March 2026 Latitude 38

VOLUME 585 March 2026

GRAND MARINA

SPRING IS COMING FAST,

AND WHILE THE WEATHER MAY BE UNPREDICTABLE, Grand Marina is not—you can always count on our five-star accommodations.

We offer secured tiled restrooms and showers, complimentary parking, a friendly expert staff, night security, and a 24-hour free pump-out station. Plus, enjoy a wide range of on-site services, including:

Alameda Canvas | 510-769-8885 | www.alamedacanvas.com

BAE Boats | 415.948.1865 | www.baeboats.com

Blue Pelican Marine | 510-769-4858 | www.bluepelicanmarine.com

Boats and Art | 510-776-5431 | www.boatsandart.com

Boat Yard at Grand Marina | 510-521-6100 | www.boatyardgm.com

Hot Tub Boats | 510-279-0936 | www.hottubboats.com

Jeff’s Yacht Maintenance | 510-306-5011

Marine Lube | 877-744-2244 | www.marinelube.biz

Mario Gonzales Metal Fabrication | 408-464-7548

Marchal Sailmakers | 510-239-5050 | www.marchalsailmakers.com

Mike Elias Boatworks | 510-815-1622

Mosley’s Café | 510–263–8228 | www.mosleyscafe.com

Pacific Crest Canvas | 510-521-1938 | www.pacificcrestcanvas.com

Stem to Stern | 510-681-3831 | www.stemtosternsf.com

Two Mary’s Mercantile | 510-263-8222

UK Sails | 510-523-3966 | www.uksailmakers.com

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.

F Free pump-out station open 24/7.

F Full-service Marine Center and haul-out facility.

F Free parking.

F Free on-site WiFi.

And much more...

Directory of Grand Marina Tenants

Blue Pelican Marine

Boat Yard at Grand Marina, The Marchal Sailmakers

MarineLube

New Era Yachts

Pacific Crest Canvas

Alameda Canvas and Coverings

Alameda Marine Metal Fabrication

Atomic Tuna Yachts

BAE Boats

Mike Elias Boatworks

Mosely’s Café

UK-Halsey Sailmakers

Chart your own course with one of our bareboat charters. Because time on the water is more than a vacation; it’s doing what you love with those who are special.

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

$99,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

43’ NAUTICAT KETCH, 1986

$145,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

$113,000 Emery Cove (510) 601-5010

Thoughtfully designed and beautifully finished inside and out, the Aqua Lodge features fiberglass pontoons, a wood-beamed lofted ceiling, a fully appointed galley, and a full bath with residential-sized fixtures. The main salon is open and bright, while the master stateroom features a panoramic water view and a private deck. With the cost of building on the waterfront ever increasing, the Aqua Lodge is an affordable alternative. We currently have three (3) identical Floating Cottages available at $115,000. each. These are new houseboats that have never been used. With the acquisition of all three one could start a unique Air B&B type business in a nice location.

34’ JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 349, 2021

$209,000 San Rafael (415) 453-4770

RUBICON YACHTS

NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.

$159,900

Cove (510) 601-5010

Cove (510) 601-5010

$59,000

Cove (510) 601-5010

33’ J BOATS J/100 “EIGHT BALL”, 2005

$125,000

RUBICON YACHTS

$190,000

Alameda (510) 838-1800

$69,750

$34,000

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.

RUBICON YACHTS

NOTE: There is no propulsion included. An outboard engine could be installed on the bracket but, these boats are not equipped with any propulsion. They would need to be towed or trucked to their destination.

Dry Storage Available Power and Sail

www.yatco.com/company/napa-valley-1220 for more information 48' Tollycraft Cockpit 1979

(Twin diesels)

CALL FOR RESERVATIONS

• We are uniquely positioned to haul your boat

• We carefully haul you on our Brownell Hydraulic trailer. NO STRAPS!

• We safely store your boat on Brownell boat stands supplied by us!

• We have some of the best weather for drying out your boat.

• We have seasoned professionals that can fieldyourcallsorworkonyourboat.

• We have a safe environment for your boat.

• We have very reasonable rates Come visit us – let's talk!

CALENDAR

Gadabout is well worth a look for anyone considering serious cruising. Designed by Carl Schumacher as a comfortable cruiser with a good turn of speed and built to high standards, she o ers a low-maintenance exterior paired with a re ned, comfortable interior. In 2021, she underwent an extensive re t with the goal of making her better than new, with nearly every onboard system upgraded or replaced to support safe and comfortable cruising. Upgrades include a bow thruster, Watt & Sea hydrogenerator, new standing rigging, solar, lithium batteries, isolation transformer, electronics, watermaker, hydronic heat, sails, canvas, aluminum RIB with outboard, and a custom bowsprit. She is also equipped with a Northern Lights generator, hard dodger, and additional cruising features. Taken together, these improvements make Gadabout one of the best values on today’s market and a rare opportunity to acquire a truly turnkey cruising package.

Non-Race

Feb. 28 — Treasure Island 360 Cruise, starting at the TI Ferry Terminal, 11 a.m. Power & sail. PICYA, www.picya.org

Feb. 28 — Women Sailors Social Mixer, Park Station, Alameda, 4-8 p.m. Island YC, www.iyc.org

Mar. 1 — Mariners Memorial Brunch, San Rafael. St. Luke Presbyterian Church service, 10 a.m. Loch Lomond YC brunch, 11 a.m., $25. Sons of the Sea Men's Chorus. RSVP, artmum22@gmail.com.

Mar. 1-29 — Keelboat Sailing, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco, noon-5 p.m. Sundays, weather permitting. Free, but preregister. BAADS, www.baads.org/sailing

Mar. 3 — Full (Blood) Worm Moon on a Tuesday. Total lunar eclipse, 3:04-4:03 a.m.

Mar. 4, 12 — Intro to Racing Parts 2 & 3, via Zoom, 7-8:30 p.m. Racing rules, Q&A. Free. YRA, www.yra.org

Mar. 5 — Latitude 38 Spring Crew Party, Golden Gate YC, San Francisco, 6-9 p.m. Find a boat or nd crew. Food truck, no-host bar. $10. Info, www.latitude38.com/crew-party.

Mar. 7 — Herring Festival, Portuguese Cultural Center, Sausalito, 5-7:30 p.m. Theme: Grateful Bay. Music, food, cocktails, auction, art. $65 bene ts Sausalito Community Boating Center. Info, https://scbc.betterworld.org/events

Mar. 7 — PICYA Leadership Conference, Mariposa Hunters Point YC, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Theme: No Shipmate Is an Island. Info, https://picya.org.

Mar. 7 — Shields Racing Clinic. MPYC, www.mpyc.org

Mar. 7-28 — Small Boat Sailing, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, weather permitting. Free, but preregister. BAADS, www.baads.org/sailing.

Mar. 8 — Spring forward for Daylight Saving Time, 2 a.m.

Mar. 12 — Ron Holland, the Voyage of Discovery lm screening, Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito, 7-9 p.m. $15. Info, www.spauldingcenter.org

Mar. 14 — Match Racing Clinic. RYC, www.richmondyc.org.

Mar. 14, 28 — Northern CA Dockwalker Trainings, online, 10-12:45 a.m. Free. DBW Boating Clean and Green, https:// dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29199

Mar. 17 — St. Patrick's Day.

Mar. 20 — Vernal Equinox.

Mar. 20-22 — Women's Sailing Conference, Long Beach YC. On-water, dockside & classroom instruction for all skill levels. $500-$575. NWSA/SCYA, https://womensailing.org

Mar. 21 — Southern CA Dockwalker Training, online, 10-12:45 a.m. Free. DBW Boating Clean and Green, https:// dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29199.

Mar. 26 — N2E Race Seminar, Del Rey YC, Marina del Rey, 6:30-8:30 p.m. NOSA, www.nosa.org/seminars.

Mar. 27 — Alchemist Quintet concert, Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito, 6-8 p.m. $25. Info, www.spauldingcenter.org.

Mar. 28 — Community Day, Ho'oku'i Outrigger Canoe Club, Shoreline Lake, Mountain View, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. History, instruction, paddling. Free. Info, https://shorelinelake.com

Mar. 28 — Boat Jumble Sale, South Bay YC, Alviso, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Gear, hardware, sails, Sun sh. Proceeds bene t Sea Scouts. South Bay YC, https://southbayyachtclub.org

Mar. 29 — International Offshore Safety at Sea with Hands-on Training, Monterey Peninsula YC, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration closes 3/23. $340. MPYC, www.mpyc.org. Mar. 31 — Cesar Chavez Day.

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CALENDAR

Apr. 4 — Southern CA Dockwalker Training, Silver Gate YC, San Diego, 10-12:45 a.m. Free. DBW Boating Clean and Green, https://dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29199

Racing

Feb. 28 — Corinthian Race. SSS, www.sfbaysss.org.

Feb. 28-Mar. 1 — SCYA Midwinters, nal weekend. Info, www.scyamidwinterregatta.org.

Mar. 1 — Bob Furney Memorial. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.

Mar. 5-8 — ILCA Masters Midwinters West. Clinic 3/5; racing 3/6-8. Coronado YC, www.coronadoyc.org.

Mar. 6-8 — Port of L.A. Harbor Cup collegiate regatta, hosted by Cal Poly Maritime. LAYC, www.layc.org/harbor-cup.

Mar. 7 — John Pitcher Memorial. CPYC, www.cpyc.com.

Mar. 7 — Long Distance #1. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.

Mar. 7, 14, 28, Apr. 4 — Spring Series on Folsom Lake. FLYC, www. yc.org.

Mar. 7-8 — Big Daddy Regatta. Buoy racing on Saturday; pursuit race on Sunday. Theme: Cherry Blossom Festival. RYC, www.richmondyc.org.

Mar. 7-8 — California Dreamin' match racing series in San Francisco. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 7-8 — 2v2 Team Race. EYC, www.encinal.org.

Mar. 8 — PHRF Spring 1 & 2. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.

Mar. 10-11 — Tuesday & Wednesday night races start. SCYC, www.scyc.org.

Mar. 11, 18, 25, Apr. 1 — J/22 Spring Series. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 13 — Friday Night Beercan Series begins. BYC, www. berkeleyyc.org.

Mar. 14 — Intro Race in protected waters. YRA, www.yra.org.

Mar. 14 — Rosenblum Regatta. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.

Mar. 14 — Santana 22 team racing. SCYC, www.scyc.org.

Mar. 14, Apr. 4 — Spring One Design for Mercury & Snipe classes. EYC, www.encinal.org.

Mar. 14-15 — 2K Team Race Invitational in J/22s. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 14-15 — Kasio Cup Regatta. New crews, new racers encouraged. SBYC, www.southbeachyachtclub.org.

Mar. 14-15 — ILCA California Masters in San Diego. MBYC, www.mbyc.org.

Mar. 14-15 — Beneteau 36.7 Midwinters in San Diego. SDYC, www.sdyc.org.

Mar. 15, Apr. 12 — One Design Spring 1-4. MPYC, www. mpyc.org.

Mar. 18 — Sunset Series starts. MPYC, www.mpyc.org.

Mar. 20-22 — ILCA Midwinters West in Corona del Mar. Balboa YC, www.balboayachtclub.com.

Mar. 21 — Rites of Spring/YRA Bay Series #1. OYC, www. oaklandyachtclub.net, www.yra.org.

Mar. 21 — Spring Series #1. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.

Mar. 21 — Spring Shorteez. CPYC, www.cpyc.com.

Mar. 21-22 — J/105 & J/88 Invitational. SYC, www. sausalitoyachtclub.org.

Mar. 21-22 — RS21 Sprint 6 Invitational. SFYC, www. sfyc.org.

Mar. 22 — Sadie Hawkins Regatta. Women skippers; full crew, any gender. IYC, www.iyc.org.

Mar. 22 — Londerville Regatta. HMBYC, www.hmbyc.org.

Mar. 22 — Pier Pressure. Berger/Stein Race #3. DRYC,

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Ullman Sails San Francisco & Monterey Bay

Dave Hodges

104 Bronson St. #20

Santa Cruz, CA 831.454.0868 dhodges@ullmansails.com

Ullman Sails Sausalito

Robin Sodaro 465 Coloma St., Sausalito, CA 415.332.4117

UllmanSailsSausalito@gmail.com

CALENDAR

www.dryc.org.

Mar. 27-29 — Etchells Midwinters West. SDYC, www. sdyc.org.

Mar. 28-29 — San Francisco Cup. StFYC vs. SFYC. StFYC, www.stfyc.com.

Mar. 28 — Round the Rocks. SSS, www.sfbaysss.org.

Mar. 28 — Jaws Race. SYC, www.sausalitoyachtclub.org.

Mar. 28 — DH Long Distance. SSC, www.stocktonsc.org.

Apr. 1 — Wednesday Night Series begins. RYC, www. richmondyc.org.

Apr. 4 — Anne McCormack Women's Invitational Cup. SFYC, www.sfyc.org.

Apr. 4 — North Bay #1. VYC, www.vyc.org.

Apr. 4 — Andy Byrd Memorial Race. CPYC, www.cpyc.com

Apr. 4 — Spring Regatta. SeqYC, www.sequoiayc.org.

