew skills.

A boat with only five crew can still create a complex crew plan. Great for practice, but be prepared to abandon the plan in the heat of battle.

small boat for crew care and feeding."

"Still, the Crew's Union will always be fighting the forces of nature on any size boat," sighed the mainsheet trimmer, "because sailing naturally attracts tightwads and cheapskates."

"I think I know why," I suggested.

"Sailing gives the illusion of getting something for nothing. No fuel burned, just 'the natural action of the wind in the sails and the water on the hull,' to quote from an old rulebook."

"But it's just an illusion," the mainsheet trimmer added. "I once delivered

a boat up the coast, and there was a big sign in the cabin that read, 'Diesel fuel is cheaper than sails.'"

"With or without crew dinners at the Saint Fancy," concluded the foredeck hand, "the wind will always be free." — max ebb

West coAst schooners in sAn DieGo

Silver Gate Yacht Club continued its tradition and hosted another grand event on San Diego Bay featuring some of the most traditional boats to be found sailing today on the US West Coast. With local sponsors to donate raffle prizes, plus event food and drink, SGYC held the 36th annual America's Schooner Cup (ASC) Charity Regatta to benefit the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. SGYC planned the event for April 6 with hopes of strong westerly sea breezes for maximum schooner broad reaching out of San Diego Bay to the ocean — but conditions in San Diego were not cooperative this year.

'Quascilla' had every intention to make this year's ASC, no matter the weather.

Weather for coastal travel the week preceding the annual race was anything but helpful, and due to the harsh predictions affecting coastal travel, most of the

boats that routinely make their way from homeports north of San Diego decided to miss this year's ASC and stay home. All but one — the 41-ft schooner Quascilla started her 24-hour, 120-mile trip down the coast from Oxnard early Thursday to arrive Friday morning at SGYC, dodging the worst of the rain and wind that

followed her south, and was then open to public inspection a few hours after arrival. Luckily the weather mostly hit her while she was safely tied to SGYC's guest dock throughout Friday night.

Quascilla is proudly celebrating these days and had every intention to make this year's ASC, no matter the weather.

'Lucky Star', seen here at Point Loma. Having returned to San Diego from Washington, she won her division. — Photo by James Ward

'Quascilla' braved a storm to sail down the coast from Oxnard. JAMES WARD

for the AmericA's schooner cup

She brought her crew to meet with other schooner crews and sail this San Diego schooner race again. This year's America's Schooner Cup Regatta turned into a celebration of Quascilla's 100 years of sailing since her 1924 launch by N.J. Blanchard Boat Works in Seattle. SGYC threw her a good birthday party too!

Quascilla is a 1923 Ralph Winslowdesigned Marconi schooner owned by Dirk Langer and Theona Stefanis of Santa Barbara. She is the only one of Blanchard's ~2,000 boats that was planked in teak. Her stout planking probably kept Quascilla intact for 95 years in California waters until she was restored by CF Koehler at the Koehler Kraft boatyard in 2018-2019. Her original 1924 interior was preserved and was admired by all who came aboard. The program on Friday evening before Saturday's race featured her history and a detailed account of her restoration by CF Koehler.

Also joining this year's event was another old friend of the America's Schooner Cup Charity Regatta. Lucky Star has returned to San Diego and raced

the 2024 ASC after a 32-year absence. Lucky Star is a beautifully restored Edson Schock staysail schooner built in 1937 and extensively sailed since 1962 by Brad Downey and family along the entire West Coast from her homeport in Newport Beach. She took off with Craig and Nicole Downey for the Northwest in 2007, but after a couple of decades in

Townsend, this

schooner now makes her home in San Diego and will grace Southern California waters for years to come.

While schooner attendance was affected by weather this year, nine entered the race for SGYC's treasured America's

Port

nimble

JAMES WARD

'Shine On' makes a splash.

'Maid of Kent' (left), last year's overall winner, and 'Witchcraft', this year's overall winner.

— Photo by James Ward

West coAst schooners in sAn DieGo

Schooner Cup — including the Cup Defender, the 30-ft Marconi schooner Maid of Kent, designed by William Atkin and owned by Jerry Newton. She was one of three gaff-rigged schooners racing for the Cup, joining Quascilla and San Diego's most stately double-gaffer, the tall ship Bill of Rights. Modeled after the traditional coastal schooners of the 19th century, the 96-ft LOD, 136-ft LOA Bill of Rights is a McCurdy and Rhodes design owned by the South Bayfront Sailing Association for use in extensive sail and maritime training programs.

The four other schooners that raced for the Cup are all more moderndesigned staysail schooners, including the two planked boats Lucky Star and Witchcraft, plus the glass-hulled 44-ft Shine On, designed by Bud Tapin, and the 42-ft Luders-designed Age of Grace.

This year's America's Schooner Cup Regatta sailed its customary bay/ocean course, from Shelter Island past Point Loma to Sea Buoys 4 and 3 and back again to Shelter Island. However, the racecourse was modified on race day for less favorable sea and wind conditions, with the course length shortened from 13.1 miles to 10.9 miles by eliminating the outer mark, Sea Buoy 1.

After a week of stormy weather, Saturday dawned clear with a 5- to 10-knot breeze — but not the predicted westerly; it blew from the south. A light southerly made the first leg of the Cup Race slow

and dead to weather — not schoonerfriendly — and the next leg the same, to the outer mark at Sea Buoy 4. The light upwind sailing out the harbor channel was further challenged by a large shortperiod swell left over from the week's storm, plus a hard ebb current that met the robust ocean swell at the mouth of the harbor. This resulted in confused seas just outside Point Loma, as often seen after a winter storm has passed. The third leg of the race also became partially upwind due to fluky wind shifting on and off from the west just as most schooners were turning both west and upswell to Sea Buoy 3. All the boats pitched endlessly while trying to navigate this course outside the bay — not so much an issue for Bill of Rights, as she seemed to remain stately throughout the race. Being more weatherly, the staysail schooners all maintained their headings more easily to round the weather marks. Predictably the staysail schooners finished 1, 2, 3 overall.

First to finish the race on corrected time and winner of the America's Schooner Cup Perpetual Trophy was Witchcraft, owned by Brian Eichenlaub. A scaled-down version of the famous schooner Bluenose designed by William Roué, Witchcraft is a laminated woodplank schooner built in San Diego by Carl and Brian Eichenlaub in 1994. This year, Witchcraft won over her entire B-Fleet competition for the fourth time

since 1996. Take-home trophies were also awarded to the top three finishing boats in each of three classes.

Special perpetual ASC awards were Most Bristol Boat (donated by Downwind Marine), awarded to Brad and Nicole Downey for Lucky Star, and most Improved Boat (donated by Koehler Kraft) to Brian Eichenlaub for Witchcraft. The Schooner Fame Award for Most Corinthian Yachtsman (donated by Dennis Conner) was awarded to Dirk Langer for Quascilla

An additional schooner event during the ASC involves simultaneously running a separate fleet race of three small-scale schooners built and rigged to near-identical standards. They compete within the coves of Shelter Island Yacht Basin. Thirteen 10-ft Intergalactic Schooners (IG-10s) were originally built by SGYC member Paul Mitchell of Sail Services on Shelter Island in 1977-1979.

Three of the original schooners have recently returned to Shelter Island and form an active racing fleet. These small schooners have caught the attention of the SGYC juniors, who expressed interest in learning to sail them. The little schooners are heavily over-canvassed with a mainsail, gollywobbler and jib, which the crews must move quickly in the puffs.

During this 36th ASC, the three IG-10

JAMES WARD

'Bill of Rights' was the biggest of the schooners competing. She's Chula Vista's official tall ship.

best be demonstrated to the next generation and rigorously practiced by them in these responsive little schooners.

— marcia hilmen

SGYC AMERICA'S SCHOONER CUP, 4/6

CLASS A — 1) Lucky Star, 42-ft 1937 Edson Schock staysail schooner, Brad & Nicole Downey. (1 boat)

CLASS B — 1) Witchcraft, 42-ft LOA 1994 W. Roue, Brian Eichenlaub; 2) Shine On, 44-ft 1979 Bud Tapin staysail schooner, Bart Ziegler; 3) Quascilla, 41-ft 1924 Winslow Marconi schooner, Dirk Langer. (4 boats)

CLASS C — 1) Maid of Kent, 36-ft LOA 1962 Atkin Marconi schooner, Jerry Newton; 2) Bill of Rights, 136-ft LOA McCurdy & Rhodes tall ship, South Bayfront Sailing Association/Ron Johnson; 3) Age of Grace, 48-ft LOA 1971 Luders Cheoy Lee staysail schooner, Eric Gonnason. (5 boats)

INTERGALACTIC 10, Race 1, 2 adult crew — 1) Lime an de Coconut, Matt Megla/Peter Stanton; 2) Poco Loco, Alex & Nathan Packard; 3) Pacifier, Jim McManus/Nickolas Bellafiore.

Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show

Our Annual Regatta Saturday, May 25

Sunday, June 23 10 a. M . – 4 p. M . Corinthian ya C ht Clu B

View classic sailing vessels, meet their skippers and learn the yachts' unique history. Show proceeds to go to Master Mariners Benevolent 501(c)3 Foundation. The Foundation provides scholarships for youth sailing, wooden boat building and maritime education. Also provides for the preservation of SF Bay Classic yachts. MMBF is dedicated to preserving the continuity of traditional yachting on San Francisco Bay.

The Master Mariners Benevolent Association is dedicated to fostering participation in yachting and the preservation of classic and traditional sailing craft. During the Boat Show, the Corinthian Yacht Club outdoor bar and grill is open for lunch and there is model boat building for kids. Children under 12 free when accompanied by an adult.

Master Mariners Benevolent Association • www.sfmastermariners.org

SGYC junior sailor Lynley helms the 10-ft schooner 'Pacifier' to victory.

THE RACING

The Doublehanded Farallones Race, SSS Round the Rocks, El Toro Bullship Race, all-female Anne McCormack Cup, California ILCA Masters, BYC Rollo Wheeler Memorial Regatta, and RYC Big Dinghy are all featured in these pages. We end with Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay Buoy News, and Box Scores includes the last of the Midwinter Series results we've collected.

Stormy Doublehanded Farallones

The Doublehanded Farallones Race on Saturday, April 13, was a true test of mettle this year, dishing out 25-35 knots of southerly storm winds, which gradually turned offshore, meaning that it was sort of a reverse Farallones race — off the wind on the way to the island, and upwind on the way back. Boats that were able to reduce sails and remain in control found that they had a record-fast sail out to the island in rough conditions, but had a slower return against the wind. The winds eventually turned light inside the Bay, and late returners had a beat back to the finish inside the Bay against the new ebb.

The Bay Area Multihull Association, which runs this event for multihulls and monohulls, had 43 boats registered. The DHF was the first offshore race with the new 2024 offshore equipment requirements, which now include an AIS transponder. To smooth the transition, boats had the option to register for this year's race with any Jibeset-supported tracker, which included satellitebased trackers and the cellphone-based

Traccar Client app. However, that was hardly necessary. In the end, 39 of 43 boats had AIS transponders. It was clear that many boats had freshly installed their new AIS transponders just ahead of the race.

Continuing a focus on safety, BAMA conducted equipment inspections of a randomly selected set of boats before the start of the race from the race committee dinghy, asking each boat to show that they had various required safety equipment on board. We are happy to report that all boats had their gear in order. The RC dinghy also handed out commemorative DHF 2024 six-pack coolers to each boat.

Given the strong forecast, 10 boats elected not to start this year. Several boats turned back once they saw the conditions offshore, and there were equipment breakages. The Farr X2 monohull Shake 'N Bake dismasted outside the Farallones. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. They were able to secure the broken mast on deck and motor back on their own to inside the Golden Gate. Among other boats, there were reports

of a broken bowsprit, lost battens, a lost mast-top antenna, various other gear washed overboard, and motor, radio and tracker problems. Racers tackled these challenges well. Out of 33 starters, 21 boats finished. Pretty impressive for one of the roughest Doublehanded Farallones Races in recent memory! And everybody returned safely at the end of the day.

The ULDB 2 class (Express 27s, Moore 24s and similar boats) had the most finishers, with all but one starter finishing the race.

It was a very quick race overall — near record-breaking territory. First to finish, from the ULDB 1 fleet, was the J/125 Rufless, with Rufus Sjoberg and Ian Rogers, completing the course in just 5 hours, 57 minutes, 33 seconds. That is just the third time that a monohull has finished in under 6 hours in the history of the race (since 1980)! The two previous monohull finishers under 6 hours were the Santa Cruz 70 Mongoose in 1992 (the overall monohull record holder), and the Owen Clarke Open 50 Truth in 2012.

However, the overall winner on corrected time, also in ULDB 1, was the Mancebo 31 Bloom County, with Elliott James and Kyle Vanderspek, finishing with a corrected time of 6 hours, 59 minutes, 3 seconds. Correcting out under seven hours is so rare that we refer to it as the "seven-hour barrier" for corrected time. No monohull has corrected out under seven hours in detailed records going back to 1998.

In the Mono 2 fleet, the Cal 40 Shaman, with Bart Hackworth and Ron Tostenson, corrected out to 7 hours, 0 minutes, 38 seconds for the division win — very close to Bloom County's time. They were also faster than any other monohull in race records dating back to 1998. In the Mono 1 fleet, the SunFast 3300 Sun Dragon, with Sergei Podshivalov and Frank Van Diggelen, corrected out to 7 hours, 3 minutes, 25 seconds for the win. All very fast finish times!

In the ULDB 2 fleet, the Point Bonita 27 Pell Mell, with Alex Simanis and Kurt Lahr, corrected out to 7 hours, 19 minutes, 15

SF

As dusk falls on April 13, BAMA commodore Truls Myklebust delivers diesel to 'Shake 'N Bake' off Golden Gate Yacht Club, where the Doublehanded Farallones Race started and finished.

Rufus Sjoberg and Ian Rogers sailed the J/125 'Rufless' across the DHF finish line first.

seconds for the win, just ahead of the Moore 24 Oxymoron.

The Multihull fleet had only one finisher, the F-31R Ma's Rover, with Mark Eastham and John Donovan, finishing in 6 hours, 28 minutes, 23 seconds. Ma's Rover has previously posted the fastest multihull elapsed time and corrected time three times each, and this year's result was just two minutes slower than their win in the 2016 race.

Elliott James and Kyle Vanderspek corrected out to first place overall on 'Bloom County'.

The last finisher, the Express 27 Ergo, came back at 7:14 p.m., marking the third year in a row with very early finish times. We did have one boat still on course at sunset, but they eventually gave up and motored back in against the current.

— truls myklebust

BAMA DOUBLEHANDED FARALLONES, 4/13

MONOHULL 1 — 1) Sun Dragon, Jeanneau SunFast 3300, Sergei Podshivalov/Frank Van Diggelen; 2) Basic Instinct, Elliott 1050, Memo Gidley/Sebastian Gomez Bigger; 3) Rhapsody, Sabre Spirit 36, Laurence & Anthony Pulgram. (5 boats)

MONOHULL 2 — 1) Shaman, Cal 40, Bart Hackworth/Ron Tostenson; 2) Azure, Cal 40, Rodney Pimentel/Ted Floyd; 3) Plus Sixteen, Olson 911, Paul Disario/Liam McNamara. (7 boats)

ULDB 1 — 1) Bloom County, Mancebo 31, Elliott James/Kyle Vanderspek; 2) Rufless, J/125, Rufus Sjoberg/Ian Rogers; 3) 'io, Antrim 27, Buzz Blackett/Karl Robrock. (8 boats)

ULDB 2 — 1) Pell Mell, Point Bonita 27, Alex Simanis/Kurt Lahr; 2) Oxymoron, Moore 24, Tom Southam/Carl Stahmer; 3) Puffin, Moore 24, Kelly Gregory/Patrick Haesloop. (8 boats)

MULTIHULL — 1) Ma's Rover, F-31R, Mark Eastham/John Donovan. (5 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

Rocky SSS Round the Rocks

The third race in the Singlehanded Sailing Society's season was Round the Rocks, another Bay tour, on March 16. "The race committee started seven fleets before us in light wind," reports overall doublehanded monohull winner Sylvia

Stompe, who sailed with her husband Barry on their well-traveled Hughes 48 yawl Iolani in the Non-Spinnaker division. "Then the ESE wind died as it clocked and filled from the west, so they postponed ours and the remaining fleets' starts. Many boats in the fleets ahead of us drifted back with the ebb, below the line. When the wind filled and those boats started sailing and cleared the starting area, the race committee started the rest of the fleets. We had good breeze the entire race. At times we were on the edge of being overpowered with the 135% jib.

