F Prime deep water double-fingered concrete slips from 30’ to 100’.
F Guest berthing available for a weekend or any day getaway.
F Complete bathroom and shower facility, heated and tiled.
Grand Marina is a one stop shop. You’ll find everything you need to make your voyage as comfortable as possible: sail makers, canvas makers, a world-class boat yard and marine center and more.
Let’s face it; with everything that you are likely to encounter out there, you’ll be delighted your last stop was Grand Marina!
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Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location.
NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.
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’ j boats j/100 “eight ball”, 2005
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.
$129,000
RUBICON YACHTS
BLVD., SUITE 121 • ALAMEDA, CA 94501 • (510) 838-1800
Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location.
NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.
CALENDAR
Non-Race
June 1 — Folk Cabaret, Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito, 5-8 p.m. $20-$25; kids under 12 free. Drinks, soup available to purchase. Info, www.spauldingcenter.org
June 1-29 — 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
June 3-29 — Family Paddle Nights, Alameda, Tuesdays, 5:30-8 p.m. $40/adults, kids free. Gaia Guides, https://app.enrollsy.com/browse/gaia-guides
June 5 — Speaker Series, Corinthian YC, Tiburon, 7 p.m. With Ron Epstein & David Broockman on Acknowledging and Living with Polarization. Free but RSVP to speakers@cyc.org
June 7-28 — Small Boat Sailing, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, weather permitting. Free, but pre-register. BAADS, www.baads.org/sailing
June 8 — World Ocean Day. Info, https://worldoceanday.org.
June 8 — Paddle to Protect cleanup, Sausalito Community Boating Center, 9 a.m.-noon. Info, secretary@cassgidley.org.
June 11 — Full Strawberry Moon on a Wednesday.
June 13-15 — Wooden Boat Festival, Newport Beach. Theme: Stories From the Sea: Wooden Boats in Film & Fiction. Info, www.newportbeachwoodenboatfestival.com
June 14 — Nautical Swap Meet, Owl Harbor, Isleton, 8 a.m.-noon. Free admission, free space. Reserve a space at (916) 777-6055 or info@owlharbor.com
June 14, July 12 — Boarded! Pirate Adventure, aboard San Salvador, Maritime Museum, San Diego, 10:30 a.m. or 12:45 p.m. $35-$85. Info, www.sdmaritime.org
June 14-15 — Wooden Boat Festival at Koehler Kraft, San Diego. Info, https://koehlerkraft.square.site
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CALENDAR
June 21-22 — BAYS #1. RYC, www.richmondyc.org.
June 21-22 — Commodore's Regatta. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.
June 22 — Doublehanded Sunday Series: the Island Tour. YRA, www.yra.org.
June 22 — Rear Commodore Pursuit Race. SYC, www. sausalitoyachtclub.org.
June 22 — Spring SCORE #3. SCYC, www.scyc.org.
June 23 — Baxter-Judson Series Race #3. PresYC, www. presidioyachtclub.org.
June 23-29 — USYMRC Rose Cup & Clinic. Balboa YC, www.balboayachtclub.com.
June 24 — Area J US Sailing Sears Cup Triplehanded Qualifier. SDYC, www.sdyc.org.
June 27-29 — Woodies Invitational for Knarrs, Folkboats, J/22s & Alerion 28s. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.
June 28 — Half Moon Bay Race. YRA, www.yra.org.
June 28 — Shirley Temming Regatta. EYC, www.encinal.org.
June 28 — Single/Doublehanded Race #4. SeqYC, www. sequoiayc.org.
June 28 — Around the Pins. SLTWYC, www.sltwyc.com.
June 28 — WA360 starts in Port Townsend, WA. Northwest Maritime, www.nwmaritime.org.
June 28-29 — Offshore Doubles. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.
June 28-29 — San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta. SDYC, www.sdyc.org.
June 29 — City of Oakland Mayor's Cup, last LMSC race on Lake Merritt. Denis, (707) 338-6955.
June 29 — Doublehanded #2. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.
July 4 — 4th of July Handicapped Regatta. EYC, www. encinal.org.
July 4 — Brothers & Sisters Islands Race. TYC, www.tyc.org.
July 4 — Fireworks Folly. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.
July 4 — Stars & Stripes. CPYC, www.cpyc.com.
July 5 — MBYRA Firecracker. SCYC, www.scyc.org.
July 5-6 — ILCA Masters PCCs in Vancouver, BC. Jericho Sailing Centre, www.jsca.bc.ca.
July 6 — Women's Day Race. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.
July 11-13 — 29er Nationals. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.
July 12 — Westpoint Regatta. YRA, www.yra.org.
July 12 — Intraclub #2. RYC, www.richmondyc.org.
July 12 —Singlehanded Long Distance Invitational. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.
July 12-13 — MidSummer Series. CYC, www.cyc.org.
July 12-13 — J/105 & J/88 Invitational Regatta. SYC, www.sausalitoyachtclub.org.
July 12-13 — BAYS Svendsen's Summer Splash. EYC, www.encinal.org/youth-programs/about.
July 12-13 — Founding Fathers Regatta. SSC, www. stocktonsc.org.
July 12-13, 19-20 — High Sierra Regatta. FYC, www. fresnoyachtclub.org/high-sierra-regatta.
July 12-20 — Lake Tahoe Race Week. Tahoe YC, www. tahoeyc.com.
July 12-20 — Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta. LBYC, www.lbyc.org.
Beer Can Series
BAY VIEW BC — Monday Night Madness. Spring: 6/16, make-up 6/30; Summer: 7/21, 8/4, 8/18, 9/1, 9/15, 9/29, 10/11. Nick, (510) 459-1337 or www.bvbc.org
BENICIA YC — Thursday nights through 9/18. Steve, (415) 238-3977 or www.beniciayachtclub.org/racing.
BERKELEY YC — Friday nights through 9/26. Info, beercan@berkeleyyc.org or www.berkeleyyc.org.
Photo By Slackwater SF
CALENDAR
To those who know, a true Down East lobster yacht is the ultimate blend of form and function. Designed by renowned Down East architect Spencer Lincoln and built by Atlantic Boat Company, Ithaka’s classic New England work boat lines stand out in any harbor. The Du y 42 was conceived as a work boat with a large cockpit and protected house to serve as a commercial lobster vessel. Her “built down” hull form provides a stable ride through the worst seas, easily powered by her Lugger engine. But she’s not all work boat. Ithaka’s spacious cockpit (three feet longer than originally designed) functions as an extension of her main salon. Her interior is warm and inviting. Two spacious cabins provide comfortable accommodations for six, complemented nicely by a generously sized head with separate shower stall.
races, intraclub only. Info, www.cal-sailing.org. THE CLUB AT WESTPOINT — Friday nights, 6/20, 7/18, 8/15, 9/5. Larry, (650) 888-2324 or www.jibeset.net
CORINTHIAN YC — Friday nights through 8/29. Marcus, (415) 606-4110 or www.cyc.org
COYOTE POINT YC — Sunset Sail: every Wednesday night through 10/1. John, (650) 703-5621 or www.cpyc.com.
RICHMOND YC — Wednesday nights through 9/24. Info, www.richmondyc.org. Friday Night Lights Dinghy Series, sailingdirector@richmondyc.org.
ST. FRANCIS YC — Thursday Windward/Leeward Foil Racing through 8/20. Friday Foil Series through 8/15. Wednesday Evening Series through 8/21. Info, www.stfyc.com.
SANTA CRUZ YC — Tuesday & Wednesday nights through 10/29. Friday night dinghy racing: 6/13, 7/18, 8/8. Info, www.scyc.org
SEQUOIA YC — Sunset Series: Wednesday nights through 10/1. Info, www.sequoiayc.org or www.jibeset.net.
SIERRA POINT YC — Tuesday nights through 8/26. Info, https://spyc.clubexpress.com.
SOUTH BEACH YC — Friday nights. Spring: through 6/6. Summer: 6/20, 6/27, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1, 8/15, 8/22 Info, www.southbeachyachtclub.org.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE WINDJAMMERS YC — Spring Series: Wednesday nights through 6/18. Eric, rearcommodore@ sltwyc.com or www.sltwyc.com.
STOCKTON SC — Wednesday nights through 8/28. Andy, regatta@stocktonsc.org or www.stocktonsc.org.
TAHOE YC — Monday night Dinghy Series, spring: through 7/14; summer: 7/14-8/25. Wednesday night Beer Can Series, spring: through 7/9; summer: 7/16-8/27. Mike, (925) 7083374 or www.tahoeyc.com
TIBURON YC — Friday nights through 6/13 & 7/25-8/29. Rob, race@tyc.org or www.tyc.org.
VALLEJO YC — Wednesday nights through 9/24. Info, www.vyc.org or www.jibeset.net.
Is Your Motor Choking To Death?
CALENDAR
Race, from San Francisco to Hanalei, Kauai. SSS, www. sfbaysss.org
July 1, 3, 5 — Start of the Transpac, from San Pedro to Honolulu, Oahu. TPYC, www.transpacyc.com. July 4-7 — Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous. Latitude 38 is a sponsor. Info, www.tahiti-moorea-sailing-rdv.com. November 3-15 — The 31st and final Baja Ha-Ha, San Diego to Cabo San Lucasa. 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.
June Weekend Tides
Predictions for Station 9414290, San Francisco (Golden Gate) date/day time/ht.
•
June Weekend Currents NOAA Predictions for .88 NM NE of the Golden Gate Bridge
⇑⇓ seller Beware: the not so classY classiFieds I write because I placed an ad in Latitude 38 to sell my Moore El Toro with a road trailer.
I received seven responses within a week, but all asked for the same thing: more pictures, condition and "will you take a certified check as payment?" Do NOT accept a certified or personal check as payment for a small boat! Cash or bank draft only.
It didn't take long to realize that something was "phishy." Many of the inquiries were drafted almost verbatim from the first, but from different addresses. I started looking at the emails and realized that while the addresses were different, they were coming from the same source — and not within California.
I was being phished through hacked computers!
It's a shame that some nefarious actors out there have turned something as fun and carefree as sailing into a creepy internet scam. Thanks to Tony English for the public service announcement.
I have been away from computer security for a number of years, so it took a while to figure this mess out. I also had an ad with the ETIYRA (El Toro site), and found their site/ domain was also compromised, and shut down. I'm assuming they are establishing a new one. (I notified them, too.)
The purpose of this note is to warn sellers that not all folks who request information are honest about their interest. They may be playing you for kicks or seeing if they can get your boat for free.
Here's how to fight it:
Make certain that your computer protections are up to date (they will catch most of this stuff), and only provide a phone number as your contact in your ad. Land line is best. Or — and most suggested — establish a separate email account for your ad with a different provider. Do not accept text messages as they could contain viroware. By doing these things, you may be able to use your provider to trace the message back to an account holder.
I don't hold Latitude responsible for this, I just want others to beware.
Tony English Richmond
⇑⇓ give the copters a verY wide Berth
Just before noon on [a] June 29th, I left the Corinthian YC aboard my Flying Dutchman 35 Helgoland. I was accompanied by two young men visiting from Hamburg.
My guests requested a closer view of the Golden Gate Bridge. With most of the bridge still covered in fog, it looked as though it would be a chilly sail with lots of wind. Since the
LETTERS
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guests were new to both sailing and the Bay, I played it safe by reefing the main and putting on my foul weather gear. Having done that, we proceeded on a course that took us close to Buoy #1, more commonly known as Little Harding.
Approximately 350 yards to the west of us, we saw a Coast Guard helicopter and a 41-ft Coast Guard motor lifeboat conducting practice rescue maneuvers. When we came abeam of them, the helicopter began to reverse direction and move toward us. I grabbed the helm and tried to fall off to the southeast. The mast on my boat is 50 feet high; the copter was higher, but not high enough for the turbulence to dissipate.
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Before I could avoid him, he was above us. His rotor wash laid Helgoland over to port so quickly and so far that the cockpit filled immediately and water starting pouring down the companionway into the cabin. The boat's cockpit cushions also floated away. I was sure that we would lose either the mast or the boat. Then, as quickly as it had come, the rotor wash was gone.
I muttered a few very choice words and explained to my wide-eyed novices that the Coast Guard hadn't been aiming at the German guest flag.
After recovering from the shock over the weekend, I contacted the Coast Guard officer in charge of San Francisco Bay operations and stated my complaint. He was very polite, thanked me for calling and promised to look into the matter. Sure enough, the next morning he returned my call and explained that the copter pilot had not seen us until it was too late. He explained that it was normal procedure for a copter to back away after a rescue and noted that the pilot had been transferred from Alaska, where traffic is apparently much less of a problem. The Coast Guard officer was very courteous and apologized for the incident.
I thanked him and said I hoped to see him at the next Coast Guard Appreciation Day at the Corinthian YC.
My recommendation: Give the copters a very wide berth. Hans Roeben
Hans — We once spent the greater part of a Clipper Cup in a helicopter, where our responsibility (in addition to taking photographs) was to make sure that none of the blades on our chopper broke off on a mast. The pilot took great pains to stress the importance of the job; "If we hit anything, we're dead." It probably wouldn't go too well for the people on the boat, either.
Tiburon
Speaking of helicopters and the Golden Gate Bridge, there was a clip on Instagram floating around where a winger — who is lying in the water in the photos above — caught two helicopters flying under the iconic span on video. "Are you kidding me?" the sailor can be heard saying.
LETTERS
We're glad nobody was hurt in the incident you described and can understand your being in a state of shock. If it happens to anyone else, however, we'd recommend that they immediately get on Channel 16 and warn the Coast Guard of the imminent danger to lives — the ones on both the boat and in the helicopter.
⇑⇓ researching mY grandFather's epic legacY
To Scott Grindy, harbormaster, San Francisco: I stopped down to the waterfront the other day, hoping to pick your brain.
On April 20, 1917, my grandfather sailed out of the W. F. Stone & Sons Boatyard on the 100-ft long schooner Ysabel May. They headed to Tahiti, then north to Christmas Island, where he worked on a coconut plantation, eventually becoming manager. He was marooned there for a year-and-a-half, with two teens from Tahiti, and rescued in November 1919 by Lord Admiral Jellicoe of Her Majesty's Navy.
An artist's rendering of the schooner 'Ysabel May'. We found this image on a website that said, "We owe almost all of the objects on this page to Marc English, grandson of Joe English who was rescued from Christmas Island. [Marc] gave us a PDF-copy of his grandfather's photobook from his time in the islands. I placed all photos here on this page." Check out the website at www.roland-klinger.de/christmas-island/ysabel-may.htm
I'm working on a book about his adventure. Two years ago, as passenger, I sailed on a 100-ft vessel from Honolulu to Kiritimati (Christmas) while most of the Pacific was still under quarantine. Oh, by the way, Grandpa got marooned due to Spanish flu, of which he was unaware — one more thing to tie past and present together.
Long story longer, I'd love to pick your brain regarding tides, currents, winds, etc, for sailing from Oakland to the deep blue. Along those lines, I'm wondering if you know of any archival records that may contain that data for that date.
This is the tip of the iceberg, as the intended book will become books, as well as a film. Thanks for the consideration.
Marc English Tanzer 22 Maine
⇑⇓ sailing other people's Boats west and east
We loved this piece! [SpinSheet is referring to the May 2 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.]
Thank you, Tony Gilbert, for coming to our crew party! We hope to see you on the water on the Chesapeake soon ... and bring some more S.F. friends along with you!
SpinSheet Magazine
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Good to hear your voice Tony. I miss you and hope to sail with you again someday. I'm in Bali now (so the closest sailing is Lombok). But come visit someday with wife and family for some island fun.
Jan Rya
⇑⇓ classic schooner VIVEKA continues to turn heads in europe
I have known Merle for years, so when I was in Honolulu after dry docking the brig Carthaginian (which I lived on for more than a decade) in the early '90s, I had the privilege to sail Viveka from the Ala Wai to Lahaina and back. She is a sweet sailing lady.
Waldemar Kmentt
Waldemar was commenting on the February 2022 'Lectronic with the same name as this letter.
⇑⇓ mY Best KELPIE memories
I know this article is now 13 years old, but I had to share: My very first paying job (75 cents an hour!) when I was about 11, around 1968, was chipping rust and painting keel bolts with zinc paint on Kelpie when George Minney had her hauled out for a refit. This was in Newport Beach, California.
After that, I worked for Minney on weekends and summers polishing brass and stainless. My father, Warren Crosland, sometimes skippered for him when he had a charter, and George would occasionally let my dad take her out with just our family. Z-Spar paint company created a custom color called "Kelpie Green" that is roughly the same as the new Pettit color "Sea Green."
She was a beautiful boat and I loved working on her.
George could be a little crusty, but he was always good to me. (He loved his "Champale!") Ernie was also a character, but always good to me, and when George passed away, he took over Minney's Ship Chandlery. Thanks for the opportunity to recall some of my best memories.
Jerel Crosland
'Viveka' on the Bay after her refit at Rutherford's Boatshop in Richmond in 2021.
miKe hOlmeS
Once known as the "fastest schooner in the West," once employed by the US Coast Guard to hunt German U-boats during WWII and once owned by the famed Minney family in Newport Beach, 'Kelpie' sailed to the UK where in 2012 where she underwent a restoration and was renamed 'Kelpie of Falmouth'. Above, Trevor Murphy (left), was 'Kelpie's new captain and Charlie Wroe (right) was the project manager.
KelPie OF FalmOuth
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LETTERS
Jerel was commenting on the December 2012 'Lectronic: Kelpie Is Now Kelpie of Falmouth
⇑⇓ mY Best EAGLE memories
By absurd good luck, I served on the Eagle in summer and fall 1965 as an enlisted man in the Coast Guard reserve, when Eagle made its first-ever voyage to the Pacific Ocean. I helped return the tall ship (then one of only 17 in the world) from San Francisco, through the Panama Canal, and back to New London, Connecticut, where it is permanently based at the Coast Guard Academy. This remains one of the greatest adventures of my entire life!
Stephen Immer
⇑⇓ a little EAGLE historY
I think it's worth mentioning the origin of Eagle:
It was originally built as SSS Horst Wessel and began life as Schiff (German for "ship") 508 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany in 1936. In 1945, all German sail ships were confiscated and given to other nations. The now-named Eagle was transferred to the US Navy as a partial war reparation. This ship has several sister ships still in existence — two of them are still serving as training vessels in what is a testament to a robust, enduring quality of the hull: NRP Sagres (Portugal), also called Sagres III, Mircea (Romania), and also the original Gorch Fock I, which was sold back to Germany in 2003 and is now a museum ship.
After 1945, it served for a Soviet fleet and later for Ukraine as a "Tovarishch" (Comrade).
Thomas Herter
⇑⇓ what's the Best transpac halFwaY pacKage?
Back in the day, when gentlemen sailed the race — before pros and freeze-dried packets, and when it still took forever to get there — the halfway meal was a thing. Usually it was a brick of lasagna (used as ice for a bit) and the only bottle(s) of wine (still) onboard.
We did a toast to all as the foulies were folded and put away and sun showers of salt water helped to quell the stench of us and down below.
Dennis Deisinger
⇑⇓ how to start racing iF You want to crew
I agree that different boats have different expectations of crew that are new to the boat. I've had several experiences
The USCGC barque 'Eagle' is coming to the West Coast this summer. Stay tuned for dates.
Electric Propulsion
LETTERS
with potential crew that overstate what they are capable of doing.
If you are looking to be invited back and you clearly overstate what you can do, the chances of getting invited back are slim. Taking a couple of classes at a local sailing school will give you basic knowledge of what goes on, but it's unlikely to give you enough experience to tell when a sail lead needs to move or when to ease and regrind.
Be honest and you will get a ride. Have fun!
Vince Casalaina
Vince was commenting on the May 9 'Lectronic Latitude: How to Get Started Racing if You Want to Crew
⇑⇓ aBsolute truth in advertising is imperative!
We have always been available to take on entry-level sailors. Once, a new person arrived who advised me that he had extensive experience including sailing in the Med. I asked him to go forward and set up the jib. When I checked on him a little later he had — I kid you not — five different lines attached to the sail.
Jim Wallis
⇑⇓ tips?
Are the steps in the First Timer's Guide To Mexico still accurate — meaning, bring the existing TIP and all other supporting docs I can find, along with CBP Form 1300 to the Banjercito office in Otay Mesa, and they'll be able to cancel the existing TIP and issue a new one? The existing TIP (issued to the previous owner) expires in 2026, so I assume it is NOT a pre-2005 TIP.
This article seems to suggest that cancellations are basically completely on pause right now.
Dan M
Dan was commenting on the September 2024 'Lectronic: The Situation on TIPs Explained.
The short answer, Dan, would be yes. If you want to take your boat to Mexico, you'll need to have the old TIP canceled and get a new TIP for yourself. Since things seem to be changing daily, however, the process may change.
⇑⇓ whoops! mistaKes made on the water
So very many of these!
In July 1999, my now-wife and then-girlfriend and I capsized a Lido 14 near Ashby Shoal on a big summer slot afternoon. We righted it, but it would go over, again and again.
I decided to anchor to keep the bow upwind.
I grabbed the anchor, but forgot entirely to untangle the
This year's Great Vallejo Race was the first "big race" for Kim and Jacy sailing aboard an Olson 911.
LETTERS
Throughout this thread, you'll hear about "mistakes" made both in extreme conditions and on flat-calm days. Mistakes are the result of pushing the limits or simply having a brain fart of varying degrees of severity. In other words, mistakes are on the road to both valor and absentmindedness. This boat spent a moment laid flat on the water during the Westpoint Regatta a few years ago. Not long after, the crew had their kite flying smartly and were steaming downwind.
rode. Instead, I just dropped the whole mess in the water, through the tangle of swirling sheets. So we were not anchored, and our circumstances were worsened by a fouled anchor nowhere near the bottom, holding our sheets in the water. Fun day.
Ernie Galvan
Ernie was commenting on the May 9 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.
⇑⇓ mistaKes?
How much time do you have?
Topics can include: dismasting, near-collisions, runaway motorboats, sinking at the travel lift, collisions with 12 people in the water off Alcatraz, and one fatality from rolling off a dock in a zipped-up sleeping bag.
Kit Stycket
Kit — Right there with you.
⇑⇓ mistaKen identitY
Paul Dines
It was my second date with a high school senior, and we were sailing a 16-ft Y-Flyer on the Mississippi River above Alton Dam. It was 1969, and her first ride in a sailboat.
I explained what happens during a jibe. Five minutes later, we begin to jibe, but she's not ducking her head. I raised my voice: "Nancy, duck!" She does, and whoosh goes the boom and mainsail. Then I stand to change sides. She stands, facing me:
"My name's not Nancy!"
With one hand, she tips me head over heals off the stern and into the drink. The boat meandered, happily reaching me within five minutes. No fatalities, no lost limbs.
Steve Edwards
⇑⇓ moral was …
Paul Sutchek and I were doing the BAMA Doublehanded Farallones — we'd rockpiled many times in the can, but this
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37' Fisher Pilothouse
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The wind was from 240 degrees and was blowing the top layer of water much faster than usual at the northwest corner of Maintop — it took three tries to stay north of my safe waypoint. We were taking major green water over the bow, and I knew some pumping was in my future, once we made the corner. We did, adding many minutes to our time on course, but blasted down the west side on a starboard beam reach, and licked our wounds.
It was a beer apiece to dilute the salt water, and as we approached the southwest corner, I was wary of a hard jibe in the steady 25 knots; we were a long way out, if anything broke. I called for a chicken jibe, and Paul agreed. But when we went into the tack, I had not taken up enough mainsheet, and in the inevitable flogging, the sheet wrapped twice and seized around the boom end. Now, we were headed, at speed, right back into the island, and I couldn't bring the boom in enough to accelerate enough upwind to complete the tack.
It took three tries, but we finally got around on port — with Paul behind me unwrapping the mainsheet — and set course for San Francisco, scared shitless and exhausted. Paul looked hypothermic but refused to go below, so I gave him the helm (the wind was too west to set the kite), and went below to pump water and put on dry layers, figuring when he was ready to go below, it would be sorted, and I would be strong enough to TCB solo on deck. We won our division, and thrashed the St. Francis YC with our wet gear when we dropped by the Race Deck after finishing.
Moral was: Take up the freaking mainsheet on a chicken jibe!
Richard vonEhrenkrook
⇑⇓ sage advice
Always have a spare tiller. Or vice grips.
Vang = bright red.
⇑⇓ more than we expected
DTG Arts
One time, years ago, when we were coming out from behind Angel toward TI, entering the Slot, the breeze was more than we expected. Suddenly the boom was in the water to port and the rail was buried. When we finally stood up, the knotmeter was registering 14 knots. With some fear and trepidation, we released the mainsheet to depower the boat and settled into a calm 10 knots — until we soon arrived behind TI where we were able to clean ourselves and regroup. WOW! Quite a thrill to live through.
Steve
Chad Hedstrom
A semi-intentional Whoops! by a windsurfer in Berkeley in 2019.
LETTERS
⇑⇓ are You a trial-and-error tYpe sailor and learner with an "iF it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there" attitude? or are You a meticulous planner?
Type: Meticulous Planner
Biggest Mistakes:
#1: Entering the Ceralvo Channel at night and unexpectedly getting caught in the thickest fog I have ever seen in my life. I couldn't see past the bow of the boat, and I'd never made that passage before. Surely there were guardian spirits watching over me that night.
#2: Well past midnight, I accidentally took two sleeping pills. I had a splitting headache and thought they were aspirin. I was navigating toward a small fishing village and needed to stay awake until sunrise to enter an unfamiliar bay. It was a good thing I waited — I would have run into the unlighted string of steel commercial fishing boats.
Kelvin Meeks
⇑⇓ readY?
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It was summer 1995, and the Snipe Nationals were at RYC — on a typical summer day. About halfway between the breakwater entrance and the Berkeley Circle, the winds were in the high teens with an ebb tide and lots of chop.
My crew and I were sailing the best race I'd ever driven in a Nationals. On the reach to the jibe mark, we had passed one of the best sailors in our local fleet and were setting up to jibe. I told my crew I was waiting for a flat spot, looked over my shoulder, pulled the tiller and yelled "jibing."
As the boom comes crashing over, she's looking up at me from the low side as the boat lies down. Things get worse as the mast sticks in the mud. We can't get the boat up. We both get a little hypothermic and ask the crash boat to take us in. By the time we warm up and get back out on the course, the daggerboard is gone (retaining line snapped) and the mast is bent in two directions beyond redemption.
What did I learn? Make sure you get a "ready" call from your crew before executing a maneuver. You are more likely to get the maneuver to happen cleanly and that almost always saves you money for sail and/or boat repairs.
Vince Casalaina
⇑⇓ mY mistaKe? BuYing a Boat. (and "having" mY liFeJacKet, rather than "wearing it")
One of my first mistakes sailing was owning a Hobbie cat. They naturally flip over, and when mine did, I was not wearing my lifejacket. It was on the boat, but started to float away after we flipped.
A Whoopsie! about eight years ago just outside the San Rafael Channel, which has since been dredged. (Still, be sure to stay inside the channel!)
July 19th, 2025 Bay View Boat Club, the waters off Pier 54
When I managed to flip the boat back over, a gust of wind filled the main and the boat sailed off by itself, leaving me in the middle of a large lake where I would've drowned, but I managed to recover the lifejacket. Since then, I vote to always wear a lifejacket whenever I go sailing — and I still do to this very day, even with many thousand miles of ocean sailing under my belt.
Greg Clausen PacNW
⇑⇓ You want to hear aBout sailing mistaKes?
Boat partnerships, even among friends, rarely end amicably.
Vaughn Fischer
RACE STARTS 13:00 followed by Awards, Dinner and Dancing Register at www.bayviewboatclub.org/plastic-classic
⇑⇓ Juuuust one proBlem …
Tally Ho had an electric headsail furler, a very strong one indeed. So strong that, unbeknownst to me, I created a halyard wrap and snapped the jib halyard at the masthead while furling. Out the Golden Gate we went, hard on the wind. We were having a grand time! The partially furled jib was held in place only by the friction of several wraps.
About half a mile out, we decided to head back to S.F. and fell off by easing out the main and unfurling and easing the jib for a nice reach under the Gate.
Only one problem, the jib fell in the water!
Rich Brazil
⇑⇓ trump plans to reopen alcatraZ as a prison[?]
Alcatraz is a tourist attraction and a national park. Are the tourist fees enough to pay for all the maintenance and upkeep costs of Alcatraz Park?
The idea of turning it into a prison again would be expensive. Not the best idea, but an idea. If the maintenance and the upkeep costs of Alcatraz Park are more then what is collected in fees from the tourists, let us really save federal tax payers' dollars and shut the place down.
So how seriously are we supposed to take the following May 4 social media post from President Trump?: "REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! … Today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders."
You could also raise the fees to see the island high enough to cover all the maintenance and upkeep costs. Right now every man, woman and child in the USA who is a citizen owe s$106,000 each to pay off the national debt. It is climbing by the hour.
What ideas do you have to pay off/down the national debt? The USA and most states are in real financial trouble.
LETTERS
JJ was commenting on the May 5 'Lectronic with the same name as this letter (minus the question mark).
Ideas to pay down the debt, JJ? How about raising taxes on gazillionaires as a way to generate revenue? Or maybe the US can spend a little less on defense, rather than the current $997 billion, which is more than the next nine countries' spending combined. As for Alcatraz, the consensus is that it brings in about $60 million per year from the 1.6-ish million annual visitors. There is, however, no real data on how much it costs to run Alcatraz each year, but surely it isn't $60 million.
⇑⇓ the leeward marK? or a place to parK?
At least we'll have an audience whilst we're rounding. Paul Sutchek
Can we request a marina?
Steven Zawalick
⇑⇓ the department oF metaphor, whimsY and caprice [d.o.m.w.a.c.]
Most Trump comments have to be taken as metaphor. What he really meant is that it should be painted international orange and yellow and re-named Trump Island and be used as a required mark in all sailboat races on the Bay.
Bill Mittendorf
⇑⇓ 4/1?
In normal times, this would be an April 1 'Lectronic piece. Charlie Pick
Ridiculous! Lose millions as a tourist museum or spend billions rebuilding an inadequate facility from scratch?
Jim Heffelfinger
Jim — And you believe AP. [We linked to an Associated Press video of the president]. Geez, he said maybe we should open it to house the worst of the worst; however he knows perfectly well it's not practical. You folks are punked by the "press" (shit-stirrers) every day.
Kris Williams
Alcatraz has been a tourist attraction for over 50 years, exceeding its 29 years spent as a federal prison and year and a half of occupation by activists.
LETTERS
Kris — The president definitely never said "maybe" in his May 4 social media post, and we're not sure how the press was "shit-stirring" in the link we shared in our article, which is an Associated Press video showing the president speaking. A reporter can be heard asking "Where did you get the idea for reopening Alcatraz?" The rest of the video is the president in his own words. (We are all getting punked, a little, though. That's valid.) The president said, in part, "It's long been a symbol, Alcatraz, of … whatever it is. It's a sad symbol, but it's a symbol of law and order. And, you know, it's got quite a history, frankly. So I think were going to do that. And we're looking at it right now."
Also, there is no shortage of prisons in the United States, even for the worst of the worst. The US incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world.
