CALIFORNIA’S MULTIHULL LEADER YACHT SALES INC.
2017 DRAGONFLY 25 Step aboard for a test sail. Fast, beautiful, elegantly crafted. A Three Bridge Fiasco Winner. See her at the show.
See them at Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show April 6-9
New SEAWIND 1190 SPORT Come see how you’ll enjoy this spacious, comfortable, affordable, high-performance cruising cat. At the show for you to see the latest in multihull benefits.
Dealers for: Corsair • Dragonfly • Seawind
www.helmsyacht.com TOM EELKEMA (510) 872-4454
GARY HELMS (510) 865-2511
teelkema@gmail.com
garyhelms44@gmail.com
FRANK ROWDEN (512) 750-5735 cabosportsfrank@yahoo.com
Oakland Yacht Club
VISIT US AT THE
PACIFIC SAIL AND POWER BOAT SHOW APRIL 6th – 9th CRA RANEWAY RAN WAY AY PAV AVILION, RICHMOND, CA. COME VISIT THE FRIENDLIEST CLUB ON THE BAY Active Cruising and Racing programs! Special events every month! A great chef, weekly dinners, special speakers, live bands, wine tasting, specialized clubs & more!
CELEBRATING OVER 100 YEARS of BOATING TRADITION
Oakland Yacht Club In Alameda, CA 1101 PACIFIC MARINA (510) 522-6868 www.oaklandyachtclub.com membership@oaklandyachtclub.com
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Latitude 38
• March, 2017
LETTERS to be left hairy, make sure you can dish out plenty of hurt to shaved riders, or be considered a hippie douche on your way to a Critical Mass. Rule 42 — A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run. One should only swim in order to prevent drowning, and one should only run if being chased. And even then, one should only run fast enough to prevent capture. Rule 43 — Don't be a jackass. But if you absolutely must be a jackass, be a funny jackass. Rule 51 — Livestrong wristbands are cockrings for your arms. While we hate cancer, isn't it better to just donate some money and not have to advertise the fact for the next five years? You may as well get "tryhard wanker" tattooed on your forehead. Rule 55 — Earn your turns. If you are riding down a mountain, you must first have ridden up the mountain. Rule 57 — No stickers. Nobody gives a shit what causes you support, what war you're against, what gear you buy, or what year you rode RAGBRAI. Rule 62 — You shall not ride with earphones. Cycling is about getting outside and into the elements. You don't need to be listening to Queen or Slayer in order to experience that. Immerse yourself in the rhythm and pain, not in whatever '80s hair band you call "music." Rule 65 — Maintain and respect your machine. Bicycles must adhere to the Principle of Silence, and as such must be meticulously maintained. Rule 68 — Rides are to be measured by the quality of their distance, not the distance alone. Rule 77 — Respect the earth; don't litter. Cycling is not an excuse to litter. Rule 81 — Don't talk it up. Rides and crashes may only be discussed and recounted in detail when the rider required external assistance in recovery or recuperation. ⇑⇓ THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE ON CANAL BOAT ISSUES While the Wanderer is correct that once Value Added Tax (VAT) has been paid on a canal boat or other vessel in the European Union, the tax will never be due again. But buyers should be aware that some boats built after 1986 were built as 'residences', and therefore didn't owe VAT. If you buy one of these, get proof that the tax was paid originally, or you might someday be billed for it. We have purchased two canal boats in Europe. The first one was registered in the United Kingdom, and we kept the registration — even though legally we should have been either a resident or citizen of the United Kingdom. We bought our second boat almost nine years ago in Belgium. It had also been built and registered in the United Kingdom, but we decided to be proper by getting US registration. It was easy to do with the help of a documentation agent in San Diego. It was all done by mail and email. We see many boats that are registered in one country, say the Netherlands, but are flying the flag of the owner's country. This might not be illegal, but it certainly isn't proper. We proudly fly our American flag and have had no problems. In fact, flying the flag has opened many doors for us, giving us opportunities to meet people whom we would have otherwise missed. A boat built in the European Union, with VAT paid when applicable, is still an EU boat. She can stay in the EU no matter what flag is flown. However, it is true that by having a US-flagged boat, we might someday get stopped and have to prove our boat's origin. But in 10 years on the canals for