"We had looked forward to racing against the Wyliecat 60 in our fleet, but, likely due to the shallow depth at the start line (Olympic Circle Buoy G, with depths as low as under 10 feet), they sailed the course but did not pass through the start line. We were bummed we couldn't see our comparative finish times and corrected times."

One of the skippers in the division that started ahead of the postponement filed for redress from the race committee, out of concern for the overall standings in the SSS season, but their request was denied. If you look at the full results, you'll find many boats scored "DNS" (Did Not Start — because they were unable to cross the start line in those conditions within the time allowed in the rules).

The singlehanded divisions all started after the doublehanded divisions and thus had good breeze, with many finishing ahead of the earlier-starting doublehanders in both elapsed and corrected

THE RACING

Among the rocks rounded in Round the Rocks is East Brother Island. JEB Pickett took these photos from the vicinity of that rock. Clockwise from top left: 'Bottle Rocket'; 'Caliente'; the Wyliecat 60 'C Cubed'; and 'Invictus', 'Flying Circus' and 'Salty Hotel'.

time. Scott Easom repeated his success in the Three Bridge Fiasco, beating all the singlehanders — and, this time, all the doublehanders too — on his J/100 Eight Ball

— latitude / chris

SSS ROUND THE ROCKS

SINGLEHANDED SPINNAKER — 1) Eight Ball, J/100, Scott Easom; 2) Salty Cat, Wyliecat 30, David Rasmussen; 3) Crinan II, Wyliecat 30, Don Martin. (10 boats)

SH SPORTBOAT — 1) Hedgehog, Olson 29, David Herrigel; 2) Dragonsong, Olson 30, Sam McFadden; 3) Soliton, Synergy 1000, Doug Kidder. (4 boats)

SH NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Katester, Sabre Spirit 36, Byron Reeves; 2) Lindo, J/109, John Kalucki; 3) Osprey, Jeanneau 349, Todd Arnold. (10 boats)

DH SPINNAKER <82 — 1) Timber Wolf, Farr 38, Dave Hodges/John Kernot; 2) Tangaroa, J/109, Dan Brousseau/Mark Smedley; 3) Pelagia, J/88, Sergey Lubarsky/Sergey Morozov. (12 boats)

DH SPINNAKER 84-157 — 1) Uno, Wyliecat 30, Bren Meyer; 2) Nancy, Wyliecat 30, Pat Broderick/Doug Ford; 3) Dazzler, Wyliecat 30, Keith Kreycik/Hal McArthur. (12 boats)

DH SPINNAKER ≥159 1) Sweet De,

Alerion 28, Chris & Denise Kramer; 2) Last Dance, Alerion 28, Bruce Munro/Jim Coggan; 3) Citlali, Olson 25, Bill Schwob/Volker Frank. (11 boats)

DH SPORTBOAT — 1) Kwazy, Wylie Wabbit, Colin Moore/OJ Olson; 2) Gogogolittlebunny, Erik Menzel/Michele Sumpton; 3) Rooster, Melges 20, John Oldham/Ian Charles. (11 boats)

DOUBLEHANDED EXPRESS 27 — 1) Motorcycle Irene, Will Paxton/Jeane Rodgers; 2) Salty Hotel, John Kearney/Mike Bruzzone; 3) Under the Radar, Greg & Jennifer Felton. (12 boats)

DH MOORE 24 — 1) Flying Circus, Bill & Melinda Erkelens; 2) Topper II, Conrad Holbrook/ Steve McCarthy; 3) The Flying Tiger, Vaughn & Michaela Seifers. (9 boats)

DH NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Iolani, Hughes 48, Barry & Sylvia Stompe; 2) Free, S&S 30, Jim Carlsen/Jim Bilafer; 3) Music, Catalina 34-2, Devin & Aaron Shanks (6 boats)

DH MULTIHULL — 1) Bottle Rocket, SeaCart 30, David Schumann/Trevor Baylis; 2) Pegasus 3, F-22R, Andrew Pitcairn/Greg Carter; 3) Greyhound, F-22, Evan McDonald/Ross Stein. (7 boats)

OVERALL SH MONOHULL — 1) Eight Ball; 2) Salty Cat; 3) Katester; 4) Crinan II; 5) Zaff, J/92, Tim Roche. (24 boats)

OVERALL DH MONOHULL — 1) Iolani; 2) Free; 3) Music; 4) Bella, Alerion 33, Aidan & Kieran Collins; 5) Elan, Beneteau 37, Richard Atkin-

son/Kiaus Shumann; 6) Kwazy; 7) Myem, Hanse 341, Ken & Tyler Haas; 8) Timber Wolf; 9) Flying Circus; 10) Uno. (73 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

70th Bullship Race across the Gate

The 70th edition of the Bullship Race sailed on April 6. In case you're just learning about it now, the Bullship is a morning race across the Golden Gate from Sausalito to the San Francisco Marina. Sounds easy enough, but the race is only for El Toros, solo-sailed 8-ft prams. Only adults are allowed to compete, and the fleet is herded by cowships, bigger boats tagging along for the sake of safety. (In a big ebb, the little single-sail prams can easily get swept out the Gate.)

"The Bullship is a tradition like no other," commented Chris Sullivan, who finished first in this year's race. "The 70th edition of the Bullship started in almost no breeze in front of the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito," he reports, "after we were treated to bagpipes and bagels by Sausalito YC."

The race committee postponed the 9 a.m. scheduled start time for 10-15 minutes. "I started at the center of the line on port and was able the get a light puff," continued Chris, "along with Vaughn Seifers and Tom Burden, to get near the front. The key for my race was the ability to get on starboard and become the most outside/offshore boat

before getting back on port and heading to the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. I never enjoyed more than a 5- to 10-boatlength lead as Vaughn and I left the Marin shoreline and headed to San Francisco in an increasingly westerly breeze. The delta dropped to 3-4 boatlengths at the line in S.F.

"This was my third S.F. Bullship. I also have one Hawaiian Bullship race under my belt. I have been sailing my El Toro for eight years and am only just getting a handle on this legendary and lovable little boat."

Gordie Nash commented that, "There are three events in the spring that are 'must-do': Three Bridge Fiasco, Bullship, and Delta Ditch Run."

— latitude / chris

RYC BULLSHIP, 4/6

EL TORO — 1) Moon Age Daydream, Chris Sullivan; 2) Out on a Lim, Vaughn Seifers; 3) Warf, Rowena Carlson; 4) Jester, Ann Lewis; 5) Samara, Tom Tillotson. (21 boats) Full results at www.richmondyc.org

To Race or Not To Race on March 30

"Given the uncertainty of thunderstorms on the Bay during our race time tomorrow, we will err on the side of safety and cancel the March 30 Rites of Spring race," wrote Debby Ratto of the Oakland YC race committee on March 29. "OYC will be refunding your money via check.

OYC RC will work to reschedule this race sometime during the Sweet Sixteen Series. We will send an update to racers once we have a date and ask that you sign up again at that time." We've asked Debby to alert us to the new date once it's set, and we'll let our readers know.

In the meantime, the all-female crews in San Francisco YC's Anne McCormack Invitational Cup had a blast in a northerly. Despite the forecast for showers (and possible thunderstorms), the only water that fell on them splashed over their bows when they hit waves. It had a decidedly salty flavor.

Twelve boats from four clubs entered the two-race regatta, eight in the Spinnaker Division and four in Non-Spinnaker. The regatta was held in the Knox racing area, and the SFYC race committee used all inflatable marks. Fortunately, the Knox buoy was not a mark on the course; it appeared to be perilously close to the rim of white water that meets the shore of Angel Island. The RC set the windward buoy to the north of the startfinish line. Though set well away from the lee of Angel Island, the windward mark was around the corner of Point Stuart, a steep, rocky cliff. In the building flood, the best lanes and best wind were found

well west of the island.

Both races were twice-around windward/leewards with upwind finishes. The breeze built for the second race. The apparent windspeed throughout ranged from 10 to 20 knots, but stayed mostly in the 15-18 range. During the first spinnaker run, one of four SFYC RS21s had to drop out; they decided to head back in to SFYC. In the Non-Spinnaker Division, small as it was, every mark rounding saw competitive maneuvering between the two Alerion 28s and the Tartan Ten.

The host club welcomed everyone back at their Cove Room in surprisingly sunny, warm Belvedere to celebrate the successful and exciting day of racing. The crowd enjoyed complimentary wine and sliders. The late Anne McCormack had been a longtime staff member at SFYC. Her widower, Hal McCormack, helped hand out the awards. At the feel-good gathering, sailors of great renown met one another for the first time, became reacquainted, or got caught up with recent news in each other's lives. Take-home prizes were logo'd ceramic coasters, and the winners will have their names engraved on two beautiful perpetual trophies. — latitude / chris

The 70th Bullship Race on April 6, clockwise from top left: The starting area, abreast of the Trident in Sausalito; eventual winner Chris Sullivan; veteran El Toro sailor Gordie Nash crosses the Gate; Michaela Seifers, one of seven women racing, pops out at the North Tower. All 21 starters finished.

ORNAITH KEANE

THE RACING

in the Anne McCormack Cup, clockwise from top left: The Melges 32 'Kuai'; a battle between Alerion 28s; Jennifer Canestra's crew on 'Kuai' included Briana Provancha, Jenn Virskus, Rayleen Thielman, Terre Layton, Emily Maxwell and Nicole Voss (pictured with Hal McCormack and SFYC vice commodore Quentin Hills); 'Zenaida's Christine Weaver, Robin Van Vliet and Jennifer McKenna.

SFYC ANNE MCCORMACK CUP, 3/30 (2r, 0t)

SPINNAKER — 1) Kuai, Melges 32, Jennifer Canestra, 2 points; 2) Donkey Jenny, RS21, Shannon Kaiser, 4; 3) No Name, RS21, Katie White, 7. (8 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Zenaida, Alerion 28, Jennifer McKenna, 2 points; 2) Spirit, Alerion 28, Maureen Roddy, 5; 3) Moxie, Cal 28-2, Frances Barbour, 5. (4 boats)

Full results at www.sfyc.org

Non-Fosco California ILCA Masters

Did you know that fosco is Italian

VALLARTA YC BANDERAS BAY REGATTA, 3/19-23

PERFORMANCE MONOHULL — 1) Edwina, Jeanneau 54, John Matejczyk, 4 points; 2) Wings, Serendipity 43, Fred & Judy Roswold, 13; 3) Lost Dragon, J/133, Mike Seth, 14. (9 boats)

CRUISING UNDER 45 FLEET — 1) Carmanah, C&C 42, John DeMeyer, 3 points; 2) Beep Beep, J/37C, Greg Reaum, 6; 3) Hey Ya, Oceanis 390, Andy Barrow, 9. (5 boats)

CRUISING OVER 45 FLEET — 1) Gladiator, Beneteau 461, Eric & Kim Rimkus, 3 points; 2) Avocet, Cheoy Lee Offshore 41, Chris Neely, 8; 3) Alegria, Gulfstar 50, Michael Gabriel, 10. (6 boats)

MULTIHULL — 1) Pegar, Hobie 16, Bart Goodell, 5 points; 2) Copiar, Hobie 16, Carlos Sainz, 6; 3) Koa e Kea, Pinta 52, Cam McCannell, 7. (3 boats)

Full results at www.vallartayachtclub.org

for dark? [Laser sailor and winemaker] Emilio Castelli taught me that. And, if you were over 30 and went to Mission Bay for the ILCA California Masters on March 16-17, you would have received a complimentary bottle of Castelli Fosco Nebbiolo wine and experienced sailing that was anything but fosco in the bright SoCal spring weather.

The hospitality at Mission Bay YC was great. Clay Karmel, Dave Leuck and Mark Young were great hosts. The club was in full swing all weekend with

BOX SCORES

IYC SADIE HAWKINS, 3/24 (2r, 0t)

SPINNAKER <171 — 1) Heart of Gold, Olson 911s, Joan Byrne, 3 points; 2) Medusa, SC27, Ros De Vries, 4; 3) Faster Faster!, Merit 25, Kathy Williamson, 5. (5 boats) SPINNAKER ≥171 1) Lelo Too, Tartan 30, Mia Schrag, 2 points; 2) Ursa Minor, Santana 525, Richard Standridge, 4; 3) Razzmatazz, Santana 525, Scott Smith, 8. (4 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Meliki, Santana 22, Deb Fehr, 2 points; 2) Anemone, Santana 22, Hank Lindemann, 4; 3) Fast Company, Santana 22, John Caskey, 7. (6 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

Snipes, Sabots and ILCAs all racing. Everything on shore was easy, casual, and fun. The bar was bumping with St. Patrick's Day spirit, which is evidently a three-day affair in San Diego. On Friday, we were greeted by a rather short chap with a bright ginger beard dressed in full leprechaun costume. The bar went wild when he arrived.

Ocean sailing conditions were ideal, with a 6- to 8-mph sea breeze and gentle 2-ft groundswell. Saturday the wind started from the south. Sunday, it started more westerly. Both days it veered about 30 degrees and was fairly steady.

The thing I really like about sailing in San Diego is that it requires patience and good decision-making; you have to pick

SEQYC SPRING REGATTA, 4/6 (3r, 0t)

PHRF — 1) Osprey, Sabre 36, Jeff Stine, 3 points; 2) Revelry, Catalina 42, Rick & Petra Gilmore, 8; 3) Hijinks, J/92, Ian McGee, 9. (6 boats) OPEN 5.70 — 1) Roxy, Anja Bog, 4 points; 2) Altair, Samantha Chiu, 7; 3) Kraken, Sergey Morozov, 10. (5 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

TYC DON WAN REGATTA, 4/6 (2r, 0t) 1) Natural Blonde, J/105, Rob Cooper/Brian McInerney; 2) Breakaway, Ultimate 20, John Wolfe; 3) Joyride, J/105, Bill Hoehler. (9 boats) Full results at www.tyc.org

EYC RON BYRNE ESTUARY CUP, 4/7 1) JetStream, JS9000, Daniel Alvarez; 2) Woohoo, Moore 24, Ted Floyd; 3) Osituki, Cal 28, Rodney Pimentel. (9 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net

Victory

and maintain clean lanes in the bands of breeze. You need to sail consistently fast upwind across the swell, which requires good technique.

Joe O'Leary ran seven crisp 30- to 40-minute races. Separate start and finish lines, set below the leeward mark and beyond the windward mark, provided for excellent weather legs. The sail to and from the ocean racecourse is long, especially if there is an adverse current. But there was very little kelp this year.

Doug Hart dominated the racing, winning pin-end starts consistently, then sailing faster and higher in clean lanes, while Dave Lueck was bow-down and trucking. Jamie Moran was always right up front in every race, even coming back from being over early.