⇑⇓ waste not want not
Well, the main reason was because the National Park Service wants to spend some $50 million, which can never be recovered. He doesn't want to waste money; he should just get a cruise ship there. Alcatraz can definitely can hold more losers.
Dennis Dickinson
Dennis Dickinson — "Never recovered?"
Alcatraz generates some $60 milllion-plus per annum as a tourist attraction, so yeah, the $48.6 million the NPS wants to spend to ensure longevity/safety as a tourist attraction can be "recovered" many times over. But spending billions to resurrect it as an actual prison is lunacy.
Jo Birch
Alcatraz is an iconic fixture of San Francisco Bay. Its history as the prison — which closed in 1963 — is still central to its character, even as a tourist attraction.
⇑⇓ squirrel!
Not a real thing. Meanwhile, there are lots of things that are real that need our attention and resistance.
Jim Staley
Jim — We agree! In the link we shared in our article, after a reporter asked President Trump, "Where did you get the idea for reopening Alcatraz?" the president initially responded, "It's just an idea I've had. And I guess because of so many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for every single
LETTERS
person that came into our country illegally. That would mean millions of trials, and it's just so ridiculous what's happening." The president went on to recite the quote on the top of the previous page. This is where we're getting punked. The president used a question about his out-of-left-field, headline-grabbing announcement to casually say that the idea of having trials is "ridiculous." Meanwhile, we're talking about Alcatraz.
⇑⇓ Boatus raises concerns aBout doge deFunding oF noaa
Thanks for mentioning the Romberg Center as it is a vital link between federal and state funding for San Francisco Bay. The researchers have been successful in receiving funds from NOAA's National Estuarine Sanctuary Program and its Sea Grant Program, and matched it with funding from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and State Coastal Conservancy. The outstanding work may come crashing down as the pressure from deep cuts at both federal and state levels decimates its ability to undertake worldclass research that benefits those who depend on the Bay. It's a shame for a nation that prides itself on our natural resources to experience the loss of this institution.
Mike Josselyn
Mike was commenting on the April 28 'LL with the same name as this letter. In that story, we reported that BoatUS, which lobbies for boaters' interests in Washington, DC, sent a press release about the defunding of NOAA to Tom Cole, ROklahoma; the release read in part:
"On behalf of our 725,000 dues-paying members nationwide, we are concerned that indiscriminate reductions of NOAA agency staff and funding would undermine the safety of boaters on the water and reduce opportunities for enjoyment of marine environments for all. Accurate weather forecasts, updated charts and well-managed resources are vital for the safety and well-being of recreational boating activities across the nation."
⇑⇓ saFetY For all
Maybe Mr. Cole (R-OK) would be very concerned if he considers the direct impact of these reductions on all services connected to NOAA when his constituents are threatened by tornadoes in the Great State of Oklahoma. What happens in the oceans of the world affects the land masses adjacent to the oceans. Predictive services provide safety for all.
S. Allen
⇑⇓ environmental vehicles
For all intents and purposes, California is a mono-party system, and the power structure really reinforces itself through, among other things, traditional environmental vehicles. Don't want the neighbors to build like you did? Throw a few endangered newts in their backyard and call the wildlife service. Don't want SoCal to get "our water" so they waste it on golf courses and Hollywood swimming pools? Delta smelt, baby.
I have no doubt Mr. [John] Sweeney will be successful finding ample evidence of fraud along these lines, but getting a fair trial will be extremely difficult. Great to hear that AI has developed the underpinnings for you, which may elevate your exposure. Best of luck to you John.
Apeus Foredeckus
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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!
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Hypomesus transpacificus, or the Delta smelt, is perhaps the most controversial fish in American politics. The point, however, seems somewhat moot. "Over the past two years, scientists have surveyed the estuary thousands of times but caught just one wild fish," a magazine reported.
'Lectronic Latitude: Sweeney and Point Buckler Back in Court Against California Agencies.) Environmentalism can be alienating and academic with its benefits unseen. Clean air, clean water and clean open spaces are obvious, tangible effects, but wildlife, especially when it's tiny species, starts to become abstract. (It sounds like you're also describing environmentalism as a vehicle to wage battle over scarcity.)
We have, however, effectively wiped out the Delta smelt. We diverted water to grow food, we built levees and channels, we grew luscious lawns. No judgment here — we enjoy the benefits of development, too — but maybe we should at least be honest about what the costs can be.
⇑⇓ aBsolute permitting corrupts aBsolutelY?
Corruption follows money. It is in every state, every city and in a significant number of smaller towns. It is certainly in the federal government. A close look at almost any building department, any permitting agency, and any government tentacle that employs contractors will reveal some less-than honest behavior. I am more amazed at people's shock at the discovery than the actual acts.
Oversight and regulation are absolutely necessary and it requires involvement by all and an insistence on transparency. You shouldn't blame officials while not being involved yourself; supervision is critical.
Mike Bravo
Mike — That seems like an extraordinary statement.
Are you sure you're not saying that the permitting department (among others) can be so infuriatingly difficult to work with and some of their standards so draconian and their fees so exorbitant that they must be screwing you in some way — and that the government as a whole is clearly failing us?
Because we've felt that way, too.
⇑⇓ praise For andY turpin and the paciFic puddle Jump
As a former Puddle Jumper, I wish Andy Turpin well. He put a lot of heart and effort in supporting this yearly event and I hope Sail Tahiti is not just about commercially exploiting this group of hearty and adventurous sailors.
All the best.
⇑⇓ For the communitY
Horst Formerly SV Pacific Star
Nearly every sailor who has crossed the Pacific to French Polynesia owes Andy thanks, as he has done so much for the
cruising community. He's never put himself forward or tried to make himself a star like others have done. He's worked hard for cruisers for decades. Thanks, Andy!
Bruce Balan
Migration, Cross Trimaran Planet Ocean
⇑⇓ Fair winds and reprieve
I am deeply grateful for your publication of the article about Richard Packard and his beloved green Tiffany Jane design, Dancer, berthed at the Richmond Yacht Club for many years. In 2006, Richard was the person who eased my way back into sailing — a passion that I had pursued since I was a child in Italy, but which I had set aside once I came to the Bay Area.
We met coincidentally as faculty members on the UC Berkeley campus, and when he discovered I knew how to sail, he immediately invited me to join him on Dancer and explained how I could volunteer to crew for beer can and other races at the Berkeley Marina, since I lived in Berkeley. In the years since we first met, we sailed a few times per year, always doublehanded, and often in races sponsored by the Singlehanded Sailing Society, particularly the Three Bridge Fiasco.
Richard loved to tell the story of the first time we sailed in the Three Bridge Fiasco in January 2007. After a long day of intermittent wind and current-related setbacks, he was ready to withdraw. I protested that I didn't sail with people who gave up in races. We ended up crossing the finish line only half an hour ahead of the cutoff DNF time, in pitch darkness, and placed third in our class — no doubt in large part because we hung in there instead of bailing! We celebrated with a glass of sherry (which he always kept on board for ritual drinks at the end of a day on the water), and sailed back to Richmond with rock 'n' roll blasting on the boat's speaker system all the way.
Richard was an amazing tinkerer and do-it-yourselfer: Every time I sailed on Dancer, he would show me a new
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Andy Turpin, the former managing editor of Latitude 38 and Mr. Pacific Puddle Jump for many years. Andy has passed the Puddle Jump reins and now enjoys spending time on his Cross 42 trimaran 'Little Wing' in Tahiti.
formerly Kappas Marina
GIFTS FOR THE SAILING ENTHUSIAST
LETTERS
Yacht
Custom
Framed
Welcome
Framed
Nautical
gadget or workaround he had devised to continue to be able to handle the boat — including on his own — as he aged and became less agile and strong, or his customization of clothes to add padding and adapt them for sailing. His teachings and boat modifications on Dancer are a master class in accessible boating, particularly for singlehanders. We often sailed in and out of his berth without engine assistance. He was a sailor's sailor, who, all around the world, combined academic collaborations and sabbaticals with sailing adventures with colleagues and students, most recently participating in the legendary "Barcolana" race held every October near Trieste, Italy. He did this all while suffering from severe, chronic seasickness — so he told me — every time he went out the Golden Gate Bridge, or sailed in open seas. May you find fair winds ahead, Richard, reprieve from seasickness, and may your memory be a blessing.
Mariane
C Ferme Berkeley Yacht Club
⇑⇓ sailors go on the lamB at angel island
Many thanks to Michael [Moradzadeh] for continuing to facilitate this fun gathering! ["Lambstravaganza" has become a kind of unofficial event on the Pac Cup social calendar.] Neither the feasting nor the competition is limited to lamb. Vegetarians find plenty to satisfy their palates, including delicious desserts. A hike or bike ride around the island helps to work off the calories consumed. And yes, it was possible to dock in Ayala Cove. Though more sailors and landlubbers came by way of the very convenient Tiburon ferry, several 'ganzers brought their own boats. Paul's Merit 25 Twilight Zone (easy to spot in her yellowness) occupied a position of honor in a slip.
Chris Weaver Latitude Staff
Richard Packard, seen right, passed away in November 2024. He wrote us a few months prior to describe his experience owning three boats at once. You can read that story in the May issue of Latitude 38.
LOOSE LIPS
May's Caption Contest(!) caused a bit of a stir. Among the fun and light responses were comments on knowing what fuel your engine runs on before filling up — whether by the sniff-test method or following the fuel lines; whether the captain is a "muppet" if they don't know; how easily the wrong fuel can be used; is it really a fuel cap if it doesn't have two holes in it; and our favorites — "Taste test never fails." — Randy Smith, and "Simply take the cap off and hold a lit match over the opening. You'll quickly find out one way or the other." — Tom Mathisen. Yikes!!! We'll say no more about that. On to the humor — Winner and top 10 below.
"This is how boats start drinking problems." — @sailingfrancesca.
"Step right up … spin the wheel … gas or diesel … what's the deal?" — @taneyhillart.
"Crew to Captain: ‘The owner told me Gas Trumps Diesel.’ I’m sure it’s the Waste tank.” — Scott.
"Where do I buy Giesel?" — Dave Kendig. "Gilligan!!!!" — Kevin 'n' Shirley Kukuk.
"Please use the following tools to resolve this dilemma: a Magic 8 Ball, AI ChatGPT, string theory, a Ouija board, a case of FIJI water bottles, or a BIC lighter!!!" — Eben Kermit.
"What kind of fuel does this boat take? Depends on how you look at it." — @jack_kisling.
"Cap'n Ron. You had one job in replacing the cap." — David Henry.
"Gonna need to order a new engine, in 3 … 2 … 1 …" — Kelvin Meeks.
"This boat is equipped with a new style of hybrid engine that works off diesel, gasoline, and propane. You'll always be able to find fuel wherever you go!" — Sailorette.
"Add water here." — Garrett Baum.
"… this beginning motion, this first time when a sail truly filled and the boat took life and knifed across the lake under perfect control, this was so beautiful it stopped my breath..." — Gary Paulsen, Caught by the Sea
another cap or beanie at the Latitude 38 store.
Winner: "Only fill with diesel that identifies as gasoline." — Christopher Mendonca.
she's a captain let's do the
Yes — it's true, I received my US Coast Guard 50-ton master's inland license just a few weeks ago, making me a newly minted captain. Hold the applause, thanks. I'm not saying you have to call me Cap, but I am saying that you could, if you wanted to.
To any landlubbers reading this, you might be tempted to put me up on a pedestal for my many accomplishments: She's only 30? She only started sailing a few years ago? She's a professional writer, too, with a dozen published articles in Latitude 38? My, however does she do it all? Well, I did "it" because I ran out of other options.
I graduated into the COVID pandemic as a dreamy French major, which didn't exactly yield the career jobs I had hoped to land. And so, like many others before me, I gave up and took to the sea. Or, I took to the Bay. Because, did you notice? My license is designated "inland waters," which is pretty much the Coast Guard's way of saying, "Sure, you can drive the boat … just not too far."
Even so, earning this license took five years of adventures: 1,000 documented hours of sea service time on sailboats, 40 hours of class time, 10 hours of charting homework, 8 hours of exams, untold hours of fighting imposter syndrome, and countless times I've received help along the way.
None of this would have happened if I had not joined Cal Sailing Club in 2018 as a curious transfer student at UC Berkeley. Wildly unprepared and far too nerdy for the marina, I hopped on a dinghy, barefoot in yoga pants and a T-shirt, and immediately capsized during a lesson. Twentyknot gusts in an ebb tide chop meant 40 minutes in the water before getting rescued. I had hypothermia — and a nasty case of the sailing bug. I had to get back out there and beat this thing called a dinghy.
After that, it is possible I sailed more than I studied, and I studied a lot! (I was a vitamin D-deficient nerd who read a lot of fiction to escape and loved Berkeley academics a little too much.) But I also loved the sailing community. I loved getting stronger. And I loved being on the water. It was as fun as playing outside had been as a kid — the sun and wind and salt and aching muscles and bruises. (The RS Quest gives you the worst kind of bruises, the kind that make the pool lifeguard ask if you're safe at home.) I had found a new, unlikely escape.
After a year abroad in France, a global pandemic closing airports behind me, and a crash landing back in my hometown, I found myself on the water again. I landed a gig as a deckhand for Captain Kirk's San Francisco Sailing. That's where things really took off.
Those captains would tell you: I started so green. The first captain who trained me was probably as scared as I was because I was so anxious I forgot how to count, and I still couldn't tell you how many fire extinguishers are mounted in that boat. But in retrospect, the anxiety makes sense. I was working so hard to make rent, felt behind as the lone Cal grad who didn't make it into tech, was scared of COVID, and hungry, because I probably wasn't eating enough in the rush of it all.
We have one captain and one crew most days. It's enough for an impeccable safety record, but I felt the weight of responsibility against my lack of experience. Still, I kept showing up. Three years sped by deckhanding full-time, and though many days it would have been easier to quit, I kept continued on outside column of next sightings page
Sign-ups for the 31st Baja Ha-Ha opened on May 9. Just 10 days later, more than 70 boats had signed up for the epic Ha-Ha cruising rally to Mexico. The Grand Poobah, aka Richard Spindler, has said in no uncertain terms that this will be the final Ha-Ha.
On his Facebook page, the Poobah said that there were 62 paid entries for Baja HaHa XXXI in the first 24 hours. "For reference, that's one more than in the first 24 hours last year, when there were ultimately 131 entries. And seven more than two years ago, when there were also 131 entries." A few days later, there were 68 entries.
The Poobah said that these numbers don't include the Assistant Poobah's Gulfstar 50 Talion or the 63-ft cat Profligate,
Scenes from Captain Heather Breaux's short, immensely fulfilling and now officially licensed sailing life.
ha-ha numbers
serving as mothership for the 28th time. "So the fleet would currently be 70. If history is to be a guide, the Poobah expects there will again be about 130 paid entries."
The Baja Ha-Ha launched in 1994 with just 39 boats signing up for the 12-day cruise along the Baja peninsula from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Scuttlebutt must have been rife after that rally, as the following year registrations reached 90. In 2010, the number of registered boats grew to a record (still standing) 196. That would likely have been more than 400 sailors cruising in company.
Are you ready to join cruising history? Sign up here: www.baja-haha.com. — latitude
captain — continued
choosing it for many reasons, including the big boats, the big groups of guests and the new skills that were still a great escape and freedom. One day, I counted up my hours. There were more than enough for a license.
So here we are.
I'm still green — just a green captain now. Even if I never sail a boat again, this license represents a period of life marked by hard work, bitter disappointments and some sweet, sweet rewards for sticking it out and giving this thing my all. "Captain" in and of itself doesn't mean anything until I'm paid to master a vessel — and I'm finding that it's the all-toofamiliar catch-22 of needing experience to get experience.
For now, I'll keep crewing and learning and figuring out what boating means in this next chapter. Most likely, more paperwork when it comes time to upgrade (fingers crossed!) and more adventure. If you just keep saying yes to this sport and this discipline … who knows? You might just end up a captain who is a writer, a traveler and a reader, just like the sailors of old.
— captain heather breaux
del rey yacht club intro to yacht racing
Over the past 15 years, hundreds of sailors in the Los Angeles area have begun their racing journeys as participants in Del Rey Yacht Club's annual Intro to Yacht Racing seminar. This year saw the largest turnout yet with 65 registrants and 12 skippers volunteering their boats to demonstrate what it's all about.
What is unique about this seminar is that a majority of the day is spent on boats, not in the classroom.
"For most people, sailing is easier to learn by doing," said event organizer Brendan Huffman, a longtime instructor and DRYC race officer. "We get everyone onto the boats pretty early in the program, so a majority of the day is spent on boats."
After registration, knot tying, and some discussion about safety, participants were broken into two groups: beginners and intermediates. The seminar's founder, Greg Rutter, a longtime racer in Southern California,
continued on outside column of next sightings page
s.f. sea scouts
As part of the SailGP event in San Francisco, the SailGP Organizing Authority and the StFYC Int'l Yacht Racing Foundation 501(c)(3) hosted more than 70 scouts and parents for a day of behind-the-scenes exploration and front-row race viewing. The scouts from BSA troops #415 (S.F.) and #27 (Sebastopol) and Sea Scout Ships (San Francisco and Petaluma) enjoyed an amazing day on the S.F. Cityfront.
The day began with a SailGP Technical Tour — an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the cutting-edge technology that powers SailGP's F50 catamarans. The tour included a guided walkthrough of the
Del Rey Yacht Club's Intro to Yacht Racing seminar is always a good time. Both racing and cruising boats host new sailors learning new skills. Bottom left: Brendan Huffman, left, the author of this Sightings, demonstrates packing a spinnaker.
tour sailgp
simulator where the SailGP teams prepare and train; insights into the advanced hydrofoiling technology and race operations; a chance to see the props and materials used by the teams; and a close-up look at an F50 catamaran on the docks of GGYC.
The remainder of the day was a complete fan experience in the SailGP bleachers with up-close, waterfront access to the event. The StFYC Int'l Yacht Racing Foundation has also been instrumental in instructing and providing resources/vessels and facilities to help scouts earn their Small-Boat Sailing and Motorboating Merit Badges. — latitude
intro
to racing — continued
explained what to expect on race boats and how new crew can play roles as good crew members. Meanwhile, Brendan reviewed sail trim with the intermediates and demonstrated how to pack spinnakers, which he disclosed is much easier on the carpeted floor of a yacht club than in a cramped cabin that is probably bouncing during the upwind leg.
By mid-morning, groups of participants were visiting race boats with skippers demonstrating how systems work on their boats, such as winches, halyards, furlers, bowsprits, spinnaker poles, and common maneuvers on the race course. The race boats included both performance boats, such as a J/80 and ID35, and cruisers ranging from a new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380 to a classic Kelly Peterson 44.
Following lunch and a quick briefing on starting sequences, participants were assigned a boat to sail aboard for the afternoon and practice race maneuvers.
After putting the boats away, attendees returned to the club for libations and networking, just as we do at the conclusion of race days. "This was my second year attending this event; there is so much valuable information and such a wide variety of boats and crews to experience, unlike any other clinic I've found," said Barbara Kauppi.
Many attendees were invited to crew aboard boats right on the spot. Others exchanged contact info with skippers and new friends to make sailing plans. With our beer can racing season starting soon, the local crew pool just got larger.
"DR YC's intro to racing is a perfect way to start meeting and getting to know the terrific and welcoming sailing community we have here in MDR," said participant Mary Boylan. "It's well organized and tons of fun! There is nothing else like it."
Special thanks to co-sponsors Women's Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay and Santa Monica Bay Sailing Foundation.
— brendan huffman
on board nereus for 18 years
My heart skipped a beat when my husband opened his April Latitude 38 (#574; Nereus's World Cruise), passed it to me, and asked, "Is that the same boat you were on?" Indeed, it was the very same boat I had called work and home as a single mom for 18 years. The Latitude article filled in a large chunk of the boat's history that I had always wondered about. The bronze plaque on the wall between the galley and pilot house displayed the name Nereus and its build in Tacoma, Washington, in 1962, the Year of the Tiger according to Chinese horoscopes. For that reason, and for its deep, reliable purr, we named the (original) Caterpillar engine El Tigre.
I shall try to provide a timeline, picking up where your article left off, but, spoiler alert, the ending is not a happy one. The boat was purchased by an American who renamed it Independence. That would have been in the late 1970s, and I have been able to confirm that they were cruising and chartering in the Mediterranean in the early 1980s. After that cruise, I believe it sat in shallow water behind the owner's house in Key Biscayne, Florida, until we came along in early 1990.
We found it in sad condition: abandoned fuel tanks meant rotten steel. A sudden downpour revealed massive leaks in the deck plating. The price suddenly dropped, and my boss at the time closed the deal. The next few months were a flurry of work to re-weld the master cabin floor plating and close leaks in the deck. We built small en-suite heads in each cabin to upgrade for possible charters, installed a new mast and roller furling and new mattresses, repaired the walk-in refrigerator, stocked the boat with long-term provisions, and set sail for the Caribbean. We kept the name in the spirit of all that it implied.
In the 18 years and 75,000 miles I was on board, a lot changed. Almost every year we were replacing hull plating or railings, much of the work
continued on outside column of next sightings page
richmond sailors nereus —
done in Trinidad. At one point, my daughter (not the owner's) participated in the total rebuild of the engine. The aft area of the boat was eventually enclosed as a king-size suite at the request and expense of a major client who was aboard at least twice a year for a while. The saloon was remodeled, and the canvas turtleback on the foredeck was rebuilt in steel, creating a really cute child's cabin.
We made eight transatlantic crossings, three Mediterranean round-trips to the owner's home country of Slovenia, two trips to Brazil and voyages up and down the Caribbean. We did two years in the Central Pacific, plus charters back and forth through the Panama Canal and to the San Blas Islands. Once, while in the Pacific returning east from Christmas Island on an absolutely cloudless, calm day, the engine stopped by itself and would not restart. We were drifting. There were whales nearby sunning at the surface and schools of fish below us, like we were looking into an aquarium. For no reason we could perceive, the engine roared to life. I ran down to the engine room and turned it off, but then we thought, "What was that all about?" and tried to start it. It seemed to turn over but not engage.
We spent three days rebuilding starters, as our spare had gotten saltencrusted. Nothing worked. Then began weeks of trying to sail against the wind and current, north and south, but no eastward progress. Sometimes we discovered we had actually lost ground to the west. Relying on old sails against the current, the sudden convergence zone blows destroyed every sail, one by one. The mainsail, stay and all, broke at the top and fell into the water. We then built the new sail from scraps — including hand-stitching a 42-foot sail — then turned downwind and limped to Oahu. The mechanic in Hawaii was mystified other than to say a lightning strike (invisible to us) may have switched polarities on the starter.
I could mention a few other freaky things, such as what I came to call "the ghost," which would sit on my bed and wake me just before another sail shredded. Or the osprey that landed on the deck so far from land. I looked at it and said, "Tell Mom I am OK" and it flew off. We never lacked for anything during the adventure, though being pre-cellphone times, my family was relieved when I was able to call from Waikiki.
We had been at sea for 115 days.
There is a sorry twist to all of this adventure and hard work on a home much loved by those of us on board. The boat was maintained by an allwoman crew, save the owner, who became progressively obsessed with conspiracy theories, surviving the end of the world, and his own "genetic link to the gods." I now understand the meaning of a total narcissist and manipulator. Eventually, we all left somewhat worse for wear. When he tried to import the boat to Brazil in 2008, the government said it was too old. While his wife and children lived ashore in Brazil, he rounded up a crew for charters in Panama, running large groups from Portobelo to Cartagena via the San Blas. The boat was often crowded, but the fare was relatively cheap.
Some time in January 2015, word reached me that the boat had hit a reef near Elephant Island in San Blas and sunk. I gathered that there were guests on board at the time. I can surmise that the hull plating, which still had thin areas, gave way. The curious thing is that I have never been able to turn up an article about such a notable event, not in English or Spanish.
The sinking of the boat made my daughter and me heartsick. We felt only anger that the owner would have let that happen. He was an excellent navigator and sailor who should have known better, but he was at times a mean drunk. His fate after that was sketchy, and being a survivor, he managed until his passing from COVID complications. He left nothing for his two daughters or wife.
An extra note to 'Pinkie' Pomeroy. Nereus/Independence was an amazing boat in design and function. While the human dynamic of those years fostered imaginative gossip and emotional damage, the boat kept its crew engaged and showed us the world only a seafarer could experience. Highlights included glassy Pacific days watching schools of tuna and a massive swordfish swim below the boat, and a family of mahi mahi with us night after night under the green navigation light. Reaching at 13 knots in gusty
Sailors are all too aware of the dangers of unknown sunken or floating objects and are always open about sharing information about the whereabouts of such hazards. Sheldon Coad is part of the Google Groups "Cal Sailing Club Discussions" group; he forwarded us a memo and a chart of the marine hazards faced by Richmond sailors.
"Just got a note from a friend who teaches at Tradewinds,” Sheldon wrote. "There is a new sunken hazard opposite the entrance to Richmond Yacht Club. This would be on the south side of the Point Potrero Reach. Tradewinds had one of their boats badly damaged by running into the obstruction."
Clockwise from left: 'Nereus' in Portobelo, Panama; 'Independence' during one of her many Atlantic crossings; Ashlyn Brown and her daughter in St. Croix, 1990; on the hard in Trinidad; 'Independence's remodeled saloon; 'Independence' in St. Maarten in the early 2000s.
chart marine hazards
As we understand it, this means the water off Point Richmond now has seven known hazards, and they are difficult to spot — hence the marine-hazards chart, which is dated January 2025 and may not include the new obstruction.
"That sunken boat in Keller Cove has been there for a long time. RYC sailors know to avoid it. At least it's well marked (in the daytime) and close-ish to shore," Latitude racing editor Christine Weaver commented. "The other, newer one is more scary." Go to the April 25 'Lectronic with the same name as this story for more info.
— latitude / monica
nereus — continued
winds off the Canaries was a thrill after usually lumbering along at 5 knots. We witnessed frolicking dolphins at the bow on a dark night when the bioluminescent algae were brilliantly thick. We rescued a barnacleencrusted sea turtle and had squid-jigging contests mid-Atlantic. There were mewing vocalizations of whales through the cabin hull. We spent weeks in isolated, untouched areas where you could make up your own beautiful narrative of the world. Sailors and people we met shared their worlds and experiences with us. We dropped a few messages in bottles and learned of one discovered in the Bahamas a couple of years later.
Ocean passages were my happy place and I always felt safe in the boat's massive grace. I wish I knew what really happened in 2015, but I have since swum, heavy-hearted, through her lonely cabins lit by shafts of tropical sunlight, in my dreams.
—
ashlyn e. brown port townsend, washington
a ll photos ashlyn b rown
a ship-pile of good jibes from socal two dead in tall ship
One of my favorite things about sailing is the stories — not just the ones we collect while underway, but the ones we swap at the dock, shout across the anchorage, or (in my case) capture with a microphone. As one of the hosts of Good Jibes, the weekly podcast from Latitude 38, I've had the honor of helping bring those stories to life — with real voices, real people, and the kinds of moments you just can't script.
If you're new to podcasts, think of them as radio shows you can listen to anytime, anywhere. Just search "Good Jibes" on your favorite podcast app or head to www.latitude38.com/goodjibes.
This month, I want to take you aboard a very special narrative arc that played out on the podcast: the journey of a boat named Mayfly, and two people whose lives she connected.
First came Nate Stephenson, a ginger like me and a self-taught sailor whose first boat was a 27-ft wooden cutter named Mayfly. In Episode 177, Nate shared how he got her for free (cue boat lovers wincing) then spent continued on outside column of next sightings page
Kiki
guest of Good Jibes Episode 183; Australia SailGP Team skipper Tom Slingsby, part of episode 189; sailboats decked out for the Newport Beach International Boat Show; Ryan Foland and Jennifer Keil recording Good Jibes podcast Episode 186. Inset photo: Kenyon Martin from Seattle Yachts, at the Newport Beach Boat Show.
On May 17, at about 8:30 p.m. New York time, the Mexican tall ship Cuauhtémoc drifted backward into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge, snapping off all three of her topmasts and killing two crew, including a 20-year-old female cadet. Twenty-two other people were injured, about half of them critically. Some 277 crew and cadets were aboard at the time.
The ship was departing New York after a goodwill visit when the accident happened. As with many tall ship visits to ports all over the world, she was festooned with flags and lights, and with crew stationed on the yardarms.
According to reports, the cause of the
Clockwise from top left: From left, Ryan Foland, Mr. Anchor, and Westley Dwaine at the Newport Beach International Boat Show;
Kormos,
accident in new york
accident was a loss of engine power shortly after Cuauhtémoc pulled away from Pier 17 in Manhattan. The current in the East River then drove the ship backward under the bridge, breaking off her topmasts sequentially from mizzen to foremast. The accident was videotaped by dozens of cellphones from shore and from the bridge. It's literally everywhere online and was the lead story on almost every TV newscast over the weekend.
Cuauhtémoc will remain in New York until the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) completes their investigation. The Mexican navy is conducting its own internal review in coordination with US authorities.
— latitude / john riise
good jibes from socal — continued
years restoring her in Santa Barbara. From rebuilding the rudder to living aboard while crowd-funding materials by selling T-shirts, Nate's story is a master class in grit, stubbornness and salty love.
After a five-week trip to the Channel Islands with his partner, Megan — a dream cruise made sweeter by years of hard work — he knew he was hooked. But Mayfly wasn't ideal for long-term livability, so Nate went on the hunt for his next boat (a Sun 1030) and sold Mayfly to the perfect person: Kiki Kormos.
Which brings us to Episode 183 and a first on Good Jibes — a follow-up interview with the new owner. Kiki, a passionate water woman with a background in freediving and ecology, bought Mayfly sight unseen while living across the country. It was love at first phone call. She flew west, stepped aboard, and never looked back.
What followed were two intense months of TLC. Kiki replaced the outboard, restored brightwork, navigated a gauntlet of insurance rejections and scored a slip in Ventura. Her first real sail was Santa Barbara to Ventura, a short hop, but a huge leap in her journey. Now? She's living aboard and planning to sail to the Channel Islands this summer.
Nate and Kiki's story is the kind of passing-of-the-tiller tale that gives me goosebumps. It reminds us that boats aren't just fiberglass or wood — they're carriers of dreams and connectors of people.
That spirit of storytelling showed up again in Episode 186 with Jennifer Keil, a historian who helps document family sailing legacies. Whether you're a generational sailor or just getting started, Jennifer makes a powerful case for preserving our stories.
I saw this theme echoed in Episode 187, interviewing Steve Paljig, co-chair of the upcoming 2025 Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival (June 13-14). The event's theme? "Stories of the Sea: Wooden Boats in Film & Fiction." From the stories of boat owners to the smell of fresh varnish, the festival promises to be a love letter to the emotional side of sailing and there's bound to be a ship-pile of stories.
We've also been experimenting with on-location recordings. At the Rolex Los Angeles SailGP, I captured the behind-the-scenes energy in Episode 189. There were fast boats, fast interviews, and the sound of adrenaline on water. I also brought my mic to the Newport Beach International Boat Show (episode drops in June), where I geeked out over tech, rapped with captains (literally), and fell in love with a wake jet board and an Apreamare Gozzo 38.
