SIGHTINGS party night For the past 20 years, Latitude 38 has been hosting a booth party on the Friday night of the April boat show that started out in 1997 as Pacific Sail Expo, morphed into Strictly Sail Pacific, and re-branded itself in 2017 as the Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show. This year, we're pulling out all the stops in honor of Latitude's 40th anniversary. Friday, April 7, will be Party Night on 'C Isle'. Our excuses for a party include a Baja Ha-Ha and Pacific Puddle Jump Reunion: We're inviting veterans of these two rallies, founded by Latitude 38, to reconnect. If you've yet to participate, this
find a ride or new crew march 8 Latitude 38's Spring Crew List Party is a sailing networking party for boat owners looking for crew and crew looking for boats. The party will be held at Golden Gate Yacht Club on Wednesday, March 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. On the San Francisco Marina, GGYC has a fabulous view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone is welcome, regardless of their sailing experience or lack thereof, and no reservations are taken. In the City, the come-as-youare dress code lends to an especially interesting mix, as folks might come straight from their boat or straight from the FiDi. Admission is $7 (cash only), but only $5 if you're 25 or under. Included in the price of admission will be a buffet of munchies, colorcoded, informational name tags (see photos) and a sailing slide show. GGYC's bar will sell drinks. We'll hold door-prize drawings for Latitude logowear; in case you're not one of the lucky winners, we'll bring along some extras to sell. Don Ahrens and Rich Pipkin from the Yacht Racing Association will be there to answer questions about racing on the Bay. Among the highlights of the evening will be Sal's Inflatable Sercontinued on outside column of next sightings page Page 64 •
Latitude 38
• March, 2017
IOLANI
OLIVIER BLANCHET / DPPI / VENDEE GLOBE
rich wilson, fastest solo american Finishing the 27,440-mile solo nonstop Vendée Globe on February 21, Rich Wilson of Marblehead, MA, completed his lap of the planet aboard the IMOCA 60 Great American IV in 107 days, 48 minutes, 18 seconds. The race started on November 6, 2016, in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, and finishers were still arriving as we went to press. The race is dominated by Frenchmen, so when Wilson finished 13th out of 29 boats, he became the fastest North American to race solo nonstop around the world. That distinction was previously held by Bruce Schwab, who completed the 2004-2005 race in 109 days, 19 hours, 58 minutes. Bay Area sailors may remember Schwab as a local rigger who won the 1996 Singlehanded TransPac. Wilson said that, at the age of 66, the race was exhausting. "The worst thing was it was so gray," he commented after his arrival in France. "I had a map of the stars with me, but I couldn't use it. The best thing was communiAt age 66, Rich Wilson is the oldest skip- cating with the others. We're a real per to ever complete the solo, nonstop community." Vendée Globe race. Wilson felt that his speed was never as good as other boats'. "I could not understand why the others were going so fast all the time. I do not understand how the sailors at the front of the fleet put up with the stress, because I am just scared all the time. All the time. I don't know how they do it. The French skippers are so good it's incredible." He spoke of the solitude. "I saw Eric Bellion when he went whooooosh past me. I saw a fishing boat off Cape Horn and then I did not see another ship until off Brazil. It was like the world was empty. That was strange." A former math teacher with degrees from Harvard and MIT, Wilson turned his circumnavigation into a teaching moment for some 700,000 school kids who read his daily logs, listened to his podcasts, and asked questions through the website for his educational program sitesALIVE!, www.sitesalive.com. This was Wilson's second Vendée Globe. — chris