The California Masters at MBYC is acquiring a nice history from Nils Anderson's first hosting it in 2000, with the Old Silva trophy built from his broken, cloudy compass. Ken Karnes kept the tradition going with his trademark blue baseball caps. When I started Laser sailing in 2002, it was my first Masters regatta and I finished last out of 30 boats. That year, everybody had sails with giant Cancun logos from the previous Masters World Championships. I met Bill Symes, Laura Lee Symes (she raced), Dave Leuck and many others who have now become friends. Bill and Dave were both so encouraging to a back-of-the fleet guy. That culture of encouragement and learning persists. No matter what your

LMSC EDNA AND HOWARD ROBINSON MEMORIAL MIDWINTERS (16r, 0t)

LIDO 14 — 1) Earl Thomas, 26 points; 2) Chris Boome, 13. (2 boats)

SUNFISH — 1) Russ Klein, 46.25 points; 2) Roy Jordan, 41.5; 3) Bob Cronin, 11.25. (3 boats) EL TORO — 1) Tom Burden, 34 points; 2) Daegon Keller, 21; 3) Paul Zander, 8. (3 boats)

OYC SUNDAY BRUNCH SERIES (7r, 1t)

PHRF <123 — 1) Good and Plenty, Soverel 33, Justis Fennell, 8 points; 2) Flying Fish, Olson 30, Michael Berndt, 12; 3) Meepmeep, J/80, Lisa Anderson Byrne, 18. (9 boats)

MONOHULL SPINNAKER PHRF 123-238 — 1) Pmommy, Harbor 20, Theo Rohr, 7 points; 2) Obsession, Harbor 20, Kame Richards, 8; 3) Zeehond, Newport 30 MkII, Donn Guay, 15. (5 boats)

MONOHULL SPINNAKER PHRF ≥168 1) Dream Catcher, J/24, George Lythcott, 7 points; 2) Bandido, Merit 25, George Gurrola, 11; 3) Faster Faster!, Merit 25, David Ross, 16. (5 boats)

MONOHULL SPINNAKER PHRF ≥189 1) Loki, Santana 525, Walter Shih, 6 points; 2) Ursa Minor, Santana 525, Richard Standridge, 9; 3)

experience level is, it is an event that everyone should do at least once.

— david lapier

MBYC ILCA CA MASTERS, 3/16-17 (7r, 1t)

ILCA 7 — 1) Doug Hard, MBYC, Great Grand Master, 14 points; 2) Dave Leuck, MBYC, Grand Master, 26; 3) Jamie Moran, MBYC, Apprentice, 43; 4) Chris May, Eagle Lake SC, Apprentice, 46. (17 boats)

Full results at www.mbyc.org

Rollo Wheeler Memorial Regatta

Berkeley YC's Wheeler Regatta on April 6-7 got a slight upgrade this year to the Rollo Wheeler Regatta to Benefit Special Olympics. The change was inspired by staff commodore Kevin Murray's work with Special Olympics in the past. As was the case with so many things, COVID squashed it. We noticed it had been gone awhile, so we decided to incorporate the Special Olympics event into our biggest regatta, because why not? With the help of Sheena Kawakami, the development manager at Special Olympics of Northern California, we connected and invited some of the athletes' families to our event to meet our members and racers. They could not have been better representatives of their organization. I cannot say enough about what a great job they did.

The sailboat racing was pretty good too. The wind and weather smiled upon the 23 boats that showed up on Saturday. The wind started out at a steady 10-12 knots out of the WSW at go-time

MIDWINTER SERIES BOX SCORES

Schocktail, Santana 525, Mark Green, 13. (4 boats)

MONOHULL NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Scrimshaw, Alerion 28, Michael Maurier, 7 points; 2) Sterling, Catalina 34, Jim Brady, 12; 3) Sashay Aweigh, Harbor 25, Ghaida Zahran, 14. (6 boats)

COLUMBIA 5.5 — 1) Roja, John Davis, 6 points; 2) Maverick, Ken Bodiley, 11; 3) Rogue, Ryan Nelson, 12. (3 boats)

MULTIHULL — 1) Triple Play, F-31, Richard Keller, 6 points. (1 boat) Full results at www.jibeset.net

SCYC MIDWINTER SERIES

PHRF A — 1) Heartbeat, Wylie 46, Lou Pambianco, 5 points; 2) Animal, Sydney 38, Matt Lezin, 10; 3) Aboriginal, Sydney 38, Bret Gripenstraw, 12. (3 boats)

PHRF B — 1) Watts Moore…, Moore 24, Christopher Watts, 5 points; 2) Dr. Feelgood, Olson 29, Rhys Chard, 12; 3) Javelin, J/105, Sergei Podshivalov, 18; 4) Moorgawr, Moore 24, Evan Diola, 29. (18 boats)

and built to about 12-18 by the middle of the second race, with the wind direction holding steady all day. The courses took the racers from FOC toward the Cityfront and back around twice for a 9-mile course with an upwind finish. Race 2 was a shorter version at 6.4 miles. This made for plenty of spinnaker raising and dousing as well as tactical considerations with current and wind.

The City of Berkeley and Wheeler perpetual trophies were awarded to the boats with the fastest overall corrected times in each of the two divisions. Jens Jensen on the Express 37 Snowy Owl won the Wheeler Trophy, and David Gruver on the Olson 25 Sketch won the City of Berkeley Trophy. They will be immortalized in brass and dusted occasionally for time eternal.

Sunday's race was a pursuit, so math was involved. Since there was no wind at the scheduled start time, a postponement meant each racer had to recalculate their start times on the fly. Everyone passed the test, and the wind picked up nicely to 10-12 out of the WSW and hung steady all day.

— mark bird

BYC ROLLO WHEELER REGATTA, 4/6 (2r, 0t)

PHRF <82/WHEELER — 1) Mintaka 4, Farr 38, Gerry Brown, 5 points; 2) Destin, Landmark 43, Romeo Uriarte, 7; 3) Bodacious+, 1D48, John Clauser, 10. (4 boats)

PHRF 83-130/WHEELER — 1) Heart of Gold, Olson 911s, Joan Byrne/Axel Mehnert, 3 points; 2) Ahi, Santana 35, Andy Newell, 3; 3) Ergo, Express 27, Chris Gage, 8. (3 boats)

JIB & MAIN — 1) Gandalf, Santana 35, Robert DeWitt/Ric Diola, 9 points; 2) Zoop, Islander 36, Paul Tara, 11; 3) Sailing Pair-a-Dice, Catalina 30, Barry Keller, 19. (10 boats)

MULTIHULL — 1) Calonectris, Antrim 30+, Nick Halmos, 8 points; 2) Quixotic, Dash 750, Tanguy Leborgne/Luc Vantalon, 10. (2 boats) Full results at www.scyc.org

TYC BOB & ESTHER MOTT MIDWINTERS (4r, 0t)

1) Joyride, J/105, Bill Hoehler; 2) Natural Blonde, J/105, Rob Cooper; 3) Kind of Blue, J/109, David Anderson. (5 boats) Full results at www.tyc.org

SDYC ETCHELLS MIDWINTERS WEST, 4/5-7 (7r, 1t) 1) #1372, Bill Hardesty, 16 points; 2) Fatherin-Law's Etchells, Eric Doyle, 25; 3) Lifted, Jim Cunningham, 25; 4) Louise, Thomas Carruthers, 26; 5) Rhino, Bruce Nelson, 27. (22 boats)

CORINTHIAN — 1) Encore, Richard Rinehart, 47; 2) Mostly Harmless, Summer Greene, 92; 3) Triskaidekaphobia, Nicholas Ratinaud, 97. (7 boats) Full results at www.sdyc.org

THE RACING

EXPRESS 37/WHEELER — 1) Snowy Owl, Jens Jensen, 3 points; 2) Golden Moon, Michael Laport, 4; 3) Bullett, Larry Baskin, 6. (4 boats) PHRF ≥158/CITY OF BERKELEY — 1) Can O' Whoopass, Cal 20, Richard vonEhrenkrook, 2 points; 2) Zena, Northstar 727, David Russell, 4; 3) Mojo, Ranger 33, Paul Weismann, 7. (5 boats)

OLSON 25/CITY OF BERKELEY — 1) Sketch, David Gruver, 2 points; 2) O'Mar, David Scott, 4; 3) Falkor, Zack Parisa, 6. (5 boats)

J/24/CITY OF BERKELEY — 1) Evil Octopus, Jasper Van Vliet, 2 points; 2) Downtown Uproar, Darren Cumming, 4; 3) Flight, Rosanne Scholl, 7. (4 boats)

BYC ROLLO WHEELER PURSUIT 4/7

1) Swift Ness, J/111, Nesrin Basoz; 2) Nuckelavee, Melges 32, Mark Kennedy; 3) Evil Octopus. (11 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

RYC Big Dinghy Regatta

A little more than a month after Richmond YC's Big Daddy Regatta for keelboats (see the April issue's Racing Sheet), RYC ran the smaller version for those without lead on their bottoms.

The two days of windward/leeward racing on three courses on the weekend of April 13-14 proved to be challenging for both the competitors and the race committee. On Saturday, a 25-knot southerly hit RYC right in the face, and discussions ensued at the dock about how to race safely. Saturday was the test for the racers to keep upright.

The fleets that race on the Keller Cove course opted out. The youth boats signed up for the Potrero Reach course raced, but the El Toro, Sunfish and other sailors decided it was too much wind.

On the outside course near Southampton Shoal, the brave ventured out after a shoreside postponement that allowed the wind to moderate. Three races were completed in choppy waves with

fleets of ILCAs (the platform formerly known as Laser), Aeros, Melges 15s, International 14s and one Wylie Wabbit. (The other Wabbits chose to stay in the hutch.) The only casualties were in the I-14 fleet, with lots of capsizes and swimming.

Sunday dawned totally different, with a light northeasterly that shifted around to the northwest by afternoon. Sunday was the test for the RC to keep things moving while battling the shifts and currents.

The most interesting class to watch was the Melges 15s. New to the Bay, some of the fleet came down from Washington, and some came up from Southern California. They had great racing on both days. They handled the heavy weather on Saturday and light stuff on Sunday with ease. "The fleet discussed meeting in a central place that was good for everyone," says Tim Clarke of M15 #678. "Richmond or San Francisco came up. Someone suggested this weekend, and it was like, 'Yeah, this works.'"

Regatta chair Robin Van Vliet summed

up the weekend. "Saturday was tough. Sunday, on the other hand, had almost more current than wind, and a big shift at the end for the RC to handle. I think we gave everybody everything."

RYC BIG DINGHY, 4/13-14 (3-7r, 0t)

WYLIE WABBIT — 1) Merrick Cheney, 14 points; 2) Ethan Petersen, 23; 3) Erik Menzel, 27. (5 boats)

MELGES 15 — 1) Brian Savery, 12 points; 2) Tim Clarke, 12; 3) Marilyn Cassedy, 20. (6 boats)

INTERNATIONAL 14 — 1) James Clarkson, 15 points; 2) Cameron Puckey, 19; 3) John Clark, 19. (6 boats)

ILCA 7 — 1) Elliot Drake, 6 points; 2) Marcel Sloane, 16; 3) David LaPier, 17. (5 boats)

ILCA 6 — 1) Ernest Galvan, 14 points; 2) Courtney Clamp, 21; 3) Laurie Davis, 32. (3 boats)

RS FEVA — 1) Seby Barker, 7 points; 2) Nolan Balocki, 7; 3) Keira Faye, 10. (3 boats)

RS AERO — 1) Stephen Smith, 3 points; 2) Barbara Smith, 7; 3) Craig Perez, 9. (5 boats)

RS TERA — 1) Kai Hislop, 6 points; 2) Luke Newcomb, 11; 3) Eloise Scott, 12. (5 boats) Full results at www.richmondyc.org

Santa Cruz Mile Buoy Saved!

Early this year, a controversy swirled around mariners in Monterey Bay when the Coast Guard floated a proposal to remove the Santa Cruz Mile Buoy. Said mariners (and some open-water swimmers) reacted persuasively.

On March 29, the Coasties announced, "Through the collaborative efforts of stakeholders and the positive engagement from the Santa Cruz maritime community, the Coast Guard made the decision not to remove the Santa Cruz Lighted Buoy SC (LLNR 4080).

"This decision underscores our commitment to prioritizing safety while ensuring that the voices of the community are heard and considered," said Capt. Steven Ramassini, chief of the Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems.

The crew of the I-14 'A Bumblebee Called Kate' dropped their main, righted the boat, and sailed in under jib.

Six Melges 15s made it to RYC from points north and south to compete at Big Dinghy.

"The Coast Guard published a proposed change article in the Local Notice to Mariners, Jan. 10, 2024, proposing to remove multiple safe water buoys from the California coast and replace them with virtual-AIS aids to navigation, including the Santa Cruz Lighted Whistle Buoy SC. All proposed change articles solicit public comments from waterway users and stakeholders for consideration when making final determinations on changes to aids to navigation systems.

The Coast Guard regularly assesses waterway risk and ways to leverage emerging technology to efficiently meet navigational safety needs.

"'The Coast Guard extends its sincere appreciation to the maritime community of Santa Cruz for their active participation in the formal process concerning navigation safety decisions," said Ramassini. "The invaluable feedback provided by the community has greatly contributed to our comprehensive understanding of the impacts associated with our proposed action.'

"The Coast Guard's policy regard-

ing establishing or changing aids to navigation is to consider and incorporate the opinions and recommendations of knowledgeable users regularly in evaluations of aids to navigation systems. At the end of the eight-week public comment period, the Coast Guard reviews all comments, along with waterway analysis data, and decides how best to proceed with a proposed project.

"The Coast Guard's processes are conducted transparently and are open to public scrutiny to best serve the needs of our maritime stakeholders. The Coast Guard encourages continued engagement in this intentionally public-facing process to collectively safeguard our waters and ensure the well-being of all."

— latitude / chris

New Phil Perkins/Fort Mason Buoy

Speaking of buoys, Scott Easom gave us a call on Friday, April 12, to let us know that the Army Corps of Engineers has now placed a new YRA Mark #6 buoy off Fort Mason along the San Francisco Cityfront. The old buoy had gone miss-

ing during the winter. The new one is bigger and thus easier to see, similar to the Blackaller Buoy farther west along the shore. Both are yellow cylinders. Sponsored by Chris Perkins, the new Fort Mason buoy honors his late brother, Phillips Johnson Perkins of StFYC and SFYC. Phil passed away in October 2020 at the age of 56 after a brief illness. — latitude / chris

For more racing news, subscribe to 'Lectronic Latitude online at www.latitude38.com April's racing stories included:

• More on Safe Water Buoys • Preview of Estuary Beer Can Series, and more.

LET’S SAIL

Dreaming about a cruising adventure or big race for this season? Quantum Sails is here to help. Scan the QR code to schedule service or to contact a representative for assistance with new sails. QuantumSails.com

CHANGES

With reports this month on Sweethaven's first trip to Mexico; a fun interview with Patsy Verhoeven — La Reina del Mar of the Baja Ha-Ha; Andiamo's adventures in Southern and Northern California; and some interesting catching up with folks in Cruise Notes.

Sweethaven — Flicka 20

Noreen Light and Myron Hotinger

From Sea to Shining Sea Olympia

"Well, either it'll work or it won't!" Myron exclaimed as we set out to trailer our boat from Washington state to Mexico. We had never towed her farther than the couple of hundred yards from the haulout site to her storage space. Now we had her loaded up with everything we thought we might need for a winter's worth of cruising in the Sea of Cortez.