This summer, I'll be doing plenty of sailing myself aboard BINGO, my 1977 Cal 43, or lazily cruising my Laser, Sandy Bottom, out of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. I'm also part of Blue Water Cruising Club, where we sail to Big Geiger Cove, Catalina. Our small club community is as strong as the coffee we make on anchor. If you're headed to Catalina, come by and say ahoy.
To all Latitude 38 readers: If you've got a story, an event, or a salty character you'd love to hear on Good Jibes, drop me a line at ryan@ latitude38.com. Any companies out there interested in joining as sponsored guests? Let's talk.
If you love sailing stories, Good Jibes drops new episodes every Tuesday. Tune in weekly for wooden boat tales, salty characters, behind-the-scenes adventures, and maybe even your own voice in a future episode.
— ryan foland host, good jibes podcast
the 25th annual summer sailstice
In the sailing world, Califor nia stands out. With a 12-month season, a spectacular coastline including the North Coast, San Francisco Bay and the Delta, the Channel Islands, inland lakes and thousands of boats with active sailors, the state offers year-round opportunities to set sail. But for many boat owners, those perfect sailing days come and go while their boats remain quietly at the dock. How is that possible?
Founded in Califor nia, Summer Sailstice invites sailors to change that by signing up to sail on the solstice weekend. Created in 2001 by Bay Area sailor and Latitude 38 publisher John Arndt, Summer Sailstice is a global celebration of sailing, with the first celebration taking place in the Golden State. The longest daylight day of the year falls right on the weekend this year, giving everyone plenty of sailing time.
Why sign up? Most sailors would like to see participation grow, yet most of the world has no idea where and how to sail. So many clubs and organizations create their own unique events to promote sailing, but they're scattered across the calendar and struggle to get attention in this overstimulated world.
What if all sailors promoted sailing on the first day of summer?
When you sign up, you show the world what sailing looks like on regular boats, and where sailing happens near them. It's not billionaires or SailGP — it's you showing how real sailing works.
Participation is easy: Plan to go sailing on the Sailstice weekend, anywhere in any kind of boat with anyone, and post it on the Summer Sailstice map at www.summersailstice.com. That's it. It's a shared commitment to get out on the water with friends, or a chance to promote your club, class, and all of sailing. If you're racing, put your racing plans on the map. The YRA In the Bay Series #2, SFYC Hank Easom Regatta, your club's Friday night race, or even the Singlehanded Transpac! However you sail that weekend, make sure it's on the map.
Already on the map are Club Nautique in Sausalito, Richmond Yacht Club's BAYS Summer #1 Regatta, Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, Island Yacht Club's Island Nights and Corinthian Yacht Club's summer Friday night race. Individual sailors add their own plans too.
Like the Tom Wylie-designed C3 featured in this issue, California has long been a leader in sailing innovation. The West Coast boasts world-class regattas, youth sailing programs, hundreds of yacht clubs and countless weekend cruisers, dinghy sailors and coastal explorers. Yet, like so many parts of the world, too many boats go unused. Whether it's due to busy schedules, misplaced priorities, or not having a sailing holiday to celebrate. Summer Sailstice offers a gentle nudge (big push?), a reason to reconnect with your boat, loosen the sail ties, and invite the sailing deprived.
What inspired you to own a boat in the first place? How about sharing that with friends, family, neighbors, and future sailors?
"It's about having all sailors hoist their sails 'together' across the world," says Arndt. "You don't have to race, cruise to Mexico, or take a week off. Just make a plan, go sailing, and know that you're part of a global fleet doing the same."
In the Bay Area alone, the Sailstice weekend sees flotillas heading for Angel Island, raft-ups at Clipper Cove, and family daysails out the Golden Gate. Clubs organize social sails, charterers bring out new sailors, and marinas light up with activity. The beauty of Summer Sailstice is its flexibility — each sailor can shape their own celebration. The map acts as a public rallying point while demystifying sailing by showing the who, what, where and how of sailing. You know this, but do your kids? Your friends? In a time when digital distractions compete with outdoor experiences, sailing offers something rare: immersion in nature, meaningful connection with others,
The Delta Doo Dah is Latitude 38's DoIt-Yourself summertime cruising rally to the California Delta. It's an informal, DIY affair, and for 2025, it's more informal than ever. The whole point of cruising the Delta is to relax, throw the clock and calendar overboard (figuratively, of course) and let the wind and currents take you. There's no right or wrong way to do the Doo Dah. That said, there are a few dates and places to keep in mind.
Registrations opened at the end of April, but you can join anytime until August 31. The first 'event' on the Doo Dah calendar
Add your June 21 sailing plans to the map.
all summer long
is the June 7 Delta Ditch Run, a 65-mile downwind ride from the Richmond YC to the Stockton Sailing Club. Sounds easy, but there are always thrills and sometimes spills along the way. Next is Summer Sailstice on June 21, which is as loose and casual as it gets. Sign up to join an organized event or cast off when you choose.
Owl Harbor is planning a BBQ for everyone who's cruising the Delta during this summer-long rally, date to be determined. Add your name to the list of sailors: www. latitude38.com/delta-doo-dah.
— latitude
25 years of sailstice —
and a healthy dose of adventure.
"We're not just inviting sailors," says Arndt. "We're inviting you to be an ambassador. Every time you take someone new sailing, you're growing the culture, and Summer Sailstice is your annual reminder to just do it."
As Summer Sailstice marks a quarter-century of sailing celebration, California has the chance to lead again. Whether you race, wingfoil or daysail a multihull, Sabot or El Toro, this is your invitation to be counted. Make your plan. Post it on the map. Invite your dock neighbors. And when the weekend arrives, hoist your sails and be part of something global and something local, easy and challenging, and just the way you like it. Sailing doesn't just happen in faraway oceans or exclusive regattas, it happens here, every day, in every bay, and with every sailor who chooses to go. See you out there.
Clockwise from top left: Summer Sailstice is an ideal time to hit the Delta; join the Sparkman & Stephens 'Alpha' on the Bay; sign up your 29er for Summer Sailstice; Summer Sailstice celebrates sailing on long summer evenings; a Sailstice raft-up is already on the map for the 2025 Summer Sailstice.
WAS THIS THE GREATEST
The brass at the Vallejo Yacht Club pulled out all the stops to put together what may have been the greatest Great Vallejo Race in history. If you like sailing, dancing, feasting, or watching fellow sailors performing acts that are likely to go viral on YouTube the next day, Vallejo was the place to be on May 4-5.
The reverse start was conducted on the Berkeley Circle, with 15 PHRF classes including everything from multihullers to Cal 20s to furniture classes, all circling in anticipation of a predicted 30-knot gear buster. Well, that didn't happen. There was a quick fetch to a buoy set a half mile to weather before boats either jibe-set and basically returned to the starting area or drifted out toward Angel Island. Spinnakers, if used, just barely hovered above the water, which was flowing quickly out to sea. It was not the way we wanted to go.
The combination of the ebb current and spring runoff in the river kept the fleet from making any speedy progress toward the promised antics and hijinks in Vallejo. All eyes were focused on the western horizon for the pressure drop that had been forecast all week.
As boats approached the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge, knotmeters began to spin and the colorful sails were tucked away for another fetch to the Brothers. Of course, the trip to the finish line is much shorter if you stay right there, but it's also much shallower. Discretion is the key, and generally it pays to stay in shallower water when fighting current, until you become affixed to terra firma — then, it's not good.
The race was on now as spinnakers blossomed again like wildflowers after a rain. It was a lovely run to the river with some boats surfing. The JS 9000 JetStream turned on the afterburners to do a complete horizon job on the fleet. Rufless and Kuai were not far behind,
completing the course in just over twoand-a-half hours and finishing within 25 seconds of each other on corrected time. Another fetch up another river, this one the Napa, and you could hear the steel drum band, smell the tacos, and see the crowds at the Vallejo Yacht Club Tiki Bar cheering as each boat finished.
The entrance to the yacht basin at VYC is narrow and the current is athwartship. The yacht club had crews working the radios and manning small Whaler-style boats festooned with fenders to help create an organized chaos. Watching the fleet shuck and jive and try to find a place to moor where many boats' drafts exceed the harbor depth is almost as much fun as the local boat ramp on Opening Day. Colorful repartee, crews on the leeward side or crawling out on the boom to reduce vessels' drafts, and mud swirls created by propellers churning up the silty bottom resulted in fine maritime entertainment for friends and family waiting for their ships to come in. Eventually mooring lines were secured and the social festivities were in full swing.
Sunday mor ning comes early in these two-day yachting fests, and much retelling of Saturday's carousing was shared as vessels jockeyed up and down the river waiting for another reverse start. The reverse start is where the lead-bellied money guzzlers get to watch their smaller, and usually slower, sister ships start first every five minutes. Skippers have the added challenge of keeping crews outta the beer cooler until the race actually starts, although some sailors had probably sworn off drinking altogether after where they woke up Sunday morning (or with whom).
The Napa River was flowing with gusto, and along with an outgoing current several vessels were destined to be over the line early. In a desperate attempt to not cross over early, these same vessels risked wrapping themselves up in the starting line buoys' anchor line. Well, some risked it, others actually did it. As the Race Committee and the entangled boat and the starting mark headed out to sea, the rest of the fleet discussed the time they did that, or caught a quick nap or sent texts to last night's best prospect.
Eventually the start line was reset, and then it happened again. This time they apparently had to go to West Marine to purchase another anchor and line. But before the sun went down all the fleets were away for a beat into 15 knots.
This time the trick was to stay in deep water but out of the restricted areas and in clear air. The crews lined the rails as the boats heeled to the breeze, and the boats that hadn't done so well yesterday now had a chance to prove that even if they can't surf downwind, they can make it up traveling upwind. The boats that stayed inside the Brothers seemed to fare the best, and soon the Richmond YC race deck was on the horizon. There might have been a few boats that either forgot to leave Green #5 to port or they never read the Sailing Instructions to know. Once the sail covers were in place and the coolers opened again, phones were in hand to check results.
Congrats go to Richard vonEhrenkrook's Cal 20 Can O'Whoopass, Michele Logan's Sabre 36 Syncopation, the new kids on the block on the Express 37 Golden Moon (Michael Laport), and
'Tri Jolie' crew smiling for the paparazzi.
GREAT VALLEJO RACE EVER?
RYC's very own Gordie Nash on Arcadia for being atop the podium both days.
This gives me pause … How come three of these designs date to the 1980s? I can tell you for certain, these are not the three owners who liquidated the most Bitcoin to win the regatta. From drifting at the start on Saturday to flying downwind to fully powered-up on the wind Sunday, these skippers found a way to keep their bows out front and the lash across the backs of their crews.
Truth be told, more frequently the winning crews do their jobs eagerly and in a seamanlike fashion, which makes the skipper look like a champion.
Captain-inconsistency award goes to the J/70 Kangaroo Jockey (skipper Peter Cameron) for posting a first and a ninth. Captain-comeback award goes to the Santa Cruz 40 Quiver (Adam Eliot, Rosanne de Vries, John Walsh, Matt Daniel, Dirk Dooley, Jason Pratt, Liz Walsh) after rising from a sixth place
to a first. And for all y'all who forgot to check in via VHF on either day? Well ain't that a shame…
It isn't often a regatta can offer so much for so many — and don't tell me it's too shallow at Vallejo YC. The mighty Bodacious+ draws a solid 10 feet, and she made it happen.
The multihulls were limited to just two competitors, which is difficult to understand. The Corsair 880 Tri Jolie (Rafi Yahalom, Kartheek Manne,
Below left: Not how you want your start to look. Right: Andy Schwenk (at helm) gives his crew a pre-race briefing and a MOB drill aboard 'Sir Edmund' before the start on Saturday.
Colorful spinnakers lead the charge to Vallejo.
GREATEST GREAT VALLEJO RACE EVER?
Top row, l to r: 'Sir Edmund' enjoys a romp on the course; J/Boats head out of Richmond on Saturday. Center row, l to r: Colorful spinnakers are one of the highlights of the GVR; Stuck in the muck getting to the dock on Saturday. Bottom row, l to r: 'Round Midnight' — one of only two boats in the multihull division; Docking at VYC requires skill and patience.
Christopher Sundberg) was solid across the weekend and kept her dirty side down to steal the pickle dish both days. There is a reason they call this the Great Vallejo Race. The GVR, along with the Jazz Cup to Benicia, the Delta Ditch Run to Stockton, and any race to Half Moon Bay or Monterey, will give the crews a chance to sail outside the box. A chance to set a barber hauler for reaching, fly the Code Zero, or maybe just make lunch. Things you don't get to do include bashing up the Cityfront, or door-handle-to-door-handle racing on Berkeley Circle.
Of course there is always next year, and maybe that forecast wind will arrive on time. If not, come on out anyway and enjoy one of the finest, funnest and best run regattas on the Bay.
MULTIHULL — 1) Tri Jolie, Corsair 880, Rafi Yahalom, 2 points; 2) Round Midnight, Explorer 44, Rick Waltonsmith, 5. (2 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net
The Gateway to the Delta
Covered and uncovered berths available for long term or overnight reservations
Private facilities –Restrooms with showers, Laundry room, Kayak Launch
Free Parking and WiFi
Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show
SUNDAY, JUNE 15 10 A.M. – 4 P.M. CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB
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. Addmission: $20 Master Mariners Benevolent Association • www.sfmastermariners.org
SINGLEHANDED TRANSPACIFIC RACE —
Cliff Shaw socks the kite after finishing the 2023 SHTP on his Crowther catamaran 'Rainbow'.
With this edition, the Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race turns 43. The race ran like clockwork every other year from 1978 to 2018. Following the COVID interruption in 2020, the race to Hanalei Bay switched from even years to odd years and picked up where it left off in 2021. Since 1978, a lot has changed in Hawaii, even idyllic Kauai, which has grown and become less agricultural and more touristy.
What hasn't changed much is Hanalei Bay itself. There is still no marina. Arriving sailors must anchor out and dinghy or paddle to shore. The singlehanders, the volunteers from the Singlehanded Sailing Society, friends and families still gather at the Tree in Pavilion Beach Park each afternoon to share stories, snacks and drinks, and watch the sunset.
We just learned, via the Beat of Hawaii newsletter, that Kauai is banning superyachts of 75-ft or more from anchoring in Hanalei Bay. Boats with helipads and jet-ski garages just don't fit in — or fit. (This was not a concern in 1978.) But no worries for this group!
Akumu — Beiley B-25
Gregory Ashby, Point Richmond, CA Richmond Yacht Club, Singlehanded Sailing Society
Previous SHTPs: 2018
Akumu is Japanese for nightmare, and the Wilderness 30 Nightmare was the boat that Greg sailed in this race in 2018. "Maybe I'm addicted!" muses Greg. "After 2018, I thought I was done and sold Nightmare. Pretty soon I started looking at boats and found my current ride. I worked the SHTP race committee in 2021 and 2023 and enjoyed a couple of crew opportunities. That got me thinking...
I got my qualifier in just after Thanksgiving 2024 — I had a great weather window and beautiful sailing out to 126°40" west and back."
The 25-ft trailerable sloop will be the smallest boat in this year's fleet, so we're curious about provisioning. Greg is planning on "mostly freeze-dried meals and some dehydrated food, with canned chicken, salmon and veggies to mix in. Bars, nuts, snacks. Fresh apples and mandarins, maybe some salad mix for a few days. Cup of noodles and PB&J. I'll be looking forward to a hot shower and a steak at the halfway barge, and some fresh poke in Hanalei!"
Built in Southern California in 1994, this boat has had many lives. She was shipped east to Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, and named Mail Order B-Ride. Next she went on to Lake Loudon in Tennessee as B-Happy, then Traverse City, Lake Michigan, as Knockout. After that to Lake Pleasant, Arizona, as Vitamin Sea. "Finally to me and back to the California coast as Akumu. Side note: The people in Michigan ended up with the J/92 Ragtime!, a former local SHTP boat."
I knew then what I know now! After 19 years of practice, I have retired at 64 to undertake a major singlehanded ocean voyage of Victoria to San Francisco, then the race to Hawaii, then back to Victoria. Not just the race, but the adventure of a lifetime."
As part of his voyage prep, "I'm going out this afternoon to see how my new running spinnaker works with my new elliptical rudder under autopilot."
"Originally my thoughts when purchasing the B-25 were that it's perfect for the San Francisco Bay and coast, and I can take it to do interesting races like the Double Damned on the Columbia River (still on the list!), because it is easily trailered. Then someone asked if I was thinking about doing another SHTP and I started wondering, maybe. Then it is about building confidence, doing ocean races, sailing out to the Farallones, and doing the LongPac in 30 knots. (Though I bailed on that one because my scopolamine patch came off and I got seasick. Ugh! But I felt Akumu was up to the task — she was doing fine.)
After the race finishes in Hanalei, "Even though this is probably the leastexpensive boat I could ship, the cost is still prohibitive. Especially since there are no deals this year and we have to cover the cost of shipping the trailers there. So I will be sailing back. I really like this boat and hadn't really considered selling."
Foolish Muse — Olson 30 Andrew Evans, Victoria, BC Royal Victoria YC Previous SHTPs: 2006
In 2006, Andrew placed second overall in the SHTP by a 10th of a knot. "The following year, I wrote the book Singlehanded Sailing: Thoughts, Tips, Techniques & Tactics to look at every possible aspect of singlehanded racing in an attempt to get back that 10th. If
Andrew says that "Fatigue and lethargy are huge problems in singlehanded racing. A few years after the book came out, I published a complete study on meal planning for improved performance in long-distance singlehanded racing to attack this problem. I will follow this study very closely. I've already made up 10 kilograms of a custom trail mix."
Fugu — Cal 40
Chris Case, Point Richmond, CA
RYC
Previous SHTPs: 2018
Chris's first SHTP was aboard his Wilderness 30, also called Fugu. "My first SHTP was an incredible personal growth experience," he says. "I knew at the time, despite the hardships and newbie mistakes, that I wanted to do the race again, but better. So here I am
MAY BE HABIT-FORMING
PHOTOS LATITUDE / CHRIS OR COURTESY THE RACERS
willing to learn what I don't know I need to know by testing myself on the ocean. I think I've prepared better this time. I'll let you know how it goes."
The Cal 40 Fugu, like all Cal 40s, is a vintage boat. This one is 60 years old. Chris added a new mast, an emergency rudder, and significant electrical system upgrades. "I've added two new below-deck autopilots, and kept the tiller pilot that came with the boat.
beer cans a try and decided it wasn't for him. His longest sail to date was from San Diego to Hilo in 2013. He says that his search for a boat ended the second he stepped aboard InnFall. "Her spirit is strong."
"This boat has been very well cared for by the marine community over the years. The entire hull was stripped of three layers of fiberglass, which was replaced with fiberglass in epoxy and re-faired, all bulkheads retabbed, hull-to-deck joint glassed, new rudder, and the mast beam replaced with stainless steel. I'm simply the latest steward of this boat in a long line of excellent caretakers. I wouldn't be able to do this without their work in years past."
In addition to healthy staples, pastas, vegetables that don't need refrigeration such as carrots, and apples, Chris is planning to bring chocolate. "Last trip I was provided with a significant amount of good chocolates as halfway gifts, mostly unwrapped. Much of it didn't make it halfway. I'm not much of a sweets eater onshore, but my body craved the flavor and the calories on the last trip."
Fugu, by the way, is not an acronym that starts with a four-letter word. It's a Japanese word for blowfish.
InnFall — Westsail 32
Christopher Rusin, Blaine,WA
Semiahmoo Marina YC
Previous SHTPs: none
After the race, he'll continue his journey north toward the Aleutian Islands until he finds the westerlies, "I'll then return to the Puget Sound."
Perplexity — Express 37-1
John Wilkerson, Port Madison, Bainbridge Island, WA
Port Madison YC
Previous SHTPs: 2021, 2023
" Thinking about the race gets me through Seattle winters," says John, "and every delivery home I say, 'Never again,' But then…. Seriously, singlehanded sailing is just incredibly interesting and challenging on many levels."
In addition to the SHTP, John has two Pacific Cups to his credit.
He says that his Express 37 is a joy to sail, and he is still trying to decide what to do next following the race.
Rainbow — Crowther 10m
Clifford Shaw, Emeryville, CA SSS
Previous SHTPs: 2012, 2018, 2021
recently, it hosted a marriage proposal and acceptance between two close friends on a beach in the South Pacific, one of its finest hours."
Following the race, Clif f is planning to cruise Kauai and other islands till the end of August, then sail back to S.F. Bay.
Reverie — Tartan 41 Alexander Benderskii, Los Angeles, CA Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association Previous SHTPs: 2023
Alexander Benderskii r eally liked the experience in 2023, both the sailing and the community. His strategy for the race: "Stay as close to the rhumb line as possible, try to not break stuff, and try to fly a spinnaker in the trades (unlike the last time!)"
He's currently finishing a new auxiliary/emergency rudder to replace the one that broke in the 2023 SHTP. Physical training, unfortunately, is not happening, because of a shoulder problem.
Alex says that the Tartan is "slow (by modern standards) but solid offshore, and can easily handle the sail back." He'll sail her back singlehanded.
"Reverie (formerly Snow White) had a long and distinguished racing career on the East Coast." She won her class in the Newport Bermuda Race twice.
"It's been a childhood dream of mine to solo-circumnavigate the North Pacific High Pressure system. Since the Singlehanded Transpacific Race is a historic sailing event, I thought it would be fun to participate for the San Franciscoto-Hawaii leg of my journey. I do not consider myself competing, as I will be in full cruising mode in mindset and gear. This will be my first long ocean passage in command of my own little ship. I look forward to not answering to anyone but myself while further developing my own sailing style."
Christopher is not a racer. He gave
Another multiple r ecidivist, Cliff Shaw, together with his trusty catamaran Rainbow, is possibly the most well-traveled sailor to enter this race. In addition to the above previous singlehanded races, he's done Bay and coastal racing, an "unofficial" Pacific Cup in 2006 and the 2010 Baja Ha-Ha, cruised the South Pacific in 2015 and 2023, and sailed the San Francisco/Hawaii route in 2014, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Rainbow has "served me well for over 50,000 ocean miles, and has been more than willing to absorb all my free time and relieve me of excess cash."
The boat was built in Australia for a young couple's 18-month honeymoon cruise to San Francisco, then sold to the second owner, who spent 18 months in Seattle and Alaska before returning to S.F. Bay. "It then sat for 12 years in Emeryville, finally latching onto me in 1998, and it hasn't let go since. More
Sam — Columbia Carbon 32 Jérôme Sammarcelli, Los Angeles, CA California YC, PSSA Previous SHTPs: 2012
Unlike some of the cruisier entries, Jérôme Sammarcelli is racing to win. "I can't believe it has been already 13 years since my first participation in the SHTP. At the time, being 38, I was in better shape and only had one kid. I can't imagine I can push as much as I did 13 years ago, but I will try. Also, the boat is bigger, so hopefully faster and easier than my 21-ft Mini Transat 13 years ago!"
Jérôme is undergoing physical therapy "because I just tore my rotator cuff. Surgery is scheduled after the race. It is pretty painful."
Sam is a 2013 Columbia Yachts Carbon 32 built in Newport Beach. "She is the only one of the six boats built with a carbon spar and rod rigging. The boat was also reinforced
ALL
SINGLEHANDED TRANSPACIFIC RACE
Topaz — Hobie 33
for offshore with additional stringers in the slamming zone and a reinforced keelbox. The boat is super-easy to sail, and the short rig makes it comfortable in most wind, up or down. I enjoy the boat for its space outside in the cockpit but also down below. In fact the ringsframed structure makes it very spacious all around. The boat has a single rudder (long aspect ratio) and a fixed bowsprit, which is solid. I prefer that design over retractable bowsprits, which are never watertight.
"I knew this was going to be a per fect fit for my shorthanded adventures, but also big enough to have fun with friends. My first race was Cal Race Week, where we missed first place by one point. My second race was an 80-mile downwind run where we hit 20 knots with four aboard! I never looked back.
"The boat is completely equipped with Madintec and nke autopilots and electronics, and all equipment is thoroughly serviced. The lithium batteries can be charged via solar, hydrogenerator or the engine. The sails are in great shape, with multiple spinnakers, a code zero, a new main (three reefs) and one #2 jib (one reef).
Jérôme plans to ship Sam home on her trailer. "The keel lifts up, and the mast is easy to unstep. I am hoping to get the boat back to the mainland quickly because I have more races to do before my shoulder surgery!"
Solstice — Cal 40 Michael Polkabla, Pacific Grove, CA Monterey Peninsula YC, St. Francis YC Previous SHTPs: 2023
Similar to Clif f Shaw, Michael Polkabla has 50 years of ocean sailing to his credit. He finished second overall (after Cal 40 sistership Green Buffalo) in the previous SHTP.
"This race and event has so many dimensions," he says. "It is difficult, challenging, tiring, unpredictable and sometimes even painful. But also an amazing, fulfilling and satisfying experience that has no equal."
He's doing a lot of training for the race: "physical, mental, nutritional, emotional, psychological — you bet!"
On the Cal 40, he will be pretty comfortable with a propane oven, refrigeration for cold drinks (with ice), "and plenty of water and fuel just in case it is a slow year."
Hull #4, Solstice is the oldest boat
in the fleet, built in 1964. Michael has "a great autopilot and twin spinnaker poles for solo jibing and a whisker pole for those times when it's windy.
"I liken my Cal 40 to a vintage 1964 Ford Mustang: It's a good-looking vessel, and I think it is pretty cool too!"
After the race, he plans to stay in Hanalei for a week, then round Kauai to Nawiliwili for provisioning before sailing back to the mainland solo, "for a relaxing and unhurried voyage — that is the plan anyway!"
Starship — Atlantic Mastfoil 49
Peter Simon, Denver, CO
Shoreline YC
Previous SHTPs: none Starship's registered homeport is Boulder, but Colorado is not connected to the ocean. "When not sailing, she stays in Long Beach and in Ensenada," explains Peter Simon.
He's the oldest skipper in this group. "I love ocean sailing, and I love solo sailing. Being able to do both with such a congenial group is like a dream come true. It has also given me an incentive to up my game. And proving I can do this at 83 just adds to the excitement."
This is Peter's first race. "I've been ocean sailing since 2006, when I bought my first full-sized sailboat." In preparation, he'll be learning about the weather patterns between California and Hawaii. "I'm also working on my downwind sailing skills."
His strategy is to finish before the deadline. "Don't take chances."
Pr ovisioning will include rotisserie chickens from Costco, lots of Greek yogurt and frozen berries, precooked turkey breasts, and protein supplement drinks.
Starship is a 2018 Chris White Mastfoil, designed with two jibs and no mainsail for ease of shorthanded sailing — "not super-fast but stable and forgiving. I'm getting a mizzen spinnaker. I don't know that it will add much speed, but I think it will be neat to fly a 19thcentury sail plan in a 2025 race. She's a two-masted catamaran, so you might call her a 'schoonermaran'."
After the race, Peter plans to sail her back, possibly landing first in the Pacific Northwest and cruising the San Juans and Gulf Islands before returning to California.
Loren Brindze, Oxnard/Marina del Rey, CA PSSA
Previous SHTPs: None
Loren Brindze's previous ocean experience includes the 2021 Bermuda 1-2. "In 2017, I took off for Mexico in an old Pearson Vanguard and cruised around for a season. I've also had the opportunity to meet my cousin Bruce Balan in many far-flung locations (1,000 miles of sailing along the Aleutian Island chain with him on his boat Migration being the most significant). He even wrote a small article for Latitude 38 about my various exploits in 2021.
" I have been actively participating in the PSSA winter series for a few years now; beyond that, the only 'training' I have done is to slowly wean myself off caffeine again. I'm hoping that my experience working in climate science/meteorology will also be helpful."
For provisioning, he plans to "stuff a small fridge/cooler with as many fresh salads, fruit, etc. as I can fit. Once I get through that I will be consuming canned fish and crackers for the second week." He's looking forward to "a nice trip to Berkeley Bowl when I'm back in the Bay Area to stock up on multiple bags of mixed nuts/dried fruit/chocolate for quick hits of caloric energy between meals."
The boat has been dismasted twice, "once by me just after winning the Begg Rock 200 outside Avalon in Catalina. Not many boats can claim a first and a dismasting in the same day. My hope is that all the weak parts of the boat have been replaced and only the strong parts remain." He'll ship the Hobie back to California.
Onemore late sign-up might be making the start, Tim Sowerby on the Sabre 426 White Rose, but we couldn't confirm that with him and gather his information in time for this issue's deadline. Learn more from www.sfbaysss.org and www.jibeset.net. The race will start from San Francisco Bay on Saturday, June 21, with a mandatory skippers' meeting the day before. We'll be on-site for those events, and in Hawaii to cover the arrivals for 'Lectronic Latitude and the August issue of Latitude 38
— latitude/chris
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PERFORMANCE ART —
One of the most unique boats to sail the Bay in recent years is Charles Ray's 60-ft C3 ("C cubed"). Part catboat, part "Batboat," part performance art, it's not hard to imagine the Caped Crusader himself might be on the tiller as the boat hisses by.
In fact, C3 is the latest collaboration of two artistic minds: Charles Ray, a world-renowned sculptor, and Bay Area designer Tom Wylie, who has certainly turned out his share of beautiful, functional sailing craft over the years.
Ray grew up in Chicago and learned to sail on Lake Michigan on a Sabot his father bought. On his first solo outing, having no idea what he was doing, "I was hooked," he says. He was 7.
He came west in the 1970s, settling in the L.A. area, where his modernist sculptures built a wide following in the art world, and where he served for almost 30 years as a professor of sculpture at a well-known university.
Sailing was his other passion, pursued on a series of ever-larger, faster boats. Although he's sailed and raced with other people, he also likes the peace and serenity of singlehanding, "Where you don't have to listen to anybody else critiquing what you're doing," he laughs.
By the early 2000s, Ray was doing a qualifying sail for the Singlehanded Transpacific Race, a biennial event that starts in San Francisco and finishes in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. All entries are required to do a 400-plus-mile offshore qualifying sail prior to the July start. Ray was about halfway through his qualifier — the long way around several Southern California offshore islands — on the Olson 40 Skimmer, when it and a Navy ship collided around midnight. No one was hurt in the incident, which was later determined to be the Navy's fault, but the dismasted sailboat was out of commission and Ray didn't want to spend the time or money to fix it.
THE CREATION OF C3
It was back to the drawing board in what turned out to be a most literal way. Ray has long been fascinated by the singlehanded sailors who circle the globe on high-end Open 50s and 60s. For him, "rock stars" meant Chay Blyth, Loick Peyron, Ellen MacArthur and other, mostly European skippers. Among the few Americans sailing that rarified air near the turn of the millennium was Northern California's Bruce Schwab. He had sailed a unique Open 60 named Ocean Planet around the world in both the Around Alone (2002–2003) and Vendée Globe (2004–2005) races.
A feature Ray found particularly intriguing about the boat was its freestanding carbon mast. In his reading, Ray came across a photo showing Schwab standing next to the designer of the boat, a tall, lanky fellow named Tom Wylie.