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

Apr. 5 — Estuary Cup. EYC, www.encinal.org.

Remaining Midwinter Series

BENICIA YC — Frostbite: 3/14. Info, www.jibeset.net or www.beniciayachtclub.org.

BERKELEY YC — Champion of Champions, 3/1. Chowder Races: every Sunday through 3/8. Info, www.berkeleyyc.org.

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

COYOTE POINT YC — Winter Sails: 3/15, 3/29. John, regatta@cpyc.com or www.cpyc.com

GOLDEN GATE YC — Seaweed Soup: 3/7. Info, www. ggyc.org or www.jibeset.net.

ISLAND YC — Island Days: 3/8. Info, www.iyc.org.

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

LAKE WASHINGTON SC — Lido & C-15 Midwinters: 2/28, 3/28. Sun sh & Open Midwinters/Learn to Race, 3/7, 4/4. Laser, 3/14, 4/11. Thistle, 3/21. Info, www.lwsailing.org.

MARIN YC — Midwinters: 3/31. Ellen, (415) 509-6863 or ellenpclark@comcast.net.

OAKLAND YC — Sunday Brunch: 3/1, 3/15, 3/29. Info, www.oaklandyachtclub.net.

RICHMOND YC — Small Boat Midwinters: 3/1. Info, www. richmondyc.org.

SANTA CRUZ YC — Midwinters: 3/21. Winter Tuesday Afternoons through 3/3. Info, www.scyc.org.

SAUSALITO YC — Chili Midwinters: 3/1. Info, www. sausalitoyachtclub.org.

SEQUOIA YC — Winter Series: 3/14 (Commodore's Cup). Redwood Cup: 2/28, 3/21. Dinghy Dash: 3/1. Info, www. sequoiayc.org or www.jibeset.net.

SOUTH BEACH YC — Island Fever: 3/21. SBYC, www. southbeachyachtclub.org.

TIBURON YC — Midwinters: 3/15. Rob, (415) 577-7199 or race@tyc.org.

VALLEJO YC — Tiny Robbins: 3/7. Info, www.vyc.org.

In the Tropics

Mar. 4-9 — WesMex Small Boat International Regatta, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico. Info, www.wesmexregatta.org.

Mar. 7-11 — MEXORC, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico. Part of Nayarit Sailing Week. Info, www.mexorc.com.mx.

Mar. 17-21 — Banderas Bay Regatta, Riviera Nayarit,

CALENDAR

Mexico. Info, www.banderasbayregatta.com.

Apr. 24 — Newport to Ensenada Race. NOSA, www.nosa.org.

July 3-6 — Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous. Info, www. tahiti-moorea-sailing-rdv.com.

July 6-10 — Paci c Cup Starts. San Francisco-Kaneohe, Oahu. PCYC, https://paci ccup.org.

Oct. 2 — Little Ensenada. SWYC, www.southwesternyc.org

Nov. 2-14 — Baja Ha-Ha XXXII. 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.

March Weekend Tides

Predictions for Station 9414290, San Francisco (Golden Gate)

date/day time/ht. time/ht. time/ht.time/ht. LOW HIGH LOWHIGH

2/28Sat 0232/2.7 0831/6.2 1528/-0.8 2232/5.1

3/01Sun 0326/2.2 0928/6.2 1609/-0.8 2305/5.3 HIGH LOW HIGHLOW

3/07Sat 0128/5.6 0751/0.6 1424/4.2 1929/2.1

3/08Sun 0157/5.5 0939/0.6 1629/3.8 2104/2.7 LOW HIGH LOWHIGH

3/14Sat 0258/3.0 0833/5.2 1536/0.0 2248/4.5

3/15Sun 0340/2.6 0926/5.4 1612/-0.2 2312/4.7 HIGH LOW HIGHLOW

3/21Sat 0125/6.0 0743/-0.3 1430/4.71933/1.7

3/22Sun 0200/6.2 0834/

3/28

March Weekend Currents

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

2/28Sat 0135/1.1E 0354 0659/2.4F 1006 1337/2.1E 1714 2031/3.1F 2352

3/01Sun 0223/1.5E 0452 0755/2.6F 1100 1421/2.2E 1752 2108/3.3F

3/07Sat 0311 0549/1.6E 0923 1247/1.9F 1622 1838/1.1E 2114

3/08Sun 0028/2.1F 04430724/1.4E 1106 1450/1.7F 18382034/0.8E 2254

3/14Sat 0150/0.8E 0406 0704/1.6F 1025 1320/1.2E 1717 2053/2.3F

3/15Sun 0012 0226/1.0E 0456 0754/1.8F 1108 1359/1.4E 1745 2113/2.5F

3/21Sat 0244 0529/2.2E 0855 1221/2.4F 1548 1821/1.5E 2103

3/22Sun 0025/2.8F 03210610/2.2E 0943 1318/2.3F 17001920/1.1E 2147

3/28Sat 0120/1.1E 0346 0647/2.1F 0958 1322/1.7E 1653 2017/2.9F 2335

3/29Sun 0212/1.5E 0450 0751/2.3F 1100 1417/1.8E 1734 2055/3.1F

Source: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov

LETTERS

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⇑⇓ PEN, PAPER AND A CHECK

I use this form of communication because I much prefer the old ways.

No cell-phony for me! No computer either. I like hanked sails, a sextant in hand, and paper charts on the table. As the evening of life draws nigh some fond memories drift sweetly on my mind!

The fresh, clean taste of salt spray on my lips.

The sound of a fresh wind in the shrouds.

The feel of sea legs on terra rma.

A crisp jib crackin' across the water.

Falling asleep to a gentle wave in a snug anchorage.

Now my timbers have become weak and I nd myself hard aground. It's been a fabulous cruise. I plainly see that really grand cruise of eternal adventure taking shape on the near horizon.

Thank you, Latitude 38, for being a part of these many years. May your horizon be clear with a lively breeze abaft the beam.

As I nd myself far ashore with no marina handy to pick up a copy of your rag, I enclose $36.00 for another year's subscription.

Capt. Lee Percell

⇑⇓ MOITESSIER, MY FRIEND

Latitude 38 is now — and has been for over half a century — the coolest sailing mag on the planet. Nothing else is even half as fun.

I've sailed over 20,000 bluewater miles and enjoy writing about the sea. I sailed transatlantic as rst mate (one of seven aboard) on a 75-ton staysail schooner. One shipmate had no arms, another no legs, another blind and the other severely spastic. The captain, cook and I had all our limbs. We hit three full gales.

That might be something to write about.

By the way, here is a short piece I wrote about Bernard Moitessier (I'm writing for fun):

Meeting Bernard in Sausalito was a providential lifechanging experience for me. He is grandfather of modern French offshore yacht racing. In 1968-69, His book, The Long Way, is one the nest nautical tales ever written.

By stroke of luck, he narrated his lm about that voyage to 30 people in my living room at a fundraiser. St. Francis Yacht Club had rudely turned down Bernard's proposed fundraising event, childishly blurting, "No. After all, we can

LETTERS

get Dennis Conner for free. Harrumph." So, Bernard projected and narrated his lm in my living room to students, yacht designers, clients and friends. Donations were generous and Bernard's presentation was riveting and awe-inspiring.

Moitessier was the Christopher Columbus of the modern age. He pushed the sailing world forward with his nonstop voyage one-and-half times around the world. Sailors' dreams bloomed. All dreams bloomed. He stretched the bubble of possibity for what we all can do with our lives.

I would not have attempted monumental art had I not met Bernard Moitessier. He was a kind, gentle soul and convincing, crazed mentor.

We sailed together a number of times aboard Joshua One afternoon, as the wind was blowing like hell from the west, the ebb tide ripped out under the Golden Gate. Amid the spray, he handed me a whiskey — I drank from the left and steered with the right. He offered, "Take care. Always be exible. The world is full of solutions. We just need to see them. Feel the rhythm of Joshua in big waves. Calm down."

Bernard taught me how to celebrate dedication in isolation. He told me that extraordinary tasks are marathons. He sailed his 40-ft boat for 10 months, alone. I usually spend six months alone constructing monumental artworks. Each day unveils new solutions to unexpected challenges with both sailing and sculpture. Bernard's words promote just that. It was a gift to share time with him.

Here's a quote from Bernard: "I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on Earth, a nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea."

Roberto Bessin

⇑⇓ JIB MARTENS SET TO FULFILL LIFELONG DREAM BY SAILING PAC CUP ON FREEDOM

Having raced with Jib aboard Freedom for the better part of 20 years, I can attest to Jib's quali cations, capabilities and excellent seamanship under a multitude of conditions. He's as strong and as smart as a fox! And with Will aboard, they'll be a formidable force on the course.

Hopefully it won't be necessary, but I can attest to Jib's ability to x, rig, repair, install, rebuild or reinstall anything on the boat — probably because he has already done it! There's no one I'd feel safer at sea with than Jib Martens.

GRILLS

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LETTERS

I look forward to tracking your progress and celebrating your safe and successful passage.

Tom Woolley

Tom was commenting on the January 12 'Lectronic Latitude with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ JOHN SWEENEY AND WILL BENEDICT WIN THREE BRIDGE FIASCO

Congratulations to John Sweeney and Will Benedict in the J/105, Advantage3

The rst two nishers in the 3BF were Bottle Rocket, a Seacart 30 sailed by David Schumann and Trevor Baylis, and the Corsair F-27 Papillon, sailed by Drew Scott and his son, Kenji. All three vessels sailed a great race, and all deserve credit.

⇑⇓ FIASCO STRATEGY

Congrats, all three!

Ross Stein

In Rhapsody, second monohull to nish just behind Advantage3, we also bagged Blackaller rst; most boats that did headed for Raccoon Strait. But when we reached the river of late ood through the center of the Golden Gate Bridge, we tacked to port and sailed fat to Blunt, then rode the late ood up to Red Rock. Maybe Advantage3 made the Straits work, but for me and my brother Anthony, heading to Blunt put us ahead of most boats that headed through the Strait.

There were 294 monohulls entered and 10 multis. (Ross Stein was on one). I congratulated my good friend and great sailor, Dave Schumann. I'm also the rst to say we monohulls couldn't keep up with Bottle Rocket's 16-18 knots (into the ebb!) to round TI rst, or her similar speed (per Race Replay) from Red Rock to Blackaller. It is notable: Only two

LETTERS

multis nished before the monos. Great sailing. Great race committee work. We're in debt to the 3BF volunteers.

Laurence Pulgram

⇑⇓ DO YOU HAVE ANY GOOD STORIES FROM YOUR 20S?

My Tuna was the "funnest" boat I've owned. Rebuilt from a Stanford Sailing Clubber by Steve Seals, it looked like crap, but had the fairest body, best rig and Pineapple sails. Elaine's name is also on a few trophies.

I gave it up for two reasons: 1) getting to be 70+ (myself, not the boat) and 2) the last Sausalito hoist is going away. I enjoyed sailing in Vallejo and Benicia in the Bay, Half Moon Bay, Drake's Bay and the Farallones on the ocean, as well as trailering to Santa Cruz and Monterery. Overnights and boat camping were also fun. Good old Tunas are out there, so if you have a few thousand and keep the boat on a trailer in Richmond (two hoists there) you can have a hell of a lot of fun for a reasonable price.

Patrick Broderick Nancy, Wyliecat 30 Sausalito

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FEELTHE FREEDOM

Have

Install

Pat was commenting on the January 30 'Lectronic with the same name as this letter.

⇑⇓ I WISH I STILL HAD IT

In my 30s through my 40s, I owned a Newport 20 (Mull design), a Catalina 27, Ranger 23, Erikson 27 and a Cal 2-29. The Cal 2-29 was the best cruiser with its Farryman 10-hp diesel, large berthing and sleepable cockpit — great for the Delta. The Ranger was the most fun, and I wish I still had it.

I lived on the Catalina 27 for several years on Bruno's Island, and commuted to Sacramento for my government job with the Cal EPA.

Kit Stycket-Canright Latitude Nation

⇑⇓ GOOD STORIES FROM YOUR 20-FOOTERS

I had a rough start with my 20s. I was 16 and living aboard a 37-ft cutter with my dad in Sausalito. I'd ride my bike to Tam High with a trombone. I wasn't cool.

I saved a little cash and convinced my dad that I needed my own boat to create some space that we both desperately needed. We found a Columbia 28 that was in great shape and priced just right. It was sold as a kit boat in 1968, sat in a barn, and wasn't nished nor splashed until the mid'90s. Because of this, the guy we bought her from named her Extra Virgin

SAILING4PARKINSONS

REGATTA

CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB

TIBURON. CALIFORNIA

YACHT CRUISE-OU T A PRIL 11

BL A CK TIE FUNDRAIS ER A PRIL 11

RACE & VIEWING A PRIL 12

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My dad agreed to the deal as long as I kept the name. Word got around school about it and it didn't help my program. Thanks Dad! But looking back, he knew what he was doing. I loved that boat, and when I sold her, she paid for my rst semester at Cal Maritime.