Our boat is a 1983 Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20. A solid, seaworthy, "shippy" little boat, Sweethaven is more than capable of handling seas that might make larger, less stout boats remain in harbor. She has a full keel, cutter rig, justenough-room-for-two V-berth, two-burner propane stove, cool bronze handpump on her sink, Dickinson propane heater, tillerpilot, radar, VHF with AIS receiver, solar panel, windvane — and a tiny Yanmar 1GM10 diesel engine that sounds like a Sailrite sewing machine! All the accoutrements to make cruising comfortable … well, except lots of space. That said, we've

been cruising for months now and we're still married.

"How did you talk her into this?" is the commonly asked question my husband patiently answers for the umpteenth time. To understand why we thought we could manage living in a 20-footer, a bit of background . . .

When Myron and I met, I was living aboard my 1990 Island Packet 32, Soundhaven. Myron was living in a house, sailing his Balboa RK20 and preparing for retirement. His bucket list dream? Buy a boat — he was leaning toward an Island Packet — in the Chesapeake area and sail her to the Caribbean, ideally with a lovely first mate.

We met in line for dinner at a pre-race function in Olympia, Washington. He was crewing for a mutual friend; I was recovering from a fractured foot, just there for the social aspect. We chatted briefly about boats. (Remember, he was enamored with Island Packets!) Within a year, he had retired, sold his house, married me, and moved aboard my (now our) boat. We joke that he was the guy with the personal ad: "Looking for woman with boat. Send photo of boat."

One day, when we were still dating, I took Myron for a drive and showed him a lovely little Flicka named Grace. I told him if that sweet boat is ever for sale, I want to buy her! Fast-forward a couple of years. Myron is looking at boat porn (that is, boats other than the one we already own) when he spies a particularly nice looking Flicka with a trailer. Shall we have a look? On the way, I looked at the listing photo and, sure enough — same boat.

On a rare bluebird-sky day, in 12-15 knots of wind, we took Grace for a trial sail on Bellingham Bay. The sun was shining, Mt. Baker was peeking out. We fell in love with her.

We sailed her home through the Salish Sea, stopping in the San Juan Islands and Washington state marine parks for hiking. Her radar was priceless as we navigated thick fog for several days. Her depthsounder quit just as we entered the Swinomish Slough, a notoriously narrow, shallow passage, which gave us a bit of consternation — but also gave us a renewed appreciation for her full keel and mere 3.5-ft draft.

Grace was a lovely name for a lovely boat, but we wanted her name to be special to us. One evening, we were watching Robin Williams in the movie Popeye

The adventure begins: launch day at San Carlos.

Myron and Noreen split their cruising time between the PNW, Mexico — and beyond.

Popeye rowed into a little seaside town, where he would later meet Olive Oyl. The townspeople all came out singing, "Sweet, Sweethaven…" We looked at each other and laughed. "Sweethaven" suited our little Flicka perfectly.

By that time, we knew Sweethaven was also a perfect choice for a boat we could tow with our pickup to the Chesapeake, and cruise down the Intracoastal Waterway to the Caribbean.

We cleaned up her trailer, beefed up

the pickup's suspension, did a bit of work on her engine, and waited for COVID to end. It didn't. We delayed our departure for a year.

In fall 2021, we decided to go. About three weeks before our planned road trip from Washington to Virginia, we went to our friends' home for dinner, and once again, our plans changed. Scott and Connie are intrepid Sea of Cortez and Salish Sea cruisers and entrepreneurs. (They run Mystic Journeys Charters out of

IN LATITUDES

Olympia.) They are also inspirational, and after an evening of sea stories, laughter, and cajoling, and perhaps more than a bit of wine, we decided to meet them in the Sea of Cortez, where they would be cruising for the winter.

So, after months of reading and planning and following blogs about the Chesapeake, the ICW and the Caribbean, and just three weeks prior to our departure date, I switched gears and began filling out forms, getting Mexican marine insurance, and practicing my very limited Spanish language skills. (I could order two beers, por favor, and ask, "Where are the bathrooms?") I put together a folder with copies of everything I thought we might need: title and registration for the boat and trailer, truck insurance, passports, drivers' licenses, COVID vaccination cards, and vet papers for Little Bit, our precious Chihuahua.

With our truck packed up like the Beverly Hillbillies', we were off! Heading to Mexico with our boat in tow.

While both of us had driven some big rigs in the past (think fire service), neither of us had ever towed anything this heavy this far. We took two-hour watches, stopped periodically to check temps on the wheels, and held our collective breath as we slowed to about 45 mph coming up a long pull in California.

By the time we hit the campground at Joshua Tree National Park, we were feeling comfortable with our towing capability and joking with people who stopped by to inquire about our sailboat in the desert. "What? No water here? We were misinformed!"

Continuing southeast to Tucson, we then hung a right and crossed the border at Nogales. After a bit of a bugaboo at the border (please check now to ensure no previous owner has glassed over your HIN), we were in warm, sunny, friendly Mexico. In just a few short hours, we pulled into San Carlos, Sonora, just in time to see the sun set over the rugged Tetakawi peaks.

Ah! Barefoot weather in winter! Our "cunning little plan," to coin a phrase from our friends on Galapagos, is to essentially have two summers per year. With Soundhaven in the Salish Sea for mildly warm summers, and Sweethaven in the Sea of Cortez for summerlike winters, we can have just that.

Stay tuned for sea stories from our winters in the Sea of Cortez, a towing adventure across the southern states, and cruising the less-populated southeast section of Florida.

Noreen 3/29/24

Above: Dropping a lunch hook at Joshua Tree. Left: 'Sweethaven' looking sweet. Above left: To Little Bit the Chihuahua, 'Sweethaven' seems like a maxi yacht. Top center: During the summer, Noreen and Myron live and cruise the PNW aboard 'Soundhaven'. Top right: Double rainbow over San Carlos.

JAMES JONES

CHANGES

Talion — Gulfstar 50

Patsy Verhoeven

Meet La Reina del Mar

(No permanent homeport)

While the public face of the Baja HaHa has always been founder Richard Spindler, aka the Grand Poobah (and the lovely Doña de Mallorca), other folks devote countless hours behind the scenes to make the rallies happen. None of them is more dedicated than Patsy Verhoeven, aka La Reina del Mar, of the Gulfstar 50 Talion

With registration for the 30th annual Ha-Ha opening on May 9, Patsy will be the main contact for both new entries and returning veterans in the months leading up to the November 4 start — whereupon they will enjoy her and her crew in person at various stops on the way to Cabo.

In a long-overdue introduction, here's a closer look at La Reina del Mar…

Where and when did you start sailing?

I was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in a powerboating family on the Columbia River. Our summers involved cruises on the river, fishing for salmon at the mouth of the Columbia, and boating in the San Juans and Canada. I started crewing on racing sailboats in the '70s. My favorite was offshore racing.

Before Talion, my husband Dale and I lived aboard Ocean Gypsy, a Columbia 43, since 1990. In 2002, while working at Schooner Creek Boat Works, I got a call that the boat had blown up in a propane

explosion — with Dale on board! He survived with only a broken arm and bruises, but the boat was totaled. Instead of spending our planned summer vacation on a trip to Vancouver Island, we drove the entire West Coast, searching for a replacement boat that might fit our needs. We bought Talion in Newport Beach and trucked her up to Schooner Creek.

When was your first Ha-Ha?

Dale passed away in 2005, and it didn't take long for me to leave the rainy Pacific Northwest. My first Ha-Ha was in 2007. It was an unforgettable year, with 72 of us sleeping on the beach in Bahia Santa Maria because a big southerly swell coming into the anchorage made it too rough for the water taxis to take us back to our boats.

What made you want to do a Ha-Ha in the first place?

I love ocean racing, and the Ha-Ha is, in a way, a fun ocean race. OK, not really — but it's got the same feeling of being around all the boats at the beginning, getting separated at sea, and seeing them again when you reach a port. Plus, you meet new people at the beginning and run into them again and again during the rally and throughout the cruising season.

Had you ever been to Mexico by boat before that first Ha-Ha?

The first time was in the '70s on my dad's powerboat. In 1992, Dale and I took the Columbia 43 to Acapulco, bashed back to San Diego, and then sailed down to Costa Rica in '93.

Do we understand correctly that you have done every Ha-Ha (including the Nada Ha-Ha) since that first one?

Yes, I have done every Ha-Ha since 2007, including leading the unofficial Nada Ha-Ha in 2020 when the regular Baja Ha-Ha got canceled due to COVID. That makes 17 trips down the coast of Baja, with thousands of new friends!

How did you get involved with Richard in the running of the event?

I live aboard 24/7, so it doesn't work for me to leave the boat in Mexico during hurricane season. I find the bash to be more fun than the heat of Mexico during the summer. Come fall, there is no better way to get back down south than the Ha-Ha. After the first couple of HaHa's, I volunteered to help stuff the swag bags, and then offered to provide backup recording positions for the daily roll call. When Richard retired from Latitude 38 in 2016, I couldn't pass up his offer of a job doing some things the Latitude staff had been doing up to that point.

How soon do you begin 'working' on an upcoming Ha-Ha?

I start in November, just after the final

awards party. The date of the next Ha-Ha needs to be worked out with marinas, and other events; and all pages on the website and rally notice need immediate updates. The crew and boat lists and registration page need to be modified and ready to go live on May 9. Through the winter and spring, I get many emails from the next group, eager to find out what they can do to be ready for the San Diego start.

What are your usual duties regarding the Ha-Ha and how do you interact with Richard and other organizers?

As a team, we work well together. Richard is more focused on the big picture, while I work on the detailed computerrelated tasks, keeping each member of the fleet on track with everything from their offshore communication devices to their paperwork. Richard and Donna coordinate the events and activities in San Diego, Turtle Bay, Bahia Santa Maria and Cabo San Lucas. I handle the website, update the printed materials, maintain the fleet roster, and work with the authorities on TIPs and Mexico check-in. Donna takes care of swag and merchandise, while Richard writes everything from the First Timer's Guide to the Meet the Fleet

TALION

'Ocean Gypsy' on the way to winning a light-air race back in the day.

Right: Patsy's favorite photo of 'Talion', and her favorite spinnaker — shortly before it blew up. Above: 'La Reina' has perfected the art of foot steering. Top: 'Talion' in the pot-of-gold position in the South Pacific. Inset right: Patsy on her father's boat at age 11.

TALION

Patsy and 'Talion' will be back for their 18th Ha-Ha this fall.

roster, which includes bios for every boat. How much interaction do you have with entries, and how much of it is electronic vs. actual conversations?

Every year, I send and receive thousands of emails from the fleet. I would say I interact 90% electronically, as most of the emails are in preparation. As we get closer to the start in San Diego, my answers tend to get shorter, but I will always respond and help anyone who needs it.

What part(s) do you play while the Ha-Ha is in progress?

Officially, I am the "Assistant Poobah" and Talion is the backup committee boat. But Richard has done this for so many years that I rarely need to step up. During the Ha-Ha, I record the fleet's daily morning offshore and in-port positions. These

are communicated via email, satphone, or other devices capable of sending a text message to my InReach. The positions are then relayed to Profligate, the rally's mothership. Each day, I receive and respond to emails and texts from the fleet with questions and/or problems. Mass email and InReach texts are sometimes necessary and are a big job. I also coordinate the Mexico check-in process at Bahia Santa Maria and the slip assignments for Marina Cabo San Lucas.

Do you have "regular" crew who go with you on Ha-Ha's?

It's easy to find crew because I have so many former racing friends in the Portland area. In 17 years, I have only taken one crew member that I didn't know. I met him at the Latitude 38 crew party in

Sausalito, and Spencer turned out to be an excellent addition!

What's your most memorable Ha-Ha? It would have to be one of my earlier Ha-Ha's. In 2009, we had a raft-up party with a big cat on either side of Talion. We invited the entire fleet, and hundreds of people showed up. That was also the year the J-World boat sank (Ed. Note — the 40ft, San Diego-based J/120 J/World sank after colliding with a whale; all five crew were rescued safely by the Coast Guard). Oh, and I blew up my precious ¾-oz chute shortly after my favorite picture of Talion was taken.

Do you have a "post-Ha-Ha" routine?

The day after the awards, I always head to La Paz, with stops in two of my favorites places: Los Frailes and Muertos. In La Paz, we have a fabulous welcome party for all the Ha-Ha'ers and the local fleet. Then, I lie low on my anchor for at least a month! I stay in La Paz until March, when I go across the Sea to Banderas Bay for the regatta. During April and May, I tend to spend a lot of time singlehanding up in the Sea. Eventually, I'll head back north. I'll often stop in Ensenada for a couple of months before returning to California. I belong to the Portland Yacht Club, so I get reciprocal slips at many YCs along the Southern California coast. I love cruising my electric bike all over those towns. But I'm always back in San Diego during September and October, getting ready to Ha-Ha. What other cruising have you done?

On Ocean Gypsy, we went as far south as Costa Rica. Talion and I have been west to Tahiti, north to Alaska, and east up the Columbia and Snake Rivers to Lewiston, Idaho. Lewiston is a trip that is rarely made by Portland boats and certainly not by sailboats, as there is a bridge along the way in Pasco, Washington, with a 40-foot clearance. I worked at Schooner Creek Boatworks at the time, so I pulled the mast and left it in the boatyard. We navigated the 350 miles through seven locks and up 750 feet to Lewiston. What else might readers be interested in knowing about you?

After spending much of my life on boats as a child, I seem immune to seasickness. Now, at 73, I have lived aboard for 34 years, and still do most of the work on the boat myself. I maintain six websites and publish the La Paz Cruiser's Guide and the OCSA Racebook. I have rafted down the Grand Canyon eight times on private trips. I've never been to Europe… yet. I'm working on that!

— Patsy and JR 4/1/24

For more on Baja Ha-Ha XXX, go to www.baja-haha.com.

PHOTOS TALION

CHANGES

Thisldu — Rafiki 35

Audrey and Garrett Ruhland

Sweet Carolina

Charleston

It was June 2021 when I last wrote for Latitude 38, about 21 months after my husband and I left Sausalito to embark on our cruising journey. Aboard Thisldu, Garrett and I spent one month sailing

down the California coast, four months in Pacific Mexico, and — suddenly stopped by the pandemic — 2½ months docked in Nicaragua. Unable to meet our goal of traversing the Panama Canal by the end of the 2019-2020 cruising season, Garrett and I ended up flying back to the States on a repatriation flight in May 2020. Begrudgingly, we left Thisldu behind at Marina Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua and, more excitedly, started a new land life in Charleston, South Carolina.

When COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in November 2020, Garrett flew back to Nicaragua and solo-sailed Thisldu the 171 miles from Marina Puesta del Sol to Marina Papagayo in Costa Rica. The boat stayed happily docked there until January 2022, when we had her brought down to Golfito, put on a container ship, and transported to West Palm Beach, Florida.

Prior to that, Garrett and I traveled to Costa Rica as much as we could to sail the Gulf of Papagayo and explore the country overland. Costa Rica is a stunning, welcoming place full of wonder, and we enjoyed our trips there a lot. But the cost of the marina coupled with the logistical stress of getting Thisldu to Charleston weighed on us. We both started working full-time, albeit remotely, during summer 2020, and no longer had the time or means to take on such a grand passage from the Pacific side of Costa Rica to the Atlantic side of the United States.

It was always our intention to get Thisldu to Charleston by 2022, and the happy

news of a baby on the way solidified that plan. I found out that I was pregnant in January 2022 — fittingly, Garrett was in Costa Rica arranging for cargo ship transport when I learned the news.

My September due date gave us a "get Thisldu home" due date.

The boat arrived in West Palm Beach in March. Garrett found a month-long slip for her, and then returned in April to begin bringing her up the Intracoastal Waterway. His brother and sister-in-law joined him for the first leg, leaving Thisldu in Titusville. Once my first-trimester nausea abated, I was able to join Garrett and help bring the boat on up the ICW to St. Augustine.