He eventually tracked Wylie down to his East Bay workshop and gave him a call, which turned into many calls, which turned into the all carbon-fiber 44-ft cat-rigged speedster C2 — named for the speed of light in Einstein's theory of relativity.
It sports a cat rig with a freestanding mast and wishbone boom.
"We talked a lot about the rig," recalls Ray. "Tom had this notion of purity about it, which I understood immediately. Rather than pulling a lot of strings, with the freestanding
mast and one big sail, you basically have just the mainsheet and choker (for draft adjustment). With that simplicity, you could spend less time working the boat and more time studying the racecourse, or just enjoying the ride.
"In a way, it brought back the joys of sailing the Sabot all those years ago."
C2 was launched in 2005, and won "Most Innovative Design" at the Annapolis Boat Show the following year. Ray has spent the past decade and a half racing and pleasure-sailing the boat — with wife Silvia, a crew, or solo — out of his homeport, Marina del Rey.
Afew years ago, Ray called Wylie again and discussions began about another boat that would eventually become C3 A not-insignificant factor in the timing was that Ray's name was nearing the top of the waiting list for a 60-ft slip in Marina del Rey.
Having recently turned 70, and slowed in recent years by heart issues (he currently walks three hours every morning for physical and mental therapy), Ray's priorities had changed, and with them the mission statement for a new build. He still wanted to go fast, be low to the water, and have the easy-to-sail cat rig, but equally important this time was a space on the boat for guests to gather that would keep them safe and out of the way of whoever was sailing the boat — but still make them feel engaged and included in the experience. Wylie took notes and started sketching.
PETER LYONS
DICK ENERSON
Above: Charles Ray (left) and Tom Wylie. Spread: With her gigantic 1,600-ft2 black mainsail, it's impossible to mistake 'C3' for any other boat.
PERFORMANCE ART —
The hull design took many cues from C2, most notably the nearly circular sections, which deliver minimum wetted surface, but little stability or "power to carry sail." The stability is generated by a heavy bulb at the bottom of a long carbon fin — half of C3's total displacement is in the boat's 8,400-lb bulb, which is 11 feet below the waterline. "C3 gains stability rapidly as she heels and the bulb gets farther out to windward," says Wylie. "Her long, easy lines and circular sections result in speed with little weather helm. Long and narrow is fast: Think rowing shells, or the work of Capt. Nat Herreshoff."
Wylie is quick to add that boats like C2 and C3 are possible today because of advances in materials and epoxies. Unlike the era of, say, a 1980s Olson 40 — which even today is no slouch of a boat — says Wylie, "Nowadays, we can build a hull strong enough and deep enough to support a strut and bulb, for a very low CG, and a very large righting arm."
Also like C2, there was much discussion about the rig. This is where Wylie really shines — and what sets him apart from almost all other sailboat designers: his understanding and engineering of freestanding carbon rigs. It's not a stretch to call him one of the foremost authorities — if not the foremost — in the country, if not the world, on the subject.
The advantages of these rigs are myriad: With no backstay, you can add a huge roach and a square-top mainsail. With no shrouds, you can wing the sail waaay out going downwind. With only one sail and few controls, you don't need a large crew
hearing complaints 30 to 40 years ago from sailors about how time-consuming it was just to go out for an afternoon sail: finding crew, dragging sails around, running sheets — and reversing the process to put the boat away. Wouldn't it be great, they told him, to have a boat you could just jump onto and go?
Bythen familiar with carbon fiber's lightness and flexibility, in the early ‘90s, he designed a sleek, modern-looking 30-ft catboat, built it in his garage/shop with longtime boatbuilding collaborator Dave Wahle, stuck a "windsurfer-like" freestanding carbon mast and wishbone in it, and went sailing on San Francisco Bay.
The rig worked well. With only the mainsheet and a "choker" to enhance
Boats like 'C3' are possible today because of advancements in materials and epoxies.
— or any crew — if that's your preference. And there's the self-adjusting perk: In gusty conditions, the bendy mast absorbs puffs, enhancing twist.
These modern freestanding rigs came from the Steve Jobsian way Wylie has used to develop several of his designs: He sees niches in the sailing world and designs boats to fill them. In this case, he recalls
or reduce draft, the boat just danced through the water. In fact, it worked so well, and Wahle was so stoked, that the following week he scarfed another 3 feet onto the top of the mast, while the sailmaker added another panel to the sail — and that worked even better! The boat, Mustang Sally, became the prototype for the WylieCat 30. Some 21 were built
over the years (along with 17-, 39-, 44and 48-ft versions); most are still sailed and raced actively by their owners. Those folks rarely miss the opportunity to mention they can be sailing within 10 to 15 minutes of arriving at the dock.
With the rekindling of their working relationship, Ray and Wylie fell into a deeper personal friendship, enhanced by the creativity of their respective careers. Both say they understood the other right from the start.
"Charley understands how things are made," says Wylie, who eschews CAD/ CAM programs and creates all his designs using the traditional, tactile process at a drafting table with French curves, splines, and vintage ducks (weights that hold the splines in place) — a hands-on process Ray has also employed in his work. Wylie also notes that verbal communication is only one of the ways the two men connect with each other. "We use a lot of sketches and concepts to communicate our ideas."
Which brings us back to those passenger accommodations.
"Charley never once told me, ‘Make a second cockpit,'" says Wylie. But that's what eventually emerged. One of Tom's sketches showed a step-down from the steering station aft — where the tiller and winches were — to a long, lowered, "second cockpit" between the helm and
PETER LYONS
THE CREATION OF C3
Above: The "second cockpit" (unoccupied in this photo) separates guests from the crew, but allows them to still feel included. This shot also shows the "antlers" that route the mainsheet up and out of the way. Left: Heading back under the Golden Gate after a day on the ocean. Right: The mast step for the rotating carbon mast.
companionway, where guests could sit safely, yet still feel included.
Ray grasped the concept immediately, and gave the project the green light.
C3 was built at James Betts Enterprises in Anacortes, Washington. The hull and deck, built over a male mold, are a sandwich of 1/16" carbon fiber skins over a 1-inch foam core, using the latest ProSet epoxies. The carbon fiber mast was built at the Moore Brothers Company in Rhode Island. The wishbone boom was built by carbon specialist Erich Chase in Point Reyes Station.
C3 was launched in Anacortes in summer 2023. Her initial sails were done there. That fall, the boat was trucked to San Francisco Bay, where she has been undergoing sea trials, tweaking, refining — and a bit of fun racing — ever since.
The boat is an eye-opener even tied to the dock. The supple lines, sweet sheer, and muscular rig make a first-timer rubberneck just to take it all in. Once aboard,
a visitor will also "get" the second-cockpit concept immediately. Other features topside include tiller steering, electric winches, and a spinnaker pole and pole "carrier" forward — for off-the-wind work with an asymmetrical spinnaker. (That and a loose-luff reaching headsail are intended mainly for racing.) All sails were made by Dave Hodges at the Ullman loft in Santa Cruz. Aft, sticking up from the corners of the steering station, are the "antlers." A significant safety innovation, these elevate the mainsheet well above the heads of crew and guests.
Below, C3 is simple and comfortable. Except for a traditional-looking wooden chart table, the interior is finished in whites, grays, and blacks; and open fore and aft like a stripped-down ocean racer. There are fold-down berths, comfortably cushioned seats, and a tiny galley with a two-burner stove. Auxiliary power comes from an electric drive with a retractable propeller.
Another key player in the C3 world is Bay Area professional sailor Zan Drejes, who has channeled years of experience in high-end big-boat programs into helping shepherd the project along. Drejes liaised in Anacortes among Wylie, Ray and the build team; assisted in the layout and routing of lines and deck hardware; and serves as something of a coach to Ray
as they learn the boat together. Drejes is amazed at how the boat performs, likening its acceleration and tiller feel to a giant Laser's. There's rarely a day they're not hitting teens on the knotmeter, and with a bit of breeze, low to mid-20s are the norm. Tacks are quick and almost effortless with no headsails or travelers to deal with. The boat also seems to love surfing swells in the main shipping channel on the way home from a day on the ocean.
Of f the wind, "The boat has a VMG groove that is very interesting DDW," says Drejes. Where most modern boats with asymmetrical spinnakers have to sail angles off the wind, C3's rotating mast allows her to sail dead downwind in a way few boats have before. "With no shrouds in the way, you can wing the main way out. By rotating the mast, you can enhance the airflow around the mast and sail. The ability of this boat to square back and sail deep might be a groove nobody has even considered yet," says Drejes.
Theories and experiments aside, the real beauty of sailing C3 is its simplicity. "While we do have a spinnaker to probe the outer limits of deep deep VMG, the real joy of sailing the boat is its simplicity," says Drejes. "No sail changes, no grinding, just total focus on the wind and water and the race course. The ability to push a 60-footer hard, and maneuver quickly in tight quarters with only two people quietly communicating makes for very fun sailing."
PETER LYONS LATITUDE / JR
THE CREATION OF C3
Rayfinally got that 60-ft slip in Marina del Rey. So far, its only occupant is a proa he built in one of his studios for Silvia. The original plan was to bring C3 south, but Ray likes sailing in San Francisco Bay so much that he's thinking of leaving the boat here, at least for the short term. "It's great coming up here
and getting away from work for a few days twice a month," he says. "And it's kind of charming to dodge freighters."
Getting back to the artistic aspect, "I really enjoy the kinesthetic physicality of sailing, and particularly sailing Wylie's boats," says Ray. "It's sculptural in that sense. When you're racing, there's lots of time to dial in the boat from one mark or course to the next. Sculptures are the same way. If you give a sculpture enough time, it makes itself. I spent 10 years on one sculpture, and enjoyed the process the whole time. Sailing and developing this boat has been the same.
"C2 brought me a lot of joy. And this boat brings me a lot of joy in a similar but 'enlarged' way. It's not so much that C2 has been stretched, it's more that C3 has expanded me both physically and mentally. And working with Tom has brought me immense joy. If I died tomorrow, I would die happy knowing I did this boat."
— latitude/jr
With just two basic sail controls — mainsheet and choker — sailing a boat like 'C3' is easy for a small crew.
PETER LYONS
CRUISING THEN
Condesa
sailed under the Golden Gate 17 years ago, after a 10-year circumnavigation. After my marrying Alison and our having Henry (age 12) and Lena (age 10), Condesa is finally back at it for a six-month family cruise around the Gulf of California. Cruising life is as wonderful as I remember it: the camaraderie, the adventure, the selfsufficiency — and a few technological developments in the intervening years that have made life aboard even better.
Starlink
Elon Musk's polarizing behavior notwithstanding, Starlink has made communications aboard easy and straightforward. Every cruising boat in Mexico has it, at least every boat we've met. Email, web, FaceTime, or Zoom, free Wi-Fi calling, online school programs for the kids, banking, streaming movies, weather information, charting — all are available anytime, anywhere.
ALL IMAGES CLARK BEEK EXCEPT WHERE NOTED
system in Mexico), and $300 to $500 for the hardware (depending on what incentives are on offer at the time). Starlink sucks up 6-10 amps at 12 volts, so we can't leave it on all the time, and this is how we regulate screen time for the kids.
The sad corollary to Starlink's takeover is that high frequency radio has all but vanished. The thousands of dollars spent on radios, tuners, antennae, copper foil, ground planes, and HF modems have been traded for a simpler installation and monthly service fees. The morning radio nets have been replaced with social media forums, but there are cruiser Facebook groups, and NOFOREIGNLAND (www.noforeignland.com), a cruiser-specific social media app with a boat-tracking function. Good old VHF radio still provides real-time voice contact, and there are morning VHF nets in the more popular anchorages. Likewise, instead of checking the barometer and downloading the latest weather fax, we now use apps such as PredictWind and Windy.
Our solar panels and Starlink antenna (center) fit neatly atop our hard dodger. Both benefit from an unobstructed view of the sky, so we usually vang our main boom to one side like a wounded duck while at anchor.
Early in our cruise I had to send a time-sensitive document to our bank via mail (problematic from Mexico) or fax (huh?). In the before-times, this would have required hours of frustration in a foreign city. With Starlink and a scan-to-fax app, I dealt with it in five minutes. The very article you are reading, and the photos that accompany it, were emailed to the editor of this magazine from a remote anchorage in Baja, all in about two seconds.
Starlink changes its user agreement almost weekly, and they seem to have trouble figuring out what to do with us cruisers who perhaps don't fit their business model, but generally it's trouble free. Most cruisers pay $165 to $250 per month, depending on the service plan (it's cheaper if you buy your
The Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery/Solar Array Combo
LiFePO4 or LFP batteries, the safe lithium battery chemistry for consumer use, combined with solar panels, has solved the problem of electricity on boats. Being a marine electrician, I've likely done a hundred hours of reading about lithium batteries, and it's a steep learning curve to get out of the lead-acid battery mindset. But once an appropriate LFP battery system is installed and the ship's electrical system appropriately reconfigured, it's "set it and forget it." Shipboard electrical management becomes no more complicated than keeping an eye on the fuel gauge in your car. For about $600, I built a 304 amp hour battery, which ended up being more capacity than we need, and it will likely last more than 15 years. An engineered, commercial 300 amp hour LFP battery from a reputable manufacturer costs around $2,300.
Solar panels cost about half of what they did 20 years ago, and the output for a given surface area has almost doubled. I ripped the AC system out of my boat many years ago for reasons
of simplicity, safety, and galvanic corrosion, and I've relied on solar, even while at the dock on San Francisco Bay. No shore power, no genset, no wind generator or Hydrovane, just those solar panels doing their thing all year long.
Just like us, most boats in Mexico can live indefinitely at anchor on solar power, never running an engine or genset. Now that we're getting into the latespring/summer months, it's crazy: We have more power than we know what to do with, and that includes running a watermaker for a family that hasn't (ahem) learned to cherish every drop of water. Our solar array consists of two 220W panels that cost $240 each for a 440W array, and this supplies all our needs for a family of four on a 40-ft cruising boat. In Mexico it's common to see modest cruising boats with 600W to 800W arrays that run 12V freezers on top of refrigeration, watermakers, Starlink, and all the other goodies.
With my hand for scale, you can see how compact this 304 amp hour battery is. On its right side is the JK Battery Management System (BMS), a part of any LPF battery. On top is a Victron Cerbo GX that controls the charging system, and which consists of two Victron solar regulators and a Victron DC-to-DC charger. It's all computerized and automatic, once configured.
Stand Up Paddleboards
More specifically inflatable SUPs. Now ubiquitous among cruisers, these craft are cheap, light, and stable, and deflate to the size of a duffel bag. We carry two, but usually only use the bigger one, which doubles as a two-man kayak and came with two kayak paddles as well as a stand up paddle. Our entire family of four can come and go from boat to beach on this inflatable SUP without getting wet. I've used our SUP for big grocery runs, deploying a stern anchor, and extensive exploration, and setting a kedge when a stubborn sandbar refused to yield right of way. We go weeks at a time without launching our dinghy. Considering that 95% of dinghy trips are from the boat to the nearest beach 100 yards away, it makes me wonder, for a warm-weather cruise, do we even need a dinghy anymore? With the loss of deck space and visibility; all the claptrap of motors, gas cans, and tanks; storage of explosive fuel aboard; whatever apparatus one uses to launch and retrieve a dinghy;
and the scourge of outboard and dinghy theft, maybe next time we'll chuck the whole thing and become a SUP-tendered boat.
We regret not starting our cruise with SUP racks but didn't know they existed until we got to Mexico. The racks let you store your SUP (or a kayak) outside the lifelines, saving deck space. Made by Magma, Garhauer, et al., the racks make SUP storage a breeze while gunkholing, then fold in line with the stanchions, out of the way, while passagemaking.
A neighbor's boat, with SUP neatly stowed outside the lifelines.
Kids in full combat mode on our inflatable stand up paddleboard.
'Condesa' at anchor off Baja.
Our automatic air pump, ready to fill our SUP to a preset pressure.
Inflatable SUPs take 11–15 psi of air pressure, so an automatic electric
inflator is the way to go. Ours plugs into a cigarette-lighter receptacle — we punch in the desired pressure, connect it to the SUP, and go drink a cup of coffee, and about five minutes later the pump shuts off when the SUP is rock hard. Cruisers who use manual pumps get their workouts.
AIS — Automatic Identification System
I've had it for years, but this is my first time properly cruising with it. Not every cruising boat has it, but many do, and every commercial boat is required to have it, so it gives great peace of mind at sea and helps you find your friends at anchor.
— clark beek
For a greater peace of mind at sea, more and more recreational vessels are adopting the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
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Noquestion about it, young techies are the best navigators. They know how to extract the latest weather info from the web, and they can make Expedition dance.
But when my favorite geeky grad student, Lee Helm, is not available, I might have to cast one of my contemporaries as tactician.
"T ide book is loaded!" he announced as he stepped aboard and handed me the little tide book. "Check out the ebb we have today."
We had been sailing together since we were both in child-size PFDs and El Toros, and we learned to race in those ancient times, back when the best tidal current data could be found in that little book that most marina offices sell for about a dollar. We had both developed similar protocols for preparing the book for a race. Each page of current diagrams was marked up as follows:
1) Cross out the pages for the Carquinez Strait (unless this is for a Vallejo race.)
2) On the tidal current table page for the date of interest, underline the row of data for the day.
3) On the current diagram pages for max flood and max ebb, write the times of max flood or ebb in the inset for Treasure Island.
4) Look up the strength of max flood and max ebb, then consult the table that gives the ratio of the predicted current speed to the speed of the spring tides shown in the diagram. Write this velocity correction factor in the remaining space in the Treasure Island inset, below the time of maximum current.
5) Write the applicable times on the tidal current diagram pages for one and two hours before max flood or ebb, and one, two, and three hours after max
flood or ebb. Now every page has a time stamp and a speed correction factor.
6) Add the predicted time of the next slack current, taken from the current tables, to the bottom margin of each page. Add the predicted time of the previous slack current to the top margin of each page.
"Good work," I acknowledged my friend's effort. But he was about to be upstaged by the next crew to arrive: an undergrad engineering student, recommended very highly by Lee Helm.
A "loaded" tide book. With this limited info, a good tactician who grew up with this book can infer the current at any time on any race course in the Bay.
"He's just starting to lear n to sail," she had told me. "But I think he has, like, the right mindset for navigation and tactics, once he learns the strings."
Not surprisingly, considering Lee Helm's assessment, he did not bring a marked-up tide book. He carried a loose-leaf binder with the Sailing
Instructions and Course Sheets in plastic sheet protectors. Inside the clear plastic front cover sleeve, he had inserted a nautical code flag chart that included common race committee signals. A copy of the scratch sheet with handicaps was in the clear back cover. The rest of the notebook pages, also in sheet protectors, were detailed tide charts of our race area. I generally prefer the courses and mark descriptions to be on the front and back covers of a race notebook, but I was impressed with the effort he had put into the preparation for his first race on my boat, way beyond his responsibilities as a trimmer-in-training.
"I thought the tidal current vector field needed more granularity," he explained as I perused the tide pages. "Spatially and chronologically. There's a new tide chart for every 30 minutes — the tide book charts are just hourly. Also, no need to multiply by speed correction factors; the charts show the astronomical prediction based on the harmonic constituents for today, not just for spring tides."
"This will be useful," I said. "Where did you get these charts?"
"I know someone with a T idetech Advanced account," he answered. "Traded my Netflix password for them. I like the display format, and for $59 a month it can convert the charts to gridded binary files, if you want to load them into a routing optimizer."
"Not for a Bay race," I said. "The wind model never seems to be precise enough for the optimizers to be much use over a short course. And with the high river flows and dam releases we've had lately, the astronomical predictions can be way off. Maybe we'll use GRIB currents for the ocean race in two weeks, just to
Below left: The Tidetech high-resolution current model. A very good display format, but it's not clear if daily variations in river flow, etc., are incorporated into the forecast. And GRIB files are pricey. Right: A free NOAA tidal current server that uses daily environmental data to modify the astronomical prediction, with high-resolution display.
see if they make any sense."
We proceeded to rig the boat for the race as more crew arrived. But as we were casting off, my phone alerted me to an incoming text. It was from Lee Helm, and said simply, "Check your email."
We were still within the marina's WiFi signal, so I handed the helm to my longtime sailing friend and went down to the nav station, with the young engineer close behind.
"NOAA has a new tidal current server," the email read. "oceansmap.nos. noaa.gov. This a free source of high-res current forecasts, modified to account for wind shear, river flows, dam releases and, like, all the daily variations the tide tables miss. I saved a set of tide charts for your race, attached to this email. Expedition can download the 48hour current prog directly from NOAA
TIDES AND DETAILS
as GRIB files, and I like to use the free substitute for Expedition, qtVlm, as a GRIB viewer. Good luck!"
I felt some sympathy for our new crew, who had put a lot of time into generating tide charts that had suddenly become obsolete. But he was just as excited as I was to see an accessible and free source of custom tide forecasts.
"I like the way the tide vectors are scaled in proportion to the current speed," he observed, "and there are more color bands for speed contours. But I think that for current they should scale the arrow length but not the width. For wind, better to scale both length and width, so the bulkiness of the arrow is proportional to the wind speed squared, making it appear to be proportional to dynamic wind pressure."
A quicker way to get the NOAA tidal current forecast, in low resolution. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any way to zoom in.
"Yes, it's a very intuitive presentation," I said, happy to avoid a more detailed explanation.
"What was that URL?" he asked as he prepared to key the link into his phone. "I hope there's some freeware that will also download those GRIB files."
My old sailing friend, who had now been upstaged twice, passed the helm to another novice crew and came down the ladder to take a look at my laptop screen. He just looked at the tide forecast chart and frowned. "That fancy current model still leaves out a few things," he said. "Look at Hospital Cove during the ebb current."
I explained to the new crew that Hospital Cove is the old name for Ayala Cove, on Angel Island.
How to Access OceansMap Tidal Current Charts
(This is a beta version, so the interface might change)
• Go to www.tinyurl.com/586uvk5c
• Drag and zoom the map to San Francisco Bay
• Click the "Data Layers" icon at the top of the menu bar on the left side of the screen
• Scroll down to "CURRENTS" and click "NOAA San Francisco Bay (SFBOFS)"
• Zoom to the area of interest. The model needs to run for each time step, so it can take up to 10 minutes to generate a complete chart with all the animation frames.
For a faster download of the same current forecast chart but in much lower resolution:
• Go to www.tinyurl.com/yvuhz8ar and select one of the two location pins, outside or inside the Bay.
• From the menu bar on the left side of the screen, scroll down to "CURRENTS" under "MAP PLOTS" and select "Forecast Guidance."
The rise and fall of the tide creates a great meet-up spot on Ashby Shoal.
"Where's the counterclockwise circulation in the cove during a strong ebb?" complained the old-timer.
He was right; that artifact was missing. I recalled that the first time we had sailed to Angel Island, we ended up drifting into a berth two slips to the left of the one we were aiming for. Ever since then I've been careful to watch for the counterclockwise circulation on a strong ebb.
"So much for digital models," he scoffed.
"I guess the final arbiter would be the Bay Model, for a physical scale model of the Bay currents."
"That's also got its problems," the young engineer added. "At that small scale with such low flow velocities, the Reynolds number is too low and the effects of viscosity are too high. They try to compensate by making the water depth much deeper than a true scale model's, but it's still prone to errors because turbulence is suppressed."
"Back when they put confetti in the model so tourists could easily see the flow patterns," I remembered from a
visit many years ago, "it was easy to compare the model to reality. I noticed that it sometimes had the current direction inside the Brooks Island breakwater going the wrong way past Richmond."
Meanwhile, the young engineer was losing some color in his face, even though we were still inside the marina breakwater.
"I've got to get back up on deck," he confessed.
"The old-time tide book is still good
enough for me," declared my old friend.
"All I need to know are the times of slack water, and the maximum current speeds and the times at the Gate for max flood and ebb. That's how my brain is calibrated for making a mental map of the Bay currents. With just that info I can tell you what the current will be, anywhere we race."
"If it works for you," I agreed.
"And the rest is details," he assured me, while standing on one foot. — max ebb
THE RACING
It's a melange of regattas for us this month, with Sailing League, the Area G Sears Cup Qualifier and the S.F. Bay J/105 Women Skipper Invitational at StFYC; the YRA Lightship Race; a skipper overboard in the YRA In the Bay Series; SCYC's Moore 24 Roadmaster and Laser NorCals; SDYC's Orca Bowl; and the Newport to Ensenada Race from the Ensenada perspective; plus lots of Race Notes and Box Scores
Sailing League and More at StFYC
While 100 or so boats distance/ destination-raced to Vallejo and back in the traditional Great Vallejo Race, seven took to the Cityfront for a newer, different sort of challenge.
On May 3-4, St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the second year of the US Sailing League West Coast Championship. The Sailing Champions League, an international high-level club vs. club fleet-racing circuit, has been held in Europe and Australia since 2014. More than 500 yacht clubs compete in the series, which is focused on spectator-friendly events. StFYC has spearheaded the effort to expand the league to the United States. Seven clubs competed for two days in StFYC's J/22s.
Race times were targeted for 12-15 minutes on short courses set to optimize the building winds and Bay currents, making for incredibly quick racing among the teams from Bay Head (New Jersey), Berkeley, Encinal, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Francis and Santa Barbara YCs. Competitors sailed 28 races over the weekend. The use of shuttles transporting teams between the J/22s and a supporting cast of race committee volunteers on the water allowed racing to continue at pace each day. Racing was
fast and close, as sailors brought their best to the game hoping to qualify for the Sailing Champions League Final on July 11-13 in Kiel, Germany.
"It was classic San Francisco Bay racing at its best — blue skies, iconic vistas, brisk breezes of 18-25 knots, ebb chop in the morning, and flood relief along the Cityfront in the afternoons," said regatta chair Douglas Sloan. "The competition was fierce, with the top three teams clearly dominating in their boat-handling and gear changes as the conditions changed from light breeze with chop in the ebb, to flatter water in the flood and bigger breeze."
Skipper Ethan Doyle and crew of Marie Bergsund, Eric Baumhoff and Noah Barrengos from SFYC prevailed, taking the overall trophy and advancing to the Finals in Kiel. StFYC placed second, and SDYC took third.
"The regatta was a real pleasure to participate in," Doyle said. "The sailing was tight, the race management was excellent, and the format, with a lot of short races, short courses, and boat rotations every race, was highly competitive and a lot of fun. The event format is great for building camaraderie between the participating clubs and sailors."
The SFYC team will join Richmond
YC, which qualified last year, as the two US teams representing the West Coast at the Final in Kiel this July.
The following Satur day, May 10, StFYC ran the S.F. Bay J/105 Women Skipper Invitational and the Area G Qualifier for the Sears Cup. Photographer Chris Ray called it a picture-perfect day, with "great breezes, a steady flood, and sunny conditions."
The youth qualifier sailed in eight of the club's J/22s. The SFYC crew of Mark Xu, Rhett Krawitt, Aaron Ziegler and Elsie Schroeder topped the leaderboard with four wins across six races.
The US Youth Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup will be sailed in the Sailing League format on August 6-9 at StFYC, with the winner qualifying for the Youth Sailing Championship Final in Spain in November.
In the J/105 regatta, the StFYC crew of Nicole Breault, Bruce Stone, Hailey Thompson, Spencer Paulsen, Iain DoranDes Brisay, Haley Fauntleroy and Evan Brown Cahill took the top spot with three wins in four races.
Both regattas stuck to a Saturdayonly format, allowing the kids and moms to celebrate Mother's Day that Sunday. — latitude / chris
S.F. Bay J/105 Women Skipper invitational, 5/10 (4r, 0t)
Saturday, April 19, was the first race of the 2025 YRA Offshore Series out to the S.F. sea buoy, or Lightship. Fortyeight boats from 20 to 56 feet long, with PHRF ratings from -108 to +237, started in six fleets. The first boat to finish was Carlos Bedell's custom R/P 56 Vasara at just after 12:20 p.m. First on corrected time was Dave MacEwen's J/90 Lucky Duck. The last boats finished just before 4:30 p.m.
AIS has been required for YRA Offshore races since last year, but we started getting serious about enforcing it this year. While some boats were a bit hard to find on Marine Traffic, I am happy to report that every boat attempted to comply
The winning Sailing League team from SFYC qualified for the Final in Kiel, Germany.
with the requirement and only one had equipment issues. Nice job everyone!
Also new this year, YRA chair Joe Rockmore volunteered to bring his Whaler to the start area to do some onthe-water equipment inspections similar to what BAMA did prior to the Doublehanded Farallones. Joe reports that everyone was polite and accommodating and everyone passed easily.
Before the race, there was a pretty big ebb running out the Gate. With that knowledge, many of us stayed east of the start line to avoid being swept over early. By the time we were partway through the start sequence, the tide had turned and there was a flood along the shoreline at StFYC. Then the wind went a little light.
As a result, many boats were a bit late to the start line. Oh well, deep breath, go make it up on the race course.
On Ahi, we saw 8-12 knots of breeze and carried our big headsail all the way out. Once we got out in the middle, we found the ebb again and had 2-3 knots of current helping us all the way out. Because it was late in the cycle, some areas had ebb and others had flood, so big gains and losses were possible. Each time we crossed tacks with the Cal 40 Duende, which rates the same as we do (114), a different boat was in front by a wide margin.
The swells on the way out were as predicted, in the 3-ft to 5-ft range and very steep, likely due to the ebb run-
ning against the wind. It was a bit of a bumpy ride out, and a few times poor Ahi dropped off the face of a swell when the water under the boat disappeared.
Once around the buoy, we found ourselves on a headstay reach most of the way back, and those swells we'd crashed through on the way out provided some surfing opportunities. It was the usual white-knuckle close reach from the bridge to the finish line at StFYC.
The YRA Offshore Series has eight more races through September. If you enjoyed Lightship, think about joining us for more races or the whole season.
— andy newell
yra liGHtSHip, 4/19
PHRO 1A — 1) Lucky Duck, J/90, Dave MacEwen; 2) Astra, Farr 40, Simon Phillips; 3) Swift Ness, J/111, Nesrin Basoz. (11 boats)
PHRO 1B — 1) Mr. Chocolate, Saffier 37, Steve Stroub; 2) Mirthmaker, Archambault 35, David Ballintine; 3) Quiver, SC40, Adam Eliot. (12 boats)
PHRO 2A — 1) CruzSea Baby, Beneteau 10R, Brian Turner; 2) Story Maker, Tartan 101, Mike & Sean Mahoney; 3) Twelve Bar Blues, J/105, Hugh Westermeyer. (8 boats)
PHRO 2B — 1) Topper II, Moore 24, Conrad Holbrook; 2) Zaff, J/92, Tim Roche; 3) Ahi, Santana 35, Andy Newell. (9 boats) SHS SINGLE OR DOUBLEHANDED — 1) White Rose, Sabre 426, Tim Sowerby; 2) Slainte, Cal 20, Paul Sutchek; 3) Kavancha, Jeanneau SunFast 3200, Sait Izmit. (3 boats)
MULTIHULL — 1) Round Midnight, Explorer 44, Rick Waltonsmith; 2) Caliente, Explorer 44, Truls Myklebust; 3) Flux, Seacart 30 GP, Jeremy Boyotte. (5 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net
Women skippers with mixed crews competed in J/105s on the Cityfront on May 10. Pictured here are Katie Cornetta at the helm of 'Godot 2.0' and Samantha Gebb on 'Peaches'. Note the wheel on 'Godot' and the tiller on 'Peaches'. J/105s are among those boats that go either way.