Since then, I've been a faithful custodian of a few other 20-footers including a Corsair 24, Santa Cruz 27, Moore 24 and my new love, an Antrim 27.

Ian Sprenger Gig Harbor, Washington

⇑⇓ LITERATURE ON THE SUBJECT

Sailboats in their "20s" are indeed fun, versatile and usually inexpensive. As a kid in the 1970s, my family cruised the Northeast for a couple of weeks each summer on a Tartan 27. There was plenty of room for a family of four, and it wasn't too dif cult to nd a spot to anchor in a crowded anchorage. I now enjoy racing a Santana 22 — it handles like a big dinghy, but much drier.

FYI, if anyone wants to take a deep dive into the world of cruising sailboats in their (early) 20s, they can nd a copy of the book The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats: Reviews and Comparisons of 360 Boats under 26 Feet, by my dad, Steve Henkel. Laird Henkel

⇑⇓ TWENTY FEET OF TERROR

I went sailing in the mid-'80s with a friend on his Cal 20. It was blowing 30-ish and no one else was out, and we quickly tuned the boat for the breeze and set off. When it came time to tack, it was so windy that the boat wouldn't turn through the wind, so we jibed and exploded the jib. It's the rst and only time I've ever been in irons. Neat boat. Great times!

Marty Gingras

⇑⇓ SERVED ME FAITHFULLY

I had a Venture 21 that we sailed from Marina del Rey to Catalina Island. The rudder broke off mid-channel. The narrow retracting keel made it impossible to handle just by balancing the sails, so I had to steer via the ve-hp outboard while leaning over the transom in four- to ve-foot swells. The maintenance department at Two Harbors helped me make a new temporary rudder, and as soon as we got back, we sold that boat and bought a MacGregor 25. That boat served faithfully for many years.

Thunder Levin

⇑⇓ MOORE OF THESE 24 FEET, PLEASE

Drew Doll and I found God near the Farallones during the epic 1994 Doublehanded Race in his Moore 24. We got

laid at by the squall that took out Aotea and others. The ride back in was epic. Swells so deep the sails would collapse in the troughs, then the ass end would come up, the sails would snap, and the boat would take right back off on a plane.

Hans Bigall

⇑⇓ IS THE AMERICA'S CUP BEING RUN ILLEGALLY?

The America's Cup is not merely a sport in decline. It is operating outside the Deed of Gift that governs its existence.

Since the demise of the International America's Cup Class (IACC) at the 2007 Valencia regatta, the Cup has careened into a high-speed, foiling spectacle. Some celebrate it. Most sailors do not.

Aesthetics and nostalgia are not the real problem. The real problem is legal: The current holder of the America's Cup is running the event in material violation of the Deed of Gift. I intend to ask the New York courts to intervene. The America's Cup is not owned by a federation, a commercial rights holder, or a media company. It is governed by a trust instrument — the Deed of Gift — enforced for more than 170 years by the New York courts. It has been modi ed before. But it has never been abandoned.

Among its core requirements are:

About nine years ago, when discussion about the evolution of the erica's Cup began in earnest in the pages of Latitude, we watched footage of an IACC start for an emotional, gutreaction comparison of the foiling and displacement eras. To our surprise, we were riveted. wo giant, skinny onohulls circled slowly, luffing for nearly two minutes before powering up toward the line. The slow speed built tension, then crescendoed as one boat crossed onto starboard and caught the other on ort. antastic bove l Moro di eneia ski ered by local Paul ayard vs. America3 in the 1992 Cup Final.

Racing in yachts complying with speci ed waterline limits

Racing without stored power or engines

Racing on a windward-leeward or triangular course

Racing on an arm of the sea within a de ned distance of the winning club's location

Yachts propelled solely by sailors

Today's foiling craft fail these requirements, such as the minimum racing waterline requirements as clari ed by New York courts, nor with the Deed's prohibition on stored and assisted power. Flying above the water is not "sailing" as contemplated by the trust.

I am not a casual critic. I trimmed the main on America True and Oracle BMW Racing. I later funded my own campaign — the Sausalito Challenge — for the 2007 cycle, which ultimately evolved into Shosholoza. From 1999 to 2007, my partner Tina and I purchased and restored four IACC yachts and ran a vintage challenge series out of the Sausalito Yacht Club, attracting serious teams including Larry Ellison with

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USA-61 and USA-76.

I have spent my life inside the America's Cup ecosystem — as a sailor, a syndicate founder, and a steward of its history. This is not theory. It is lived experience.

The original America's Cup envisioned large, demanding monohulls — closer in spirit to the J-Class than to aircraft. Yachts sailed by crews of 25-30. Racing was meant to be grueling. Tactical. Human. Conducted on recognizable courses that rewarded seamanship and endurance. Today, the Cup is sailed by pilots managing systems — not crews sailing boats. Speed alone is not the violation. Structure is.

The most direct violation concerns racing waterline length. Foiling yachts circumvent waterline limits by removing displacement from the equation entirely. The New York courts have already spoken on minimum waterline standards in prior Deed litigation.

Foiling did not amend those rulings. Marketing did not amend the trust. Commercial success does not supersede law. My petition will ask the court to enforce a 90-ft maximum waterline monohull class sailed by approximately 30 crew with no stored power or control systems on Deed-compliant courses within a 50-mile radius of the winning club. Not retro. Not nostalgic. Modern, but lawful. A class that blends the majesty of J-Class with the discipline of IACC.

In 2007, I was the chosen Challenger of Record contingent upon Team New Zealand's winning the Cup. Together, we developed a 90-ft waterline concept — precisely the hybrid class now being ignored.

The America's Cup does not belong to ying machines, sponsors, or television formats. It belongs to sailors — and to the law that created it. Someone has to enforce that law.

John Sweeney Point Buckler Island

Readers — The above letter is a condensed version of a post by John Sweeney on yacht designer Julian Everett's Facebook page. We ran the full version of that post in the February 6 'LL

We'll refer you to the February issue's Letters for a thorough discussion of what the modern America's Cup has become — one of several such Letters threads over the past nine years that have asked, "What has this become?"

⇑⇓ YEAH, BUT THE OLD CUP WAS FAR FROM PERFECT

While the legalities mentioned may be correct, and I don't dispute them, the old AC was boring and slow. The new foiling series is exciting, fast, and above all, entertaining. And thus far, it also appears to be commercially viable, which the old version was not.

By all means pursue a legal challenge. If you win, good luck setting up a new version of the old-style event. It will no doubt go back to being a race between billionaires and even then not guaranteed any TV coverage or opportunity for revenue for the organizer.

If you win, it may simply be a Pyrrhic victory. [A success that in icts such devastating costs on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.] Nostalgic sailors will no doubt rejoice, but the rest of the world has already moved on.

Other classes of racing have adopted foils, and no doubt more will follow. But the classic, wooden J-Class boats have

a few races mainly in the Med, so nostalgia is also a potential attractor of eyeballs.

Good luck! You're going to need it!

Mark Walker

Mark — "Go back to being a race between billionaires?" And what exactly is it now? Some kind of "everyman" equal playing eld romp that anyone can join?

Developing and racing a modern America's Cup (AC75) foil boat typically costs well over $100 million USD for a competitive campaign.

At least with the old "boring" America's Cup — which indeed, unless you were a racing sailor, could be akin to watching paint dry, except for the occasional sketchy mark rounding when it was more like watching the paint catch on re and burn down the house — the weekend club racer and weekend cruiser could understand what was going on and even maybe apply something he or she saw to their own sailing bag of tricks.

The America's Cup doesn't need to be "must-see TV" and it doesn't need to make prime time on ESPN. What it needs to do is honor its Deed of Gift.

Roxanne Vettese Latitude Contributor

Roxanne — As we said last month, while it does take about $150 million to run a successful America's Cup campaign over the course of four years, that number is a fraction of the annual cost of mainstream sports.

ro winged keels to bows rits, design controversy has always been art of the erica's u , even if it doesn't rise to the level of a eed of Gift fracas. In 1992, New Zealand Challenge's use of a bowsprit in the ouis uitton u challenger final roved decisive. eading against l Moro di ene ia, was successfully rotested, docked a race win and re uired to re ove the bows rit. ew ealand lost the next four races.

I disagree with Mark — I found the monohull races far more interesting. Watching the foiling America's Cup in San Francisco was boring. (You'd see them for a minute or two and then they were gone.) I don't know about legalities but I fully agree with John.

Bob Carl

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THE ENDLESS DEBATE

Barstool debates over AC foiling boats vs. "the good old days" are endless and will remain regardless of any court ling. Unless the petitioner is sponsoring a team, I don't see

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WANT TO WANTTOSHAWAII? HAWAII?

how they have any skin in the game.

The language from the deed amendment granted by the NY court in 1956 is most telling to me: "… And it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court from said petition and the papers annexed thereto that circumstances have so changed since the execution of said Deed of Gift, in a manner not known to the said donor and not anticipated by him, as to render impractical a literal compliance with the aforesaid terms of said Deed of Gift; and it further appearing that the grantor of said Deed of Gift has died and that the Attorney General of the State of New York is the only person interested in this proceeding; and said Attorney General having appeared and certi ed that he has no objections to the entry of an order as prayed for by petitioner."

In other words, things have changed since 1857 and the court doesn't really care.

Neal Holmlund Latitude Nation

⇑⇓ WHAT DO THE SAILORS SAILING THE AC WANT?

The Deed only contemplated huge wooden ships with cloth sails. So is that the only formula allowed? Or are the "beloved" (by those over a certain age) 12-Meters with carbon ber and titanium allowed? Ask anyone actually sailing in the event in the last 12 years what they prefer. Should the Indianapolis 500 be raced with 75 hp engines for the nostalgia? Time, and everything, marches forward. Hopefully we can too.

⇑⇓ TRIM OR LAWYER UP?

Robert

By all means, let's get back to the true roots of the America's Cup: Lawsuits. Surely, that's what the authors of the Deed of Gift wanted, for people to litigate the rules two centuries later.

By the way, I happen to agree with almost every critique of today's America's Cup. As a 40-something-year-old, I couldn't care less about the foiling boats, though most of my friends — sailors and non-sailors alike — think it's cool. I also tend to get pretty nostalgic about the good old days, but I recognize that my wistfulness is mostly BS. Was I watching a full two-and-a-half-hour race between Pact 95 and Stars & Stripes? De nitely not! But I was working in Shelter Island and was surrounded by the boats and the event for half the year, so you'd better believe the 1995 Cup will always have a special place in my heart. (By the way, did I watch every second of every race when Oracle came back against Team New Zealand in 2013? Absolutely. And it was edge-of-yourseat awesome.)

Maybe we should all admit that sailboat racing is actually kind of boring to watch, especially if you go out and do it yourself twice a week. I actually think it's much more interesting to follow a round-the-world race — you can drop in at your leisure, watch footage, read posts, check the tracker, etc. Buoy races are kind of blah.

And maybe we should stop trying to harken back to those good old days and try to make sailboat racing great again. Sailing/foiling is thriving, even if it's evolved beyond what we know, recognize or want it to be. We should stop trying to interpret what people, who couldn't possibly imagine

the ways in which sailing would advance, really meant and wanted when they wrote the Deed of Gift 200 years ago. I am incredibly skeptical any time someone gleefully wants to go backward in the name of tradition and old-timey rules. (I did not mean to draw political parallels when I wrote that, but there they are and please take them literally.)

Maybe instead of suing someone, we should put our efforts, and money, into reviving the old classes that we love so much. It was great to see the Js in Bermuda in 2017. Why hasn't someone made a deal with the America's Cup event authority to have a J or 12-Meter regatta go with the Cup? (The answer, I'm sure, is that it's too damn expensive.) It seems like John Sweeney is the perfect person to organize something like that.

I will watch, or at least I'll pretend to watch, but I'll be sure to comment in a place like this how much better and authentic and tactical and relatable and majestic that kind of sailing is — because it is!

Danny Hendricks San Diego

⇑⇓ EVOLUTION AFTER FAILURE IN THE GOLDEN GLOBE

Dear Latitude 38 — My name is Guy deBoer, and I am an American entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, the solo, nonstop, unsupported round-the-world race departing Les Sables-d'Olonne, France, this September. I am writing to tell you about evolution after failure, and what it truly means to return to the sea changed.

In the 2022 Golden Globe Race, I successfully passed the rst checkpoint at Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Shortly afterward, exhaustion caught up with me. I fell asleep, and my yacht Spirit was driven onto the rocks off Fuerteventura. My race ended abruptly and publicly, an outcome every solo sailor fears.

What followed was not denial, but responsibility.

Rather than abandon Spirit, I committed to saving her. She was recovered from the rocks and rebuilt over many months in a boatyard and industrial hall on Fuerteventura. During that time, while she lay vulnerable, thieves stripped her of more than $60,000 worth of essential equipment and sails. Still, the rebuild continued.

More important than the physical work was the personal.

The accident forced an un inching examination of fatigue management, decision-making under isolation, and the cumulative mental toll of solo ocean racing. I studied the mistake, owned it fully, and allowed it to change how I prepare and sail. This was not about redemption through repetition — it was about returning evolved: more disciplined, more conservative where it matters, and more respectful of how quickly margins disappear offshore.