We were so used to ocean sailing that motorsailing up the ICW felt like a brandnew adventure. Though it felt more safe — land, if we needed it, was right there, on both sides of us — it also had its challenges. We couldn't just set our course and rely on autopilot, for example. We maxed out on eight-hour days of handsteering. And there was a lot more to navigate around: power boats, sand bars, people, manatees … everything in the

water kept us on our toes. But it was beautiful, and an experience that I'm glad we both had together.

Garrett found a good weather window to bring Thisldu up from St. Augustine in early August. He flew down to Jacksonville on a Thursday, met our crewmember Jim (who joined us at the beginning of our journey, for the Baja Ha-Ha), and headed to Thisldu, where they prepped the boat for departure the next morning. This time, Garrett forwent the ICW and headed out to the ocean — his first Atlantic passage — and had a beautiful 180-mile sail north to Charleston.

They navigated around some lightning

Former Sausalito residents Audrey and Garrett have started a new life in South Carolina.

'Thisldu' (short for "this will do") gets offloaded at West Palm Beach.

Above: 'Thisldu'

out the

for

boat has shed most of her long-range cruising gear, at least for the

pods and had a few brief rain showers, but overall, conditions were good, and they were able to sail the majority of the first day. They crawled up the coast, arriving in Charleston just after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, and dropped anchor right off the Battery. Waiting for slack tide, Garrett and Jim brought Thisldu into the marina at 10 a.m. the next day. There I was joined by a group of friends to welcome their homecoming. We cheered and drank mimosas in the heat and finally started to grasp what it

actually meant to have our sailboat home with us.

Apart from when we were actually living aboard Thisldu, this is the closest we've ever had her. She's just a mere three blocks away from our house. We were relieved that, for the first time in over two years, we didn't have to take flights, rent cars, and travel for hours just to be on board. Garrett no longer had to stress over the logistics of getting her home, which amounted to a part-time job. We could finally tackle projects with

IN LATITUDES

ease and take the time that we needed to get things done. The lightness in the air surrounding the homecoming of our sailboat was palpable, and we are relieved that our land life and sea life are, finally, combined.

Six weeks after Thisldu came home, we welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Ada, into our family. My recovery room in the hospital looked over the Charleston Harbor, and Garrett proudly pointed out Thisldu's mast to our newborn daughter.

Parenthood has delighted us, overwhelmed us, exhausted us, and completely enraptured us. It has also taken over most of our free time. This, along with the purchase of our first home in 2023, has meant that we don't get out on Thisldu as much as we used to. Garrett did, however, have a boys' weekend sailing trip in fall 2023, and we're planning to spend a few days on board as a family this spring.

We feel very fortunate in life, and while we are happily settled in Charleston, we know that we'll always need to have some grand adventure ahead of us. We're dreaming of summers spent sailing throughout New England, or a no-rush trip around the Great Loop, kicking off in 2025. The opportunities, as always, are endless. And for that, we are grateful.

— Audrey 4/5/24

Audrey has written a book about cruising on Thisldu, but it was unfortunately not picked up by a publisher. Now that she's "struck a rhythm with motherhood, work, and the rest of life," she's found the energy to roll up her sleeves, do a rewrite, and try again. She's sharing the first three chapters on Substack. The first chapter, which starts appropriately enough on the day they left Sausalito, can be found here: https://hermusings.substack.com/p/ underway-chapter-one.

Cruise Notes

• Paul Eichen and Susan Flieder live in San Diego but usually keep their Buizen 48 Andiamo in the Bay Area. But in December, Paul and some friends sailed the boat to San Diego, then back up the

at the 2019 Baja Ha-Ha. Upper left: New crewmember Ada surveys her new domain. Top: Heading

Golden Gate

the big adventure. Top right: Since this photo was taken, the

moment.

ALL PHOTOS THISLDU

CHANGES

coast in January. There were some weird problems on the way, reports Paul, including "the autopilot losing its mind"

in big following seas combined with two different sets of swells coming from forward. Occasionally, a convergence of the three would slap the bow over so far that the autopilot would disengage — "but only when less experienced crew were

on watch," notes Paul.

Last fall, Paul also helped friend Adam Spiegel deliver Saltair, his new Hallberg-Rassy 57, from France to the Canaries. He may rejoin the boat in the next month or so for the leg to the East Coast.

This month, Paul and Susan will head north to the Bay Area for some sailing fun on Andiamo with Susan's old college friends from the University of Illinois. "We'll have six folks bunking on the boat and up to 10 sailing the Bay," she says. Sounds like fun to us!

• When we last checked in with Norman Davant back in 2022, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that he and longtime lady friend Teri Moore had just gotten married. The bad news was that they were busy repairing "substantial damage" to their Catana 42 cat Crazy Love, which got banged up when the remains of Tropical Storm Henri blasted through Bristol, Rhode Island. Norman recently dropped a note to say he and Teri had moved up from the Catana to a 52-ft Seawind 1600. The Catana sold quickly, Norm says, and the

new couple changed the name. So Norm and Teri kept the old one — the new boat is also Crazy Love. In a quickie review, he says: "The boat has three cabins, two heads, and hauls ass with a huge galley."

Norm and Teri have been happily doublehanding the East Coast, with frequent trips to the Bahamas. "First and foremost, it is safe," he says. "We never lock the boat, we never lock the dinghy, the people that live in the islands are genuinely ultra-friendly. We have met a whole network of friends that mostly have similar boats that we cruise around with." • "On the bash north from Mexico, I became 'clueless' halfway between Turtle Bay and Ensenada when the clew blew out of the jib at 3 a.m.," writes Jamie

In March, Susan (in white, petting dog) and Paul (in brown jacket) did a sled-dog charter in Alaska with daughters Ana and Rachel (left) and various friends/boyfriends.

ANDIAMO

The new 'Crazy Love' is a step up in performance, space and comfort. Inset: Teri and Norman.

PHOTOS CRAZY LOVE

Meves of the Cheoy Lee 48 Bella Luna Jamie motorsailed from there on into Ensenada, where he was able finally to get the sail down off the furler but unable to locate a sailmaker or repair shop. So the motorsailing continued until a layover at Channel Islands Harbor Marina, Oxnard, where Gary Swendson and the "kind, patient folks" at Ullman Sails repaired the clew and added some reinforcing to the head. Next stop: San Francisco Bay. • There's cruising and then there's CRUISING. We're pretty sure Pat Broderick feels pretty "capital" about his voyage from Hawaii to Tokyo — still underway as this issue hits the streets — aboard the Dutch tall ship Stad Amsterdam. Most local racers will know Pat as a long-time Bay Area sailor and racer. For

the past 20ish years, he's campaigned his Wylie 30 Nancy in just about every event held on the Bay. He and the boat's namesake, wife Nancy, toured the Stad Amsterdam when the ship visited the Bay for almost three weeks in March.

Pat joined the ship on April 9 in Honolulu. The trip to Japan was to take about a month, during which time Pat hoped to literally learn the ropes — or at least a few of them. He's part of a group of paying guests making the voyage (the ship is used for both charter and sail training), and plans to take advantage of the ship's policy of teaching newcomers as much as possible about sailing a true modern clipper ship.

The Stad Amsterdam was built in 2000 in her homeport. She is a three-masted full-rigger (square sails on all masts) modeled after a 19th century Dutch clipper.

She is 249 feet overall (198 ft LOD), steelhulled, carries 31 sails in all, and in the right conditions, can do 17 knots. Imagining what that must be like is — well, it's what we hope Pat can express to us and all of you in an upcoming issue. Fair winds, Pat! (More on the Stad Amsterdam in Sightings.)

• Dr. Austin "Doc" Frisbie never considered himself a philosopher, and until a

In between sail repairs, Jamie has been heading back to the Bay Area on 'Bella Luna'.

'Stad Amsterdam' departs the Bay in March. Inset: Pat Broderick is currently serving one month before the mast

CHANGES IN LATITUDES

few years ago, he certainly wasn't a sailor. Then, in 2021, at age 47, he was diagnosed with stage IIIB colorectal cancer. In the fog of days that followed, his mind kept returning to a quote by Friederich Nietzsche that he often used with his patients: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."

"I had plenty to live for," says Doc. "My family, my friends, my patients (he is a clinical psychologist), but I felt I needed something new, something to get excited about."

That something was sailing.

He went through the whole nightmare of treatments: chemo, radiation and several surgeries. He's currently in the "monitoring" stage. During the process, and with constant encouragement from his teenage daughter Renae ("She kept me in the fight when things were looking bleak"), he chased dreams he'd always had of going sailing. "I read books.

I watched YouTube videos, movies, instructional DVDs." He and Renae also went on a sailing cruise, which finally spurred him into buying a trailerable Hunter 22 he named New Beginnings

The first time Doc and Renae took the boat out on their local sailing venue (Stockton Lake, near Joplin, where his practice is) will sound familiar to almost every sailor. First, when they went to put the main up, the shackle wasn't secured properly and the halyard detached, zinging to the masthead. "So today we'll be sailing with just the jib," Doc noted on his FB page. "No worries!" A little bit later, Renae noted that there seemed to be water in the cabin. Again, Doc notes, "No worries — we just had a strong rain." But

when he peeked into the cabin later, there was actually a lot of water in there. That's when he realized he'd forgotten to put the plug in the back of the boat. "So yes, we were finally sailing," he wrote. "But we were also sinking!"

They motored back to the dock, where the marina guys were ready with a highcapacity pump, and a friend's son took a ride in the bosun's chair to retrieve the halyard.

With the "baptism" out of the way, Doc and Renae look forward to less dramatic outings on New Beginnings

Doc has also become a vocal local advocate for colorectal cancer screenings. He reminds everyone that the recommended age for colonoscopies was recently changed from 50 to 45 (or 10 years prior to your parents having any polyps). "Eat healthy, exercise, control your weight, alcohol in moderation — and get your checkups!"

(You can follow Doc's medical and sailing journeys at 'Sailing Psych' on Facebook.

Your Boatyard in the Heart of Paradise

HAULOUT

• Marine Travelift 25 tons

TahiTi CusToms PoLiCy

Foreign Flag vessels can stay on dry storage in our yard for up to 12 months out of 24.

Our Services|

• Marine railway 70 tons

• Storage in adjustable steel cradles

Raiatea Carenage will make sure paradise is everything you expected. Call, write, or sail in . . . we're here to serve you.

B.P. 1111 Uturoa Raiatea 98 735 Polynésie Française

Tel: (689) 40 600-545 ~ Fax: (689) 40 600-546 ~ VHF 68

• Fenced Yard

• Travelift 50T & Amphibious mobile trailer 50T

• Services of our tug for towing safety assistance and interventions

PAINTING

• Topsides, hull, bottom, varnish

• Brush, roller, spray

MECHANICAL WORK

• Inboard, outboard, diesel, gas

• All brands

REPAIRS

• Electrical repairs

• Refrigeration installation & repair

• Fiberglass & woodwork

• Welding, steel, stainless, aluminum

SAIL LOFT

• Sail repairs, biminis, dodgers, covers STORE

• International, Pettit, Epiglass, Devoe

• Spares

• Fill U.S. gas cylinders

DO-IT-YOURSELFERS WELCOME! Boatus Cooperating marina

Web site: http://www.raiateacarenage.com ~ email: raiateacarenage@mail.pf

Facebook : Chantier Naval Raiatea Carenage

PHOTOS

Doc and Renae heading out. Right: 'New Beginnings'.

Large, fenced, secure dry storage area

Professional boatyard in the heart of Paradise

ClassifieDs ClassifieDs

SailboatS 24 Feet & Under

15 FT Bongo 2003. Single person (very fast) racing boat. Likely the bestconditioned Bongo 15 on the planet. Seriously. (Boats 34/35 on water are examples of same model). Only 43 Bongo 15 boats were made, as a fire destroyed the molds. Clean titles/pink slips for boat/ trailer. Registered through 2025. Mussel permit. Updated all lines and rigging. Reconditioned carbon fiber mast with UV-resistant epoxy. Carbon fiber sails (3, expensive) in excellent condition. Polished hull. Review at website. All equipment was over $14,000 new in 2003. This boat is like new. Email or leave message to make an appointment to see the boat in Alameda. $7,450 OBO. Alameda, CA. blueparis@gmail.com (415) 860-6206 www.tinyurl.com/3mahapje

20 FT Melges 20 2010. Melges 20 and trailer in very good condition, lightly used. Inventory: 3 sets of sails, 2 gennakers, Tacktick, traveling and mast-up tarps, traveling boxes and Suzuki 2.5hp. $20,000. Los Angeles. jlang@ucla.edu

24 FT J/24 1981. US 2859 in the water loaded with extras. No trailer. 4 stroke outboard motor, new Harken winches, and roller furler. New Lewmar hatch. $5,500. Brisbane. bonnielopezunr@gmail.com (209) 7729695

FT lion 550 2023. Constructed by Carpinteria Boat Works kit produced by Chesapeake Light Craft from okoume marine plywood British Standard 1088 (BS1088). Additional materials: KD clear grain Douglas fir, West Systems epoxy and assorted West Systems fillers. All surfaces for the plywood are sealed with 3 coats of WSE prior to assembly. All fiberglass and carbon fiber cloths purchased from Composite Envisions LLC: This includes 8-oz. 6-inch-wide tapes for all seams internal and external,1708 biaxial 45×45 for exterior bottom and up to eight inches above waterline. 8-oz S cloth for all exterior surfaces. All seams are reinforced with West Systems epoxy, thickened with 75% filleting blend 25% silica. Glass tapes laminated internally and externally with WSE. External surfaces faired. $19,900 OBO. Ventura, CA. nrosenthal621@gmail.com

FT Wes T Wigh T Po TT er 1978. Very clean boat, ready to sail, lots of extras. Fully restored trailer, all new parts: coupler, tongue jack, winch, rollers, wire harness and lights, wheel bearings, bearing buddies and tires. The boat: one main, roller-furling jib and genoa, new cabin cushions, new life jackets and throw cushions. USCG safety kit, dock lines and fenders, anchor with chain and line, 3.5 hp Nissan outboard runs great. $5,200. Rio Vista, CA. steveegoble@aim.com (925) 305-6366

24 FT J/24 1980. J/24s and Santana 25s with trailers $2500-$3500 all bare interiors, all with good working sails — sold as is. These are from sailing school closeout, Bay Area. Photos available. $2,500. Valley Springs, CA. bonnielopezunr@gmail.com (209) 7729695

DAVE’S DIVING SERVICE

Serving Southern Marin Since 1984 Hull Cleaning • Zincs • Inspections • Props Replaced Repairs • Recoveries • Fully Insured and Marina Recommended (415)

Standing and running rigging, life lines, furling gear, winches, line, windlasses, travelers, wire and terminals, blocks, vangs, and much more. ~ Problem solving and discount mail order since 1984 ~ www.riggingonly.com • (508) 992-0434 • sail@riggingonly.com

18

15

24 FT ranger 24 1975. Full fiberglass hull with encapsulated keel. 8 hp Nissan, 5 hp Nissan spare. 2 sets of sails. Spinnaker pole. Large, comfortable, roomy interior. A complete boat with many extras. Recent new charging cord, battery, charger and nonskid applied to deck. More pics available. Bottom is clean and could use paint as well as some areas of the interior. $4,250. Sausalito. (415) 757-7863

20 FT Flicka 20 1981. “Live the dream, sail beyond” with this classic bluewater cruiser by Pacific Seacraft. She’s a unique eye-catcher that will hold you spellbound. Well equipped for offshore singlehanding, lines running aft, selftailing winches, autopilot. New radio with remote mic, recent bottom paint, Yanmar diesel, 3-bladed prop, two AGM batteries with 200+ amp hours. New tanbark sails and spinnaker. Beautiful open interior, excellent wood joinery and upholstery, and remarkably, 6-ft headroom! Possible slip availability in Alameda Marina. $24,700. Alameda Marina. RobertsInMiWuk@yahoo.com