These kids from SFYC qualified for the Sears Cup in San Francisco this coming August.
THE RACING
Skipper Overboard In the Bay
The YRA's first In the Bay Series race of 2025 sailed in the Knox area on Saturday, May 10, in a building westerly and building ebb. Richard vonEhrenkrook, owner of the Cal 20 Can O'Whoopass, reports on his own "COB" incident:
"In 51 years of racing, sailing, and generally messing around with boats, Saturday was the second time I have ever left a vessel involuntarily. When the ferry decided to cut between the Can and the Bird Cuckoo, I warned my crew, Michael Simon, to prepare for the 6-ft transom wave, and to go inboard to hang on. I stayed perched on the rail, with tiller extension in right hand and taut upwind mainsheet in left hand. My error was to not realize the massive lee created by the ferry passing so close, and when the main went slack, so did the sheet, just enough to allow me to slip backward. Though the boat tacked onto starboard and hove to, Michael blew the jib, and I decided to let go of the mainsheet. Hove-to, the leeward rail (port side), is an excellent place to take on a MOB. That is how I designed my forward jackline cable length, when the Can was doing offshore racing; an ISAF tether puts a foredeck crew right there.
"I've done Paul Cunningham's twoday Safety at Sea Seminar at SFYC twice, and as thorough as that is, there's
nothing like trying to ship a wet human onto a boat with 3-ft freeboard for real — even a fully conscious and cooperative one."
Andy Newell's Santana 35 Ahi came to the rescue. Richard shared some thoughts on the retrieval process:
"I recommend, once the swimmer has firmly grasped the throw line, to completely stop the boat, and slowly bring the swimmer alongside amidships, on the lee side, unless there's a stepladder on the transom. Do not let out the line once that is done unless there's a very good reason to; it is very confusing to the swimmer.
"I agree with the use of a harness tether, once the swimmer is alongside, but only if the swimmer's PFD is equipped with crotch straps. While the Life Sling is a great tool, the interference with the inflated PFD was a problem. A non-inflatable PFD would have made the recovery faster.
"I had a deployable, side-mounting stepladder on the Farallon Clipper Mistress II, for taking conscious and capable swimmers aboard in the cockpit area. I am going to fashion one for the Can. Stored in the lazarette, it will allow a swimmer the crucial foothold to help the crew quickly haul them up, at least to
the point that they can use their upper body strength to self-rescue.
"I will do some 'walk away' drills, on a random and unannounced basis, with my crews."
After further reflection, Richard added to his comments from the swimmer's perspective: "First, even if you are attached to the vessel you have just inadvertently left, if there is still crew on the boat, it is safer to get away from the boat than to hold on if the boat is moving at any speed. The mechanics of retrieval are pretty much the same, and if the crew can restore calm on board, their recovery attempts will be easier than trying to haul you back immediately while under way.
"Second, and most important, is for the swimmer to stay calm. Let the PFD do its job, and relax. Just as your crew must keep a set of eyes on you, you must do the same with them. Assess their progress, and be willing to detour to another rescue boat, if that seems a faster way of getting out of the water. Remember that Bay waters will give even the strong about 20-25 minutes max before the effects of hypothermia kick in and render the swimmer increasingly feeble.
"Once I got back on the Can, I felt good
Cityfront action courtesy of StFYC. Top row: Sailing League competition in J/22s on May 3. Bottom left: Teenage sailors race the same fleet of J/22s on May 10 to qualify for the Sears Cup. Bottom right: Nicole Breault's winning team in the J/105 Women Skipper Invitational, also on May 10.
In Race 1, they led at the first mark, had a great set, and promptly realized they'd forgotten the offset mark — race over. They went back and finished last.
enough to start the second race — until we turned upwind and I realized I was running on pure adrenaline and was cold and tired. We headed back to Richmond, to fight another day."
The YRA In the Bay Series will continue on June 21, with two races scheduled. It's not too late to join in. See www. jibeset.net
— latitude / chris
Moore 24 Spring Roadmaster
Sydnie Moore reports that 18 Moore 24s raced in Santa Cruz with challenging, epic conditions and close racing on April 12-13. The sailors and race committee endured rough sea condtions. "The volunteers did an amazing job with race management. Ten of the entrants were out of town Roadmasters, and many were hosted by SCYC members who opened up their homes to the fleet for this homecoming regatta. Hard-core Roadmaster awards go to Steve and Kat McCarthy and Ryan and Christine Georgianna, who camped in the redwoods of Felton with their very young kids! Congrats to team Mooregasm, with 30 total points but with a throwout of 17."
Mooregasm had very close racing with the Fennell clan's Paramour, which had
better finishes with 20 total points, but their throwout was only a 5.
"Everyone enjoyed the Moore gathering, especially Ron Moore and Craig Smith, who commented on the invigorated fleet energy that makes the Moore an enduring classic."
"Why would anyone buy anything other than a Moore 24?" said Ron.
Stephen Bourdow reported on Mooregasm's successful weekend: "With a variety of forecasts predicting everything from light to blasting breeze, we arrived on the course with a westerly already blowing fairly early, for Santa Cruz. To us, that meant that this wasn't the typical SC seabreeze, so we needed to approach differently. There were clearly heavy winds offshore, but clearly lighter or more variable winds closer in. The big choice was which headsail. Clearly, we needed bigger for the holes, but the #3 was good for puffs. We chose the #3 and decided to play the left side of the course to avoid the holey conditions on the inshore side. With the pin being super-favored, starting near the pin was safe, as we knew the majority of the fleet would be forced to tack to port early. This was the case throughout the weekend, except for the final Sunday race."
"The second race was long-distance to the Natural Bridges mark, about 3 miles upwind. We again stuck with the #3, though Pegasus and several others opted for the #2. The breeze built to a steady 22-25 as we approached the NB mark. Pegasus held on to round first, and we both set for a planing angle on starboard and headed offshore. We were loving the high and fast angle, so we wanted to be able to continue that as long as possible. Pegasus seemed to transition to a running angle inshore earlier than we needed to, and we were able to just cross them as they jibed back out toward our line. We transitioned to a running angle and managed to take the win.
"In the third race, we played the middle, but the breeze dropped off a little. We found ourselves in traffic. We lost a bit of ground to Paramour and Gruntled. The RC had adjusted the finish line from the start, so it wasn't entirely starboard-endfavored and a bit difficult to determine where to finish. We ended up at the pin, finishing overlapped with Pegasus and Safety Third, with other boats finishing at the boat end, super-close.
"On Day 2, conditions looked much mor e typical, with lighter southwest winds in the morning, and westerly
Spring Roadmasters in Santa Cruz, clockwise from left: 'Painkiller', down from South Lake Tahoe, leads a trio of colorful spinnakers; 'Paramour', 'Painkiller' and 'Pegasus'; the 'Paramour' crew, left to right: Rowan Fennell, John Kernot, Vikki Fennell and Nathaniel Fennell.
THE RACING
seabreeze building in a more typical way. We again chose to put up the #3. We'd been able to get very comfortable on Saturday with changing gears on our #3. Being able to point better and have easier boathandling with the #3, while sacrificing only a little pace, seemed a worthy trade-off for us.
"In Race 4 we got of f the line well at the pin again, but Pegasus was clearly faster on their #2. We tried to lee-bow, but they eventually rolled us, and we were on a tight layline. We hitched out, which let Safety Third slide in for the rounding. We managed to get them back on the run to round the bottom mark in second, and with the final beat a bit skewed and the boat end of the finish very favored.
"In Race 5 we shifted our strategy to get to port of f the line more quickly and work the right side of the beat. We'd been nervous, wanting to change to the #2, but there just wasn't enough time. So, we made some adjustments to our setup, powering up a bit, and found we had great speed up the beat, managing through the lighter spots better than before. We led at the top by enough to sail the run quite freely and take the bullet.
"In Race 6 the start line was more square than previously, but we still started near the pin. We didn't get off
the line very well and were pushed to the left more than we'd have liked. However, we focused on staying conservative and avoiding errors, since the course was longer with an extra lap.
"We rounded about seventh and maintained that during the run, but pulled up to a pack of three boats. We dropped the kite early and focused on a good rounding right behind Watts Moore…. We hung in our lane quite well, but Paramour, Pegasus and Moortician were going too quickly to catch. Despite our trying to lee-bow Mooretician, they rolled us. But the four of us extended enough to have a bit of an uneventful run.
"We were totally unsure of the point standings, but knew we'd had a good day and were in the hunt. With such close racing, everyone in the top five was up and down throughout the day. With no one dominating the day, we managed to grab the win by just 2 points, after dropping our shocker in Race 1. Thanks to Ali Yuvali, Dylan Tran and especially the infamous Matt Lezin on the bow and tactics. They handled the boat fantastically, giving me every opportunity to focus on making Mooregasm go fast."
Vikki Fennell of Paramour commented that "Sailing Moore 24s in Santa Cruz
is always a return home of sorts. The SCYC Moore 24 Regatta (the first fully crewed event for the 2025 Roadmaster Series) felt more like a homecoming than most." Rowan and Vikki have been racing Paramour in the Roadmaster together since 2003, often with Rowan's brother Nathaniel and many other family members and honorary Fennells over those years.
"After a hiatus from the Roadmaster Series to go cruising, then moving to the Pacific Northwest to be near family and connect with the PNW Moore fleet, the calculus to return to the Bay was heavily weighted by the opportunity to race with our California Moore 24 friends again." During the time the Fennells were away, the Moore 24 fleet grew and changed. "The webs of connection somehow grew stronger. Perhaps due to the familial nature of the fleet (where we travel, camp, and socialize together regularly, often bringing our families along for the weekend), kids who grew up around Moores now are filling out many crew rosters. How lucky we are to be able to sail with and against family who are friends and friends who are family!
"The Fennell family connection to the Moore 24 fleet and the Santa Cruz
Orca Bowl action in lumpy waters off San Diego on April 26-27. Bottom left: Don Jesberg's SFYC 'Viva' team won the Orca Bowl and the Corinthian division of the Etchells West Coast Spring Series.
The 18-boat start of the Bullship Race off the scenic Sausalito shoreline on April 26. The intrepid sailors in their 8-ft prams crossed the Golden Gate to the San Francisco Marina. See Box Scores below, and April 28's 'Lectronic Latitude at www.latitude38.com.
sailing community runs deep and goes back more that 50 years, when Rowan's uncle Steven Fennell moved to Santa Cruz, started a family, became a math teacher in Capitola, and built an experimental 27-ft ultralight sailboat called Pi. Together with his younger brother Walter Fennell and 16-year-old former student Niels Kisling, they entered the ill-fated 1975 Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara race. The Fennell brothers did not survive the ordeal (thankfully Niels did and was able to share the story).
"For many, the relationship to Santa Cruz and sailing might have ended there. But the youngest Fennell brother, Justis, seeking connection to his lost siblings,
SFyC anne mCCormaCk Women'S invitational CUp, 4/19 (2r, 0t)
1) Chris Boome; 2) Lorn Marcellini; 3) Jesse Kittle; 4) Kurt Lahr. (18 boats)
FIRST MAIDEN VOYAGER — Lorn Marcellini. FIRST CLYDESDALE — Kurt Lahr. FIRST WAHINE — Pam DeWitt. FIRST WOODY — James Savattone. TAILENDER — Chris Sullivan.
SSS Sort oF SinGleHanDeD nortH Bay, 4/26
VETERANS — 1) Diana, Alerion Express 28, John Arnold; 2) Can O'Whoopass, Cal 20, Richard vonEhrenkrook; 3) Crinan II, Wyliecat 30, Don Martin. (4 boats)
later got a job at Moore's Reef to learn about boats similar to Pi. When the time came for Rowan's dad Michael to buy his own boat in the 1980s, Justis recommended the Moore 24. Hull #75 Paramour became the Fennell summer home in the Delta, and often could be seen with lawn chairs on the deck and Fennell kids being towed behind the boat on a line, cheering on the other Moores as they raced to Stockton.
"As the Fennell kids grew to be accomplished youth sailors in their own right, they would often crew in the Moore 24 fleet with some of the greats — Joel Verutti and Dave Hodges. Nathaniel and then Rowan began campaigning
APPRENTICES — 1) Puffin, Moore 24, Patrick Haesloop; 2) Chesapeake III, Alerion Express 28, Jim Fair; 3) Surf Rat, SC27, Jay & Alexis McCutchen. (9 boats) Full results at www.jibeset.net
elkyC/mpyC otter CUp, 4/26
PHRF A — 1) Sur, J/120, Robert Jones; 2) Buona Sera, SC70, Edward Marez. (2 boats)
PHRF B — 1) Maverick, J/80, Ryan McMillen; 2) Calphurnia, Schumacher 28, Jeff Kise/Mark Gibbs; 3) Shifty, Olson 25, Patrick Tregenza/Jon Dean. (6 boats)
PHRF C — 1) Cutlass, Newport 33, Diana Garrett; 2) Northern Light, Cal 39, James Brady. (2 boats)
Full results at www.regattanetwork.com
Paramour in earnest in the late '90s, and #75 has been a regular on the starting line ever since.
"We recently reconnected with Niels Kisling and his son Jack, who sails on Watts Moore…. Friday night we shared a family dinner at the historic log cabin in Capitola that is the Kisling home, coming full circle after 50 years and binding our ties with the next generation."
— latitude / chris
SCyC moore 24 SprinG roaDmaSter, 4/12-13 (6r, 1t)
1) Mooregasm, Matt Lezin, 13 points; 2) Paramour, Rowan Fennell, 15; 3) Pegasus, Philippe Kahn, 18; 4) Firefly, Joel Turmel, 21. (18 boats) Full results at www.scyc.org
Orca Bowl for Etchells
The Orca Bowl wrapped up the 2025 Etchells West Coast Spring Series on April 26-27 with a five-race regatta sailed by 33 teams on the ocean course off Point Loma in San Diego.
The regatta came down to the last race of the second day. The standings ended up with three teams tied for first, and three more within 2 points off the lead. Don Jesberg's Viva won the final race of the day to secure first place in the regatta, winning the tiebreaker over Argyle Campbell's Rock On and Greg Reynolds' Side Piece. Viva's second in Race 1 and win in Race 5 broke the tie. Viva sailed as a Corinthian team in a stacked lineup of internationally competitive teams.
SDyC yaCHtinG CUp, 5/3-4
ORR — 1) Vitesse, R/P 52, Thomas Furlong, 2 points; 2) Velos, Tanton 73, Kjeld Hestehave, 5; 3) Zero Gravity, R/P 51, Ivan Batanov, 6. (5 boats)
ORC 1 — 1) Cheeky, J/122, Mark Stratton, 10 points; 2) Caper, J/120, John Laun, 14; 3) CC Rider, J/120, Chuck Nichols, 16. (6 boats)
J/105 — 1) Juiced, Chuck & Stephen Driscoll, 12 points; 2) Perseverance, Bennet Greenwald/ Dave Vieregg, 13; 3) J Almighty, Mike Hatch, 14. (7 boats)
J/24 — 1) Wharf Rat, Christian Seidel, 11 points; 2) Take Five, Susan Taylor, 12; 3) Challenger, Mark Thaidigsman, 21. (8 boats)
OVERALL — Wharf Rat
Full results at www.sdyc.org
THE RACING
"Fight for every place every leg," said Don. "Orca scores were 19, 19, 19, 20, 21, 21. Two points between the top six boats! Effort counts every race, all the way around the race course. It is also super-important to me to have the same crew through the whole series. My guys Alden Grimes and John Bonds were just great as crew and had us dialed through all the different conditions."
— latitude / chris
SDyC etCHellS orCa BoWl, 4/26-27 (5r, 1t)
1) Viva, Don Jesberg, 19 points; 2) Rock On, Argyle Campbell, 19; 3) Side Piece, Greg Reynolds, 19; 4) Odd Ball, Richard Clarke/Ben Lamb, 20; 5) Big E, Rick Merriman, 21. (33 boats)
CORINTHIAN — 1) Viva; 2) Team Shred, Oliver Toole, 39; 3) Capricorn, Brad Rodi/Ethan Doyle, 45. (14 boats)
SDyC etCHellS SprinG SerieS (4 regattas, 1t)
1) Buschido, Chris Busch/Jim Madden, 5 points; 2) Lifted, Jim Cunningham, 6; 3) Here We Go Again, John Dane/Eric Doyle, 14; 4) Side Piece, 14; 5) Viva, 15. (42 boats) Full results at www.sdyc.org
The Mexican Side of N2E
In yacht racing there are close finishes, then there was the finish for the new NOSA perpetual trophy sponsored by Ensenada's Club Náutico Baja this year.
Available only to Mexican Cruising Class boats, the trophy attracted competitive yachts such as Amelia, a Hunter Passage 42 helmed by Club Náutico Baja founder Dr. Joel Velasco (co-owned by Francisco de Anda), and Stellar, a Jeanneau 43 under Manuel Guitierrez and Alfonso Junco.
After racing for two days, the final adjusted times between these two yachts were just 40 seconds apart. Stellar took the trophy by the slimmest of margins. Locals in Ensenada are already speculating about a rematch next year.
Guitierrez was gracious in victory, noting, "A race that close could have
gone either way. I commend my crew for doing a fine job, and team Amelia for their sportsmanship and good will. We are all friends here in the Ensenada sailing community, and we welcome the close competition that this new perpetual trophy brings for Mexican participants."
Frondo van Os and his 17-year-old son Leon sailed their Choate 27 Sinister Smile to success with the best correctedtime Mexican boat and a surprise fourth place in the large PHRF-C class against more than 17 other larger vessels — after experiencing a complete electrical system loss shortly after the start that lasted the whole race. Leon was the youngest skipper in the 129-vessel fleet.
CNB's commodore, Xavier Fernandez, sailed the J/35 Salty to victory in the best elapsed time for a Mexican vessel. Salty is a perennial local winner. Fernandez noted, "This year, we made an extra effort to coordinate with the event organizer NOSA, and it really showed. Ensenada sailors were more involved than ever, from preparing the trophies, to registering the winners, and assisting as a race judge. After coordinating with the Hotel Coral Marina and NOSA over the last few months, the visiting yacht checkin procedures were much improved and faster, according to participant feedback. That speaks well for future races."
Read mor e about the Newport to Ensenada Race from the point of view of a Bay Area boat in April 30's 'Lectronic Latitude at www.latitude38.com.
— latitude / chris
noSa neWport to enSenaDa raCe, 4/2527
N2E-PHRF — 1) Fast Exit II, Ker 52, John Raymont; 2) Zephyrus, R/P 77, Damon Guizot; 3) Sapphire Knight, Farr 85, Phil Friedman; 4) Ohana, Swede 55, Paul Hogue/Steve Wright; 5) It's Ok, Andrews 50, Tom Purcell; 6) Black Marlin, 1D35, Herwig Baumgartner; 7) Triumph, SC52, Steve Sellinger; 8) Radical Departure, MC31, Gator Cook/Mark Rosene; 9) Timeshaver, IMX40, Viggo Torbensen; 10) Favonius 2, TP52,
Gregory Dorn. (76 boats)
N2E-ORR — 1) Black Marlin; 2) Creative, J/111, Edward Sanford; 3) It's Ok; 4) Ohana; 5) Favonius 2. (21 boats)
N2E-ORCA — 1) Vamonos, SIG 45, Chris Slagerman; 2) Kastor Pollux, Moorings 4300, Jerzy Poprawski/Rendy Alcorn; 3) Reve d'O, Lagoon 450F, Chris Jester. (8 boats)
N2E-CRUZ-SPIN — 1) Wind Rose, Cabo Rico 40, Walter Simmons; 2) Finesse, Holland 52, Evan Wanamaker; 3) Joie, Jeanneau 53, John McEntire; 4) Olympia, Catalina 320, Scott Montgomery; 5) Rebecca, Swan 43SS, David Koller. (21 boats)
N2E-CRUZ-NON-SPIN — 1) Paradise Found, C&C 37, Jim Albert; 2) Imagine Too, Catalina 445, Larry Goshorn; 3) Alacran, Beneteau First 42s7, Steve Lewis. (4 boats)
N2SD-PHRF — 1) Ralphie, Cal 40, Taylor Pillsbury; 2) Buttercup, Schock 35, Roderick Messinger; 3) Buenos Aires, Beneteau First 36.7, Mark Williams. (5 boats)
N2SD-ORCA — 1) Años Tuyos, Corsair 880, Brian Shumaker; 2) Taniwha, F-32SR, Jerry Fiat; 3) Chat and Chill, Lagoon 420, Darrin Kelley. (4 boats)
N2SD-CRUZ-SPIN — 1) Scarlet Fever, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380, Paul Hofer. (1 boat) Full results at www.nosa.org
District 24 Laser NorCals
The forecast for Santa Cruz on the weekend of April 26-27 was for 8-10 knots with gusts to 14. The weather was unsettled, however, with dark clouds and rain moving through. Still, while we were all rigging on Saturday morning, it seemed as if we were heading into the predicted light to moderate winds.
The race committee set up the course about halfway between the wharf and the 1-mile buoy. Right from the get-go, it was windier than forecast. The AP flag went up around 12:45 as the RC made some adjustments. The first start for the 5O5s was around 1:10. Then the ILCA 7s got their first start. We ILCA 6s were
Laser District 24 NorCals, hosted by SCYC on April 26-27. Left: ILCA 6 winner Jon Andron. Above: A start on Sunday. From left: Courtney Clamp, Peter Phelan, Jon Andron, Al Sargent, Steven Woodward and Julian Soto.
in sequence for our first start when the 5O5s were approaching the finish, so our start was abandoned. We then got our first start on Course 4, which was once around to the closer windward mark.
Race 1 established the patter n for the regatta of Jon Andron getting out ahead with a long leg to the left, where there was more wind — a lot of wind and building. There was a bit of shelter on the right, behind the point.
Race 2 was Course 5, same as Course 4, only twice around. Now it was really blowing. Yours truly was dreading that leeward mark, and planning on chicken jibes only. Jon took his early lead on the first leg. I believe I was fourth or fifth at first windward rounding, which gave me a good view of the mayhem that followed. Everybody downwind of me seemed to be getting upside down as the wind continued to build. Somehow, I survived to the leeward mark, chicken-jibed, and went back up for the second lap.
I arrived at the finish just as the ILCA 7s were in sequence for their Race 3. With all the 7s around, I didn't realize that all the 6s had gone in, except for Jon, who skipped the second lap altogether. Once the 7s started it was just me sitting behind the committee boat. Someone on the RC said to me: "You're the only one left." Not really thinking about it, I answered, "I need more practice. Can I start?" So they put up the green flag, and I immediately capsized. I got righted with 2 minutes left in the sequence and sailed the course, mercifully Course 4, one time around. I survived to the finish, and realized that I couldn't keep doing that by myself, so I went in. The ILCA 7s, meanwhile, got in another race.
On Sunday, the weather looked the same as we rigged. The RC moved the course a good deal to the east, over by Pleasure Point. This put our course right in the middle of a keelboat regatta [SCYC's Spring SCORE #1]. Our course was like the little Russian matryoshka doll inside the bigger doll. Their leeward mark was about a quarter mile east of our start line, and their windward mark about a half mile west of ours. This
would have interesting consequences as the day progressed.
The RC wisely decided to start the ILCA 6s and 7s together to reduce waiting time. (It was cold, so that saved me at least from hypothermia, since the only way to get warm was to hike.)
Race 4 for the ILCA 6s (Race 5 for the 7s) started around 12:15. Halfway up the leg, guess what? The start line of the keelboat race, with 15 big boats in sequence, made for some interesting crossings, and caused some reshuffling of the fleet. Jon again rounded many boat lengths ahead. The downwind leg of Race 4 was a drag race.
Race 5 (Race 6 for the 7s) was the only one of the day that was twice around. People took different strategies to get around the keelboats. Jon was clearly ahead. Conditions had moderated enough for us all to do real jibes around the leeward mark. (I resolved to jibe as much as possible, more than necessary, to make up for my shyness on Saturday.)
Just before Race 6 (Race 7 for the 7s), Jon had a word with the RC to ask for Course 4. So, it was once around through the maze of keelboats. Jon was clear ahead again. We sorted on the downwind into Chris Cooke second and Courtney Clamp and Ernie photo finishing. This time, though, Courtney's boom just lightly touched the RC boat, which they scored as DNF.
Now it's Race 7 (Race 8 for the ILCA 7s). Ernie leaves himself with no hole at the start, Ernie stalls in irons, falls off on port tack, hits Courtney, starts, does circles. Still, the Courtney/Chris/Ernie group met up at the windward mark, with Chris getting clear first, then Courtney touching the mark, doing her circles, and coming out of them on starboard, just as Ernie is getting up speed on port, pushing Ernie up to windward and stalling him. (Nice move!) So, we seemed to be headed for another photo finish, and then Ernie takes a wave wrong and gets
thrown almost clear of the boat. Ernie rights the boat, just even with Jenny Maybee, so Jenny and I got to rehearse the photo finish for fourth and fifth place. It was my first time in Santa Cruz, and I'm definitely coming back. — er nie galvan
ILCA 6 — 1) Jon Andron, 6 points; 2) Ernie Galvan, 18; 3) Chris Cooke, 22. (7 boats) Full results at www.scyc.org
Race Notes
Defending champions Stanfor d University won the College Women's Team Race Nationals on April 27-28 in Cranston, RI. The 12 teams competed in Zim CFJs and 420Es. Stanford skippers were Vanessa Lahrkamp, Sophie Fisher and Ellie Harned, with crews Ashtyn Tierney, Shay Wood, Alice Schmid, Piper Blackband and Kit Harned. See https:// nationals.collegesailing.org
Roy Disney's turboed Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70 won the CSA Racing 1 division of Antigua Sailing Week on April 27-May 2. Pyewacket 70 also took line honors in the 50-mile Peters & May Round Antigua Race on April 26. "We had a nice start in nice conditions, with a steady wind, then all of a sudden we hit a squall line and we were only doing 3 knots," says Disney. "But then we got round the corner and we were doing a steady 17, with a couple of puffs in another squall line where we were doing 20. The rain was like it is in Hawaii. You get wet but you don't care." See https:// sailingweek.com
"The final race of our 88-year -old Lake Merritt Sailing Club will be the City of Oakland Mayor's Cup Regatta, on
Del Rey YC's fourth installment of the Berger/Stein Series was the Spring Malibu Race on May 10. Left: Sho Shojima's Columbia Carbon 32 'Resurgence' and Phil Friedman's 'Sapphire Knight' (she of the hot-pink spinnaker). Right: Robert Dekker's J/105 'Cuchulainn' and Joe Couce's NY36 'Big Apple'. For results see www.dryc.org. Two races remain, to Catalina Harbor and back on June 7-8.
THE RACING SHEET
Sunday, June 29," wrote Denis Hazlewood, commodore of LMSC in the club's April newsletter. "I plan to donate a custom trophy created by Jeff Quayle of Original Flea. In order to prepare a notice of the demise of our Lake Merritt Sailing Club, I have been begun doing historical research of the club." LMSC's newsletter editor, Dennis Neary, added: "Back in December and January I heard a lot of talk about saving the club, not as a sailing club any longer, as we will no longer have access to the lake, but as a social club. Some suggested maintaining our current incorporated status, to assure that nobody else usurps the name Lake Merritt Sailing Club."
Long Beach YC hosted the Ficker Cup match-racing regatta on April 2527, a lead-up to the Congressional Cup. Maxime Mesnil (FRA) won the Ficker Cup, but Nicole Breault (USA) and Peter Wickwire (CAN) advanced to the main field of the Congressional Cup. Mesnil closed out the regatta with a dominant 3-0 victory over Breault in the final to secure the Ficker Cup title. However, as he was already committed to compete in the Congressional Cup with Switzer-
land's Eric Monnin, the second- and third-place teams — Breault and Wickwire, respectively — earned their places in the Congressional Cup, run by LBYC on April 30-May 4.
Monnin and his Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team of Ute Monnin Wagner, Mathieu Renault, Jean-Claude Monnin, Simon Brügger, Julien Falxa and Maxime Mesnil went on to win the 60th Congressional Cup, Stage 3 of the World Match Racing Tour season. Monnin defeated the defending champion, Chris Poole from Connecticut, 3-2 in a closely contested final. Both regattas used a matched fleet of Catalina 37s.
See www.thecongressionalcup.com, www.wmrt.com and www.lbyc.org
At Semaine Olympique Française on April 19-26 in Hyères, American skiff sailors Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid, representing SDYC and NYYC, won the 49er class. Paris Henken and Helena Scutt, sailing for SDYC and Alamitos Bay YC, finished second in the 49erFX. Charlotte Rose, sailing for ABYC, placed fourth out of 71 ILCA 6 entries. They all benefited from sponsorship from
America One Racing and the Windmark Foundation. For complete results, see https://sof.regatta.ffvoile.fr.
In April, US Sailing announced its inaugural Youth National Team of 66 athletes. The Youth Team concept is part of a pathway that bridges youth to Olympic Development and onto the US Sailing Team. It comprises athletes age 19 and under who qualified in the 29er, i420, Nacra 15, ILCA 6, iQFOiL, and Formula Kite. Of the 66, we counted eight from the West Coast in Lasers (ILCA 6); four in i420s; 11 29er skiff sailors, all from the San Diego area; a windsurfer from Hawaii; and two kiteboarders from Marin County. We don't have space to print all their names here, but you can find them at www.ussailing.org/teams/youthteam.
Andy Newell, YRA board member and skipper of the Santana 35 Ahi, who wrote the report on the Lightship Race in this edition of Racing Sheet, is partway through a three-part series on how to get started racing. Read the first installment in May 9's 'Lectronic Latitude at www.latitude38.com — latitude/chris brisbane-hh-09-24 brisbane-hh-08-23 brisbane-hh-07-23 brisbane-hh-06-23 brisbane-hh-04-23 brisbane-hh-01-23 brisbane-hh-07-22 BrisbaneMrna-Hh 05-22-nb BrisbaneMrna-HhBrisbaneMrna-Hh03-22-nb 01-22-mp BrisbaneMrna-Hh 08-21-mp
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This month we hear from Corinthian YC member Greg Winters about his cruise, with five friends, through the French West Indies. Over 21 days across three trips, they enjoyed diving into the local sailing and shore scenes — and learning about the islands' tumultuous history.
Cruising the French Antilles
With thousands of islands to visit, beautiful turquoise water and consistent trade winds, the Caribbean is deservedly one of the most popular sailing destinations in the world. While American cruisers seem to favor the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands, there is obviously much more to explore — and one exciting option is the French West Indies.
Representing the remnants of colonial possessions that once stretched across the entire Caribbean archipelago from Haiti to Grenada, the French West Indies now comprises the four territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts). Despite the Caribbean having been heavily colonized by European great powers, this represents by far the largest remaining European presence in the area. They have (mostly) avoided the friction that comes from taxation without representation by making the islands fully part of France as either overseas departments or semiautonomous overseas collectives, and hence also part of the European Union. In addition to direct political representation, the islands receive generous subsidies from both France and the EU. The per capita income for the 850,000 residents is roughly twice that of nearby independent islands such as St. Lucia and Antigua, although higher taxes and the cost of living reduce the gap somewhat. The average income on St. Barts is actually higher than in mainland France.