I wrestled deeply with whether to re-enter the Golden Globe Race. Ultimately, the extraordinary support of several individuals, who stepped forward to cover my full entry fee

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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and help replace stolen gear, made the decision possible. Today, with less than seven months before the start, Spirit and I are in the nal stages of preparation to stand once again on the starting line, determined to nish what was started in the 2022 Golden Globe Race.

History reminds us that solo sailing is unforgiving, even to the best.

SMALL MOTOR CLEARANCE SALE

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede experienced early groundings before winning the Golden Globe. Alex Thomson famously ran aground just miles from nishing a transatlantic race after falling asleep. Pip Hare has openly shared her own groundings and setbacks on the path to becoming one of offshore sailing's most respected gures.

These moments do not de ne failure; they de ne evolution. I believe this story ts squarely within that tradition: accountability, adaptation and un nished business at sea.

Guy deBoer New Orleans

⇑⇓ WHAT, EXACTLY, IS THE PROBLEM ON THE OAKLAND ESTUARY? THE LIST IS LONG

A mess created by the minority will have to be dealt with by the majority. These are the same people who throw their trash in the street and pollute the Estuary, dumping excrement overboard. Yes, they are polluting the Estuary, but who cares?

By the way, the large sailing ship [SV Kaisei, which sank in May 2025] is still half-sunk in Alameda by the Nob Hill shopping center.] "If a nonpro t can do it, then why can't a poor person do it?" seems to be the mantra.

Brock [de Lappe] has been outspoken about this for many years and has a good focus on the problem, but he seems to be a lone voice calling in the wilderness. It's not the USCG's problem, not Oakland's problem and not Alameda's problem — just the taxpayer's problem.

And that's the problem.

Roger Nunez

The following comments stem from comments from a series of 'Lectronic Latitudes written in late 2025 as storms poured through the Bay Area and sent anchor-outs careening to shore.

⇑⇓ WHERE IS THE PROBLEM COMING FROM?

Here's something I've been wondering about but haven't seen much coverage on: Where are these boats actually coming from? Are they stolen and it just isn't being reported? Or is there some informal or hidden market where owners who

no longer want their boats simply give them away?

I appreciate that you continue to cover this issue. I live across from Coast Guard Island in Marina Village and the situation gets worse each day.

Curtis Sojka

Curtis — It's the latter. There are a ton of old, abandoned boats that harbormasters are stuck with and, as they have done for decades, often sell for $1 to reduce risk and open slips for rate-paying tenants. Some of those boats get restored and sail again; some become derelicts.

⇑⇓ THE PRODUCT IS THE PROBLEM

The crux of the problem is too many boats. Stop all production of boats, unless easily recyclable. No more berglass. Soon, those derelicts would look valuable. The boats would then begin taking on the allure of old American cars in Cuba. We live in a throw-away society.

Dennis M Bailey

⇑⇓ TWO DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TAKES ON THE PROBLEM

It's insane to manufacture boats that will inevitably sink. Pretty much every boat is a bubble bolted to a sinker.

A running shoe is better designed as a boat than most boats are. It will oat across oceans and never sink. Walk along a beach and see all kinds of garbage that's better designed than most boats are.

The short-term thinking and pathological optimism of normal people is what lls our waterways with boats that aren't made for what they're designed for.

Tim Anderson

The problem emanates from the production of berglass hulls decades ago, which lasted far longer than the boats' other useful or desirable components. We may never dispose of enough derelict boats to solve the short-term crisis.

One way to mitigate the longer-term problem, however, might be for the government to charge a boat disposal fee with every new boat sold, and to use those fees to dispose of older boats. California already does this with things like car tires and batteries.

A "pay it forward" plan to at least stem the tide.

Sean Svendsen

We agree with Sean. While there are surely boats out there that are lower in quality, one of the many problems in the endless derelict cycle is that a number of boats are unsinkable and thus perfectly suited for oating encampments.

⇑⇓ THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE ECONOMICS

I have to imagine the economics don't lie: It's more expensive to enforce than it is to pull up the sunken boats, even if they cost $100k a pop to extract. We'll get more grants.

The state needs to get involved and needs policies requiring boats have a bond in place or insurance before being put in the water. There also needs to be simpli ed enforcement, such as Washington state's Derelict Vessels Act, which substantially lowers the threshold for removing a boat.

It sucks, but it's the truth. Washington does not require

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a bond, but the bond/insurance approach would really preempt the problem in the rst place — if the vessel is not insurable, and it is understood that the authorities would swiftly impound it, we wouldn't be putting impoverished people in the position to lose their (albeit modest) investment either through being seized or sinking.

The insurance companies will determine which boats are worthy of being underwritten and which ones are not. That should not meaningfully increase anyone's premiums vs. today, it would just guarantee that vessels that cannot be reasonably insured will stay off the water, or get scrapped on their way out.

Once a person without the means purchases one of these hulks, there's no turning back. There's a signi cant pool of boats in Alameda waiting for this fate.

Karl

Karl — The state of California is incompetent so don't hold your breath waiting for them to do anything positive.

Enforcing the existing laws would solve the problem; however, some attorney would le lawsuit after lawsuit to prevent that from happening.

This isn't a homeless problem, it's a drug problem and nobody wants to do anything about that, either. Too many people are making billions off the "homeless" and have zero incentive to x the problem as it will cut off the gravy train that is lling their pockets with taxpayer dollars.

John

⇑⇓ ARE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS THE PROBLEM?

When the marinas get bought out, such as Safe Harbor did to Blackstone, the insurance requirements demand full coverage to be in the marina. It puts a lot of people out.

I totally understand why the anchor-outs are out there.

David Bennett

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler, Santa Cruz 52 Alameda

⇑⇓ DOES SOCAL HANDLE THE PROBLEM BETTER THAN NORCAL? YES

We are on a short "mini-cruise" from Ensenada to SD/ Mission Bay/Dana Point/Alamitos Bay/Avalon, then a

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straight shot back to Ensenada. I am writing this from the turning basin in Dana Point, where we have seen the effects of the poorly maintained-to-derelict and often-incompetently operated boats at each stop.

In general, though, SoCal harbor authorities seem to handle the problem far better than NorCal does. San Diego's anchorages, for example, all require setting up an account with the Port, then reserving an anchoring slot in La Playa, Glorieta Bay or the cruisers' anchorage (A7). The allowable time and frequency are managed and ENFORCED.

Joseph DiMatteo Latitude Nation

⇑⇓ THIS PROBLEM ISN'T GOOD FOR ANYONE

Theft at Marina Village perpetrated by people that live on anchor-out boats will only get worse if something isn't done. By the way, it's a problem not only for the Oakland Police — the Alameda Police, and the management of Marina Village, also need to be involved.

I went to a ABAG [Association of Bay Area Governments] meeting a couple years ago where promises were made and some assistance did come, it just wasn't enough. We all understand how hard it is for multiple governments and private companies to work together without pointing ngers at each other, but I'm a little disappointed with all of them.

I've kept a boat at Marina Village for almost 20 years. It was always full with a waiting list to get a slip there. Now, there are empty slips everywhere.

This isn't good for anyone.

⇑⇓ YOU'RE THE PROBLEM

Dan Knox Luna Sea

You can't use police to solve poverty. You should be writing about the connection of the housing crisis and lack of affordable housing to this problem, not calling for cops to harass poor people.

Tommaso Nicholas Boggia

Tommaso — We appreciate your sticking up for anchorouts, but blaming people trying to live with some semblance of safety only perpetuates the problem.

We have written extensively about the complexities of the anchor-out problem and mention the housing crisis in nearly every story we write. We have paddled out to otillas and talked to anchor-outs. We have expressed empathy for people experiencing homelessness and said countless times, "We understand why people would want to live on boats instead of the streets. We'd do the same if we were in their shoes."

What have you done?

We also empathize with liveaboards on the Estuary who've had to deal with theft, intimidation and blight. Enforcing longstanding no-anchor laws is by no means a solution to the housing crisis, drug abuse, the absence of mental-health treatment or the myriad cracks in the social fabric, but it has to start somewhere. The solution can't be to do nothing, or to blame people who call the police because they fear for their safety and property.

What have you done for the community, Tommaso? Have

you ever talked with anchor-outs? Have you tried to create some sense of community that promotes safe anchorages and discourages theft and dumping trash? Have you ever talked with liveaboards and listened to their concerns? Are you out there doing shoreside cleanups?

If you have one planned, let us know. We'll join you.

⇑⇓ THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

Let's be clear, there are several aspects to this problem. Foremost is that the laws against anchoring in the Estuary are not being enforced by the Oakland Police Department. Once a boat is allowed to stay, more will follow. Consider the comparison with the Alameda shoreline where no anchorouts are tolerated as they are immediately confronted by the Alameda PD marine patrol.

The Oakland Estuary has gone through repeated cycles of expensive cleanups only to be reoccupied. This is an enforcement problem. The Port of Oakland is the fourth-largest port on the West Coast. Can you imagine Long Beach, Los Angeles or Seattle/Tacoma not having an effective marine patrol unit available 24/7? And yet Oakland fails completely in this responsibility. The consequences are all too clear.

The other underlying reality is the lack of a truly effective program to deal with end-of-life boats. Many are simply abandoned in marinas. This is an economic burden marinas cannot absorb. The California Division of Boating and Waterways SAVE program has nominal funds to address this issue, and those funds are available only to other government agencies, not directly to marinas. The necessary support to marinas is sporadic and insuf cient, and thus, boats are sold for a dollar, feeding the anchor-out problem.

There needs to be more funding and there needs to be a legislative change to allow marinas to apply for support directly. This would be money well spent — it is far less expensive to deal with these boats while they are still oating.

I also believe that there need to be changes to the state's Harbors and Navigation Code to protect local law enforcement agencies from being sued for towing and disposing illegal anchor-outs. Oakland has been sued twice and unfortunately chose to settle rather than ghting in court. As a result, every anchor-out — who may have gotten their boat for a dollar — will resist moving and instead just wait for their anticipated windfall.

Without fundamental changes, this problem will only get worse. The public should not have this waterway desecrated as a marine junkyard.

Brock de Lappe Former City of Oakland Harbormaster

⇑⇓ THE "NEW-BAH," AS DESCRIBED BY THE ASSISTANT POOBAH

I met Chuck Skewes in 2010 in San Diego after squeezing Talion into a tiny reciprocal slip at Coronado Cays Yacht Club. A boat owner who helped me tie up invited me along for that evening's beer can race, and Chuck — who had just sold him a new set of sails — came too.

Ten minutes into the race, I was already a Chuck Skewes fan. He was a great sailor — patient with the owner, highly skilled, fun to sail with, and just an all-around terri c guy. I can't even remember if we won, but it didn't matter. The race

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ith the sole n gravity of a an relin uishing both rudder and real , Richard Spindler releases the wheel of whimsy and the helm of high jinks, entrusting huck Skewes with the sacred s okes of sailing sovereignty, passing the compass of command to Chuck and the charted course of Baja Ha-Ha destiny.

itself and the post-race mischief were classic.

So when I later heard Chuck would be taking on the Baja Ha-Ha, there was no way I was following the Spindlers into retirement from the rally.

I update the website as soon as the event is over every year. Other than a few small changes, such as the signup date and the change in the cost, everything is the same.

Patsy 'La Reina del Mar' Verhoeven Assistant Poobah Talion, Gulfstar 50 Planet Ocean

⇑⇓ ONE MORE MEMORANDUM FOR CLUB NAUTIQUE

I was so sad to hear about the loss of David Forbes and Club Nautique.

I joined CN in 1985 while it was a tiny sailing school with three boats in the Estuary in Alameda. I enjoyed 35 years of sailing and instructing at the club, seeing it grow and prosper. Club Nautique was a family for me with wonderful owners, instructors and thousands of members/students.

I sailed with CN members nearby from Seattle to Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta and many other places around the world. David and Club Nautique will be greatly missed.

Aki Kaniel

LOOSE LIPS

Welove this image of Little Bullet and Sir Edmund meeting at the top of the world. Thanks to Larry Baskin for this shot, which he grabbed from a video he took. Larry is currently on his way to Antarctica via Drake Passage. Hopefully his ocean is a little larger than the one in his photo.

Winner and top 10 comments below.

"Drat! I spent hours getting the boats in this desk weight and forgot the snow!" — Richard vonEhrenkrook.

"Barbara’s toilet bowl art amused Eric, but didn’t improve his aim.…" — Bruce Conn.

"This was the last view of Little Bullet before the whirlpool eddy pulled her below the waves. The pre-race meeting reports of ‘Kraken’ sightings along the Cityfront were generally disregarded or ignored." — Eben Kermit.

"Phil suddenly realized that using two Corona bottles because his binoculars had gone overboard was not the best solution to help him determine who has the right of way." — Mark Caplin.

"Maybe the Earth is at?" — Fritz.

"It’s all downhill from here." — Nora DeGaa.

"Circumnavigation made easy!" — Richard Cooper.

"Welcome to Discworld. The sailing is a bit limited here; blame that on the Hogfather (aka Terry Pratchett)." — Kelvin Meeks.