17 FT reBel 1980. 16.5-ft daysailer, refurbished 2023: new paint, new Pineapple mainsail, new electric outboard, includes trailer. Everything needed to sail her today. Lots of fun to sail by yourself or with family: large cockpit. $CASH ONLY. $3,250. Auburn, CA. Timothy11408@Outlook.com (415) 2501942

15 FT Wes T Wigh T Po TT er 1980. Equipped with new Honda 2.3 hp motor, oars, new interior and exterior cushions, jib and mainsails and trailer. Needs a new centerboard, but otherwise in great condition. $2,200. Oroville, CA. songbird_44@hotmail.com (916) 3354440

25 – 28 Feet SailboatS

25 FT caTalina 250 2002. Wing keel, 8 hp motor. Nice kitchen area and sleeping areas. Sails great. New jib. Trailer $5,000. $15,500. Oroville Lake. ricksail84@gmail.com (530) 518-1963

28 FT alerion 28 2009. The Alerion 28 is consistently recognized as one of the prettiest boats on the water. Considered by many to be the ultimate daysailer, ‘Margo’ is an outstanding example of an Alerion Express 28. With more than 470 boats sailing worldwide, the Alerion 28 is by far the most popular of all the modern daysailers. ‘Margo’ is a two-owner boat, 2009, slipped in Brickyard Cove, Richmond. Fully restored/refinished exterior teak, new bottom paint (1/2024), saildrive just serviced and painted. Yanmar serviced ($4,400 — KKMI, perfect). New cockpit cover. For all specs see Alerion. com. For more details and the history of all service records, etc., email Rob. $69,500. Brickyard Cove, Richmond, CA. eeldog@mac.com

26 FT croTch island Pinky 1999. Cat ketch sprit rig. Eight-ft beam, fiveft draft board down, two-ft up. Ballast 1000 lb. lead. Traditional built. Old growth Douglas fir clinker-planked over white oak frames and backbone. Copper rivet and bronze screw fasteners. Chain locker forward, then V-berths followed by port settees opposite galley; engine under bridge deck; lazarette aft. Two-cylinder 18 hp Yanmar, raw water cooling system. recently overhauled at List Marine, Sausalito. $6,000 OBO. Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito. williamgolly1@gmail.com (707) 321-2959

28 FT r anger 28 1978. Gary Mull design. ‘Taste of Honey’ last production boat to win the Newport, RI, to Bermuda race. Powered by a newer Yanmar 2YM15 with just over 100 hrs. No stinky, smelly interiors: electric cooktop, electric head. Beats by Dre audio to make more than the waves slap. Over $30k in upgrades. Garmin GPS. All standing rigging replaced. Jabsco Lite Flush electric marine toilet. Uniden marine radio. Sunbrella upholstery. $15,069. Alameda, CA. Irismonet@gmail.com (408) 250-9554

25 FT caTalina 25 1989. Wing keel. 9hp Tohatsu outboard. Lazy jacks. Selffurling jib. Autopilot mounting on tiller. Compass and depth gauge. Alcohol stove. Dodger currently in storage. Swim ladder. Galvanized dual-axle trailer. $11,000. Delta Marina, Rio Vista, CA. royarnoldcameron@yahoo.com (209) 988-0148

27.93 FT PaciFic seacraFT 25 Mk ii 1978. Sailboat with excellent trailer and tremendous amount of gear ready for someone handy. New Yanmar 2YM15 with 1.5 hrs, two furlers, six sails, cockpit and interior cushions, two anchors, wind vane self steering and tiller pilot, Furuno radar, propane system parts. Too many parts to list — contact Todd Chandler for link to photos. $18,900. Newport, OR. todd@chandlermarineservices.com (541) 992-9289

27 FT h-BoaT 1980. Thoroughly restored and well maintained 1980 Artekno HBoat. A common racing class in Europe. Sails, rigging, electrical, equipment, and outboard are in excellent condition. Photos, maintenance and repair logs, and cruising logs are available on my website. $29,000. Berkeley, CA. proge@berkeley.edu (831) 818-4769 www.tinyurl.com/r45cw4zu

27 FT caTalina 1980. Dinette Interior. Exceptional condition; Quantum sails, QT 10.0 electric motor, 48V Lifeline AGM battery bank, new topsides, new bottom paint, Raymarine Autohelm, depth, and knotmeters, VHF radio, roller furler. $8,500. Berkeley Marina. callen5052427@gmail.com (650) 2224570

25 FT c aTalina 1997. Catalina 250 tall rig. Wing keel. 9.8 Nissan ourboard. Roller-furling jib. Self-tailing winches. Two sets of sails. Tandem trailer. $14,500. El Dorado Hills. landave@copper.net (916) 933-2346

25 FT niMBle kodiak 2003. ‘Amazing Grace’: Good-sailing Ted Brewerdesigned trailerable motorsailer. Factoryinstalled 6kW electric motor with 12 Group 31 Northstar batteries for great range. 6 ft 6 in headroom. Stall hot shower! Twin helms, autopilot, electric tabernacle mast raising. Reefer, A/C, TV, liveaboard comfort. Perfect Bay/Delta/ Great Loop ride. Sails and motors well in warm, dry cabin. Turnkey condition, fully cored hull, 4500lbs, 2’10”idraft. One of a kind. $32,000. Benicia, CA. greatgoose1951@gmail.com (707) 2975440

26 FT Macgregor 26M 2006. Great lake and coastal pocket cruiser with lots of factory features. Mast raising system, roller furling, easy access cooler, trailer with brakes 60 hp outboard, new head, Garmin map/depth, sail covers Call for details. $19,995. Penn Valley, CA. chrisfrank3@gmail.com (530) 902-4832

26 FT yaMaha 1984. 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

30 FT Bodega 1977 . Designed to cruise, sails beautifully, good base for adventure. Force 10 stove, 4 berths, composting head, new Ullman fullbatten main and furling jib, Fatty Knees 7-ft tender, new bottom paint, one owner. $13,500. Point Richmond. lee@awarecare.com (707) 738-9387

30 FT caTalina 1980. Sailboat at South Beach Harbor, San Francisco. Completely rebuilt Universal 5411 diesel, new engine mounts. New exhaust manifold and mixing elbow and hoses. Stainless steel water lift muffler, new thru-hull fittings and plumbing. Interior in very good condition. Many wiring upgrades. Kenwood stereo with Blaupunkt speakers. Simrad Lowrance DST Triducer Multisensor, a multi-purpose instrument that has a thru-hull housing and supports 235 KHz transducer frequency. It can measure depth, speed, and temperature, and has NMEA 2000 connectivity. New stainless steel shaft and three-blade propeller. New cutlass bearing. Propspeed foul-release coating to prop and shaft. Recent bottom paint. Bottom cleaned regularly. $12,000. South Beach Harbor, San Francisco. catalina30sf@gmail.com

30 FT caTalina 1989 . Mk II Catalina with autopilot, radar and GPS. $18,600 OBO. Bay Area. dbward@hotmail.com (805) 889-9944

30 FT olson 30 1983. ‘HOOT’ located Brickyard Cove dry storage space P044 is for sale. Hull #PCX301830382 (hull 183 built by Pacific Boats 1983). Dry sailed since new, has never had bottom paint. She’s been very successfully campaigned for many years, many trophies in her wake. Perhaps the lightest Olson 30 out there, set up for buoy racing, very fast boat. Custom 2007 aluminum roadready trailer, just refurbished. Custom boom tent cover. Deck and nonskid restored in 2016. 2002 Ballenger doublespreader rig, standing rigging replaced 2016. Both stock and elliptical rudder included, many bags of sails, recent racing sails in excellent condition. Email inquiries only please. $22,500. Richmond, CA. andymacfie@gmail.com www.tinyurl.com/bdxck2ks

29.5 FT J/29 1985. Fresh off her 2023 ASMBYC High Point Series victory, ‘Zulu’ is now for sale! This ultra-competitive J/29 sailboat is fully equipped for crewed and shorthanded races. Meticulously maintained, she offers an impressive arsenal of sails and will provide her new owners a solid platform for competitive racing for years to come. $20,000. Marina del Rey, CA. welter.ryan@gmail.com (949) 554-9390

29.9 FT BrisTol 29.9 1977 . Sloop, cruise-equipped. Two chartplotters, VHF with GPS and AIS. Radar, wheel pilot, 200W solar, three AGM batteries (one start, two bank). 2qm20 Yanmar diesel, tricolor mast light, asymmetrical spinnaker. BOAT LOCATED PUERTO ESCONDIDO BAJA. $7,500 OBO. Puerto Escondido, BCS, MX. jeffreyallenberry@gmail.com (530) 3860361

30 FT lancer 30 1986. We had our second daughter so now it’s time to sell my baby. Very low hours on the motor, well taken care of and FAST! Please contact me for more images and a survey. $8,000. Oyster Point Marina. bpedersen@farm0.org (707) 934-0050

32 – 35 Feet SailboatS

35 FT ericson 35-3 1987. New bottom paint, prop, heat exchanger and mixing tee. Lots of TLC. Excellent condition, interior teak like new. Lying in Sausalito. Comes w/dinghy. Call for viewing. $34,500 OBO. Sausalito. kbwallace61@gmail.com (208) 309-3564

33 FT sWalloWcraFT sWiFT 1978. Embark on a luxurious adventure. This cruising sloop is in excellent condition, powered by a Volvo diesel 30hp engine with 1000 hrs. Equipped with a 30-gal fuel tank, 100-gal freshwater tank, roller furling genoa, and new mainsail. Features include a new Raymarine autopilot, water heater, premium upholstery, cockpit cushions, bimini, and galley with 15 cu.ft. refrigerator/freezer, gimbaled propane oven/three-burner stove. The main salon seats six and converts into a 9-ft 4-in sleeping berth, while the V-berth offers privacy. New standing and running rigging, Lloyd’s of London certification and elegant design make this yacht a dream to sail. She’s truly a show-stopper!. $62,000. Belvedere, CA. glasner1@comcast.net (707) 484-7071

33 FT c&c 1976. Classic high-performance cruiser/racer. Yanmar diesel, folding prop, dripless shaft seal. Extensive inventory of working and spinnaker sails in good condition. Six Barient winches. Snatch blocks and winch handles. Hood Gemini dual-track headfoil system, Navtec hydraulic backstay adjuster with control panel. Bruce 16lb bow anchor, Danforth 13lb stern anchor. Complete custom interior, private head with thruhull, installed holding tank. Blaupunkt AM/FM w/cassette deck; internal and external speakers. Cockpit dodger w/side curtains. $25,000. Tiburon - Paradise Cay.

34 FT exPress alsBerg BroThers 1986. “Boat of the Year” Sailing World Magazine 1987. One of Carl Schumacher’s finest designs, only 28 built. Three-burner stove, and oven. Hot water. Almost-new North main, lightly used North jib on Harken roller furler. Sails to a 99 rating on S.F. Bay. Lots of sails, fully equipped. $49,000 OBO. Richmond Yacht Club. karlengdahl10@gmail.com (925) 6835929

34 FT coluMBia 1971 . Comfortable high-ceiling liveaboard cabin, fully equipped and family friendly. Safe and mechanically sound, fresh bottom paint/LP hull, Perkins 4-107 diesel and 4 bags of sails. Great cruising boat for your next adventure! $12,500 OBO. Redondo Beach, CA. magnificentronald@gmail.com (971) 352-0181

34.5 FT caTalina 1986/87 . Clean, comfortable, well maintained with spacious teak interior. New batteries, full engine/transmission service and more. Great for family fun or cruising. Must see to appreciate; owners will meet potential buyers at boat. Reduced from 34,500. $27,900. Benicia Marina. Juliette.catalina@icloud.com (916) 3404734

34 FT Vindo 45 1984 . Rare boat to find in California, featured in World’s Best Sailboats as well as John Neal’s “Bluewater Boats to Consider.” Please see the website for details. Use URL link on this page. $34,950. Bodega Bay, CA. ed.witts@gmail.com (925) 665-9133 www.tinyurl.com/2bch72uw

34 FT BeneTeau FirsT class 10 1984. Full sail inventory. Rigged for both symmetrical spinnaker with carbon pole, asymmetrical with a retractable Selden sprit. PHRF 90. Rudder size increased to accommodate local conditions. Keel-stepped mast controlled by running backstays, check stays and double spreaders. Deck equipment includes two self-tailing Andersen headsail/main winches, two self-tailing runner winches, two halyard winches. Upgraded Raymarine electronics. Tiller steering with Pelagic autopilot. Whether you love offshore, beer-can racing or fast cruising, the Beneteau First Class 10 has outstanding performance. $23,500. Redwood City, CA. dropbeer14@gmail.com www.bit.ly/3xjxJv5

32 FT herreshoFF 1998. Discounted $15,000 from original price. Beautiful, strong cruising cutter. Herreshoffdesigned, bowsprit and boomkin, coldmolded 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; no engine; sail into and out of upwind Berkeley berth or use 16-ft oar; 4 anchors (45# 35# 25# CQR, fisherman); windlass. Sail this beauty around the world. Call Ken’s cell 925 786-7878. $24,500. Berkeley, CA.

34 FT cal 34 Mk iii 1977. All new paint from waterline up! Many upgrades with all deck hardware remounted following the paint upgrade. Wheel steering and a Westerbeke 30 diesel. Good sail inventory. $19,500. San Rafael. vgcparadox365@gmail.com (415) 6866998

32 FT islander 32 Mk V 1976. 24hp 3cyl Perkins. StackPack main, Profurl jib. Large bow anchor bracket, anchors. Solar, inverter, 12V reefer. Diesel heater, bulkhead-mounted wood stove, Force 10 three-burner gimbaled propane oven. Holding tank, new water heater not installed. Simrad chartplotter, GPS, AIS, integrated VHF. Autohelm, wheel steering, compass on pedestal. Recent new 4 main cabin windows. LED running lights and glow plugs. Bottom is clean and could use a repaint. Great coastal cruiser and liveaboard with 6-ft 2-in headroom and lots of fine teak woodwork. More pictures available upon request. $18,500. Sausalito. captaindougduane@gmail.com (415) 757-7863

32 FT WesTsail 32 1974. Aft cockpit cutter-rigged sailboat. Above-average condition. Have appraisal. Boat was not lived in. Very rare and wellkept sailboat. Serious buyers only. Email only. Will send more photos and appraisal to serious buyers through email. $55,000. Coyote Point, CA. marisamiah@gmail.com (707) 317-8073

35 FT sanTana 35 1979. Fair condition, needs TLC, sails complete. As is. Role: Racer/Cruiser. Waterline length: 26.50 ft. Beam: 11.92 ft. Draft: 6.25 ft. Displacement: 8,500 lb. Ballast: 3,300 lb. Engine: Volvo Penta MD7A 13 hp diesel — good condition. Please text. $4,500. Richmond. Slighmj2@sbcglobal.net (415) 819-4515

34 FT cT-34 1977. Beautiful double-ender, new sails, Volvo Penta MD11 in great condition. Sails like a dream. New sails, new running rigging,.Well appointed Need bottom paint. $15,500 REDUCED!. Tiburon. sailingfearless@gmail.com

34 FT Wylie 34 1980 . One of Tom Wylie’s best designs; fractional rig, new Quantum main and cover, other sails for all conditions, PHRF 120, Yanmar and 2GM diesel 1700 hrs. A great Bay boat! $21,500. Richmond. kurrewa59@gmail.com (808) 381-5884

33 FT PaciFic seacraFT Mariah 31 1978. Stout boat of legendary strength and seaworthiness. Highly sought-after for bluewater sailing. She is in excellent condition, spartan appointments and in original condition with no modifications. Newer standing rig, crisp sails, fresh bottom job. $45,000. Alameda. sailingfearless@gmail.com