The first European to discover Guadeloupe and Martinique was — wait for it — Christopher Columbus. French traders followed, and their grandchildren eventually developed large sugar plantations using imported African slaves. By the time the plantation economy was ripping in the early 18th century, it could subsidize many a lovely country château back home, along with creamy limestone mansions in the capital. During the Seven Years' War, Britain captured and occupied the islands until the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Guadeloupe was so prosperous that under that treaty, France forfeited the majority of its North American possessions (as Voltaire dismissed "a few acres of snow") to regain the lucrative sugar colonies, which in hindsight has not aged well as a negotiated trade.
During the French Revolution, slavery was outlawed, but surprisingly, the local
plantation owners were not completely aligned with the liberals back home and switched sides to the English. So, 30 years after trading Martinique and Guadeloupe for 3 million square miles, the islands were back under English control. But that was not to last, as the young republic sent a contingent of marines and recaptured the islands by the end of the year. Today, the people are primarily descended from this earlier plantation society and have created a unique and vibrant culture mixing West African, French, and Amerindian traditions.
The French West Indies lie in the Lesser Antilles, in the middle of the partially volcanic island arc between the larger islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica to the northwest and South America to the south. These islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.
This area also lies in the middle of Hurricane Alley, so the cruising season is from December through May. It also means that, despite external support, the islands are not immune to the longterm damage of large hurricane strikes, and abandoned and ruined buildings are not uncommon outside the larger towns. During cruising season, the trade winds are a fairly reliable 15 to 20 knots, but obviously, calmer or spicier conditions can occur, especially the Christmas Winds in December and January. For those concerned about a language barrier, English is widely spoken in the yachting and hospitality industries, and when it's not, a few well-placed hand gestures will usually do the trick.
Highlights of Cruising the French West Indies from North to South
Saint Martin: The island has been split between France and the Netherlands since 1648, with France somehow ending up with 60%. According to the French tourism website, the Dutch negotiator may have been a bit overserved — but that seems a bit counterintuitive. In any case, St. Martin is perhaps the most popular island in the West Indies, with frequent cruise ships, duty-free shopping, and the famous Princess Juliana International Airport, where the runway abuts a popular beach and jets land 50 feet over your head. Most of the action (and commercialism) occurs on the Dutch side. Our charter started on the French side in the delightful Marina de L'Anse Marcel, which appears to have been envisioned at one time as a very large resort that never completely got off the ground.
On our first day, we sailed the 15 miles to Anguilla, which we very much enjoyed, but is outside the scope of this article. (It's English!) After a robust day of sailing along the northern shore of Anguilla, where all the civilians on board got thoroughly seasick, we dropped down through the Scrub Island channel and headed back to Saint Martin and the beautiful and uninhabited Tintamarre Island. Tintamarre is popular with day trippers from mainland St. Martin, and the anchorage hums with party boats and thumping dance music. By 5:00 p.m., there are only a couple of boats left, a beautiful pristine, white beach, and a bright, starry sky.
Saint Barthélemy: Unlike other cruising grounds where you typically hop among nearby anchorages, the French West Indies offer opportunities for longer, more rewarding passages — something this writer considers a definite advantage. Tintamarre to St. Barts is a 25-mile upwind sail in prevailing conditions, and it took us about five hours. Because it is small and mountainous, St. Barts never developed much of a plantation economy; instead, it was mainly a trading base and pirate hangout. Traded back and forth between France and Sweden, St. Barts — and the main port, Gustavia — continued to grow and prosper as a trading center
ALL PHOTOS GREG WINTERS
A Delta-selfie at Maho Beach, Saint Martin.
and has become a popular destination with the Jet Set. Despite its popularity, and thanks to its small airport and lack of a cruise ship terminal, St. Barts has retained its authenticity and charm.
For cruisers, the Gustavia harbor is not ideal. The docks are expensive and mainly reserved for superyachts belonging to Russian oligarchs traveling with fake passports. There is a private mooring field that is protected and close to town, but not readily available. When we learned from the French harbormaster
that we would be anchoring at the edge of the harbor in deep water, we protested that we would be exposed to a lot of wind and swell. He responded in a thick accent, "It is possible!" Despite having a suboptimal anchorage and a 15-minute dinghy ride into town, we loved the sophisticated bars, excellent restaurants, and unique shops. We dove the local waters and found them very clean and abundant with sea life. Another advantage of the French West Indies is that the marine sanctuaries are well enforced
and, in my experience, quite pristine. St. Barts also has many fun and interesting cultural events, including music festivals, art shows, and of course, Carnival.
Guadeloupe: The largest island of the French West Indies, both in population and geography. The butterfly-shaped region includes a total of 12 islands, four of which are inhabited. Although the Lesser Antilles is prized for its consistent and moderate sailing conditions, our visit to Guadeloupe in late March delivered
Our chartered Dufour 52, anchored at Tintamarre, Saint Martin.
A beautiful sunset at Saint-Louis, Marie Galante, Guadeloupe.
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fresh 25- to 35-knot passages to the satellite islands of Marie Galante and Îles des Saintes.
Marie Galante is a flat, rural, agriculture-oriented island that gives you a glimpse into the historical sugar-based economy. It offers several truly exceptional beaches that in most places on Earth would be totally overrun with tourists, but here were quiet and serene. We anchored off Saint-Louis and enjoyed our time there, although it is very exposed to northeasterly conditions.
Îles des Saintes is a popular cruising destination both for its beautiful little town of Bourg des Saintes and as a stopover between the leeward and windward islands. The town contains many good restaurants and a couple of lively bars. It is pedestrian-friendly, and transportation around the island is exclusively by golf cart and scooter. A decent-sized mooring field is provided in the deep harbor with quick access to the dinghy dock.
Our final couple of days in Guadeloupe were spent back on the southeast
coast at Sainte-Anne. The narrow approach is between two surf breaks, and although it's marked by a couple of channel markers, I would attempt a nighttime approach only with extreme reservation.
The anchorage is quite shallow and offered less than 2 feet of clearance for our Dufour 52 monohull. Also, during prevailing conditions, the anchorage backs against a seawall protecting the separate fishing harbor, so a dragging anchor will quickly gain your attention. The west coast of Guadeloupe, which we did not visit, offers several fishing villages with reportedly good anchorages and is the filming location for the popular British crime drama Death in Paradise
Martinique: Marking the transition to the Windward Islands, Martinique offers an excellent base to explore St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines. This large, mountainous island also contains the largest city in the French West Indies, Fort-de-France, which has the feel of a small New Orleans and is also a cruise ship stop — for better or worse.
There is some interesting architecture here, including the imposing and almost 400-year-old Fort Saint Louis, and is worth a several-day visit. The main yachting center is in Le Marin, about 30 miles by car from Fort-de-France, and is one of the largest in the Caribbean, offering mechanical specialists, sailmakers, provisioning, and a large chandlery. Popular anchorages include SainteAnne, Les Anses d'Arlet, Anse Mitan, and Plage Anse Désert.
Fort-de-France
The peaceful Anse Canot Beach in Marie Galante, Guadeloupe. Insets above: Dinghy catching air in rough conditions off Guadeloupe; Below: The crew enjoy a hearty meal aboard.
in Martinique.
For our several visits to the French West Indies, we chartered from Dream Yachts, a French company that — while having bases all over the world — is particularly strong in French locations including the Caribbean and the South Pacific. In addition, while the charter industry continues its march to multihulls (some without sails … egad!), Dream Yachts continues to offer a decent selection of monohulls.
OF CHARTERING
The French West Indies offers a unique combination of Gallic joie de vivre, infrastructure subsidized by German pensioners, pristine waters and marine sanctuaries (as well as the occasional labor action and eye-watering taxes!), and is a road less traveled — at least for Americans. À bientôt! — greg winters
Exploring the world's islands on foot is always a bonus.
The Schoelcher Library in Fort-de-France, Martinique. It was built in France in 1889, and shipped piece by piece to the island.
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With reports this month on Arcturus's cruise from Alaska to the South Pacific; the differences in Iliohale's South Seas trip from her owners' last one on a different boat; Coyote's return to Mexico to fulfill a lifelong dream; Terrapin's slightly interrupted Pacific Puddle Jump; and a footlocker full of Cruise Notes
Arcturus — Bruce Roberts 56 Louis Hoock & Lerina Winter High Mileage Cruising Juneau, Alaska
Under a blood-red moon, more than a thousand miles from land, we witnessed a total lunar eclipse while sailing across the
With more than 10,000 miles under 'Arcturus's keel already, Lerina and Louis are in for the long haul.
vast Pacific Ocean from Baja California Sur to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. Out there, with nothing but sky above and water below, life aboard began to feel strangely interstellar, as if we were passengers aboard a slow-moving spaceship. The days and nights brought their own share of marvels — sunrises that bloomed like fire from the sea, bioluminescence dancing in our wake, and constellations shifting slowly across the heavens.
Arriving in the Marquesas at the end of March marked more than 10,000 miles since we first set sail from Juneau, Alaska, on April 30, 2024. We were ready for a change of pace in our lives, Louie having operated multi-day sailing charters in Southeast Alaska through his business, Alaska Adventure Sailing, for the past 10 years, and Lerina having been a professional photographer since 2011, specializing in weddings and elopements. Since our departure last spring, we've navigated the rugged Alaskan coast, exploring the glacier-carved inlets of Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula, and circumnavigated Kodiak Island — the second-largest island in the US — before crossing the Gulf of Alaska back to Southeast Alaska. Midway through the journey, we flew home to Juneau and got married over the summer solstice. In
September, we pointed the bow southward, transiting British Columbia and the Pacific Coast en route to Mexico's Sea of Cortez, where we spent the winter months of December through March exploring the vast desert landscapes of the Baja coastline.
We were lucky to share this long ocean passage with four friends from Juneau — fellow liveaboard sailors Starr Parmley and Mira Wilhelm; and Dylan Carleton and Sara Boyd — each bringing their own expertise and spirit to the crew. We experimented with different watch schedules throughout the crossing, mindful of the importance of maintaining a diligent 24hour watch, especially while navigating squalls in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Some preferred solo watches for solitude; others enjoyed the camaraderie of two-person shifts. Our routines evolved, but evenings often began with a non-alcoholic sunset "happy hour," followed by dinner, then a rotation of three- to fourhour watches throughout the night. No ocean crossing is complete without many hours spent gazing up at the stars, adjusting sails, or simply staring out into the ocean's abyss.
Our greatest challenge wasn't storms — it was the psychological toll of light winds and moderate swell, which caused the sails to flog. The motion wore on the rig and on our nerves alike. We found it hard sometimes on days of light wind determining when to "call it," douse sail and just motor. The damage and mental drain of flogging is not something we'd expected, but we carried on.
When we crossed the equator, we paused to celebrate the milestone properly: a swim in the glassy waters, ridiculous costumes, signed certificates, and our official induction into Neptune's Court. No longer pollywogs, we were now shellbacks, salty and sun-drenched.
Provisioning for such a journey is no small feat, but we embraced it with joy. Before leaving Mexico, we pickled fresh vegetables from the La Paz farmers'
market and filled every nook of the galley with dry goods, spices, and homemade kombucha — all augmented with "homegrown" herbs: Ever since Louie acquired Arcturus a decade ago, she's been known for her flourishing boat garden. With both of us being spice lovers, we reveled in the warm climates where we could grow our own jalapeños, tomatoes, and herbs along the way. We're often asked by other cruisers about our boat garden, and so far we've both claimed and cleared customs with it through the US, Canada, Mexico, and now French Polynesia, without any trouble from government officials.
Fishing during our passage brought both triumph and comic relief. We landed
ARCTURUS
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We've also used this voyage to delve more deeply into creativity. Shortly before embarking on this grand adventure last spring, we launched Questscapes — a creative project that blends art and exploration. Our meticulously crafted treasure maps lead adventurers to solve a cipher that leads to uncovering actual realworld treasure (yes you read that right, real treasure) that we've hidden in wild places. Each map evokes a spark of curiosity, imagination, and discovery. We'll be releasing our second round of treasure maps in spring 2025, crafted on the wind and sealed with salt.
Along the way, we've been documenting our journey through the Questscapes blog, weaving together stories, photos, and reflections from the edge of the known world. Each challenge, each celebration, each quiet moment at sea has added depth to our story. We're eager to see what new winds will bring, and how Questscapes will continue to evolve alongside the voyage itself. Ten thousand miles down, and a wide blue world still ahead. — Lerina 4/1/25 www.questscapes.com
See Cruise Notes for more on the Questscapes Treasure Challenge.
Iliohale — Lagoon 450S
Allan and Rina Alexopulos
New Boat, New Adventures
San Diego
three tuna, including one hefty specimen (and lost an even bigger one), a massive wahoo, and several caught (and released) small dorado. We also ended up with a squid somewhat mysteriously, and inadvertently collected seemingly hundreds of flying fish that landed on deck uninvited throughout the passage. One morning, while we were prepping breakfast burritos, a flying fish shot straight through an open hatch and landed directly in front of one of our crew and squarely on a cutting
board full of onions, which elicited shouts and laughter from the galley crew.
An upgrade we made to the boat that tur ned out to be an unexpected morale booster was the addition of a stationary bike and rowing machine on the aft deck. Having the ability to move our bodies, stretch legs, and break a sweat was a gift during the long passage.
After 22 days at sea and approximately 2,950 miles, we've been reflecting on how strange yet common it is to cross oceans and not see land for weeks at a time — it still blows our minds that many, many sailors do it every year all over the world.
What a jour ney it's been so far — from the wilds of Alaska to the deserts of Mexico and now across the ocean to the tropical islands of the South Pacific.
The admiral and I just completed our second Pacific crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas, a goal we have had since COVID squashed our plans in 2020. In 2009, we crossed the Pacific on the Hunter 466 sloop Follow You Follow Me, urged on by our cohorts from the 2008 Ha-Ha who were headed the same way.
After 17 years, in 2021 we traded our monohull for Iliohale, a Lagoon 450S catamaran, and began planning for another crossing. The contrasts between our passages were quite interesting, reflecting 16 years of additional experience, improved technology and weather forecasting, and of course, the differences in the boats themselves.
Over the subsequent two years, we kitted out the cat with appropriate ocean-crossing equipment and spares. We
Above: 'Arcturus' chilling out at Le Conte Glacier, near Petersburg, Alaska. Left: The equator crossing officially granted shellback status to (l to r) Dylan, Louis, Lerina, Starr, Mira, and Sara. Right: The stationary bike and rowing machine offered welcome exercise breaks. Above left: 'Arcturus's big pilothouse is ideal for growing herbs and tomatoes.
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wanted a brain-dead-simple watermaker and an easy-to-handle sail designed for this boat and this crossing. Simple was
our goal, as we lost our complex energy recovery watermaker seven days out during our first crossing, resulting in schlepping water jugs in paradise for months until it was finally repaired.
Our North furling radial gennaker was the biggest game-changer, staying up for days on end, handling up to 18 knots from 80 to 150 degrees apparent. Other than the inherent differences between a semi-displacement monohull and a catamaran, the gennaker and a relatively windy ITCZ were the biggest factors in our 19-day crossing, compared to 26 days on Follow You. All that speed did come with some downsides for our crew of longtime
monohull sailors — Corey Wurzner, veteran of two Ha-Ha's with us, and Nic Molinelli, of the famous "Molinelli Brothers" on Fantasy from the 2023 Ha-Ha. The boat motion and white noise associated with 7–9 knots of boat speed for days on end was very different from the quiet carving of the seas with Follow You. Comparing the timelines for the two passages was just as dramatic: Follow You averaged just under 5 knots for the entire passage, and our best day's run was 170 miles. Iliohale reeled off many 200-mile days and ultimately averaged 6.5 knots.
Our classic asymmetrical spinnaker on Follow You took constant monitoring in rough sea states and lighter winds to ensure it did not collapse into the rig while rolling from side to side. Our daughter Alyssa, 19, and on her first significant passage, bravely managed the spinnaker sheets for days on end. By the end of our passage, she was a seasoned crew member, which paid off as she later did her own passage with a partner to French Polynesia on Eleutheria, a Tartan 37. She cruised for 10 years, crossing the equator several more times, rescued and rebuilt a catamaran off the rocks in Savusavu, cobuilt and sold a successful charter business on that catamaran in Fiji, and immigrated to New Zealand several years later. She even made the cover of Latitude 38 in January 2017. As a parent, you look for your children to improve upon your accomplishments, and Alyssa has crossed the equator several times more than we have. Yea, we're proud parents!
At the equator, seas were calm, so we stopped the boat, toasted King Neptune, and enjoyed the quiet for over three hours, celebrating with the two new shellbacks aboard. We watched as squalls passed in the distance, with faraway lightning dancing in the sky.
We enjoyed the quiet so much at the equator that we stopped the boat several more times in the coming days when conditions allowed — highly recommended for savoring this unique event that so few people experience, especially when juxtaposed with the otherwise relentless focus on managing your boat to its destination.
Our crew of four experienced mariners each enjoyed two hours on watch and six hours off, keeping everyone fresh for the fast passage. The three cabins, helm station, cockpit, and front seating area on the catamaran provided ample space to spread out, compared to the more confined spaces of Follow You, where we had an agreement that anybody before the mast wanted their space and was not to be bothered.
Every mor ning Leeloo, our 11-year-old
rat/Jack Russell terrier, would roam the decks looking for flying fish or squid. One lucky day she scored a large squid, spreading purple ink over the decks and her muzzle. Leeloo misses land but has grown up on boats and found her sea legs like the rest of us on the passage.
In 2009, the state of the art was SSB, VHF, Iridium satphones, hours-old GRIB files and a lightweight little program called Yotreps for finding boats around you during your passage. Starlink has changed all of that, obviously. VHF nets have declined, as has general VHF usage, replaced by Facebook and Whats-App groups, and more recently the
The world looks different through a cruiser's eyes.
ILIO HALE
Rina and Allan are exploring the differences between cruising with one hull and two.
NOFOREIGNLAND app, among others. While we bemoan the passing of some of these technologies, especially in an emergency, the expertise gleaned from boatspecific Facebook groups, and the great information found about anchorages, hikes, grocery stores, and fuel availability on NoForeignLand has been a step up in some respects from traditional cruising resources such as the Tahiti Cruisers Guide, Migration's "Tips For Sailors," and several other well-curated boat websites. PredictWind weather and departure
arrived in Hiva Oa refreshed and prepared to explore French Polynesia. We look forward to our 90 days in French Polynesia. As I write this, we're preparing to depart quiet and isolated Daniels Bay on Nuku Hiva for the 450mile sail to Raroia in the Tuamotus. Our itinerary, written in the sand of course, includes a return to favorites Makemo, Fakarava, Rangiroa, Papeete, Moorea, Bora Bora, Niue, and Tonga, with new adventures planned in Huahine, Taha'a, Maupiti and the Cooks. We will end the season in New Zealand via Minerva Reef, where we will see Alyssa for the first time in six months with her now 1-year-old son, Bjorn. We can't wait!
— Allan 4/27/25
Readers — Allan and Rina's last boat, Follow You, appeared in the June 2006 Sightings. For more about their cruising, including then-and-now comparisons of their 2009 and 2025 experiences, go to www.tinyurl.com/ukr85a6x.
Coyote — Beneteau First 42
Scott Smith and Mary Culley
routing tools have provided much improved planning tools for us novice weather people. All that said, we do miss the voice-driven camaraderie of a good VHF net where cruisers bend over backward to help other cruisers with their wealth of knowledge. The world has clearly moved on, however. Finally, we were blessed with a breakage- and chafe-free passage, with the only issue being our chartplotter resetting itself once or twice a day. Follow You used to do "crazy Ivans" daily, so we were well versed on how to handle the minor inconvenience of a reset. Due to our swift journey on a well-equipped vessel, we
Coming Full Circle
Santa Cruz
Scott's first trip to Mexico was back in the early '80s, as a cadet on the California Maritime Academy's training ship, Golden Bear. The cruise went all the way to Peru and back, but for Scott, the highlight was a stop in Manzanillo and Mexico's Gold Coast. He decided then and there that he would return one day on a boat of his own.
Sadly, Scott's attendance at Cal Maritime was cut short after only a year when he learned that his color blindness would keep him from graduating. But things definitely took a happier turn a few years later when he went out for a Wednesday
Above: 'Iliohale' in Nuku Hiva. Top left: Squall line. Top center: Leeloo off watch. Top right (l to r): Rina, Nic and Corey at the equator.
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night sail with friends off Santa Cruz, and met Mary, the woman who has shared and encouraged his dreams ever since.
By 2021, Scott and Mary were back in Mexico aboard Coyote, exploring the Sea of Cortez between La Paz and Loreto. But they didn't quite make it over to the mainland that trip.
Now, says Scott, "45 years after my initial visit to Mexico, we're realizing the dream to sail down to Mexico's Gold Coast."
That trip began with the 2024 Baja
Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally. After the finish in Cabo, Scott and Mary spent the rest of November and December up in the Sea, revisiting places they'd enjoyed during their 2021 trip. In January, with friends Kevin Rooney and Mike Weaver aboard, they made the crossing to their first mainland stop, Mazatlán … and the trip almost came to a crashing halt right there.
Approaching Marina Mazatlán at twilight, they came around the corner of the hooked jetty — "only to be blinded by very bright lights shining right into our eyes," says Scott. It turned out to be a giant dredge taking up most of the channel. Coyote was already going slow, but when Scott put the engine in reverse, a 2- to 3-knot current continued pulling them in. It took full reverse to avoid a collision.
"Maneuvering a 44-ft, 22,000-lb boat in reverse is challenging in the best of situations," says Scott. "Add in the fatigue of 36 mostly sleepless hours from the passage, a sea state like a washing machine, a shallow sandbar to our right with breaking waves, and a rock wall to our left, also with breaking waves — and it starts to feel seriously sketchy."
Even sketchier, there were cables off the sides of the dredge, anchored to rocks on both sides of the channel. Three workers on the dredge were waving what appeared to be instructions, "but each seemed to have a different message, none
of which we were able to decipher,"
It quickly became apparent that the crew were moving the dredge, so Coyote continued to hold in place. After a few minutes, someone appeared on the deck of the dredge and waved them by with a flashlight to the right side of the channel, where the workers had dropped the cable so they could pass.
They'd barely made it past the dredge into somewhat smoother water when they ran aground on the sandy bottom near the right side of the channel. Coyote came to a quick stop and the current turned the boat sideways. As she lay over, Scott turned the rudder hard right and hit full throttle, successfully "twisting" the boat back into deeper water.
The final approach to the marina was happily anticlimactic. Once the boat was tied up, they headed to a local cantina to both celebrate and unwind. "It took days to fully process the danger we had been in," says Scott, "and how fortunate we were that of the many additional things that could have gone wrong, none did."
After a few days of rest, exploration, refueling, reprovisioning — and integrating into the local cruising community — Scott and Mary cast off and headed south to those magical shores he remembered from so long ago.
The Gold Coast indeed delivered on the anticipated magic. They centered their visit on the area in and around the
harbor at Barra de Navidad, which Scott describes as "Margaritaville with its own surf town and musical vibe." Mary and Scott spent most of January and February exploring anchorages between Playa Carrizales to the south and Chamela in the north. Highlights were snorkeling at Bahia Paraiso and touring the crocodileinfested estuary behind Bahia Tenacatita.
With more friends as crew, Coyote did the Baja Bash in March and is now back in her slip in Santa Cruz.
— Scott/JR 5/6/25
Terrapin —
Valiant 47
Baxter and Molly Gillespie
Kala's Cruise
Deltaville, VA
Terrapin was anchored off Playa Don Bernardo at Pedro Gonzalez, a small island just 30 miles south of Panama City in the Las Perlas Islands. We had spent the last two nights in this beautiful, clear water with white sand beaches just 30 yards away. We woke up ready to pull anchor and head out. The passage would be our longest in distance and duration, but we were ready for it. Just the two of us and a big, blue ocean for 4,000 miles.
We were both feeling as if something was missing: We were down one essential crew member. For the last 12 years, we have cruised with our dog, Kala. She was the most adventurous border collie/black lab mix, climbing mountains in Utah, road tripping with us across the US, visiting 42 states, and sailing with us to over 38 countries. She sailed south to the Caribbean multiple times, north with us to Newfoundland, across the Atlantic Ocean twice, up to the Arctic Circle in Norway, and through the lochs in Scotland, and explored the rolling green pastures of Ireland. How could we not miss her? After we lost her in July, we were
Above: Scott and Mary. Right: The French Bakery boat at Barra does a brisk business every morning. Below: 'Coyote' underway.
heartbroken and pretty devastated. We decided we would celebrate her life and continue to explore those places where dogs were not allowed — in her honor.
So we set of f on the passage across the Pacific, Kala's picture on the bulkhead, keeping watch once again.
As we moved south, we soon found good wind and strong south-flowing current helping us to set a 24-hour distance record of 187nm in a day. The next day, we were slightly disappointed with only 178nm, despite a normal average distance of 145nm in every other passage.
It was hard to believe this journey had started in the Chesapeake Bay just five short months before. We had made way from Virginia to Bermuda, on to Antigua, St. Barts, and then westward to Bonaire and Panama. As the days and miles rolled under our keel, we alternated watches each night — three hours on/three hours off from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. The days were not as defined and we left the schedule open.
One day, a red-footed booby landed on our bowsprit. We named him Charlie. He kept us company on our watches. Sometimes he would fly off and hunt, only to return within an hour. We felt happy to provide him a safe place to land as he needed.
Soon enough, as expected, we entered the doldrums, aka the Intertropical Convergence Zone, that tumultuous area generally about five degrees north and south of the equator where the atmosphere is unstable, and prone to be sparse with wind and generous with squalls. We encountered our first squall, which had lots of rain but wind only to 20 knots. Not too bad. We were more focused on the
countdown to the equator.
When you're on a sailboat crossing this infamous dividing line between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, it's hard to believe it is happening. Such a cool milestone! To arrive at this point on the planet takes hard work, perseverance, and planning. Finally getting there and crossing it is definitely worth a solid celebration.
About four miles from the Line, we heard a noise. Baxter opened the lazarette and calmly reported, "Hmm … oh, no, this can't be good." There were metal shavings below our rudder quadrant — likely coming from the steering cables that were somehow chafing. OK. We were now less than a mile from the equator.
We paused our concern to get a picture of our crossing, and offered libation to Neptune as tradition requires. Considering our just-discovered steering cable issue, the toast was extra generous.
Now to divert to the Galápagos.
How to go about this? We did research, contacted our agent in Panama, who referred us to an agent in the Galápagos. We informed the agent we needed to make an unplanned stop for repairs — and within an hour, all the paperwork was complete and submitted, and we were
informed they would be expecting us in two days. With fingers crossed that the cables would make it 200 more miles, we sailed on.
After anchoring in Puerto A yorra on Santa Cruz Island, Galapágos, Baxter removed the cables and figured out that when they were installed by a boatyard in Savannah in 2022, they were crossed incorrectly and had been wearing ever since. With the help of our agent, we found a machinist who swaged new cables. Baxter installed them and we were once again on our way.
Back in the doldrums, lines of black clouds again chased us south. We experienced thunderstorms with lightning so bright it lit up the night sky. We changed course to sail more south-southwest, and finally found the southeast trade winds that explorers have enjoyed on this crossing for hundreds of years. As the wind started to back to the east, we rigged the whisker pole to the genoa and took a downwind course. The sea state was confused, with a large swell coming out of the south and a hefty wind chop coming out of the east. Terrapin rolled along at an average of 7 knots.
And so it went for the next two weeks. Twenty-two days after leaving the Galápagos, we arrived in Atuona, Hiva Oa, on a sunny morning — welcomed by cheers from our friends on other boats who had arrived just days before.
It was an accomplishment that anyone other than a sailor might not understand. You learn a great deal about yourself on the ocean. I've always thought of it as a metaphor for life. You're challenged and pushed to your limits with only yourselves to work through the solutions, and the only way through it is to endure. There is
Above: Kala the border collie/lab, Molly and Baxter. Right: 'Terrapin' at anchor. Above right: Come on in, the water's fine!
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no "easy" button. There is no escape. You must go through the motions and reach your destination. But then, when you've travelled down that road, you can find solace in the journey and come out as a stronger person, ready to face new challenges and celebrate new accomplishments.
— Molly 4/27/25
Cruise Notes
• For Fred Bret-Mounet, it all started back in 2019 when his wife Amina signed both of them up for sailing lessons as a Christmas gift. That first class at Sausalito's Modern Sailing School led to more classes, which led to several charters, which led to purchasing the Lagoon 40 Folie A Deux, ("madness of two"), which led to participation in their first-ever Baja Ha-Ha last fall.
The first part of that journey — the couple had never sailed south of Half Moon Bay before — was perhaps the scariest portion. But their fears were allayed early on by a revelation that still amazes them: the kindness of other cruisers.
The first were Connie and Steve on
Soirée, another southbound boat. "They took us under their wing and buddy-boated with us to Santa Barbara," says Fred. After that came Anabelle and Vincent on Bay Dreamer, Karen and Manny on Dolce Vita, Becky and Jeff on Emerald Sea, and others.
that much of the post-Ha-Ha festivities had to be canceled due to approaching weather, particularly the "Here to Eternity" kissing contest on the beach. "Amina and
"That strongly knit community is something I had heard of but never experienced in person before," Fred continues. "Throughout the trip, people reached out, helped us, shared rides, lent us gear, lent us their car, and showed us the ropes of the cruising lifestyle. I'm sure some of these friendships will last a lifetime."
The Ha-Ha itself was a largely light-air affair — they motorsailed most of the way — but "a whirlwind of social energy." Along with everyone else, Fred was disappointed
I had trained for that one!"
Following the rally, Fred and Amina, with a revolving crew of friends as crew, enjoyed the many pleasures of exploring the Sea of Cortez. They did the bash home in February — "a five-week ordeal of motoring and waiting for the least-bad weather window," notes Fred. The best
Above: 'Folie A Deux'. Inset: Fred and Amina were amazed by the kindness of strangers.
part, once again, was doing it with more buddy boats that made it safer and fun. • In almost 50 years of covering cruising, we've heard lots of stories of how folks supplement the cruising kitty along the way. But Louis Hoock and Lerina Winter of the Juneau-based Bruce Roberts 56 Arcturus (whose cruising story appeared earlier in this month's Changes column) have added a whole new dimension to the idea: treasure hunts. Via their website Questscapes.com, they create and sell "chart art" made from real nautical charts. With each $149 purchase, buyers also get a cipher containing clues to a "treasure" hidden in that area. The treasures include several thousand dollars' worth of items such as real gold and silver coins, jewelry, gems and "culturally significant items specific to the region."
So far, the five current treasures all reside in Alaskan waters, though Lerina says they will soon be adding locations in other, more southerly locations.