"This sailglobe ain't big enough for the two of us, I challenge you to a duel. Spinnakers at dawn!" — Monica.

under the same canopy

I didn't grow up next to the ocean, but I longed for it. In junior high, I'd sit on a bus from Fullerton for two-and-a-half hours just to surf blown-out waves with a friend. I didn't even know what good waves were. I just knew something inside me was calling. Childhood was rough. It left some deep emotional wounds. No one in my family sailed. At 18, without ever having gone sailing, I started getting sailor tattoos. The ocean wasn't inherited. It felt uniquely mine. And when a contractor I was working for offered to sell me his Cal 28 when I was 21, I didn't hesitate. I went to look at her and fell in love immediately.

Fast-forward more than 20 years and my life has been shaped by the sea. I've taken boats to wild places in the middle of the Paci c. I've crossed open water with nothing but horizon in every direction. The ocean lled something hollow inside me. It taught me discipline. It taught me humility. It taught me connection. In 2015, after selling my boat in Fiji, I left the water for a while and moved to the forest in West Virginia to help care for my ex-wife's elderly aunt who had dementia. For two years, I lived among trees instead of tide. Something unexpected happened: The forest spoke to me the same way the ocean had. The wind through leaves felt like wind in rigging. The deep, layered stillness of the woods carried the same presence as a calm anchorage at dawn. I began to understand that the lessons were the same — patience, interdependence, resilience.

When I nally made it to the Bay eight years ago, all I wanted was to get back out cruising. I bought another boat, Sisko, sight unseen after a cruising friend told me, "If you don't buy her, I will." I wired the money and drove cross-country to bring her home. I got a job at KKMI with one goal: Fix her up and sail around the world. I did x her up. And when I nally quit my job and made it as far as Half Moon Bay to begin that next chapter, something in me froze. I couldn't leave. I called off the trip. It devastated me. I spiraled into one of the hardest depressions of my life. A relationship ended days later. I crawled back to the yard and asked for my job back. Something had to change.

For years, I'd been chasing sunsets over the horizon, convinced that ful llment was out there somewhere. I didn't realize that the community I needed was here, on this Bay, in these yards, on these docks. Over time, my dream shifted. I moved off the boat. I built a home. I fell in love in a deeper, steadier way. Sailing changed, too. When you're no longer living aboard with all your possessions tumbling with every tack, the water feels different. It became joyful again.

It also became expensive.

Today I hold two boats, a home and a piece of off-grid forest land where I plan to build a cabin. They are beautiful blessings. They're also heavy to carry alone. I started asking myself: "How do I hold all of this without burning out?" Because that's what I see happening around the Bay. Boats sitting unused. Owners aging out. People who once sailed every weekend stepping back under the weight of slip fees, maintenance, insurance, responsibility. The culture of nding help on the dock — the informal apprenticeship of knowledge passing hand to hand — has thinned. We are trying to carry too much alone.

The answer came back to me through the redwoods.

Old-growth forests are not sustained by one towering tree. They're sustained by networks. Roots intertwine underground through fungal systems, sharing nutrients. Fallen trees become nurse logs, feeding the next generation. Nothing is wasted or stands alone. The strength of the forest comes from shared load. That model is sustainable.

The model we're often handed in modern life — the "me, myself, continued on outside column of next sightings page

ryc asks: "who's

This year, Richmond Yacht Club will host the 43rd "Big Daddy" Regatta on March 7 and 8, with eet racing on Saturday and pursuit racing on Sunday. Always a popular, fun event both on the water and at the club, this year's theme is "Cherry Blossom Festival."

Who is this perennial favorite on the Bay's racing calendar named after? The moniker started in 1983 in honor of Robert E. Klein, better known as Bob, a legend in the San Francisco Bay racing community. One crew member began referring to Bob as the 'Big Daddy,' and the name followed him for the rest of his life.

your big daddy?"

Bob became a member of the Richmond Yacht Club in 1952 and was its commodore twice. He was devoted to sailing, starting at Lake Merritt with 110s, a eet that was popular and competitive in the 1950s.

Bob became famous after winning races on Amateur Hour and later on his Peterson 40, Leading Lady, where he often had juniors sailing as crew, inspiring a younger generation. At the ripe old age of 28, Bob was older than most of his young crew who were in their early 20s — they considered him the "old man" on the boat.

Over the decades, Bob sailed with a

under the canopy — continued

and I" mentality — is not. We are conditioned to own it, x it, fund it and manage it, and if we burn out, we blame ourselves. But humans aren't wired to operate like isolated silos. We are wired for canopy. Out of that realization, the Sisko Sailing Collective was born.

It's simple. Instead of one person carrying the entire weight of ownership, we share it. Members don't just go sailing. They show up for maintenance days. They learn systems and take responsibility. They invest time and sweat. They become part of something living. It's not a charter business. It's not passive recreation. It's shared stewardship.

There is ego in sailing and I know it well. Tradition, pride, independence — and independence has its place. But when I grip too tightly and try to do everything alone, life becomes rigid and heavy. When I loosen that grip, something more natural emerges.

The Bay is rich in maritime history. We have the boats. We have

under the canopy — continued

the skills. We have the resources. We have people who are hungry to belong to something meaningful and rooted. What we need is a sustainable way to connect them.

The Collective is my attempt at building an old-growth model on the water, where knowledge is passed on, where responsibility is distributed, where no one has to collapse under the full weight of ownership alone. Nobody wants to burn out. Everyone deserves access to this place — to the wind, the tide, the community. Everyone deserves a place under the canopy. The redwoods taught me that longevity comes from interdependence. The ocean taught me humility. The Bay taught me that the people I was searching for were here all along. If we want our maritime culture to remain healthy — alive, resilient, and generous — we have to tend it the way a forest tends itself. Together.

continued on outside column of next sightings page

big daddy — cont.

who's who of talented Bay Area sailors (including Latitude 38's own Max Ebb), who were dedicated to crewing on his boats and winning races. When not sailing his own boat, Bob served as tactician on other boats, particularly in the Big Boat Series. In 1977, he won the Sir Thomas J. Lipton Challenge Trophy as the tactician on Black Magic with Jim DeWitt skippering. Bob and his wife were active in many aspects of sailing, including RYC's junior program, and were instrumental in establishing the RYC Foundation. Bob never stopped enjoying sailing and inspiring others.

— michael reynolds

cots's olson recognized under the canopy — continued

Call of the Sea founder Alan Olson was awarded Tall Ships America's Lifetime Achievement Award on February 11, an accolade recognizing an individual who has dedicated their life's work to getting people to sea under sail and has worked to preserve the traditions and skills of sail training. Alan Olson has done exactly that.

Over 70 or so years, Olson has built ships and used his vessels for the bene t of the community. His ship the Stone Witch, built in Alviso in the late '70s, spent its life as a charter vessel, a youth program platform and an activist ship. Alan's next continued in middle column of next sightings page

Top center: Kevin Wasbauer on his Farr 53 'Atalanta'. This summer, Kevin will take guests to Hawaii. Counterclockwise from right: Barry Spanier on his junk-rigged, scow-bow cruiser 'Rosie G'; Barry and Samantha, bottom center, just completed a long-dreamed-of cruise through the South Pacific; 'Rosie G' on the Bay.

You can find the full Good Jibes archive on our website. Go to www.latitude38.com and click on "Podcast" or scan the QR code below:

We're looking for more members. You can reach me by email at justinjenkins819@gmail.com. The Collective so far is: myself, owner/captain, 43, general contractor; Jac Lardieri, my partner, 40, graphic designer; Riley Lardieri, daughter, 11; Corbin Pagter, 60, sailor/photographer; Thomas Reinhardt, 52, teacher/chef; Nick Lofarro, 34, software engineer/musician.

— justin jenkins

let the good jibes roll

Scow bows, restorations and educational voyages are just some of the stories that have reverberated through Latitude 38's Good Jibes podcast these past few weeks.

Not long after a 52-ft scow-bowed racer recently won the RORC Transatlantic Race, Barry and Samantha Spanier completed their San Francisco-to-Australia voyage on their scow-bowed cruiser Rosie G, begging the question: Is there a scow-bow phenomenon happening?

Barry and Samantha sat down with Latitude 38 editor Monica Grant to talk about their experience. You've probably read about the Spaniers' unique cruiser Rosie G, but the bigger story is Barry's winding path through a lifetime of sailing to get her built. Barry got his start building sails for Hank Jotz in Sausalito, but he always had his eyes on the horizon.

"We've had other boats before," Barry told Monica. "When I was younger, I built a ferrocement and sailed it until I wrecked it in New Zealand in 1978. Rosie G started with these drawings that I did while I was in Tahiti." Samantha, Barry's partner of 30 years, discovered the drawings decades later.

"I said, 'Is this something you want to do?' And he said, 'I would love to.' It was his dream boat," Samantha said. "He thinks outside the box. With everything in his life, he's very creative. He has an amazing mind that doesn't stop. I said, 'If you're gonna do this, I want you to do exactly how you want. I don't care how outside the box it is. I don't care what anybody says. If you don't do it, if you compromise, then let's not spend the money and time. We're going all in or not doing it.'"

Barry and Samantha shared wisdom and beauty from their life in sailing, and revealed why they stayed in Tahiti for so long and helped start a new sail loft in Taha'a. Their transpaci c cruise ended near Brisbane, Australia, not far from where Latitude 38 editor and proud Aussie Monica Grant spends about half the year.

Good Jibes host Ryan Foland spoke with Kevin Wasbauer about his restoration of the Bruce Farr-designed yacht and his plans to take guests on an experiential learning voyage to Hawaii this summer.

Kevin said that he didn't come from a sailing family, but at age 8 found himself at camp at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma. "I absolutely loved it," Kevin told Ryan about sailing a Sabot for the rst time. "The next week I graduated up to a Laser, and I knew right away. There were the boats and the water and the wind, and something about it hooked me. I just loved it."

Years later, Kevin sailed in a Farr 40 program and competed in a few Worlds before restoring the well-pedigreed 1989 Farr 53 Atalanta, which became the agship of Shearwater Sailing adventures, where he takes guests out on Monterey Bay. After interest from guests who have done coastal trips with him before, Kevin will take some of his paying clients on the amply spaced Farr on a trip to Hawaii.

— latitude / john

closing a central coast coverage gap

Have you ever felt like you're being watched on the water in a way that brings you peace of mind — knowing that at any moment someone can see you, track you, and even call for help if something goes wrong?

The automatic identi cation system, or AIS, allows vessels to transmit information such as their position, speed and identity. Originally designed for larger commercial vessels, AIS has become a cornerstone of collision avoidance, accountability and overall maritime safety.

A critical part of the system is terrestrial AIS, which consists of land-based receiver stations installed along the coast that listen for AIS signals transmitted by vessels offshore. These stations provide real-time coastal vessel tracking and share that information with emergency responders, harbormasters and vessel-tracking platforms.

But there still isn't full terrestrial AIS coverage along the coast of California, or coverage from the Bay Area down to San Diego.

cots's olson recognized

ship, Maramel, carried crews around the Paci c Rim. Next, he brought the schooner Seaward to the Bay to resurrect the youth sailing programs he had begun with Call of the Sea aboard Stone Witch. In 2017, he oversaw the launch of the 135-ft brigantine Matthew Turner, which, alongside Seaward, provides sailing education and training for Bay Area youths.

Tall Ships America cited Alan's decades of service creating sail training opportunities for youths, particularly those from underserved communities.

"Whether in terms of nautical miles traveled or youth served, Olson is among the most proli c sail trainers in American history," Tall Ships America said.

— continued central coast gap — continued

"Olson's reputation is built on delivering high-quality learning opportunities through curiosity-driven and evidence-based programs that provide transformative experiences for young people. Through Call of the Sea, he has labored tirelessly to create an equitable, welcoming, and empowering community for many volunteers, staff, and crew that work for the organization.

"Olson's builds and restorations (Stone Witch, Maramel, Matthew Turner among them) have been key vessels in the Paci c sail training eet."

We join the sailing community in congratulating Alan on his lifetime of work in making sailing accessible to the public.

There are two main types of AIS transceivers: Class A and Class B. Class A is required on ships more than 300 gross tons, passenger vessels and most commercial vessels over 65 feet. Larger vessels transmit at higher power, more frequently, and are often required to have their AIS data relayed via satellite, in addition to shore-based receivers.

Class B transceivers are used by pleasure craft and smaller vessels and transmit at lower power and less frequently, and as a result, rely heavily on terrestrial AIS receiver stations along the coast for their position data to be received, shared and made visible online. Without nearby shore-based receivers, Class B signals often go unseen beyond a limited local range, effectively removing these vessels from wider situational awareness. All classes of AIS transceivers transmit their signals over VHF radio frequencies, the same spectrum used for standard marine communications and received by nearby vessels and terrestrial AIS stations on shore, where platforms such as MarineTraf c and OpenAIS receive information.

Terrestrial AIS receivers are becoming increasingly important. They are easy to install and can provide up to 80 nautical miles of coverage, depending on location and antenna height. That coverage is critical in areas where AIS reception is limited or nonexistent.

