SIGHTINGS bob bloom and jarlen For 27 years, a familiar sight at races throughout the San Francisco Bay Area has been a white J/35 with red race stripes. Jarlen, which is owned and skippered by Bob Bloom, a radiologist from Marin County, has a long history of competitive campaigns, including an overall first-place finish in the 400-mile Coastal Cup ocean race as well as a plethora of podium finishes at YRA and beer can races. Less well known is Dr. Bloom's role in welcoming and training several generations of new sailors. Bob grew up in Long Island, NY, but didn't start sailing until he arrived in the Bay Area and, in 1974, was offered a sixth share in an Islander 36. Unfortunately, that boat seemed a bit jinxed from the start, always finishing when the rest of the fleet was tied up and the first round of cocktails was being ordered. After extricating himself from the first boat, Bob begged his way onto a competitor Islander 36, earned a mast position, and started to gain significant sailing experience. In 1981, at the now-defunct Winter
ROXANNE FAIRBAIRN / WWW.ROXSHOTS.SMUGMUG.COM
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Spread: The J/35 'Jarlen' romps along during a windy Tuesday Spring Sunset race in Sausalito. Inset: Dr. Bob Bloom aboard 'Jarlen' in October.
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Latitude 38
• December, 2017
sailing books drum, too — again in a straightforward, logical manner. This book would rate a solid two thumbs up were it not for the photos, which for the most part are too small and generic to properly illustrate what they're supposed to. Rogue Waves (Michel Olagnon, $20) — Those of you old enough may remember swimming blissfully in the ocean without ever thinking of sharks. Then Jaws came out and, ever since, you never swim in the ocean without thinking of sharks. We blame 'Jaws Jaws syndrome' for our initial trepidation to delve into this book. Fortunately, after reading it, we are no more fearful of venturing into the big blue