"We're aware of the similarities to Forrest Fenn's treasure, but he wasn't our direct inspiration," says Lerina. Instead, it was her interest in photography and
cartography, combined with Louis's sailing background
and love for pirate lore, that gave birth to the idea.
Since they set sail from Juneau in April, 2024, one treasure has been found. "The two local women who found it said the hunt was such a thrill that they took just some of the items, added their own and re-hid it in the original location," says Lerina.
It's all in good fun, but everyone who purchases the charts and joins the hunt must sign a disclaimer for the inherent
IN LATITUDES
risks and uncertainties in both sailing and treasure hunting. And we reiterate those concerns: You are responsible for
your own safety.
That said, smooth sailing and good hunting to the seagoing treasure hunters among you. Please let us know when and if you find where X marks the spot!
• Since doing an article on him in our September 2023 issue, octogenarian Peter Hartmann has been more or less constantly on the move, solo-sailing his selfbuilt DeRidder 52 Ahaluna around the Pacific. Now 88, he recently checked in to note, "Continuing westbound, I sailed from Majuro to Guam, a distance of 1,700 Nautical Miles, in 14 days. It was a wonderful passage except for an unexpected
Left: Examples of the chart art that comes with treasure-hunting clues. Above: 'Arcturus' is a steel-hulled ketch. Top left: Lerina and Louis.
CHANGES IN LATITUDES
gale the first night out, blowing out my mainsail, and compromising my jib for a subsequent shredding. I did not expect my sails to last much longer than 47 years. I took delivery of them in 1977." For more on Peter and his journeys, go to YouTube and type in "Solo Passage Majuro to Guam."
• Ken Austin and crew headed out the Golden Gate on Memorial Day weekend aboard the San Francisco-based J/40 Mimosa, with the goal of reaching Tahiti in time for the Papeete to Moorea rally the first weekend in July. Aboard for the adventure are his brother Greg, Greg's daughter Jen, and local sailing buddy Tom Neukrantz.
"As we proceed west after Tahiti, various crew members will rotate through, including other local sailing friends Eric Baumhoff and Jim Tull, along with another brother," he says.
As much as he would like to keep go-
ing, Ken's sabbatical from work ends on Labor Day (September 1), at which point he'll either find a place to park the boat for the winter, or sell. Until then, he says, "the excitement builds as we look forward to the voyage, the places, and the people."
That Was Then
What's the most common current or former career among cruisers? Back in the June 2003 Changes in Latitudes, Jim Hancock of the San Francisco-based Freya 39 Solstice thought it was nursing. "Have you noticed that there seems to be a disproportionate number of nurses among members of the cruising community?" he wrote. "I could probably name a dozen cruising nurses, male and female, right off the top of my head. If you broaden the category to include healthcare workers (physical therapists, chiropractors and doctors), the imbalance gets even more lopsided."
A quick and completely unscientific survey of the entry lists for the past three Ha-Ha's and PPJs reveals that the phenomenon — if it is one — may be trending downward. In the 2022 Ha-Ha, out of 133 boats, there were eight nurses and eight physicians. (Note that owners and crews are not required to declare their current or former occupations, but most do.) In 2023, out of 130 boats: six nurses and three physicians. In 2024, 102 boats, seven nurses and no physicians.
Among the 50 boats signed up for the 2025 Pacific Puddle Jump are four nurses and one physician. In 2024, 47 boats, two nurses and one physician. In 2023, 68 boats, four nurses and one physician.
If you've been out there a while, what are your perceptions on the numbers of healthcare professionals aboard boats you've met? Or is there another profession that seems more common these days? Drop us a line to editorial@latitude38.com and we'll get a thread going on your responses in a future Letters or Changes in Latitudes column.
— latitude/jr
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CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIEDS
diNGhieS, liFeraFtS & roWboatS
11 FT highFielD Cl340 2019 . Aluminum hull rigid inflatable boat with 25 hp 2019 Yamaha outboard (Yamaha’s lightest). Lightweight aluminum hull plus lightweight motor equals the ability to pull one teenager on an inflatable tube while another one rides along with the adult operator. Less than 200 hrs operating time. Motor serviced spring 2024. Includes factory bench seat, OEM under-bench storage bag, navigation light kit (for nighttime cruising), two propellers, tiller extension, oars, cover, foot pump. Price is for boat only. Trailer (new in 2021) can be included – add $1,000 ($5,500 for both). Currently located in San Rafael. Demonstration rides available to serious buyers. Delivery possible, depending on location and final sale price. Cash or wire transfer only. $4,500. San Rafael. r.hughes199@gmail.com (206) 954-1805
12 FT ShellBaCK 2000 . Wooden rowboat and Shaw & Tenney oars. New trailer. $5,000. Sausalito, CA. kraussliz@gmail.com (415) 332-9103
9.6 FT aB inFlaTaBle 2007. 9.5-ft AB hard-bottom inflatable tender with a 2015 15 hp Yamaha outboard (less than 35 hrs on motor). The boat was used very little and was carried on a catamaran. Newly painted trailer with new tires in 2023. New oars, some life jackets, and miscellaneous other items. Last used on Shaver Lake in High Sierra, CA. $3,250. Santa Cruz, CA. mrgz76@gmail.com (831) 578-1506
14 FT WhiTehall 2003 . Classic row/sailboat. Two row stations; two sets wood oars w/brass fittings. Detachable centerboard, rudder/tiller. Wood rails and seats. Fresh bottom paint and varnish. Excellent condition. Optional trailer. $5,000. Sausalito. evagrace@aol.com (415) 342-6908
10 FT zePhyr gremlin 1972. Gremlin G63. 10-ft 4-in. Great condition. One owner as seen in title pic. Rarely used back in the ’70s and stored in a garage for life. Includes everything in the pics. Does not include sail or trailer. Manufactured at the Richmond, CA, plant back in the day. $2,800. Watsonville, CA. hooverhort@comcast.net (815) 440-9584
15 FT zoDiaC mK iii 1999. Sat in garage, replaced impeller runs like new. Trailer, tires perfect condition. Bimini and extra gear. 40hp Tohatsu. Control panel lifts motor, new ACDelco marine battery in case. $14,000. Mendocino. melco@mcn.org (707) 884-4836
24 Feet &
uNder SailboatS
18 FT hoBie TanDem iSlanD 2013. Lightly sailed; garaged and not sailed since 2018. One- or two-person boat. Fast. Fun. Sails on just a breath of breeze. Up to 8-9 knots of boat speed in 12-18 knots of wind. Roller-furling sail on carbon fiber mast. Safe, with ama outriggers; owners say it is impossible to capsize. Mirage Drive provides forward and reverse pedal power. Doubles as an 18-ft pedal-power kayak. Colfax, CA. cvweidmer@gmail.com (530) 906-1904
DAVE’S DIVING SERVICE
22 FT SanTana 1966. Racer–cruiser. Jib, 170 genny, lightly used mainsail, cabintop jib leads, 2024 4hp Mercury outboard on warranty. Interior and cockpit cushions, chain. See at berth G1 Corinthian Yacht Club, Tiburon. $3,000. Tiburon, CA. leejohnsonxxx@sbcglobal.net (415) 488-1255
24 FT J/24 2004. Race-ready US Watercraft. Former ‘Mr. Happy’ raced to national level by the Harden brothers in Texas, and subsequently had a major racing upgrade by Juan Mauri (www. mauripro.com/) as ‘Señor Happy’, including re-fairing and repainting the hull in 2016. Amazing list of goodies; Dyform shrouds, all new running rigging, new winches as only Mauri knows how to do! Carbon fiber pole, Sparcraft mast. 2015 Mauri composite main and Technora jib, 2014 North spin, 2013 North 1005 jib. New Sunbrella custom cover 2021. Tohatsu 2004 Model M3.5A2 3.5hp motor, never used. Two-axle trailer rebuilt with new tires, bearings and wiring in 2021, registered in CA. Hull# USW45319F303, registered in CA. $14,999. Santa Barbara. george@wilbanksfamily.org
23 FT Bear ClaSS SailBoaT 1958. Last chance. Rescue a charming wooden Bear class sailboat. Worthy project. Combine two boats and gear, making a restored classic sailboat. The time is now or never for the historic surviving boat. Free! Price: $1. Sonoma, CA. dolfindetails@gmail.com (415) 377-0894
15 FT Sage C aT 2017. Boat: drop keel, 220 lb bulb, full-batten main with two reefs, anchor gear, 2 hp Yamaha outboard, fresh bottom paint, small but fairly comfortable accommodations. Trailer: Pacific single-axle, spare tire. Good boat for breezy Bay Area. Sharp sailer. I can deliver California, Oregon, Washington. $15,000. Novato, CA. dnldcharles@gmail.com
23 FT Bear BoaT 1946. ‘Smokey’, Nunes built. Awlgrip hull and spars. Full canvas cover. Racing and cruising sails. Mexico and Pacific Northwest vet. Lots of gear to go with boat. Good condition. Please contact David via phone only. $4,500. Sausalito, CA. davesdivingservice@gmail.com (415) 331-3612
12 FT PeliCan 1965. Smith Brothers hull #247. New tanbark sails. Good condition w/trailer. Please contact David via phone only. $3,800. Sausalito, CA. davesdivingservice@gmail.com (415) 331-3612
12.3 FT BeeTle CaT 2005. A classic with premium upgrades. Great condition. Always dry-docked. Hull # 2251 fully fiberglassed so no need to pre-swell. Includes trailer plus covers for cockpit and whole boat. New mainsail is blue. $3,000 OBO. Novato. cliff@warmspringsholdings.com (415) 302-5134
15 FT glen-l 15 1970. Sloop. Fiberglass white hull. Varnished deck and cockpit. Recently rebuilt keel. Stores on trailer, 19-ft overall. Many improvements and extras. Good sails and electric motor. $2,200 Offers considered. Palo Alto. lschemel22@gmail.com (650) 248-9369
25 – 28 Feet SailboatS
26 FT CaTalina 27 1981. Upgrades and new stuff: 2023 New barrier coat and two coats Interlux Micron 66; 2022 Completely rebuilt Universal 5411 diesel inboard; 2020 Boom from Ballenger Spars; 2018 Standing rigging, bulkheads, and chainplates; 2018 Holding tank, macerator, Marelon ball valve; 2017 New Marelon thru-hulls, seacocks, and backing plates; 2017 99% complete rewiring to ABYC standards; 2014 Garhauer main traveler; much more since 2013. Write or call for more info. $12,500. Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond. psrodman@gmail.com (530) 574-2329
25 FT olSon 25 1984. Hull #45. Santa Cruz-built for NorCal conditions. Shipshape and race-ready! Former national champion. North racing sails, Pineapple cruising sails. B&G instruments, Suzuki 2.5 hp outboard. Nice and clean interior. $11,500. Berkeley Marina. ancelnicholas@gmail.com (510) 459-1337
28 FT Pear S on ( a eromarine) Tri T on 1961. Sausalito-built Triton, solid boat, no coring to worry about. Sails well. Battened main, in good condition. A couple of headsails. Atomic 4 runs and starts right up. Standing rigging replaced in 2019, along with new portlights. Extras can be included: new Harken furler, ST winches, diesel heater, dinghy, Raymarine i70, etc. $6,000 OBO. Alameda. oldgoldfarms@gmail.com (805) 754-8600
VESSEL MOVING
No ocean too big, no trip too small, no ship too large, no mast too tall. Sail or power, we move them all! When you are ready give us a call. Professional Service • cappytom@aol.com • (206) 390-1596
28 FT a lerion e x P re SS 28 2003. Sail number 212. In fresh water only (Lake Tahoe) since 2011. Indoor winter storage every year. Annual maintenance records are available. Standard jib plus two additional jibs for sailing in heavy and light wind without Hoyt Jib Boom. New tiller with extension. Volvo Penta MD2010D 2-cylinder diesel engine. Original cushions (blue interior, white exterior) are in excellent shape. Includes custom galvanized trailer with built-in ladder. $79,000. South Lake Tahoe. robtoaz@gmail.com (818) 632-2376
28 FT STuarT KnoCKaBouT ClaSS 1995. Designed by L. Francis Herreshoff. Built by Eddy and Duff to a custom order. All teak rails, coamings, winch mounts, teak transom with gold leaf name, sailing hardware mounts, are high-gloss varnished. Professionally maintained. Shoal draft centerboard. Long seats inboard of cockpit coaming both sides of cockpit seat, four on each side. Boat in excellent condition. Traditional bronze hardware and winches. Two sets of sails, including working jib on self-tending boom, asymmetrical spinnaker with pole. Long shaft Torqeedo electric outboard, double-axle Triad trailer new in 2004. Many extras. Ready to sail. A simple, basic, easy boat to sail. Boat located on Cape Cod, MA. See Stuart Knockabout web sites for details, photos. $49,000. Cape Cod, MA. Indigosailing52@gmail.com (773) 6989180
27 FT JenSen Cal T/2 1978. Overhauled. Included with $1.5 million custom Eighth Avenue home, three blocks from Santa Cruz, CA, Harbor, #M30. 1 yr+ slip sublease possible. For emailed details of unique home, see URL, then call. $7,000 Free w/home. Santa Cruz, CA. is-jph38@mail-wire.com (831) 223-3665 www.haamele.com
27 FT h-BoaT 1980 . A popular racing class in Europe with great sailing characteristics, this 1980 Artekno HBoat is in excellent condition, with well maintained sails, rigging, electrical, instruments, equipment, and outboard. See website for more details. Motivated seller. $17,000. Berkeley, CA. proge@berkeley.edu (831) 818-4769 www.tinyurl.com/5t3f97wu
27 FT exPreSS 27 1982. ‘Hang 20’ is for sale! If you want an Express 27 for the 2026 Pac Cup, look no further! ‘Hang 20’ did the Pac Cup in 2022 and is just about completely ready for 2026! See the 2026 Pac Cup equipment list and how ‘Hang 20’ meets it at the URL below. You can also see her full inventory at URL below. ‘Hang 20’ also comes with a roadworthy trailer, an awesome Pelagic autopilot, and lots of custom gear pockets. She is fully equipped for YRA offshore and also does well in fleet races on the Bay! If you are interested/want to learn more, please email me. $27,000. Richmond, CA. mstewks@yahoo.com www.tinyurl. com/5d2u57vf
25 FT C&C 1973. Excellent daysailer, never raced for 35 years by current owners. Roller furling 2021, low hrs on 2017 Honda 9.9 outboard. Hauled out/bottom paint 2020, ready for maintenance and upgrades. Many extras. Berthed at Richmond Boardwalk Marina. $5,100 OBO. Point Richmond. pmcn1954@pacbell.net (925) 286-5630
28 FT h28 1978. Fiberglass, manufactured by Compass Yachts in Auckland, New Zealand. Lots of sails included. Main and jib nearly new. 1996 Volvo Diesel. $6,500 OBO. Stockton Sailing Club. memcom@gmail.com (209) 483-6301
26 FT FriSCo Flyer ClaSS 1960 . Teak wooden sloop built by Cheoy Lee. Large cabin and cockpit. Aluminum mast and boom. A great sailboat for a day on the Bay or the weekend. Very good condition. $7,900. Richmond, CA. stefroche916@gmail.com
26 FT J/80 1993. Performance sportboat for sale. A blast on the Bay, great for daysailing or racing. Basic boat, no trailer or outboard but priced below market. A little TLC and you have a great boat. $16,000. Alameda. wayne@sailing-jworld.com (415) 6062634
25 FT CaTalina 250 W/Trailer 1999. This capable, trailerable coastal cruiser has many upgraded features of boats far larger: inboard Yanmar diesel and saildrive, an upgraded rudder, wheel steering, shallow-draft winged keel, completely redone/improved electrical systems, up-to-date instruments including autopilot, all standing and running rigging upgraded, up-rated mast and boom. The value of this Catalina 250 far exceeds the listing. Completely overhauled/refitted in 2016 with impeccable documentation of all work done. This boat is ready for anything on the Bay, Delta, and even short trips out the Gate; or put it on the trailer and your options are limitless. 2020 survey valued at $27,000 available upon request. $17,500. Marina Bay, Richmond, CA. cbhbackinca@gmail.com (949) 565-5252
27 FT norSea 27 1997 . Beautiful. Professionally finished and designed for offshore sailing. That was my dream but I met the love of my life and she didn’t share the same dreams. After sailing around Puget Sound for 10-12 years it’s time to say goodbye. Email me and I will send you a complete list of all the equipment included. $45,000. Seattle, WA. boatbutcher@hotmail.com (253) 3801413
FT CaTalina 250 Wing Keel 1997 . Hull #276. ‘See Monkeys’. Set up for singlehanding. Tiller. Raymarine ST1000 tiller pilot included. Boat is trailerable. I do not have a trailer. Hull cleaned three times a year. Per diver, paint is in excellent shape. Last painted December 2022. Re-fiberglassed rudder at the same time. Honda 9.9 outboard, regularly serviced. Major service in September 2024. New VHF radio March 2022. 2021: replaced standing and running rigging, upgraded to two-battery system with switch and charge controller, replaced lifelines with bare steel wire. $10,000. Coyote Point, San Mateo. john@jfbatlaw.com (650) 207-5267
25 FT meriT 25 1984 . Comes with two-axle trailer w/good tires. 2 #1 sails, #2 sail, #3 sail. All sails are in old condition. Two spinnakers in like new condition. VHF radio. Clear title, up-to-date registration. Call Cecil at 707-3392359 Price: $5,000. Clearlake, CA. d20001.pearson@hotmail.com (707) 339-2359
27 FT BalBoa 1978 . Maxi — trailerable. Health forces sale. $7,000. Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond. rtrouble@pacbell.net (775) 677-7503
SolD
FT CaTalina 1977. Sailboat on EZ Loader trailer. Impeccably restored by experienced marine mechanic. New: galley, head, GPS, fireplace, upholstery. Primo condition. Turnkey ready, no saltwater, beautiful custom woodwork with teak marquetry inlays, numerous essential sailing accessories included. $14,900 OBO. North Lake Tahoe, CA.
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
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
29 FT CaSCaDe 1973 . Extra-thick hull. 2-in drain in cockpit. Diesel motor. 2 small electric motors on stern. Autopilot. GPS. Radio. Shrader roller furling. 2 bilge pumps. New shrouds. Alcohol stove. $2,000. Napa Valley Marina. MARCUS.CHAMBERLAIN@GMAIL.COM (707) 616-4354
31 FT eriCSon inDePenDenCe 1978 . Bruce King designed a classic cutter-rigged clipper ship using modern materials for coastal cruising around the Bicentennial. Due to high production costs, fewer than 100 hulls were built. The boat was hauled, repaired and bottom-painted in 2024. The 14 hp Yanmar diesel is sound, and the boat sails well to wind. The Interior was updated in 2024, Top side wood work could use another coat of varnish. Perfect boat for a traditional sailor and handyman. Rare find – checkout Bruce King boat designer on google for perspective!!! Price: $12,000. Brickyard Marina Richmond. mlm_07@yahoo.com (650) 303-0686
31 FT DuFour 3800 1983 . Inboard engine and rigging need immediate replacement. No known leaks. Sinks and water work. Electricity works, though battery may need replacing. Fiberglass monohull. Rigging: sloop. Keel: fin w/spade rudder. Racer/ cruiser. $9,000 OBO. Santa Cruz, CA. natcarsten@yahoo.com
30 FT olSon 1980. Professional openstern conversion Micro-adjustable mainsheet, traveler, and backstay Bowsprit Excellent sail inventory Tohatsu 3.5 hp –like new Solid trailer with good tires Much more. Email for pictures Price: $17,500. Richmond, CA Boardwalk Marina. spaulwarren@gmail.com (916) 919-2850
30 FT neW JaPan yaChT VenT De FeTe SlooP 1983. Boat has electric motor. The boat is $15,000. The slip is for sale for $45,000. It is a dockominium (Glen Cove Marina, in Vallejo). Single-handed from Japan. Good hull report. $15,000. Glen Cove Marina. john@wadsworthassociates.com (925) 381-0481 https://tinyurl.com/2n6uutvu
30 FT SanTana 3030 gP 1984. Nelson Marek Santana 3030 GP. Fully optimized with seven recent winning seasons including SD CRA winner in 2022/2023. Competitive PHRF 120 and ORC. Upwind/ downwind killer. Will outpoint most boats. Lightweight/well balanced. Eight sails 2020 or newer including: new membrane LG carbon #1 used only four times. Membrane carbon main and five kites (0.5, 0.6, and 0.75 oz. symmetricals and A2/A3). New carbon spinnaker pole and recent Harken self-tailers. Massive cockpit, great for racing/cruising. Voluminous interior with four berths. Aft berths are true doubles. New Jabsco head. Redone varnished floor. Excellently cared-for Yanmar 2GM20F with full maintenance report. New batteries. B&G Triton 2 instruments. Three-year-old sprayed racing bottom. No blisters. Cruising-ready. $12,000 OBO. San Diego, CA. michaelschrager@gmail.com (574) 8506318
29 FT ColumBia 1967. Classic Sparkman. 6 ft headroom. New main and new jib. Wood stove. Origo cook stove. Cobo. Need to sell for health reasons. $6,000. Vallejo Marina. adam.cox1234@gmail.com (805) 704-1946
30 FT Knarr 1960 . US #100, Norwegian-built, varnished wood hull and cabin sides, aluminum mast and boom. Two suits North sails, two outboards, stuff. Won ’77, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’85, ’86. $19,500. SFYC Harbor, Belvedere, CA. georgerygg@gmail.com (415) 596-6296
30 FT BaBa 30 1978. Project, mid-refit. New spruce spar, new chainplates. 1 hr on rebuilt Yanmar 3GM. All tanks, plumbing and electrical removed. Email for more information. stirlingbuilders@gmail. com Price: $20,000 OBO. Quincy, CA. stirlingbuilders@gmail.com
30 FT TarTan 30 1972 . Too many upgrades to list. Our son was going to bluewater, but started a family. Sitting for 3 years. Atomic 4. New lifelines, standing rigging, mast step, sails, dodger, stainless gas tank. $14,500. San Rafael. dianeirisballard@gmail.com
30 FT PaCiFiC 30 1982. Designed in the ’20s, built in the ’80s of quality Canadian fiberglass, ‘Ramona’ is 30-ft on deck with elegant overhangs that guarantee compliments every sail. An original “gentleman’s (or gentlewoman’s) daysailer,” ‘Ramona’ has everything you need and nothing you don’t for a comfortable day on the Bay. Why sail a motorhome when all you really need is a sports car? Dependable Yanmar (recent List Marine service), crisp Pineapple sails, new standing rigging (including top of mast), rollaway head, and a great napping berth. Designed by William Roué of legendary ‘Bluenose’ schooner fame. Twenty-one-ft waterline, 8-ft beam, 4.5-ft draft, 4700-lb displacement, and one of the sweetest sailers that just happens to be undeniably pretty. $8,250. Richmond. rgriffoul@sbcglobal.net (510) 290-0955
30 FT WylieCaT 30 1997 . New square-top made by Ullman sails in Santa Cruz. Powered by a Yanmar 1GM10: runs great. Boat’s clean and ready to sail. Text me at 949-945-8470
Dave Price: $30,000. Newport Beach. lagunawide@gmail.com (949) 945-8470
30 FT yanKee one ClaSSiC WooDen raCing SlooP 1949. Master Mariners award-winning sailboat designed by William Starling Burgess and Stone-built. ‘Flame’ was totally restored in 2015. Varnished wood hull. Roller furling. Complete survey in 2023 available. “A Sailor’s Saiboat.” Price: $49,900. Richmond, CA. stefroche916@gmail.com
34 FT exPreSS 34 1987 . Top shape. Very clean many extras. $37,500. Richmond Brickyard Cove. robtdstephens@gmail.com (510) 8138607
35 FT BeneTeau oCeaniS 35.1 1995 . Turnkey condition. Ready to cruise. 29 hp Universal diesel. Replaced standing rigging 2017. Quantum full-batten mainsail with lazy jacks/ StackPack 2017. Raymarine autopilot, wind, speed, and depth 2017. Raymarine AIS Class B transceiver 2017. All cabin lights upgraded to LED 2018. Mantus 35 lb galvanized anchor 2018. Two cabins plus fold-down salon table, to sleep two more. Great family boat. $63,900. Seaforth Marina, San Diego. karenjkittle@gmail.com (510) 798-4448
35 FT SChoCK 1986. Good PHRF rating — 75 — and fun boat to sail. Lots of equipment, 8 sails. $16,000 OBO. Vallejo, CA. jinkxochs@gmail.com (707) 694-9846
35 FT ThomaS ColVin Saugeen WiTCh 1976. ‘SweetWitch’: An aluminum schooner from Greenwich Yachts, B.C. A Yanmar 2GM20F propels her 5.5-ton displacement. 4.5-ft draft. We lived aboard 5 years cruising from Canada to Mexico. 2-burner stove with oven, refrigerator, cabin heater, 100 gal water, head, inverter charger, autopilot. Bowsprit adds 7 feet overall but can be removed to reduce moorage cost. $39,000 OBO. Charleston (Coos Bay), OR. svsweetwitch@hotmail.com (541) 5511325
35 FT Dehler 34 1985. ‘Private Reserve’ — Dutch-buit racer-cruiser. Tiller, all lines lead aft, all-teak interior, new batteries, Yanmar with 1900+ hrs, near-new standing and running rigging, Q4 2024 haulout. Possibilities: fractional ownership or no-equity partnership, See www. facebook.com/groups/sfbayareasailing. $19,500 OBO. S.F. South Beach Harbor. valtaft@gmail.com (650) 670-5300
32 – 35 Feet SailboatS
32 FT TraVeller 32 1974 . Philip Rhodes design, double ender, tiller steering, fiberglass hull. Yanmar 30hp diesel with less than 150 hrs! New dodger and excellent canvas, including full winter cover and custom sun awning (bow to stern coverage). Interior great condition. Modern aluminum spar, boom and rigging. Upgraded electrical. Autopilot, Maxwell windlass, CQR anchor w/300 ft chain. Has had routine diver, currently needs bottom job. $20,000. Sausalito. pgilmore88@gmail.com www.tinyurl. com/37zmx5fz
32 FT eriCSon 32-3 1985. This Bruce King design has been dubbed the “perfect Bay boat” because she’s stiff yet sporty and fun to sail. In great condition with a newer Yanmar diesel (only 680 hrs.) and brand-new mainsail. Comfortable, warm teak interior is top quality and sleeps 5. Famous for her “Triaxial Force Grid” hull construction, she’s seaworthy and well equipped with all the bells and whistles like anchor windlass, cockpit table and cushions. Recent survey and haulout. $25,000. Sausalito, CA. boatwork@gmail.com (415) 699-2929
35 FT CoronaDo 1972. Coronado CC sloop. Helm steering in center cockpit. Full enclosure canvas on center cockpit. Foresail: 130 genoa on roller furler. Mainsail: 3 reef points via hank up. New-ish running rigging. Yanmar 3GM30F with low hrs l15 yrs old). New fuel cell. Electric head. Electric windlass w/plow anchor. New bottom job 2025. New “Propspeed” paint on propeller and prop shaft. Galley: Reefer is DV on cold plate in ice box. Galley: microwave. Features walk-around deck and walk-around belowdecks layout. Master stateroom has inline queen bed with built-ins on both sides. $29,500 OBO, trades considered if good value (cars, trucks, Motorcycles, etc.). Napa. blake-grant@hotmail.com (650) 650-3333
SolD
32 FT CaTalina 320 2002. ‘Grace Kellie’ is the perfect family cruiser. She features a roomy layout with a functional galley, a large dinette that converts to a berth, a private aft cabin, and a V-berth forward. Her wide beam extends aft, creating a voluminous cockpit with cushions, princess seats on the stern, fold-up wood table, and walk-through transom for easy access to the swim step. She has been well maintained and is in excellent condition. She has new AGM starting and house batteries. $67,000. San Francisco.