I have been sailing along the California coast for the past ve years, either in FJs sailing for the UC Santa Cruz Sailing Team or in a Moore 24 sailing for Team Pegasus. I never thought twice about my ability to call for help — I either had a cellphone signal or was within VHF range. But when I went down to Morro Bay to do a delivery back to Santa Cruz, I discovered a large gap in coverage. There were no AIS receivers between Monterey and Morro Bay, which can be one of the most dangerous stretches of coast. Addressing the problem turned out to be much easier than expected. MarineTraf c was willing to supply the necessary equipment. After a short application and a few emails back and forth with a representative, a kit arrived. The plan was to install the receiver somewhere on the Central Coast.

After a few conversations with other boaters, I decided to reach out to Morro Bay Yacht Club. Installing the kit could not have been easier: Mount the VHF antenna, plug it into the processor, connect the processor to power and a wired internet connection, and the system immediately begins receiving AIS vessel positions in the area and uploading that position data to the internet. When combined with systems like Starlink, the usefulness of AIS is further expanded. Cruising eets and buddy boats can follow one another's progress throughout a passage, regardless of distance from shore. (AIS Class B transmit power is less than ve watts, so range is routinely less than 10 nm.) It also provides an additional layer of redundancy for staying connected, allowing friends and family onshore to check your position without relying on intermittent cellular coverage.

The Morro Bay receiver is especially important. It is one of the few safe harbors along Central California, but it's also one of the foggiest. With a challenging inlet and routinely rough seas, being able to see which vessels are coming in and out of the channel is crucial for safe navigation. Even boaters without AIS on board can view vessel traf c online through websites like MarineTraf c, providing another layer of situational awareness.

If you know boats in an area with limited or no terrestrial AIS coverage, consider applying to become a host. The equipment is often provided at no cost and could save a life. Systems like these give you and your family peace of mind when traveling up and down the coast. — blake roberts

SIGHTINGS

crew dynamics

In the March 2025 issue of Latitude 38, we published a story about a troubled crew member who had to be taken off a boat by the US Coast Guard while on an offshore passage from Washington to San Francisco. In response, Rich Jepsen shares his thoughts on organizing a good crew. If you're looking for or to crew, join us at the Spring Crew List Party at the Golden Gate Yacht Club on March 5 at 6 p.m.

Crew dynamics can save a life, or cost a life in the worst circumstances. In general, good dynamics keep crews together.

After a few miles under my keel, I have developed a crew dynamic approach that has served me well. It all starts with me as skipper. Being a "good crew" is certainly important, but it is much easier to be a good crew if the skipper takes the environment and culture seriously and cultivates them from the start.

By the way, if we're really talking about crew dynamics: This list

continued on outside column of next sightings page

support latitude 38

"There's been many imitators, but there's nothing like the genuine enthusiasm about sailing that Latitude exudes," Garry E Willis comment on our February 4 'Lectronic Latitude: The Times They Are A-Changin'.

That story featured a handwritten letter in our postbox — all old-school forms of communication that are in danger of being lost, along with print media — from Capt. Lee Percell. The captain included $36 for a year's subscription to Latitude 38.

We feel lucky to serve such an amazing community of sailors enjoying a one-of-akind Bay and coast to sail. Thank you for your readership, comments and letters, Latitude Nation.

and west coast sailing

Sadly, those alone don't pay the printer!

Sailing, the sailing industry and publishing have all undergone major changes — which is to say they're shrinking and sometimes disappearing altogether. You've probably noticed that Latitude 38 has gotten thinner over the years. The bottom line to a skinny issue is less advertising, less revenue and less content.

Latitude 38 is reaching out to readers to ask for your nancial support. We are dedicated to keep doing what we've been doing: covering the Bay Area and West Coast sailing, from local regattas to global races, cruising the coast and the world, and keeping an eye on local waterfront politics.

crew dynamics —

leaves off a few things that must be done well, such as crew practice, boat preparation, and readiness and competency at all the important positions. I'll admit that I've occasionally sailed on boats where everyone put up with bad dynamics, with the raw talent on board bringing us to a successful nish nonetheless.

The following might not be for everyone, but if crew dynamics and a harmony with high performance is important to the reader, I think they'll agree.

— Choose crew carefully, and choose for emotional IQ, grace under pressure and empathy as much as their amazing abilities to trim a chute in 30 knots. As your 2025 article mentioned, boats get small after a few days, especially if there's a jerk aboard.

— Expectations, Expectations, Expectations. A lot of con ict stems from people not having the experience they expected to have or, more commonly, anxiety around assumptions made over quali cations not explicitly discussed. If the skipper asks for and knows those in advance, he/she can organize a strategy that ensures everyone gets enough of what they expect. Even in a big race, everyone but the pros wants something out of this that is emotional, fun and inspiring. A skipper can make that easier or harder.

Take the time to bond the crew well before they are on the ring/starting line. The more they know and trust each other, the better they'll respond in tight situations or setbacks.

— Set a climate of transparency from you and hold yourself accountable for mistakes. This will put everyone more at ease and prompt them to be brave enough to own up to their own mistakes, leading to an overall culture of accountability and sailors striving to perform their best.

— What decisions are made by a majorityvote or consensus and what decisions have to remain the skipper's alone (decisions such as when to have lunch or when to jibe)? Make sure the crew is clear on that well in advance of the voyage.

If it is clear to the crew that you would walk through walls to help them, they'll usually be inclined to do so for you and each other.

Clarity about shipboard routine, such as standing watches, preparing or cleaning up from meals, noise while others are sleeping, assignments for sail changes — and some advanced agreement about what conditions will force those to happen.

— Clarity about who should do what in a tough and sometimes emergency situation, such as a torn sail, crew injury or crew overboard, responding to a mayday, etc.

— Monitor the morale and camaraderie on the vessel and head off con icts, or mediate them in a way that allows everyone's ego to remain intact. The biggest opportunity for interpersonal con ict is if someone feels their reputation was sullied or otherwise is suffering from a bruised ego.

Above all, the skipper can model good leadership; through patience and kindness, clear direction, over-communicating the overall plan, praising in public and criticizing in private when possible (mentioning things the recipient has been doing well), avoiding a raised voice, except to be heard over the wind or engine, and remaining calm and outwardly optimistic, or at least fatalistic, even after setbacks.

A happy crew will make for good weekends or voyages.

rich jepsen

Here's a link to the aforementioned March 2025 feature story, It's a Left, Then a Left at the Bridge, by Marty Collins. www.latitude38.com/ issues/march-2025/#48

SIGHTINGS

fun in your 20s, a double entendre

In the January 30 'Lectronic Latitude, we asked about sailing memories from people's 20s, knowing there was a high likelihood that those memories were made in a 20-something-ft boat. Some of those responses are in this month's Letters, but Don Litton wrote us and included a few photos of his Columbia 29, Pythagoras, and we were eager to showcase his cruising exploits.

"We sail out of Channel Islands Harbor," Don wrote. "In fact, Pythagoras was one of the rst boats in that harbor when it opened in 1965! Today, she is back in the original slip she had in the '60s with the original wood cleats still on the dock! There is a lot of provenance with this boat!" Don said,

'Pythagoras'.

"We acquired her in 2014, and my kids have grown up with trips around our beloved Channel Islands. This was the boat I had been looking for — I had a Columbia 24 for 10 years when I lived in Santa Barbara 35 years ago!"

Don has buffed up Pythagoras,and she's looking smart with a new paint job. When he mused about someday selling her, his daughter forbade him from ever thinking about it. We here at Latitude take a certain pleasure in the fact that a 20- to 30-ft boat built in the '60s is still the source of family adventures and connections.

The Columbia 29 is just one of thousands of 20-plus-ft boats that were built in the Golden Age of recreational sailing in the 1960s and '70s. Families of four would go cruising for a weekend — or even a whole week, back in those days — on a Ranger 23, Columbia 26 or Cal 27. Many of these boats are still around and available for a second life.

If we were in our 20s and short on cash but long on time and enthusiasm, we'd nd a couple of friends and pick one up on the cheap. As we write, there is someone with ve J/24s for sale for $1,500 each! That is just the cover charge, but getting a couple of friends to put in $500 each makes it a pretty inexpensive start.

Important caveats include making sure the boat is reasonably sound, con rming that you can nd a slip in a marina, and making sure you can get the appropriate liability insurance required by most harbormasters. Then make sure you've budgeted for the slip fees, insurance and the must-do-in-order-to-go-sailing repairs. Gather all your friends who want to sail with you to contribute some time to the restoration. This may only include a serious washdown and cleanup, or some more signi cant repairs. The good news is that not all repairs have to be done before your rst sail. Bringing an old boat back to life

thank you for

Your contributions will help!

Here's an easy way to give to Latitude: Go to www.latitude38.com/contribute-latitude-38-sailing-magazine/ to choose your level and (we hope!) the frequency of your support.

We truly appreciate all the supportive messages we receive via the postal system, email, social media comments, etc. We appreciate the support from our advertisers, and contributors and volunteers. Please join the club! Become a nancial supporter and help us help cover the West Coast sailing community.

fun in your 20s —

can happen over years, where projects are taken on in order or priority, and as time and budgets permit.

Sharing the boat with a couple of friends will make the restoration go smoothly and help to ensure the boat is used frequently. There are probably owners who would simply share their Coronado 25 or similar vessel with you for some maintenance support or contributions to the monthly berthing.

If you're new to sailing, then an inexpensive xer-upper is perfect if your dockings are a little rough and you take a few scrapes here and there. Fixing up an old boat is also a great way to learn about how boats work and how to work on boats.

Who said sailing has to be expensive? With a little money, time and patience and the right group of friends, you can have all the fun you can handle with a small price tag.

Don Litton's Columbia 29 'Pythagoras' has created priceless memories and endless fun for his family while cruising the Channel Islands. Right: Hillary Litton is ready for the water. Center: Oliver Litton gets some tiller time offshore.

2026 THREE BRIDGE FIASCO —

Onthe last day of January, 277 of the 303 boats that had signed up made their way out into the Bay to race in the 2026 edition of the Singlehanded Sailing Society's (SSS) Three Bridge Fiasco. The regatta featured 31 different classes, including 10 one-design classes. All boats were either doublehanded or singlehanded, with all of the one-design classes doublehanding, 15 of the PHRF classes doublehanding, and the remaining six classes (all PHRF) singlehanding.

It would take more space than we have to properly highlight all the class winners, but we do have a wide collection of quotes from various winners and participants across some of the classes that competed in the 2026 Three Bridge Fiasco.

Not covered in this feature article are the singlehanded classes that were racing. Fear not; they are in this edition of the magazine. The Three Bridge Fiasco is run by the "SINGLEhanded Sailing Society," after all. For coverage of the singlehanded divisions, go to the rst article of this month's Racing Sheet and read about Scott Easom's nish aboard Eight Ball (SFYC), and his idea to turn the Three Bridge Fiasco into a series in the interest of boosting overall participation in sailing.

ONE-DESIGN RACING

Alerion 28: The seven-boat Alerion 28 class was won by Fred Paxton and Arnie Quan sailing on Zenaida (RYC), nishing in 14:12:42, just nine seconds ahead of Michael Quinn's Resilience (RYC).

"The winning strategy: staying between Chris and Denise Kramer on Sweet De and Mike Quinn on Resilience and the nish line," Paxton tells Latitude. "We all went to Red Rock rst and got around at slack water. I also want to thank the race committee's cast of dozens who did a great job of getting everyone on their way and results Sunday morning."

Express 27:The second-biggest one-design eet, featuring 20 boats, saw the top three nish within ve minutes of each other. Steve McCarthy and Zach Haidari won in Godzilla (EYC), three minutes ahead of Gregory and Tim Felton in Under The Radar (SFYC). 2025 Express 27 national champion

Motorcycle Irene (RYC) was in third, sailed by couple Julia Paxton Liebenberg and David Liebenberg.

J/105: The J/105 eet had a strong turnout of 14 boats, with the class and overall monohull win going to Will Benedict and John Sweeney aboard Advantage3 (RYC) by a decisive seven minutes over second-place Niuhi (SFYC), sailed by Randy Hecht and Russ Silvestri. Sweeney and Benedict asked AI to chart the best course for them prior to the race. You can read more about that in the February 2 'Lectronic Latitude recap of the race.

"[Our goal was to] get to the start line on time, sail the shortest distance, and try not to run aground (two times high and dry in previous races), and most importantly have fun," Benedict tells Latitude. "Prior to the race, I took a look at the current and wind predictions, but until you get out there and have a look, I'm really exible on direction. This year, John Sweeney made the call on the direction and did a fabulous job driving the boat. This is by far my favorite race because of the changing

variables, freedom to go wherever you want, and to see lots of friends out on the water. … My father, Pat Benedict, raced the 3BF 30 years ago and it has been part of the family since then. He passed peacefully last year, so racing his boat always brings back good memories."

"Sweeney's AI said take Red Rock to port," Silvestri tells us. "We did and that cost us a ton relative to him. So, what we try and do is go where the current can help and the passing of time makes it better. For instance, Blackaller rst let you get the ebb right away and there was ood in the middle for the long leg to Red Rock. If you did not get around Red Rock early, you had a good chance of being screwed. Same story with TI [Treasure Island] rst: had to ght the ebb to get there, had a push from South Bay for a while but it was really light at TI for the start."