33 FT ranger 1970. Actively sailed and raced boat. New Yanmar diesel (115 hrs), 2022 chainplates removed, inspected, and rebedded. Roller-furling jib, main with lazy jacks, spinnaker. Tiller steering with autopilot. Priced for quick sale due to partner’s health. $16,000. Berkeley Marina. vroom704@gmail.com (510) 708-5581

33 FT c al 33 1971. Classic olderstyle sloop with modified scoop stern. Strong Volvo diesel 487 hrs. Harken roller furling. Tiller, older sails. Relocating and priced to sell. $5,900 OBO. Emery Cove Yacht Harbor. ngolifeart@gmail.com (747) 286-8311

38 FT alaJuela 38 1982. Project sailboat. Alajuela 38 Ingrid design. NeedsTLC, Mast, boom and all rigging. Built in Santa Cruz and currently is in Vallejo Yacht Harbor. $10,000 OBO. Vallejo Yacht Harbor. dz.dar@icloud.com (408) 691-1554

36 FT islander 36 1982. A great Bay and coastal sailboat. New bottom paint Dec, 2023, new standing rigging, stack pack, autopilot, great canvas and dodger. Jib furler, two-reef main good shape,Sails weekly. $37,500 OBO. Richmond. kevinhydes@gmail.com (510) 694-8867

36 FT cascade 1977. Bluewater-ready turnkey sailboat. 55 hrs on new Yanmar 30 hp, navigation autopilot, leather interior hand-carved wood. Dickinson diesel heater, full head with hot shower, full galley and more. Great liveaboard with large V-berth, comes with transferable slip!. $25,000 OBO. Newport, OR. sureshanjie@yahoo.com Suresh (510) 459-8018or Dustin (808) 756-1389

36 FT arcona 355 2002. From Sweden. Airex-cored hull. Full mahogany “furniture” interior. Healthy teak decks. Volvo diesel with 1560 hrs. Integrated B&G and Raymarine instruments. Hallberg-Rassy quality with J/Boat weight. Set up for singlehanding, island cruising and club racing. PHRF 120. Fully equipped. Call Blake. San Diego. (619) 655-7398

38 FT h ans c hris T ian 38T 1985. Bluewater cruiser in paradise! New engine, new tanbark sails, new rigging completed in 2022. Extensive refit in 2017 on hull and decks. Positioned in the perfect place for a Pacific cruising season. $85,000. Hiva Oa, French Polynesia. (907) 209-3327 www.sednastories.com sailing.vessel.sedna@gmail.com

36 FT Farr 36 1977. ‘Sweet Okole’ – Bruce Farr-designed, 36-ft with coldmolded construction. 2017 Southern carbon spar and boom plus full set of Ullman sails from Dave Hodges. Raft and safety gear for more crossings. We have done 15 crossings: first overall in ’81 Transpac, second overall in ’85 Transpac, first in class in ’19 Transpac, second in class in ’23 Transpac, multiple class wins in Pac Cup. Would consider sailing with the buyer to Hawaii on 2024 Pac Cup. $75,000. Richmond Yacht Club. ldeantreadway@gmail.com (510) 604-1990

36.6 FT islander 1978. Alan Gurney’s most successful cruiser/racer design. Well maintained, many upgrades: Rod rigging, hydraulic vang, North Sail full-batten main, Hood furling reefing jib, 2 spinnakers and 3 racing genoas, oversized winches, professionally rewired adding battery charger/jnverter, GPS speed/ bearing instruments, teak sole. $30k in maintenance/new upgrades past 3 years; new hot water system, refrigerator, engine gauges, lines and engine refurbishment, restitched primary rolling jib, added main second reef, total below-waterline paint refurb, full buff-out above waterline. $35,000. Mission Creek Harbor, S.F. ssdarling@comcast.net (415) 816-9626

37 Mk 2

cruiser, plenty of head room and storage. She is sound but is a project boat. Needs work on motor and some electrical. Batteries in good shape, all new thru hull fittings. New standing rigging, electrical wiring and LED lights, VHF antenna of this past year. Brought overland from East Coast so lifelines, stanchions and bow sprit were removed and need to be reinstalled (all included). Stainless frames for dodger and Bimini but no canvas. Sails and covers in fair condition. Interior cushions in good condition. Nice interior layout. Priced to reflect engine and other work to be completed. $25,000. Sausalito. jaygrant11383@gmail.com (415) 4136707

38 FT carrera 38 1987. Imported by Sven Svendsen. 2023, mast removed with new standing rigging installed, two new batteries, two new compasses, new bottom paint, new zincs, new service of the outdrive/prop, hydraulic outhaul, vang and mast bend, twocylinder Volvo recently serviced with oil change/pump/filters, all work done by Svendsen. Two mainsails, two spinnakers, genoa and two roller jibs, spinnaker pole, Ballenger mast and boom. $22,500. Pt. Richmond Marina, CA. franzsteinerarchitect@comcast.net (510) 914-1289

45 FT d ix 43 1991. Professionally built steel sloop/cutter by Hout Bay Yachts, South Africa. Ready to explore! Full fine hardwood interior joinery. Yanmar turbo 70hp 1800hrs. Currently cruising Pacific Northwest. Contact for a full photo and info package. $129,000. Pacific Northwest, USA. bduggleby@sbcglobal.net

50 FT h udson Force 50 1978. Center cockpit. 80hp Lehman. Lower teak decks removed. Yanmar generator. $59,900. Berkeley. tcparfitt@yahoo.com (707) 861-2954

44 FT kelly PeTerson 1981. Bluewater center-cockpit cruiser designed by Doug Peterson. Makes a great liveaboard. Equipped for cruising. Perkins 4-154 diesel. Monitor windvane. 2019 12-ft Caribe dinghy with outboard. Cutter rig. Jib/staysail furlers. Newer 900Ah AGMs (2020). 675W solar panels. Spectra watermaker. New bottom paint. New fuel/water tankage. No teak decks. $99,000 OBO. Coronado, CA. lusitana@sbcglobal.net (619) 985-5138

43 FT n au T icaT 43 1987. We just finished our five-year Mexico adventure. It’s your turn. Start your cruising in La Paz; it’s awesome! Email me for more info. Richv4rich@gmail. com. $135,000. La Paz, BCS, MX. richv4rich@gmail.com (707) 974-7181

45 FT h ardin 1978. Center cockpit ketch, Great condition. Custom teak interior, teak decks, 11 sails, 2 dinghies, 2 outboards. Fully equipped for cruising or liveaboard, New sail covers, batteries. Isuzu diesel runs great,. $79,000. Pillar Point Harbor. vkarawanny@gmail.com (406) 291-1509

36 – 39 Feet SailboatS

Tayana

cuTTer. Bluewater

40 FT challenger 40 1974. Good news! Extensive refit was begun in 2020 including: Thorough cleaning and repainting of storage, mechanical areas, and bilge. New motor mounts and turbo assembly on Yanmar 4JHTE. New throttle and gear Morse cables. Scupper hoses replaced. PSS seal installed. Shaft cutlass bearing replaced. New raw water intake thru-hull. New raw water intake hose. New AC/DC panel. Rewired entire boat. New LED cabin lights. New outlets w/GFCI. New Group 31 starting battery, Aux. 5-amp engine battery charger, 660AH lithium house bank, Victron 3KVA inverter/charger, Victron AC/DC distribution w/remote monitoring, Dec. 2023 Micron 66 paint. Needs holding tank (has manual head and portable toilet), Needs freshwater tank and plumbing (has drains for sinks). $37,000 OBO. Marina Bay, Richmond, CA. seanmcal@gmail.com (310) 971-5208

40 FT c aTalina 400 2000. She is a two-cabin well maintained sloop and is set up for cruising. She has all-new B&G electronics along with other new equipment. She sails great and has in-boom furling. $145,000. ryckjohnson@gmail.com (916) 765-7081

47 FT Ted carPenTier lido shiPyard 1957. Ketch with 11-ft beam, 7-ft draft. Hull is strip-planked tongue and grooved. This vessel was built by naval architect Ted Carpentier, who also worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft and was a personal friend of Howard Huges. It was custom-built for the CEO of United Airlines (the original spinnaker is in United Airlines colors). I have owned this boat since 1996. The interior has been refinished, Elco EN7000 motor installed, teak deck and a new carbon fiber mast and boom and new toilet are ready to be installed. Coast Guard Vessel documented. She is a fine vessel in the San Francisco Bay area. $85,000 OBO. San Francisco Bay Area. vksbo@hotmail.com (510) 967-8421

48 FT Tayana 48 cc 2005. Please email me for additional information. $329,000. Redwood City. kovi95050@gmail.com

43 FT serendiPiTy 43 1981. Very well equipped for cruising, this classic Doug Peterson design is located in Mexico and is seriously for sale after a circumnavigation. Universal diesel, two spins, two mains, Moniter vane, Maxwell windlass and much more. $54,500 OBO. Mexico. geneosier@yahoo.com

47 FT Vaga B ond 1979. Bluewater Yachts Vagabond ketch. The true image of an offshore cruising yacht, the classic, beautiful William Garden center cockpit ketch is a proven bluewater cruiser. Contact for links with photos, full description. 2022 AIS, watermaker, wind/solar,. $125,000 OBO. La Paz, MX. art@artcanoes.com (206) 818-3955

48 FT MeTalu Jade 1978. Aluminum cutter-ketch lying in French Polynesia and awaiting your offshore adventure –Cooks, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Antarctica! Built by one of France’s most renowned yards, and launched in 1978, ‘Athanor’ was fully refitted in Seattle in 2015: new engine, sails, rigging, electronics, coatings, watermaker, etc. Light use since arriving in Polynesia (COVID lockdowns). Meticulously upgraded and maintained, she’s truly ready to splash and sail whichever direction you want to go! Safety, comfort, and speed. Import tax paid, with a hardstand in place, making the logistics of taking ownership simple. View details at website or email for more information. $122,000 OBO. French Polynesia (Raiatea). sv.athanor@gmail.com www.tinyurl.com/ ym5mfsd6

43 FT cusToM schock keTch 1973. Professionally built of mahogany over oak, ‘Debonair’ has been lovingly maintained and extensively upgraded. A seaworthy passagemaker, ‘Debonair’ recently completed a 16,000-mile Pacific tour. From rig to sails, systems to safety, ‘Debonair’s voyage-ready. $72,900. Port Hadlock, WA. ketchdebonair@gmail.com www.tinyurl. com/2s36wtce

49 FT cusToM choaTe PeTerson slooP 1988. Solid performance racer/ cruiser. Spacious headroom, storage, large galley and main saloon, with roomy aft cabin and separate head. Rod rigging, great winches and running rigging layout. $70,000 OBO or Trade. Sausalito, CA. libertyshipmarina@comcast.net (415) 613-3665

36 FT J/36 1980. This fractional-rigged boat sails well under the modern 7/8 rig. Cruise with two or race with five. The small jib and large mainsail are the key. Has 10 bags of sails (5 spinn), Yanmar diesel, new oven, Raymarine instruments, Martec folding prop. The engine mounted over the keel gives brilliant balance. Price reduced. $25,000. Stockton. bonnielopezunr@gmail.com (209) 2738619

46 FT sTeel yaWl, Full reFiT 2005. ‘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

48 FT suncoasT 1980. 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) 235-2527 www.guapasailboat.com

53.2 FT souThern ocean gallanT 53 1970. The Gallant 53 was designed by naval architect and yacht designer E.G. Van de Stadt. These Gallants soon gained a reputation for their good looks, bulletproof construction, superb motion in a seaway and, as has been proved, the ease with which they can be handled with a minimum crew. Twenty-two were built by Southern Ocean Shipyard Ltd and by Tyler’s in England from 1967 to 1973. This Gallant has had only two owners. She is actively being cruised, and is currently In French Polynesia. French Polynesian import tax has been paid, the boat can stay in French Polynesia indefinitely. Rigged for singlehanded sailing. $145,000. French Polynesia. sv.auntie@hotmail.com www.tinyurl.com/ mpxyp9hx

60 FT cusToM crealock 1997. Just back from NZ! This 60-ft steel schooner will take you anywhere you want to go. Available to view in Tiburon. $200,000. Tiburon. otterkicks@gmail.com (707) 499-9414 www.schoonershellback.com/

54 FT Jeanneau 54 ds 2009. 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

ClaSSiC boatS

38 FT keTTenBurg 1955. Mahoghanyplanked on oak frames. Needs varnish and paint, engine work if you must. Now berthed in Berkeley, she wants to get her sails wet! I am nearly 80 and she is only 68 and needs a stiff breeze! No leaks. Decent old sails ready to sail today. Bottom refastened with hundreds of bronze screws, then corked and painted. Will instruct in sailing, varnishing, Cetol application, and bottom caulking/painting. New carburetor included!. $199 OBO. Berkeley Marina I Dock. Richard@newmed.com (510) 527-3600

32 FT Malcol M c a B in c ruiser 1936. Under roof in San Rafael. Beautiful interior, sleeps 5. Four-cylinder diesel. All new Renogy electric system. New cushions and curtains by Marcia of San Rafael. We use her all the time on the Bay. $45,000. San Rafael Yacht Harbor. melco@mcn.org (707) 884-4836

25 FT alBin 1971. A classic Swedishbuilt fiberglass trawler. Original engine (AD21) (running). Sleeps 4. Thousands of these still grace the waterways of Europe and the USA. Transferable slip in Marin. Sold as is and where is. $10,000 OBO. Marin County, CA. flintston2ca@yahoo.com (707) 539-8626

46 FT c us T o M 2000. Catamaran project, fiberglass hulls. Most gear to finish, mast, boom, sails, engine, 20+ new Lewmar ports and hatches, container, pulpits, stanchions, lifelines. Temp. yard to finish, easy move. Must sell!. $50,000 OBO. Santa Rosa, CA. john@windtoys.net (707) 696-3334

25 FT Ji M Bro W n s earunner TriMaran 2017. Ready for the next voyage. Fully restored in 2017. Cutter rig. Has been freshwater-kept its entire life. For tons of photos and details about this boat visit searunner25.com. This boat is designed to fold for transport on a seasonal basis — folding/ unfolding takes a few hours. Can help load in Seattle for delivery. Email me to set up a video tour. $24,000. Seattle, WA. Nibiru@searunner25.com www.searunner25.com

40 FT ForMula 40 caTaMaran 1988. AC45 rudders, fifth-wheel trailer, needs refit/sails. Powerful, could make great charter catamaran. Consider trailerable multihull/ motorcycle trade. $32,000. Reno. multihuler@aol.com

24 FT corsair F-24 Mk ii 2003. 2003 Corsair F-24-ft trimaran with new Ullman Main; Jib; Screacher & Spinnaker 2018. Also New Colligo Jib & Screacher Furlers 2018. Top-down Colligo Spinnaker Furler 2021. Sunrise nets 2021. Solar panel, Garmin GPS on swing arm, VHF with Masthead Antenna, Raymarine Autopilot with wireless remote, two anchors, ATN Jib cover, new main cover. 2002 Pacific trailer with brakes. 2014 Tohatsu 6hp. $32,500 OBO. Richmond Yacht Club. lightspeed@wylie39.com (916) 207-1887