34 FT exPreSS 34 1986. 1986 “Boat of the Year” 1987 Sailing World Magazine. One of Carl Schumaker’s finest designs. Two-burner stove with oven, hot water. Almost-new North main, lightly used North jib on Harken roller furling, many bags of sails, two spinnaker poles, raceready, fully equipped. Priced to sell. $35,000 OBO. Richmond Yacht Club. karlengdahl10@gmail.com
35 FT FanTaSia 35 mK ll 1979. In very good condition and ready to go. Most all systems upgraded including standing rigging and lifelines. Above-deck Maxwell windlass, Profurl 4200 genoa furler, ComNav autopilot, Vector AIS, Dometic fridge in updated galley and full stand-up workroom are just some of the features that make so much in a 35-ft boat. Ten-inch pillow top mattress! Runs great! ComNav Commander P2 color autopilot, Octopus hydraulic steering ram, Blue Sky charge controller, new lifelines (2018), new rigging (2018), New Found Metals stainless ports, Garmin chartplotter, Vesper SP160 antenna splitter, Vesper XB-8000 AIS, Standard Horizon AIS/ GPS VHF w/remote handset in cockpit, Iverson freestanding bimini, lazy jacks, transom hoist. $39,000. Isleton CA. carey.shine@gmail.com (541) 973-9562 https://tinyurl.com/ypssa9ue
32 FT eriCSon 32 1972. In excellent shape. Wheel steering and roller furling jib. Many new features: instruments, cockpit canvas, dodger and window screen, mainsail stack, boom kicker (eliminates uphaul) and new head. Engine hrs < 500 on Universal diesel. Recent hull paint fall 2023. Many custom features including cockpit dining table. Very well maintained. Reason for sale is my age and health. For more photos and info see Craigslist URL. $20,900. Oakland North Marina. gumdoc@mac.com (510) 368-9611 www. post.craigslist.org/manage/7821373547
32 FT herreShoFF 1998. Sail around the world!! Beautiful, strong cruising cutter. Herreshoff-designed, bowsprit and boomkin, cold-molded hull, full lead keel, spruce spars, sails in great condition (mainsail with 3 reefs; stays’l, jib; 120% Dacron; 120% 1.5 oz. nylon; storm sail; trys’l); Aries wind vane self-steering; 10-ft fiberglass dinghy; no engine; sail into and out of upwind Berkeley berth or use 16-ft oar; 4 anchors (45# 35# 25# CQR, fisherman); windlass. Call Emily 925-899-1546. P.S. Consider adding an electric motor. $15,000. Berkeley, CA. ems323@gmail.com 925-899-1546
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. $32,000. Tiburon. sailingfearless@gmail.com 415-745-2292
33 FT Cal 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
36
38 FT CaBo riCo 1979 . Cutter rig. Full keel. The good: New 2023 Yanmar engine 55hp 70hrs, folding prop, shaft, cutlass bearing, water heater. Rigging, mainsail, roller furling jib, staysail, Harken roller furling, B&G dome radar, windlass. And more. The bad: Deck needs work, paint and water intrusion, cosmetic work interior. $80,000. Sausalito. juancarloscolorado@gmail.com (707) 338-2999
38 FT ComForT 38 1983. SV ‘Martha Rose’, ketch rig, Fiberglass Coastal cruiser. Ed Monk design, one owner. 1994 6B Cummins, 3700 hrs, twin disc gear. 2010 4-blade Variprop. 2021 Garmin radar/ fishfinder, Furuno fishfinder, Raymarine autopilot, Dickinson Pacific stove, Ventura 150 Spectra watermaker. Two staterooms, one head w/bathtub, 8-ft custom skiff, Suzuki 6hp 4-stroke outboard, Price: $88,000. Columbia River, WA. svmartharose@gmail.com
38 FT DoWneaSTer 38 1976. Cutter rig. New standing rigging and Pineapple sails. Yanmar engine, B&G chartplotter, new bottom job, fridge and water heater. Lots of storage, selftacking staysail, radar, Great Bay boat or liveaboard. $35,000 OBO. Alameda. mbberndt09@gmail.com (510) 435-5609
36 FT CaTalina 36 1993. Tall rig, walkthrough transom and boarding ladder. Universal M-35 diesel with only 600 hrs!! Electric windlass, Max Prop feathering prop. Main,135 genoa, asymmetrical spinnaker with sock all in great condition. Six two-speed self-tailing winches, rigid vang. All electronics replaced in 2023, Two new D4 deep cycle batteries. Hot/ cold pressure water, lead fin keel, interior is in excellent condition, purchaser will be entitled to 1 year slip rental in Santa Cruz Harbor Price: $67,000. Santa Cruz Harbor. (925) 783-4010
– 39 Feet SailboatS
38 FT CaTalina morgan 1994. This extensively upgraded cruiser is ready to sail! Featuring a new Beta Marine 50hp engine, new Precision Sails with in-mast furling mainsail, and a full suite of new B&G electronics (autopilot, chartplotter, radar, and anemometer), she’s built for confident offshore cruising. Enjoy reliable performance, effortless handling, and seamless navigation in a proven, comfortable center cockpit design. The Catalina 38 has way more head space than you get in any other boat this size. $115,000. San Pedro. matt.n.howells@gmail.com (714) 4031011 www.tinyurl.com/3zk3hwdv
39 FT Cal 40 1964. Legendary Cal 40, built in 1964 and beautifully maintained, groundbreaking performance and timeless lines, is waiting for new adventures. This particular boat has been cared for by an owner who appreciates her pedigree and has invested in key upgrades like new sails, new electronics, autopilot and more. $80,000 0B0. Richmond Yacht Club. odilehines@gmail.com (415) 963-2160
38 FT lanCer 1985. Lancer (38 hull with fiberglass swim deck). LOA: 40 ft. Volvo 4 cyl diesel — 61 hp goes 9 kt. Mainsail: Roller furler outside mast. Genoa: 130 roller. Electric head. $59,500 OBO, Trades. Napa. blake-grant@hotmail.com (650) 650-3333
37 FT CheruBini 1979. Coast Guard documented. Yanmar diesel 529 hrs. New UK main, 130% roller furling genoa, and self-tacking sails with full canvas covers. Self-tailing Lewmars. Canvas hatch, wheel covers. Email for details. Make an offer; negotiable. $19,000 OBO. Alameda, CA. camden219@yahoo.com www.tinyurl. com/3abkckx8
38 FT Wylie 38 1985. Turnkey boat in Oxnard. Yanmar 3cyl with 570 hrs, double-spreader mast, rod rigging, 2024 Dacron main and jib from Ullman, lightly used laminate 155% from Santa Cruz sails, 3 sym spinnakers, aluminum pole, mix of self-tailing and non-ST winches. Light ply interior, similar to Express 37. Great for coastal and Hawaii races and performance cruising. Open to downsize trade. $50,000. Oxnard, CA. slampoud@yahoo.com
36 FT morgan one Ton 1975. Sloop rigged, cruising Mexico for 8 years. Westerbeke 40 (Perkins 107), Balmar 100 amp and smart regulator, Harken Mk IV furler, Maxwell windlass, Rocna 44, 200 ft G4 chain, Fortress 22, dodger, bimini, rigid vang, CPT autopilot, good sails, lazy jacks with newer sail cover, Raymarine ST60 instruments, Garhauer oversized traveler and GiB car adjusters, Force10 two-burner/oven propane, newer cushions with Sunbrella upholstery, Katadyn 40 watermaker, 45 gal fuel in two tanks, Frigoboat refrigeration, three 100W flexible solar panels w/Blue Sky solar boost controller, four 100-amp group 30 house bank, one group 24 starting, Good sailing racer/cruiser. Everything in good to great shape but needs some keel work. $6,000. Guaymas/San Carlos, MX. cometmdr@gmail.com
37 FT Tayana mK 2 CuTTer 1986. ‘Banyadah’ (home on the water) is a sound ocean-going vessel with many features. Her deck hardware was removed for transport and needs to be reinstalled. New mast wiring and rigging in 2021. Some cosmetic work required. Perfect for someone looking to get into an offshore boat at an affordable price and willing to put in the work. Most work is DIY. She has faithfully taken us on 1000s of sea miles and is looking for her new family. (Sadly, our current circumstances mean it won’t be us.) Please email or call for full details. $15,000 OBO. Sausalito. jaygrant11383@gmail.com (415) 4136707
39 FT Cal 39-2 1977. ‘Sea Star’ is for sale. For details see URL. $39,000. bob@bobwalden.com www.tinyurl.com/ Buyseastar
38 FT DoWn eaST SlooP 1976. During ownership of ‘Anita’ we’ve done the following: Sandblasted the bottom, faired in and coated with 2 coats of marine epoxy, painted. Installed new Yanmar 53hp diesel w/new fuel tank, drive train. Installed 90% new wiring, batteries, panels etc. New SS stanchions, bow and stern pulpits. Installed Corian counter tops, new cushions and solid teak chart table top and a heavy duty Lofrans windlass. New 300-ft 5/6-in G4 chain. Other improvements and gear, too numerous to mention. ‘Anita’ has great headroom in saloon, giant V-berth, freeboard of a much larger boat, huge amount of storage space. Search URL for sailing adventures in SoCal. Courtesy to brokers. $49,500. capnernie1@aol.com www.tinyurl.com/ ynxxcca2
39 FT Freya 2003. Proven famous bluewater cruiser/racer. Every amenity for safety and comfort except air conditioning. Lying San Diego, ready for the Ha-Ha. Turbocharged Yanmar recently rebuilt. Bristol condition. Tall rig, 13 standing riggings, 13 halyards, two autopilots, two chartplotters, windvane steering and much more. Complete suite sails for heavy weather, paraglider spinnaker, Jordan series drogue, Dynaplate grounding to mast, sleeps 6. Watermaker, hydraulic backstay. Email or call. $120,000. San Diego. berniekreten@yahoo.com (916) 335-6555
38 FT e r i CS o n 38-200 1989. ‘Sea Dancer’ — Bruce King classic, cruising equipped. Sloop rigged, wing keel (5-ft draft). Universal diesel, solar, Victron, lithium, Balmar, Avon RIB, davits, power windlass, great ground tackle, more. Late-2023 survey $50K. $50,000 OBO. San Carlos, MX. gazaboo@yahoo.com (808) 494-6173
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! Price: $25,000 OBO. Newport, OR. sureshanjie@yahoo.com Suresh (510) 459-8018or Dustin (808) 756-1389
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. $15,000. Pt. Richmond Marina, CA. franzsteinerarchitect@comcast.net (510) 914-1289
45 FT FaSTneT 1976. The ‘Rouge’ is a 45-ft flush-deck cutter; a flush deck gives a larger, safer area to work sails or for just lounging about. The interior is a combination of lovely high-gloss mahogany with some white paneling in the two heads. Up forward in the foc’sle the split bunk can be made into a double bed. The foc’sle has storage cabinets above the bunks and four drawers and three storage lockers near the deck. The boat has a wheel helm with an emergency steering system with a tiller-like device that can be installed in minutes. The ‘Rouge’ is a cutter but the staysail stay can be removed to run a larger jib if required. $35,000. benwalkabout52@gmail.com (209) 2908361
40 – 50 Feet SailboatS
46 FT SWan 1983. Excellent condition. Engine replaced by Nautor France with 75 hp Yanmar Turbo. 10 to 15 additional sails in Los Angeles. Teak decks replaced. Stored on the hard at Powerboats, Trinidad. Owned by current owner for 27 years. $195,000. Trinidad, West Indies. ejgantz@hotmail.com (323) 656-6772
47 FT SWan 1980. Mega deal! Time to downsize. ‘Bones VIII’ has been around the world twice and is ready for a third lap. All the gear and the spares you can imagine. New dodgers, chartplotters, radar, etc. Bottom job in 2024, rebuilt transmission, ready to go anywhere. Time to downsize and let go of the dream. This could be the dream of the century. $96,000. Stockton Sailing Club. john.mm.green@gmail.com (209) 4798100
40 FT enDeaVour 40 1983. In excellent condition in and out. The boat is in a slip at Marina Real in San Carlos, Sonora, MX. My wife and I live in Tucson and have owned the boat for 10 years. The engine is a 2005 Yanmar 4JH4E 54hp with 1649 hrs. The included inflatable is a 2011 hard-bottom 10.4-ft Achilles with a 15hp Yamaha 2 cycle outboard. The boat has been very lightly used for the past 10 years. The Doyle mainsail was purchased new about 6 years ago. I just purchased 4 new 100Ah AGM batteries. This boat is better than most I’ve seen online. See URL for 200 pics I dumped onto my AMZ photos. $62,000. San Carlos, MX. rode7runner@yahoo.com (520) 401-2352 www.tinyurl.com/32twna5z
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. $29,900 OBO. Mexico. geneosier@yahoo.com
46 FT Kelly PeTerSon 1982. This classic cruising yacht design offers solid construction, incredible seaworthiness, comfort, roominess, and speed. The KP46 is a legend for good reason! Beautiful solid teak interior cabinetry and cabin sole in excellent condition. Luxurious interior with spacious forward and aft cabins. Dinette to starboard with beautiful teak table, convertible to another bunk. Bench seat (sea berth) to port. Nav table. Spacious galley. Two heads. Diesel furnace. The hard dodger and cockpit curtains guard from the weather underway, and provide an all-weather lounge area at anchor. This boat has been continually maintained and upgraded with the intent of cruising. This is a great boat, and we are selling only because we are moving to Asia. $120,000. Ventura, CA. bjohnson93401@gmail.com (805) 5501421
45 FT ColumBia 45 1972. This wellkept motorsailer is for sale by her longtime owner (25 years). Extensive maintenance has kept her ready for cruising or living aboard. Two-cabin and twohead layout with shower stall in the back. Handcraft mattress in the back. New V-berth $25,000. San Diego. anotherdavid.m.smith@gmail.com (619) 944-7648
47 FT WylieCaT 48 2000. If you like to sail fast without working hard; if you like to sail without waiting for a crew to show up; if you prefer to avoid “white-knuckle” stressful sailing; if you don’t want to worry about shrouds, stays, rigging; if you think simple is safe; if you don’t want to duck the boom; if you don’t want to spend $400K+ on a new one, then this is the boat for you!!! Well maintained and cared-for, ‘Ahava’ is for sale, or is it sail? Price: $130,000. San Francisco Marina. mksabra@aol.com (415) 320-2233 www. tinyurl.com/bdhxxk5p
46 FT Cal 246 1974 . Legendary Cal 246 refit complete, health issues force sale! All-new ST winches, Raymarine electronics, 12V Isotherm fridge/freezer, Victron inverter, BBQ, AGM batteries — three 200Ah house and 90Ah starter. Rigging, two 300W solar panels. paint, thru-hulls, engine gone through completely by mechanic. Alternators rebuilt, dinghy. 15hp Yamaha, fuel tanks replaced, Furuno chartplotter/radar, Robertson autopilot, electric windlass, 350 ft chain, roller furling, lazy jacks, Walk-in engine room, bowsprit, davits, boom gallows, huge cockpit, many spares and extras; sails are in good condition. 120 fuel, 400 water. Email for more info and pics Price: $45,000. Marina Seca, San Carlos, MX. bobonparadise@hotmail.com (702) 7685793 WhatsApp
40 FT Jeanneau Sun oDySSey 40 2003. ‘Stardust’ is now on the market due to the health of the owner. The first owner had her for 20 years and outfitted her for bluewater adventures: Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska. His preparation and modifications were thoughtful and professionally executed. I have owned her since March 2023 and sailed her around the Salish Sea and in club racing on Wednesdays. She is in excellent condition, has superior handling characteristics, is both weatherly and relatively fast, easily singlehanded, can sleep 7, and is warm and comfortable below — the best all-around boat one can imagine. $135,000. Tacoma, WA. dstromquist@comcast.net (360) 6069043
49 FT Ta Chiao 1986. ‘Scintilla’ is an ocean-cruising liveaboard whose every owner since new has used her for that purpose. As such, she has been equipped, maintained, and updated for that purpose constantly. $129,000. Seattle. sv.scintilla@gmail.com www.tinyurl. com/33panffu
44 FT Kelly PeTerSon 1979. Classic offshore cutter. New in the last 3 years: Profurl, running and standing rigging, radar tower, Zeus 3S 9, HALO20+, Cebro, forward head, new H2O and sanitation hoses, 12V rewire, stanchion bases, propane system and much more. Health issues force sale. Socalsailmail at yahoo for details and photo packet. $75,000. San Carlos Sonora, MX. socalsailmail@yahoo.com https://tinyurl.com/uyx3cu5c
42 FT Van De STaDT reBel 42 1977. English-built boat, sailed across the Atlantic shorthanded with no problems. Great sea boat. New standing rigging and lifelines 2024, Perkins 4.108 diesel with BorgWarner V-drive, regularly maintained, works great. New slab-reefing mainsail 2022 and six foresails. In great sailing condition, needs modern electronics. Electric Lofrans windlass and self-tailing 44 Lewmar cockpit winches. Hydraulic steering with wheel. Recent lead acid batteries. Gimbaled gas cooker with oven. Manual and electric bilge pumps. $30,000. Channel Islands Harbor, CA. philip.vaughan@gmail.com (626) 4758522
42 FT ConTeST DeCK Salon 1982. Steal@$79K! High Quality Dutch cruiser great cond Skeg rudder Yanmar1540hrs Onan 5kw Good sails, rig and B&G electronics, radar, solar, 2x Depth, 2x GPS plotters. No teak decks, big aft cabin. Sailaway Now Price: $79,000 REDUCED! Ventura, CA. distantbeat@gmail.com (805) 574-9791
49 FT hylaS 47/49 1989. Well equipped, with H49 stepped transom. Custom stern arch and hard bimini w/1000W solar panels. Yanmar 4JH3E diesel, watermaker, two autopilots, washer, fridge, freezer. Corian countertops. All modern electronics. Ten winches, windlass. Cutter rig, Profurl, slab reefs, Sta-Lok terminals. Four sails. Three cabins. Classic wood interior. Seaworthy world cruiser. Owned and maintained by Navy vet/submersible pilot/USCG 500 Ton Master since 2002. Great liveaboard located St. Thomas, USVI, with mooring. All toys, tools, spares — everything included. Reduced price for quick sale. Price firm. Email for more info. $149,000. St. Thomas, USVI. kirktek@gmail.com (540) 353-6245
50 FT ValianT 2004. Custom-built for the original owners 20 years ago. Valiants are known for their super-strong construction, and for the way they sail shorthanded. Designed and built for the shorthanded crew, the 50-ft Valiant is the queen of the fleet with her newly expanded true cutter sail plan, and featuring a doublespreader rig mast and anchor bowsprit. An amazing opportunity presents itself! This is the only Valiant 50 built with the Pullman berth and forepeak storage. More photos and details are available upon request. $379,000. Redwood City, CA. sail.legacy@gmail.com (415) 572-0891 www.svlegacy.net
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). $29,000 OBO. Marina Bay, Richmond, CA. seanmcal@gmail.com (310) 971-5208
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
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. $63,900. Port Hadlock, WA. ketchdebonair@gmail.com www.tinyurl. com/2s36wtce
40 FT PaSSPorT 40 1983. This is a world-capable yacht, ready to take you cruising. Beautiful yacht in really good condition. She is cutter-rigged with oversized rigging and extra cockpit winches. Major equipment has been replaced or renewed. She is cruise-equipped. Call or email. $110,000. Orcas Island, WA. svlandsend@yahoo.com (360) 632-8896
43 FT C&C 43-1 1971. “Limited edition” 43 by Bruckmann. A multi-year repair/restoration completed in 2022. Roller furling, Harken batt cars, and autopilot allow shorthanding. Windlass and anchor package makes anchoring efficient. See SailboatData.com C&C43-1 page for layout and specifications. $39,500. Port Ludlow, WA. Calypso43@outlook.com
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
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
51 & over SailboatS
52 FT BeneTeau 52.3 2006. Owner’s version. Buy in Mexico and save broker commission and sales tax. Start your cruise with fat pockets. Title and funds transfer in the US. Located in Barra de Navidad. $250,000. Barra de Navidad, MX. (360) 317-4722
60 FT Cu ST om Crealo CK 1997. J ust back from NZ! This 60-ft steel schooner will take you anywhere you want to go. Available to view in Tiburon. $185,000 OBO. Tiburon. otterkicks@gmail.com (707) 499-9414 www.schoonershellback.com
38 FT henry J. Gielow Cutter 1935. Rebuilt over 14 years, ready to sail, member of the Master Mariners. Email for photo spread and comprehensive narrative. $59,500. Sierra Point Marina, Brisbane, CA. richardsalvini@yahoo.com (650) 996-4215
33 FT laurenT gileS WanDerer iii 1958. Second hull built to the design made famous by the Hiscocks. Offshore pedigree, 2020 refit including full bottom recaulking. Additional $20K in improvements in the last five years. Transferable slip in Monterey Harbor. $29,000 OBO. Monterey, CA. nathan.m.goodman@gmail.com
34 FT l aBruzzi 1917. Built in San Francisco in 1917 by Alphonz LaBruzzi, this classic Bay cruiser has been awardwinning in the Classic Yacht Association. Well maintained in a covered slip in San Rafael, this vessel has recently been hauled for a bottom job and other work, bringing her to excellent condition. Current survey is available. Powered by Isuzu diesel with low hrs. Illness forces sale. $20,000 OBO. San Rafael Yacht Harbor. stickypatoo@gmail.com (707) 882-1726
36 FT herreShoFF nereia KeTCh 1953. ‘Patience,’ a classic yacht, is for sale: authentic L. Francis Herreshoff-designed ketch. Built by Chaulker and White at Wilmington Boat Works in Wilmington, CA, in 1953, ‘Patience’ is as close to the original design and specifications as you will find in a Nereia of any age, with combination of sawn and laminated oak frames, silicon bronze-fastened Port Orford cedar planking. External ballast is 12,000 lbs of poured lead. Solid teak decks. Spars are hollow square Sitka spruce. All of the original hardware is included in the sale. ‘Patience’ is not currently seaworthy, but probably 80% of the way toward completion. For viewing, complete inventory list and/or current photographs, please contact me. $39,995. San Francisco Bay. ed@marinhomeinspector.com (415) 328-4540
17 FT uTiliTy 1961 . Comes with a fiberglassed bottom, powered by a Chris-Craft V8 engine. Additional features include a forward/reverse transmission, starboard-side helm, two-piece windscreen, and yellow upholstery with white trim. $12,000. Boise, ID. perfectheart7@gmail.com
PoWer & houSeboatS
41 FT DeFeVer 41 1983. Classic tricabin PNW cruiser. Great liveaboard or long-distance cruiser for WA to SE Alaska waters. Twin Volvo engines, Onan 7.5 kW genset. Rocna anchor with 300 ft chain. Large master with walk-around queen bed and head. Forward large Vberth with separate head. Wet bar. Upper and lower helms. Walk-around decks. Dinghy davit. Email for link to more pictures. $79,000 OBO. Orcas Island, WA. chuck@wilson-net.com (562) 331-4623 www.tinyurl.com/2b4s29jc
65 FT FPB 64 2013. Aluminum exploration yacht designed by Steve and Linda Dashew, built in New Zealand. Well found. True long range capability. Serious boat for a serious sailor. US flag, import duties paid. So. Californa, $2,200,000. Contact FPB64FS@gmail.com Price: $2,200,000. Southern California. FPB64FS@gmail.com
20 FT glaSTron gx199 1988 . Great shape older Glastron runabout. Never been in salt water. Light usage. Mercruiser V-8 engine. $7,000. Bethel Island, California Delta. blmunro@sbcglobal.net (415) 900-5072
MultihullS
31 FT CorSair F31 1996. The F-31 remains one of the most influential production folding trimarans ever created, beloved for its fast yet accessible sailing experience. $72,955. San Francisco/Brisbane. mevered@gmail.com (415) 745-0384 www.corsairf31.com
berthS & SliPS
aWeSome 50 FT SliP Pier 39 San FranCiSCo . For sale: Stunning city views, 15-ft+ beam, 50-ft length. New cleats, dock box, power pedestal, and hose management. Perfectly located for entire Bay Area coverage and beyond. Very easy access, great maintenance team, parking, and more. $24,000. Slip G-32, Pier 39 Marina. greg.rossmann@gjrcap.com (650) 7400263
emery CoVe BoaT SliP For renT. Berths for rent. Emery Cove Yacht Harbor 35-ft = $472.50/month C dock and 40-ft = $540/month E dock. Dockominiumrun 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. studio6161@icloud.com. Emeryville, CA. www.emerycove.com
reDWooD CiTy marina SliPS aVailaBle. Slips 30″-75″ at great rates! Amenities: parking, bathrooms, laundry, pumpout, free wi-fi, keyless entry. Guest berths also available. Call for availability. 451 Seaport Court, Redwood City, CA 94063. crevay@redwoodcityport.com (650) 3064150 www.redwoodcityport.com/marina
ProPerty For Sale or reNt
WaTerFronT liVing aT iTS FiineST! Off-market opportunity — transparent price! Secluded at the end of a cul-desac, perched high above the marina, this elegant 2-bedroom, 2-bath residence offers rare uninterrupted water views that stretch across a serene freshwater lagoon toward the dynamic saltwater Estuary. Inside, you’ll find a bright, open living space with dramatic vaulted ceilings, a welcoming fireplace, and expansive windows. Located in Marina Village, this one-of-a-kind home condo has a marvelous HOA with many amenities such as fire and earthquake insurance, solar-heated community pool, spa, and beautiful landscaping. Located near many conveniences such as shopping, dining, the Posey tunnel, and ferry to S.F. $1,100,000. Marina Village, Alameda, CA. katelynn.grace@bhhsdrysdale.com (510) 825-5797 www.23kingsburycourt.com
a maSTerPieCe oF moDern arT on The San FranCiSCo Bay. Discover modern luxury in this architectural masterpiece, built of steel, glass, and concrete. Suspended over the San Francisco Bay, this one-of-a-kind home features a private 45-ft primary deep-water dock and 25-ft guest dock both with seamless access to the San Francisco Bay. Nestled in the exclusive Brickyard Cove community, this stunning property is perfectly positioned adjacent to the Richmond Yacht Club, offering an ideal waterfront lifestyle. $2,950,000. Point Richmond, CA Brickyard Cove. mark@theledererteam.com (510) 7744231 www.tinyurl.com/3x9s6c95
FiJi: WaTerFronT FreeholD ProPerTy. The perfect Fiji resort-hotel investment or a place to build your dream escape. This 19-acre freehold property near Labasa on Vanua Levu offers unbeatable value, natural beauty, and development potential. Adjacent to existing eco-resort! Price: $220,000. Labasa, Fiji. framegreg@gmail.com (415) 405-6384 www.tinyurl.com/49mket4d
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
DramaTiC WaTerFronT alameDa ToWnhome . 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
PuerTo VallarTa BuSineSS For Sale. 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. yummiesbydonyteri@gmail.com 52 (322) 275-3322 www.Yummies-Mexico.com.mx
Job oPPortuNitieS
WorK in laKe Tahoe! Looking for a captain for a 55-ft catamaran in beautiful Lake Tahoe, providing daily sailing cruises, great work environment. Must have a masters with sailing endorsement. Seasonal job, from mid-May through mid-October. Pay DOE. Lake Tahoe. mary@awsincline.com (530) 448-3130 www.awsincline.com/
marine CanVaS inSTaller PoSiTION. Part or full time. Compass Canvas is hiring a marine canvas installer to join our team in Richmond, CA. This role offers competitive pay and the opportunity to work on quality marine projects. Requirements: 2+ years experience in the marine industry; detail-oriented and reliable a must; experience with canvas installation is a plus. If you’re experienced, take pride in your work, and want to be part of a dedicated team, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now by sending your résumé to David. Point Richmond. david@compass-canvas.com (415) 2993415 www.compass-canvas.com
Join The BeST SChool anD haVe Fun TeaChing Sailing. For over 45 years, we have been a leader in sailing education, consistently ranked among the top sailing schools in the United States. Our commitment to excellence, innovative teaching methods, and outstanding student experience make us the best in the industry. Located in downtown San Francisco at South Beach — our base is in one of the finest marinas on the West Coast. We have the best instructional fleet on the West Coast. San Francisco. staff@spinnaker-sailing.com (415) 5437333 www.tinyurl.com/neatche9
u SS Po T oma C Shi P ’ S m eC hani C /Shi P Kee P er. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s historic presidential yacht — a National Historic Landmark — is accepting applications for a part-time ship’s mechanic (role name: ship keeper). Potomac is 376 gross tons, 165 feet LOA with Enterprise direct reversible dieselmarine engines. She is berthed at 540 Water Street at Jack London Square, Oakland, CA. The USS Potomac ship keeper is responsible for repairing and maintaining the ship and her related systems, overseeing vessel inspections, and ensuring the vessel functions efficiently and safely. Full job description at usspotomac.org. Send resume and cover letter to Potomac Association, 540 Water St., Oakland, CA 94607 or email to jpettley@usspotomac.org. Oakland, CA. jpettley@usspotomac.org (510) 627-1215 www.usspotomac.org
T W o h ar B or S h ar B or PaT rol Po S i T ion S 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
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. office@spinnakersailing.com (650) 3631390 www.spinnakersailing.com
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/
m em B er Ser V i C e S aSS o C iaT e WanTeD Club Nautique is the premier sailing and powerboating school on the Bay. We offer the full curriculum of US Sailing and Powerboating certifications as well as membership, charters, events, and yacht sales. We’re looking for an enthusiastic and customer service oriented person to join our team in Alameda. This is a full time position offering $21-$24/hr depending on experience. Click on the link to learn more. stephanie@clubnautique.net (510) 8654700 www.clubnautique.net/about-clubnautique/job-opportunities/
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. towboatus.bay.delta@gmail.com (925) 382-4422 www.towboatusdelta.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
mariTime Day aT galilee harBor aug 2, 2025. Celebrating Galilee Harbor’s 45th anniversary with live music, boat rides, food and beverages, including local wine/beer and fish. Kids’ activities, local art, and Old Tyme Raffle! Additionally, art and nonprofit vendors’ booth space is available for $45. Please call or email to reserve. Galilee Maritime Day is open to the public with free admission, offering a unique opportunity to experience the spirit of creativity and community that defines Sausalito’s waterfront. For more information and event updates, see URL. 300 Napa St. Sausalito California. galileeharbor@gmail.com (415) 332-8554 www.galileeharbor.org/
South oF the border
P lan your mexi C an ge Ta W ay 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
Gear
TorqeeDo eleCTriC ouTBoarD. Cruise 2.0 TS 5hp equivalent with throttle. Lithium battery 26-104, charging unit 350W – on board, external throttle. Very clean. Never a problem. Purchased June 2017. Installed May 2019. Removed from service Jan 2024. Low hrs – less than 100. Replacement cost today $8300 plus tax. $4,500. Point Reyes Station. jggouldthorpe@gmail.com (415) 6638188
norTh eaSy Furling gennaKer. Used just once. Includes Harken Reflex head and tack swivels, but you will need a flat deck furler. Luff 43.6 ft; leech 39.1 ft; foot 24.8 ft. SMG 22.1 ft, area 800 sq ft. Paid $4,000. $2,000. Pt. Richmond. nikasdad47@gmail.com (916) 217-0222
galeriDer Drogue, roDe anD Bridle. 42-in x 48-in drogue for boat to 52 ft. 450 ft 1-in double nylon braid rode and Mantus bridle snubber 26 ft medium size. All never deployed, all complete and ready for use. New cost $3300 Price: $1,700. goboat1@aol.com (415) 699-3112
yanmar 2ym15
DieSel maine moTor This YANMAR 2YM15 diesel motor is a reliable and powerful option for any boat owner. With a 2-stroke engine and 15 HP, this motor is sure to provide the thrust needed for a comfortable and safe ride. YANMAR 2YM15 is a great choice. It’s easy to install and will provide consistent performance for years to come. Don’t miss the opportunity to upgrade your boat’s power with this top-of-theline motor Price: $975. Moss Landing. pcummins569@gmail.com (831) 2477939
MiSCellaNeouS
We ST er B e K e g a S g eneraT or. 3.0 BPMG 6hp 12/2007 3.0 kW. Runs great. Only 9 hrs. Taken off 34 ft. Tollycraft. $4,000. Walnut Creek, CA. bobbratton2@gmail.com (925) 765-5007
yanmar 2 ym 15 e ngine. Yanmar 2YM15 engine (16 hp) with transmission plus everything attached to it that’s not part of the boat. I’ll run it for you, then boatyard will pull it (price included). $7,500. Grand Marina, Alameda. wprewitt@pm.me
tryiNG to loCate
l oo K ing F or 24 FT Pi V er Trimaran ‘ n o n ame’. 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
Ensenada Cruiseport Village...............90 www.marina.hutchisonportsecv.com EZ Sextant
www.thirdreefsw.com
www.fisheriessupply.com
Annual Baja Ha-Ha!
More than 4,000 boats and 14,000 sailors have done the 750-mile cruisers rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Here are some of the main reasons. 1) It’s really, really fun. 2) Superb safety record. 3) You get a Ha-Ha backpack filled with swag at the Halloween costume kick-off party. 4) To a great extent there is safety and shared knowledge in numbers. 5) Daily roll call in ports, professional weather forecast, and net.
6) Six social events in which to make lifelong cruising friends. 7) You’ll be featured in the Ha-Ha bio book. 8) Experienced leadership. Collectively, the three event leaders have transited the Baja coast 100 times. 9) The fleet will able to check into Mexico at Bahia Santa Maria 10) It gives you compelling deadline to leave the dock. And Bonus Reason #11, most cited by past participants, all the new cruising friends you’ll make.
Svendsen's Bay Maritime ................... 13 www.sbm.baymaritime.com
Swiftsure Yachts 18
70’ SANTA CrUZ 70 ’87 $299,000 Westerly. Completely updated with no expense spared. An excellent opportunity to obtain a very up-to-date SC 70 and get sailing now.
66’ GOrBON 66 ’97 $450,000 Bajavento. A luxurious performance vessel that can easily be sailed shorthanded. Professionally maintained. Cruise in style and comfort.
46’ TAyANA 460 PIlOTHOUSe ’02 $315,000 Peregrine. One owner boat custom-built for seller. She has sailed the South Pacific and is updated and ready for another extended cruise.
53’
circumnavigation.
37’ PACIFIC SeACrAFT PS37 ’87 $137,500 Stella Blue. Perfect ready-to-go cruiser. Beautiful condition. Fully equipped with the best of everything. Oneyear Santa Cruz slip possible.