J/99 and J/100: Zach Berkowitz's Feather (StFYC) was dominant in the combined class of J/99s and J/100s, nishing a full 28 minutes ahead of the second-place boat in the class on corrected time.

"There's a reason the Three Bridge Fiasco brings out more boats than any other regatta in the Bay Area, let alone in the United States, because it's FUN," Berkowitz says. "You can put endless hours of thought into preparing for the race, but at the end of the day, it's all about how you react and modify your plan according to what Mother Nature serves up at start time."

J/24: Six J/24s raced, all under the RYC burgee. Jasper Van Vliet and Jessica Ludy won on Evil Octopus, nishing four minutes ahead of the father/ daughter combination of Brandon and Addison Mercer on Tenacious Cuttle sh (RYC).

WHY DON'T WE DO THIS MORE OFTEN?

Brandon Mercer tells us, "Coming off our full-crewed Western Regionals wins, Addison and I really wanted to demonstrate that the two of us could be highly competitive on our own too, so second place in the eet felt really good! It felt even better to nish ahead of all of the Express 27s!"

"I sat near the start line this time around because last time, I was too far away and we never had enough wind to cross," recounts Addison Mercer, who drove the whole race. "Rounding Blackaller was a lot of fun because I was messing with my friend Rosanne Scholl by crossing above them with our spinnakers up, but I didn't give my dad enough time to douse, and we ended up overstanding the mark while he got the pole put away. I was able to keep a really good course over to Red Rock and nd a good route to avoid the ebb. Once we cleared TI, I pointed toward Cityfront and I just locked in, with the heaviest weather helm of the day, doing 9.6 knots upwind over ground. I said 'Dad, I got this. You just sit there on the rail and look pretty.' We took the mark end of the nish and cleared it by a few inches, avoiding Nuckelavee that was pushing us up in the last three seconds."

Moore 24: The biggest one-design class, with 27 boats, the Moore 24 eet was won by Morgan Larson and Steve Erickson aboard Tonopah Low (SCYC), nishing just one minute ahead of Rowan and Vikki Fennell's Paramour (SFYC).

Larson wrote a long recap of the race, which was posted on the Moore 24 website. It included a mention that they almost didn't sail the race due to his boat partner's Seahawks fandom, and Larson's not wanting to hear a day full of 49ers jokes.

Of the actual race and tight nish with the Fennells, Larson writes, "A pump, a surf and we crossed just before Vikki and Rowan on #75 for a class win and maybe a top 15 overall. There was a train of Moores to follow! We docked back at StFYC, licking our wounds and relishing a good day out. As the cooler came on deck, we realized we hadn't found time to drink one beer on the race! On Bruzer we wouldn't have screwed that up."

Olson 25:Eight Olson 25s made an appearance, with Synchronicity (RYC), sailed by Steve Smith and Mark Simpson, winning by six minutes.

"As we build our schedule for the season, the Fiasco is always a must-do," fth-placed Olson 25 nisher and 2025 Olson 25 national champion David Gruver tells Latitude "John Collins and I have sailed it more times than we can count. No matter the outcome — win, lose, anchor, or retire — we always get a memorable day, and that's what keeps us coming back. The fact that you see so many different boats and skill levels also adds to the event."

DH Multihull: David Schumann and Trevor Baylis won the doublehanded multihull division in the Seacart 30 Bottle Rocket (SFYC). They nished 10 minutes ahead of Papillon, sailed by Drew and Kai Scott, on corrected time. "Clockwise or counterclockwise? There are actually many more alternatives," Rick Waltonsmith of fourthplace Round Midnight (BAMA) tells us. "We did a 'modi ed counterclockwise,' of which there were still other variables. Norbert Kiesel and I crossed the start line going clockwise (west) with about ve other boats, because we were all under-30 PHRF. Four of the boats peeled off for Red Rock, and CCubed and we headed for Blackaller. After that, I believe C-Cubed headed for Red Rock; but we chose to go counterclockwise for Yerba Buena/TI."

2026 THREE BRIDGE FIASCO

"I love how strategic TBF is as you play off current and wind, but it always surprises you," Drew Scott tells us. "I have rarely found that my plan from the night before survives the starting line, and then even if you execute a great plan, there is usually another way to cut the cookie. Papillon had a great race this year going clockwise, but Bottle Rocket had an even better one going counterclockwise. Lots of fun!"

DH Sportboat A:Ian Sprenger and Mark Voropayev of the Antrim 27 Feet Wet (RYC) edged out Ross Kennedy and Olly Gill aboard the Melges 32 Nuckelavee (SBYC) by just 16 seconds on corrected time.

DH Sportboat B: The top two spots in this 10-boat division went to the two J/70s. Peter Cameron and Marcos McGee won aboard Kangaroo Jockey (StFYC), seven minutes ahead of David Fried and Mehmet Gunay on Son of a Son (RYC).

DH Spinnaker B: Nico Popp and Burak Kocal's SF 3600 Invictus (SBYC) won the division by four minutes on corrected time.

"For the rst time in recent TBF memory, the most valuable sail in the locker was not the anchor," Frank Van Diggelen of third-place Sunfast 3300 Sun Dragon tells us of the day. "The day started with winds around 5-8 knots, and got better from there. With a full

moon and recent rains, the current was fearsome: more than 10 feet of tide difference and 4 knots of max ebb. So our overall strategy was 'get the heck around Red Rock ASAP before the wind dies and the ebb arrives.' It seemed like this was the consensus view as most headed north from the start line, a few bold souls taking in Blackaller rst. … This was by far the fastest, funnest Fiasco we'd done — in fact, it was a Fiasco without the asco. Who knows when this will happen again? Best to remember the anchor for next year."

DH Spinnaker D: Rhapsody (SFYC), Laurence and Anthony Pulgram's Sabre Spirit, won her division by 16 minutes on corrected time, and nished behind only the J/105 winner overall for monohulls across the Fiasco.

"But the gutsy move was not going through Raccoon Strait with many others, but instead tacking mid-bridge and sailing fast to Blunt in a big river of ood," Laurence tells us. "That ride was blistering fast, which caught a lot of the eet that had headed to Blunt from the start, and those who chose to ght early ebb through the Strait. … On the sprint back to the Cityfront after TI, the remaining question was how many of the boats ahead already had done Blackaller. Turns out, only one monohull: Advantage3, which took the gun, sailing their own great race."

DH Non-Spinnaker B: The Catalina 32 Fog Dog (SBYC), sailed by

Christopher Nicholas and Ward Grunke, won the second doublehanded nonspinnaker division by 10 minutes. In second was Albacore (IYC), a Santana 22 sailed by one of the 2025 YRA Women's Championship Series winners, Sarah Hudspeth.

"My friend Dan and I did it together — fun backstory: We met doing our ASA 101 certi cation at Modern Sailing out of Berkeley," Hudspeth tells Latitude. "We were the only two in that class and started doublehanded under the tutelage of our instructor Cliff, and love sailing in the Bay together. Neither of us had a boat last year, so chartered a J/24 to do our own unof cial course of Three Bridge last year. All in all, we plotted, found the wind when we could, and tried to maximize the currents to our advantage. A great day out on the Bay with a fellow sailor and enthusiast of the Bay and racing. We felt superaccomplished and know our old OCSC/ now Modern Sailing instructors would be proud!"

Insummary, the Three Bridge Fiasco is generally the best-attended regatta annually on the West Coast, if not in the entire country. The stories that we highlighted here are just a few of nearly 300 Three Bridge Fiasco experiences, and we would love to hear more. If you have a fun story from this year's Three Bridge Fiasco and would like to share it with the Latitude 38 community, please feel free to reach out and email us at racing@latitude38.com or fritz@latitude38.com, tell us more about it, and we can publish it as a 'Lectronic Latitude story. For coverage of the singlehanded divisions of the TBF, check out this month's Racing Sheet! latitude / fritz

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AND SO, I DECIDED

Crews' names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

Grace, a Traveler 32, Philip Rhodes double-ender, cutter-rigged, was my boat of choice, largely because she was oating and legally mine. I made all the proper arrangements: changes, xes, additions, deletions, upgrades, downgrades, and several decisions I immediately questioned. Eventually there was nothing left to do but acquire crew.

Steve, my best friend, said he couldn't get away long enough but could help me down the coast from San Francisco to San Diego. My cousin Don agreed to sail from San Diego to Cabo. Don didn't have much offshore experience, but he had taken the Basic Keelboat course, which meant he possessed a certi cate and con dence — two things that often travel together and are not always helpful.

For extra moral support around Point Conception (on the way back), I recruited Minnie and Pluto (also known as Guinevere and Lancelot) from the marina to join me on the Santa Barbara-to-S.F. leg. If nothing else, their names alone improved my odds.

My new girlfriend Susan, whom I had known for only a few weeks before announcing I would be vanishing at sea for a month-and-a-half, agreed to y to San Diego and sail up to Newport Beach, where she was originally from. I would then singlehand the "fun run" from Newport to Santa Barbara. I should mention that most of my sailing is done singlehanded, so having crew felt vaguely illegal, as if I was breaking some longstanding personal rule.

Don and I decided a third crew member might be wise for the San Diego-toCabo leg, assuming we wanted to arrive with the boat, our sanity, and at least one functioning relationship intact. Thus began the adventure.

Before I left, Don and I attended the Latitude 38 Crew Party in Oakland, which is exactly what it sounds like: a room full of sailors enthusiastically overselling themselves. We interviewed several excellent candidates, but one stood out as precisely what the doctor, the insurance company, and probably my mother would have prescribed: Queenie.

Queenie was a 57-year-old single

woman planning to continue south after the Ha-Ha. Age-wise, she t right in — Don and I are both in our 60s — and her résumé was intimidatingly impressive: 36,000 offshore miles, rst aidcerti ed, could cook, and was comfortable standing long watches at the helm. In short, she appeared to be the only adult among us. We agreed to meet at the Police Dock in San Diego two days before the Baja Ha-Ha kickoff party — because nothing says "solid life choices" like assembling your offshore crew at a police dock.

With the crew nally wrangled, Steve and I sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge in peak San Francisco cosplay: inside a cold, wet blob of fog, staring at radar as if it was a Ouija board, clutching Channels 14 and 16, and hoping the universe respected maritime law.

We turned south — actual south, not "south-ish," not "south but emotionally south." Steve wanted to see what real blue water looked like, as if the Paci c hadn't already been trying to kill us for hours. So, we went about 60 miles offshore, where it was calm, quiet, and aggressively uneventful. No wind. Just the engine droning as if it was narrating our slow descent into poor decisionmaking.

Nothing happened — famous last words — until it was time to cross the Santa Barbara shipping channel at zero-dark-30, that magical hour when God is asleep and tankers are fully awake. We started across from the outside and the engine immediately said, "Absolutely not." Dead. Fuel pump. Of course. Because why wouldn't your engine quit exactly when you're playing Frogger with container ships? We swapped pumps while getting slapped around by chop and a smug 8-12 knots of wind and barely clawed our way back out of the channel before things got… cinematic.

Out of the mist there emerged red and green lights with a white light stacked way too high above them. That's not a boat, that's a oating ofce building. Both radios were on, one on 16, one on 14, and somewhere in the chaos a voice boomed, "This is the big fat tanker bearing down on a small sailboat. Are you in the channel?"

"Yes," we replied, "we are the sailboat, but we are not in the channel, we are becalmed with a dead engine, and if you are the tanker cutting the corner, kindly get the hell back in the channel before you turn us into a footnote."

A miracle occurred. The red light

TO DO THE HA-HA

vanished. Only green remained. Translation: the tanker inched. We lived. Adrenaline carried us into Santa Barbara after rst light, where we got Grace stitched back together by Paul Hull: saint, wizard, been there forever. Next stop: Santa Catalina. Two Harbors. A postcard. A trap.

We slid into the harbor just after 6 a.m. and the second we went clink on the mooring ball, the Harbor Patrol spawned out of thin air. One of three boats in the whole anchorage. He circled us like a disappointed dad and asked, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" I said we tied up to grab the dinghy, nd someone, and check in. We tried calling on Channel 12. No answer. "Of course not," he said. "We're not on that channel. And we don't hook up bow rst, we hook up stern rst. Since you've already done it wrong, follow me." We did. Silently. Like chastised children.

He asked how long we were staying. We said we were just walking to the other side to take a look. As he motored past our stern, he dropped the hammer: "If you're staying more than two hours, I'm charging you 25 bucks (squints at the transom). Oh, Berserkeley. Figures." We untied at one hour and 59 minutes on the dot out of pure spite, and left before the harbor could invoice our existence.

San Diego: Time to x, t, and emotionally prepare. Don showed up and was squared away by the time Queenie arrived on the scene. Slight hiccup:

She did not quite have enough money to cover the cab fare. "I'll settle up when we go shopping." Sure. Absolutely. Rock-solid plan.