PartnerShiPS

PriMe s.F. Bay sailing oPPorTuniTy. Seeking well-qualified new member to join our established group of sailors and co-owners of a classic well-maintained 38-ft yacht berthed in Sausalito. For less than the monthly cost of berth rent, enjoy turnkey sailing on a regular basis without the usual responsibilities of ownership. Modest initial equity buy-in also required. Call or text for more info and appointment to see boat. (415) 342-8011. Sausalito. macdonaldtom4@gmail.com (916) 5296582

unique BoaT share oPPorTuniTy. Well maintained 2001 Beneteau 46.1 located in Harbor Island, San Diego, walking distance from international airport. Seeking 2 partners to join existing LLC for 1/4 (each) share of equity (approx $35k) and expenses (approx $8k annually). Thirteen weeks usage per year, more as available. Includes usage of minivan and Sunroad Marina facilities (toilets, showers, pool, hot tub). Please phone. San Diego. dougsingleton415@gmail.com (415) 852-1824

seeking 25% non-equiTy ParTner seaWind 1000 caTaMaran. Solid, clean, safe, comfortable, fun catamaran. Convenient location. Easy scheduling/ sharing. See website. Email sailing résumé and three references. Price to be negotiated – between $500-$1,000/ month. For one week-plus use per month. Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond, CA. JanPassion1@gmail.com (925) 303-3747 www.sailhokahey.com

32 FT Jeanneau aTTalia 1985. Masthead-rigged sloop. New rigging, sails, traveler, furler, lifelines, stack pack, lazy jacks, head, TLC all around. All lines run to cockpit. 16hp Yanmar diesel. Equity partner pays buy-in, plus 50% of expenses ($330 monthly). $10,500. Emery Cove Marina, Emeryville. jjb@koger-black.com www.tinyurl. com/5n87xk8a

caTalina 36 ParTnershiP doWnToWn sausaliTo. Non-equity partnership, outstanding berth location in downtown Sausalito. $400/mth for two weekend days/five weekdays access. Maintenance fund TBD. $400. Sausalito Yacht Harbor. chris@venturepad.works (415) 309-0331

cal 34 ParTnershiP sausaliTo. Join our fun and experienced sailing partnership! Seeking operational non-equity partner. Experienced and newer sailors welcome. Open sailing calendar with no restrictions on days. Well maintained 1968 Lapworth design, with spacious and comfortable interior. Dues $2000/yr. $165. Sausalito. bill.martorano@sbcglobal.net

racer-cruiser aT souTh Beach h ar B or. 1986 Dehler 34 at , racercruiser, tiller, Yanmar. $300/month: two weekend days, four weekdays, fuel, electricity, parking, and insurance. A semi-annual maintenance contribution of $500 is required for a non-equity partnership. An ownership option is available. $300. South Beach Harbor. valtaft@gmail.com (650) 670-5300

looking For BoaT ParTnershiP. 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

ClUbS & MeMberShiPS

cluB nauTique ulTiMaTe MeMBershiP Discounted sale by owner. Selling Ultimate membership ($16,995 value). It includes all Sail/Power classes for ALL certifications. See link for details. Contact Bill. $13,500. Sausalito, Alameda. Caribou24@me.com (415) 407-5830 www.tinyurl.com/3r6zas6v

bUSineSS oPPortUnitieS

PuerTo VallarTa Business For s ale. Discover the exciting chance to own ‘YUMMIES Mexico,’ a frozen food sensation with a perfected menu and a loyal customer base aged 40-80. This successful Puerto Vallarta business is now on the market and ready for a new chapter. Explore detailed information on website and FB: www.tinyurl.com/mjb9v9je. La Cruz , Nayarit, MX. 52 (322) 275-3322 yummiesbydonyteri@gmail.com www.Yummies-Mexico.com.mx

cusToM canVas shoP. The Canvas Works is seeking one or more active managing partners to succeed us as we navigate a smooth transition to retirement. We have an experienced team of expert craftspeople, a strong customer base, name recognition, and a convenient workshop and dock space on the charming and historic Sausalito waterfront. We’re looking for experience with small-business operations, workflow scheduling, customer service, the ability to reprioritize on the fly, unfailing attention to detail; someone who enjoys work and people, and has a sense of humor. We don’t have a hard deadline or specific ownership structure in mind, but are committed to exploring any arrangement that allows The Canvas Works to continue to thrive. Lisa@thecanvasworks.com www.Thecanvasworks.com

berthS & SliPS

FloaT ing h o M e Ber T h. Looking for single-story floating home or vessel. Have an awesome spot on the Canal. Need low-impact person. $1750/mo. plus electric. Pumpout available. $1,750. San Rafael Canal. e.stancil53@gmail.com (650) 771-1945

eMery coVe BoaT sliP For renT. Berths for rent. Size 35-ft x 13-ft, $472.50/ month C dock and 40-ft x 13.5-ft, $540/ month E dock. Dockominium-run marina in Emeryville. emerycove.com. Brand-new docks, aluminum with Ipe wood deck, brand-new restrooms, beautiful grounds and just dredged. Great location center of S.F. Bay and great monthly rate. Emeryville, CA. studio6161@icloud.com www.emerycove.com

P ier 39 50-FT s li P & Pro J ec T BoaT Pier 39 Dock A with project boat: 1985 Californian 38 motor yacht, low hrs twin-diesel engine. Contact Steven. $39,500. San Francisco. Cheflam@ymail.com (415) 368-1632

rare s.F. 90 FT sliP The best 90-ft slip opportunity in San Francisco Bay in decades is available for a discerning owner. San Francisco West Harbor just 30 yards to the St. Francis Yacht Club. Visit website. Serious? Contact harbormaster. SF West Harbor. doit@imaginethatsf.com www.rare90ftsfslip.com

r ed W ood c i T y Marina s li P s aVaila B le. 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. (650) 306-4150 crevay@redwoodcityport.com www.redwoodcityport.com/marina

ProPerty For Sale or rent

Maine coasT coTTage For renT. 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 866-8350500 www.tinyurl.com/43475rkj

d ra M aT ic WaT er F ron T a la Meda To W nho M e. 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

FloaT ing oFF ice / h ouse B oaT. A rare opportunity to have a unique waterfront (literally ON the water) building. The structure is built on a 16 x 40 concrete barge produced by the renowned Aquamaison in Sausalito, the premier builder of most of the houseboats that populate Sausalito and Alameda. The interior space currently consists of one large front office space (reception, lounge, office or?), a back office or conference room, a large storage area/ kitchenette, and expansive ‘basement’ storage with two access hatches. Use this ‘as-is’ for an office, studio, workshop, or? Or convert to a one bedroom, one bath home, add a roof deck, lots of potential! Currently berthed in Marina Village, Alameda. $149,000. Alameda, CA. wayne@sailing-jworld.com 415-606-2634

Job oPPortUnitieS

T W o h ar B ors h ar B or PaT rol Posi T ions aVaila B le. Positions available for 2023 season! 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. Rates from $18-$21/hr. Two Harbors, Catalina. Jrconner@scico.com (310) 510-4201

sailing science cenTer – conTracT and VolunTeer PosiTions oPen. Community Engagement Coordinator, Graphic Artist, Photographer(s) wanted as contractors or volunteers. Volunteer docents wanted for educational science exhibitions. Ask about other roles. info@sailingscience.org (510) 390-5727 www.sailingscience.org/

slo sail and canVas is hiring — MulTiPle PosiTions. 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) 4796122 ext.9 www.tinyurl.com/fpdkrmt

hMByc youTh sailing insTrucT ors. HMBYC has opportunities for additional instructors to join our awardwinning youth sailing program this summer. We have positions for certified instructors as well as juniors with prior sailing experience. Please email. Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, CA. youthsailing@hmbyc.org (440) 669-2990 www.tinyurl.com/5xkz3rcb

acsc is s eeking an a ssis Tan T PrograM direcTor. Alameda Community Sailing Center (ACSC) is seeking a full-time Assistant Program Director. This position works with the Program Director, Instructional Staff, Students, and Community Partners. Please check out the job description at website. Alameda Community Sailing Center. programdirector@sailalameda.org (510) 629-9282 www.tinyurl.com/3exa6c6n

insTrucTors WanTed. 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. $28-$35 depending on experience. (510) 865-4700 x313 www.clubnautique. net. schooldirector@clubnautique.net

yach T Broker Wan T ed in s ausaliTo oFFice. Oceanic Yacht Sales has an available position in brokerage power and sailboat sales at our Northern California premier waterfront office location, which includes a high-visibility sales dock. Established in 1991, Oceanic has been in the same Sausalito location at Clipper Yacht Harbor for 32 years. Join our team of experienced salespeople and enjoy strong management support and excellent marketing tools, as well as Oceanic’s outstanding name-brand awareness and reputation. Sausalito, CA. (415) 377-0866 johnbaier@oceanicyachts.com www.oceanicyachts.com

ex P erienced yach T B roker / sales P erson needed 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

licensed caPTain WanTed. 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. (925) 382-4422 www.towboatusdelta.com towboatus.bay.delta@gmail.com

Join our TeaM oF insTrucTors! 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. (650) 363-1390 www.spinnakersailing. com office@spinnakersailing.com

non Profit

donaTe your BoaT. 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) 5329831

Gear

BarienT 32sT selF-Tailing Winches. Stainless steel, one pair. Used; just purchased and decided not to use. Good condition mechanically and cosmetically. Shipping extra. Can deliver San Diego to Orange County. $1,800. San Diego. steve92106@gmail.com (619) 708-3302

sWaP MeeT May 4 aT PsPyc. Marine gear, clothing, boat parts, tools, nautical treasures, and art for sale. May 4 from 8 a.m.-12 noon, free admission. PSPYC is next to KKMI in Point Richmond. Vendors: $30 fee. Email Angela for pre-registration info. Point San Pablo Yacht Club, Pt. Richmond, CA. angela.m.byrne@gmail.com www.pspyc.org

uniVersal aToMic 4. New head, new manifold, new alternator, new starter, new electronic ignition, complete block overhaul. Please call (415) 706-4556 or email viper36richardson@yahoo.com for more information. $4,000. San Diego. viper36richardson@yahoo.com (415) 706-4556

MiSCellaneoUS

sailBoaT sunk aT Pillar PoinT harBor. noTice: The 40 ft (approx) sailboat sunk at Pillar Point Harbor during the storm on 02/18/24 – 02/19/24 has been abandoned for more than 30 days, and will be raised, salvaged, scraped, crushed or otherwise removed, thus retiring any related USCG vessel documentation, CA DMV CF number and HIN, as may apply. Any persons with any claim to this wreck may reply to 408-401-7697 with a number to call you back. Salvage labor, fuel, boat and other equipment costs will be due. Pillar Point Harbor. 408-401-7697

tryinG to loCate

looking For 24 FT PiVer TriMaran ‘no naMe’. We’re former owners of the plywood 24-ft Piver trimaran that sailed around the world in the ’70s. The boat’s last known location was San Diego. We’d appreciate hearing from anyone who might know the whereabouts of ‘No Name’. wolfinds@mindspring.com ″(415) 8063334″

SoUth oF the border

Plan your Mexican geTaWay noW. 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

ADVERTISERS'

AB Marine 36 www.ab-marine.com

Antioch Marina 71 www.antiochca.gov/antioch-marina

ATN 31 www.atninc.com

Atomic Tuna Yachts ............ 71 www.atomictunayachts.com

Bainbridge International 38 www.bainbridgeintusa.com

Bair Island Marina 56 www.bairislandmarina.com

Bay Maritime Group 11 www.sbm.baymaritime.com

Berkeley Marina .................. 6 www.berkeley-marina.com

Berkeley Marine Center ...... 35 www.berkeleymarine.com

Berkeley Yacht Club 35 www.berkeleyyc.org

Boat Yard at Grand Marina, The 14 www.boatyardgm.com

Brisbane Marina 63 www.brisbaneca.org/marina

Club Nautique 13 www.clubnautique.net

Compass Canvas ............... 30 www.compass-canvas.com

Cruising Yachts 15 www.cruisingyachts.net

Denison Yachting 107 www.denisonyachtsales.com

DeWitt Studio 103 www.jimdewitt.com

Downwind Marine ............. 24 www.downwindmarine.com

Doyle Sails 67 www.doylesails.com

Emery Cove Yacht Harbor 29 www.emerycove.com

Ensenada Cruiseport

Village .............................. 60 www.marina.hutchisonportsecv.com

EWOL / Walder Boom Brake 29 www.ewoltech.com

Fisheries Supply Co. 67 www.fisheriessupply.com

Gianola Canvas Products 34 www.gianolacanvas.com

Grand Marina 2 www.grandmarina.com

H&M Marine / Beta Marine Engines / Hirschfeld Yachts 31 www.betamarinewest.com

Helmut's Marine Service 37 www.helmutsmarine.com

Hood Sails 23 www.hoodsails.de/en

Hotel Coral & Marina ......... 90 www.surfnet.com/coral Hydrovane 91 www.hydrovane.com

Johnson Marine, C. Sherman 30 www.csjohnson.com

Keenan Filters 18 www.ktisystems.com

KKMI - Full Service Boatyard ......... 3, 108 www.kkmi.com

Lind Marine 27 www.lindmarine.com

List Marine Enterprises 38 www.listmarine.com

Marina de La Paz .............. 34 www.marinadelapaz.com

Marina El Cid 34 www.elcid.com

Marine Servicenter 17 www.marinesc.com

Mariners Insurance 26 www.marinersins.com

Master Mariners Benevolent Assn. 75 www.sfmastermariners.org

Modern Sailing School & Club .............................. 32 www.modernsailing.com

NAOS Yachts 5 www.naosyachts.com

Napa Valley Marina 22 www.napavalleymarina.com

Outboard Motor Shop 33 www.outboardmotorshop.com

Owl Harbor Marina 61 www.owlharbor.com

Pacific Sail & Power

Boat Show ........................ 21 www.pacificboatshow.com

Punta Mita

Beachfront Condos 105 www.latitude38.com

Quantum Pacific ................ 83 www.quantum.com

Raiatea Carenage Services 92 www.raiateacarenage.com

Richard Boland Yacht Sales 106 www.richardbolandyachts.com

Richardson Bay Marina 39 www.richardsonbaymarina.com

Rubicon Yachts 7.8.9 www.rubiconyachts.com

Sailrite Kits 25 www.sailrite.com

San Francisco Boat Works... 70 www.sfboatworks.com

San Francisco on the Bay 41 www.sfonthebay.com/list-38

San Juan Sailing 39 www.sanjuansailing.com

Sausalito Yacht Club ........... 57 www.sausalitoyachtclub.org

Schaefer Marine 40 www.schaefermarine.com

Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors/SAMS ............... 40 www.marinesurvey.org

…and the jacuzzi, the 80-ft

and the 4-mile distant Tres Marietas Islands

(415)

South Beach Harbor ........... 12 www.sfport.com/southbeachharbor

Spaulding Marine Center 62 www.spauldingcenter.org

Summer Sailstice 71 www.summersailstice.com

Svendsen's Bay Maritime Group 19 www.svendsens.com

Swedish Marine 32 www.swedishmarine.com

Swiftsure Yachts 10 www.swiftsureyachts.com

The Canvas Works 33 www.thecanvasworks.com

TMM Yacht Charters 91 www.sailtmm.com

Towboat US 63 www.boatus.com

Trident Funding .................... 4 www.tridentfunding.com

Ullman Sails San Francisco & Monterey Bay 28 www.ullmansails.com

Vallejo Marina ................... 37 www.vallejomarina.com

Ventura Harbor Boatyard 102 www.vhby.com

West Coast Multihulls 60 www.westcoastmultihulls.com

Westwind Precision Details 36 www.boatdetailing.com

Whale Point Marine Supply 16 www.aceretailer.com/whalepoint

Whiting and Associates 102 www.norcalmarinesurveyors.com

Yachtfinders/Windseakers 93 www.yachtworld.com/yachtfinders

Zepp Sticks 20 www.zeppsticks.com

Marina

Richard Boland Yacht Sales

Richard:

Mik:

Michael: 831-236-5905

David: 781-526-8469

George 415-793-9376