We get to the boat, and I can still hear her words echoing through my soul like a foghorn of regret: "Oh. A TILLER. You didn't say a tiller. Oh." Anyway, we partied, as one does for Halloween, and then ed for Cabo.

Day one at sea brought the rst of what would become a recurring hobby: my xing the autopilot. Hand-steering became the lifestyle, engine on whenever the wind took a coffee break, wind vane trying its best but mostly just vibing. Day two, I'm shing from the cockpit, having invested my life savings in US/MEX shing licenses, while Queenie is on watch wrestling the tiller. Suddenly, yelling. Then a jibe. Then the unforgettable CRAACCKK of the boom shattering into modern art. Followed immediately by: "Oh, look, skipper, you got a sh!" Yes. A sh. And also, a broken boat.

She swings the tiller one way, the boom jibes the other, and then — "Oops, sorry. Did you get the sh?" This is the moment I understood why I had packed all the spare parts and every tool known to mankind. I spent veand-a-half hours Frankensteining the boom back together, collapsed below to rest… and was woken 35 minutes later by: "Skipper, you're 20 minutes late for your watch."

We sailed on with the genoa up, no main, but technically still sailing. Meals consisted of scrambled egg tacos or tuna sh sandwiches whenever it was Queenie's turn in the galley — both bold choices. Oh, and minor detail: Don stopped speaking to her entirely after day two. Just full maritime silence.

We sailed into Bahia Santa Maria at stupid o'clock in the morning and dropped anchor, feeling very nautical and competent. The day was bliss: swimming, scrubbing the boat's undercarriage in the warm, warm water, living our best sea-goblin lives… until… Don and I had friends aboard. Queenie took the dinghy to visit others. I had very carefully explained the in atable, the 6hp engine, and the kill strap that goes on your wrist. You see where this is going. Queenie comes roaring around the stern, waving cheerfully with one hand while somehow simultaneously cranking the throttle to full send. Result: Queenie launched ass-over-teakettle out the back of the dinghy like a human depth charge. No life vest. Dinghy attempting escape. Engine drowning.

Three of us dove in: Rescue Queenie, kill the engine mid-submersion, and tie off the dinghy before it committed suicide and joined Davy Jones' frequentsinker program. Damage report: $65 to rebuild the engine. Mexico, bless you — cheap, fast, and merciful. It was running again by morning, as if nothing had happened and the ocean hadn't just tried to claim a crew member.

Round two. Sometime in the night, Queenie announces that a cockpit cushion has "chosen a different path in life." No wind. We're motoring. I go

AND SO, I DECIDED

below and tell her to tighten the sail, so it won't og itself to death. Important note: Queenie cannot read the GPS. She navigates by compass alone, while I quietly adjust course every time she wanders into another zip code. I'm below with the computer, watching essentials — like how wrong we are.

I come up to relieve her and nd the sails ogging violently and actively ripping themselves apart. Why? Because she "couldn't reach it" and didn't want to wake Don or me since we "needed our rest." So thoughtful. So destructive. I repair a 2-foot rip in the main at Turtle Bay, where, because the universe has jokes, I nd an autopilot exactly like mine for $250. "Works great," they say. Box works. Arm does not. I tinker. Miraculously, we have autopilot again. Against all odds.

The next day: more fun (heavy sarcasm). I've got the whisker pole out and ask Queenie at the helm to come into the wind so I can release the tension. I say: "Now." She says: "What?" CRACK (That is the sound of berglass dreams dying.) More drilling. More xing. I am now basically a oating boatyard.

We pull into Cabo, tie up at the fuel dock, and I ask Queenie to put her things on the dock. "Do you have everything?" "Yes."

"Get the **** off my boat."

I truly believed that was the end. Incorrect. She calls later to inform me she has my canvas bag and is holding it for ransom in exchange for the Mexican shing license I paid for. Even trade, apparently. Sadly, the hostage exchange occurs in a crowded restaurant instead of a dark alley of my choosing.

Onward to Squid Roe. We'd been anchored off the beach all day. Returning from shore in the middle of the night, I step into the cockpit, and onto a sh net. That is not where I left it. Hatch still locked. Anchor lines rearranged like someone's been redecorating. Don checks below. I go forward. Nothing makes sense. I stay awake all night in the cockpit, staring at the shore like a suspicious raccoon. Nothing moves. Morning comes. A dinghy heads toward us. I ask the man if he's my guardian angel. He says, "I suppose so." Turns out he was below, reading and enjoying a nice cabernet, when he felt a bump. He came up to nd Grace calmly drifting backward toward the channel

and rocks. His wife called on Channel 16, another dinghy showed up, and together they towed 19,000 pounds of boat back to her spot and reset the anchor. (Key was in, by the way, but starting her requires two buttons — because boats enjoy being dramatic.) Cause of incident: I'd anchored on the edge of a shelf. When the tide changed, there was…nothing. Grace simply decided to leave.

I was extremely glad I had a very good bottle of cabernet saved for a special occasion. It went to my guardian angel, on a boat with no less a name, Cabernet. Thanks again, wherever you are, you magni cent, wine-powered guardian angel.

Don was gone. I was strolling along the beach, trying to pretend I was a responsible adult, when announcements hit me like a cannonball: "Crew wanted! People needed to go back up for the bash!" I thought, "Sure, why not? How bad can it be?" — nope. Wrong.

Up on the stage were two natural disasters: Big Mike, 380 lbs. of pure kinetic energy and questionable life choices, and Scurvy Joe, 140 lbs. of bad decisions and worse hygiene. Somehow, the universe thought this would work. Next day, reality laughed in our faces: Joe had two tiny bags, probably containing a toothbrush and a single sock; Mike had six HUGE bags that looked as if they had been packed by a mad scientist with a vendetta. Grace, our 32-ft double-ender, groaned under the weight of the luggage.

Hoisting the anchor was less sailing, more gladiatorial combat. The rope snarled like a rabid octopus, mooring blocks threatened mutiny, and Mike cannonballed into the water as if he was auditioning for Baywatch: Apocalypse Edition. Water everywhere. Chaos level: expert.

Turtle Bay arrived like a test from the gods of bad luck: The head was clogged (surprise!) and Mike loves water more than oxygen. In he goes again. Joe said, "Wasn't it OK to ush paper towels?" I discovered he hadn't showered since Cabo. His excuse? "Grace didn't have a shower." I reminded him we did; the solar shower in the cockpit that Mike and I had been using. Then he casually confessed to having lice. And we were hotbunking due to the massive luggage. I quietly plotted how to burn down the

boat and still keep it oating.

Joe also couldn't hold a course, cook, or maintain basic human decency. Big Mike, however, was a shing god. Also, at zero-dark-30, he held a ashlight while I wrestled a heat exchanger that had to turn the boat into a steam-powered sauna of death. We caught three bonito and two dorado. Sushi, steaks, tacos. A minor civil war broke out over the last dorado.

The next day, a rogue gull divebombed one of Joe's tiny bags. Mike tried to ght it off. Rope snapped. Dorado tacos ew into the ocean. Solar shower went rogue, spraying water like a rehose. And that's when I realized: Mike and Joe at sea is like unleashing a hurricane in a shoebox. Nothing is safe. Nothing is sacred. And somehow…it's perfect chaos.

Fuel? Apocalyptic. Grace is thrifty, but two half-full 37-gallon tanks plus 10 gallons on deck barely kept us alive for 90 miles. Somehow, through sheer terror, luck, and the universe being drunk, we limped into Ensenada. Somehow, we all survived. Somehow, the boat survived. Somehow, I made it to land without ling a missing-person report for myself.

Enter Julio and Bennie: two guitarplaying tornadoes who converted the boat into a musical war zone. Tequila rivers, cerveza geysers, cigar smoke thick enough to strangle a whale, and Joe tripping over literally every bag in sight. San Diego was next. I barked at Scurvy Joe: "Bags on the dock? NOW GET THE **** OFF MY BOAT!" He

complied…this was becoming my swan song.

Mike and his luggage empire were transported to Oceanside, I collapsed at the motel next to the Police Dock, and Susan woke me the next morning. Absolute legend. Thanksgiving arrived, and we drove to Ocean Beach for Thanksgiving pizza. Cranberries? Check. Gravy? Check. Chaos? Maximum. By the time we left, the gulls had unionized and applied for unemployment.

It was time to head up to Newport, with pit stops in Oceanside to see Mike — because apparently my social life is a multi-hour scavenger hunt — and Dana Point, or, you know, not quite yet because life likes to slap you with a random delay just to keep things spicy. I rolled into Dana Point and radioed for a slip. "None. Nothing. Nada," they said. But in a twist only the universe could conjure, since it was Sunday and the dock was emptier than a conspiracy theorist's fridge, they said, "Tie up at the two-hour dock for the night." Cool, bro. Dinner. Fine. Life is good. Calm before the storm. And then… BAM! BAM! BAM! Midnight drum corps is auditioning on the cabin top. I ripped open the hatch and got hit by a 40,000-watt light so bright I could see the molecular structure of my soul. The voice yelling at me, "I KNOW you've been here more than two hours and if you don't move your boat in FIVE MINUTES, I'm going to impound it!"

I reached for the key, started the engine, threw on clothes like some nautical action hero in a low-budget spy movie, and poof! — gone from the dock in under three seconds, leaving a ghost of panic in our wake. The waves and wind? Oh, they'd clearly been bingewatching storm movies and decided to audition for their roles. Go back and get impounded after seven weeks, or surge ahead with my new girlfriend clinging to life as if we were about to be eaten by Poseidon's personal blender? Choices.

Newport at 3 a.m. is the kind of place nightmares are built from: buoys blended with a trillion city traf c lights, as if the universe is playing some cruel game of "Where's My Boat?" Somehow, against all laws of physics, common sense, and logic, I threaded the needle. Susan is now convinced I am not just a sailor, but a demigod, because clearly surviving this mess constitutes

lifesaving heroics. By 3:45, I'm tied up and demanding a personnel report like a caffeine-fueled pirate lawyer. Sgt. wouldn't be in until 8 a.m. But of course, I arrive at 7:45 because apparently, I am the human embodiment of punctuality in a chaotic universe. We talk charges. I decline because I'd rather not star in a legal thriller titled Sailor vs. Dana Point: The Reckoning, and return three months later. The Sgt. promises disciplinary action against the perpetrator who engineered our near-death experience.

I left Susan on the dock waving frantically as if she was never going to see me again. Finally, freedom! I sailed to Los Alamitos alone, leaving at the ungodly hour of 3-ish a.m. San Pedro Bay had transformed into a violent game of dodgeball, with me as the ball and every ship a sadistic kid with perfect aim. Somehow, I survived, made it to the Channel Islands, then Santa Barbara. On the way dolphins auditioned for a nature documentary, weaving between the bow waves as if they were trying to oneup me in coolness. Grace sailed herself perfectly in 10- 12-knot winds, because apparently the boat has a better sense of direction and balance than I do when awake for 36 hours straight.

boat that smelled faintly of gasoline, betrayal, and questionable snacks.

We motored under the Gate at 9:30 p.m., the city lights glaring like a thousand judgmental paparazzi. After our second dizzying orbit of Alcatraz, where gulls laughed maniacally at our nautical incompetence, Minnie chirped, "You really have to go in now." I blinked at her like a confused sea cucumber and said, "Oh really…?" Meanwhile, the crew's chatter spiraled into a live-action blender of nonsense, completely unaware that at any second, the dinghy might stage a coup, the autopilot might declare itself king, or a rogue wave might give us all involuntary mermaid lessons.

Kiss the dock and thank my lucky stars for a trip of a lifetime.

A couple of words in passing, whispered from the wreckage of sanity:

I lmed it all from the foredeck because if you don't record your neardeath adventures for posterity, did it even happen? Chaos, panic, romance, adrenaline — basically the maritime version of a Michael Bay movie with fewer explosions and more wet socks.

All good things must end? HAH. Enter Minnie and Pluto, bursting onto the scene in Santa Barbara like a confetti cannon lled with bad decisions. Unbeknownst to me, Minnie had been "seeing" Pluto behind Mickey's back. Mickey was probably at home practicing dramatic gasps in the mirror or rearranging his sock empire. Their "helpfulness" was code for secret cockpit shenanigans, and I discovered this gem of human folly around zero-dark-30 (aka the hour where sanity packs its bags and ees), somewhere around Point Conception. There they were, plotting their own version of "conception" while I, innocent bystander, was stuck in a

1) It was a ride so glorious that it probably violated several maritime safety codes.

2) Always pre-trial your crew as if they're potential criminal masterminds, because they probably are.

3) Fuel, water, propane — yes, ALL tanks. Otherwise, prepare for heroic improvisation involving buckets, duct tape, and tears.

4) Sample the crew's cooking under sail. If it kills you, at least it's an adventure.

5) Dinghy demonstrations, preferably before it becomes a makeshift catapult for rogue gulls, oating luggage, or secret love affairs.

And let's not forget, somewhere in the chaos, Minnie winked at Pluto, Mickey honked his gloves like a confused clown, Scurvy Joe might take a shower, Big Mike is still unpacking, Queenie is lost in the abyss, and I am just holding onto my tiller praying the boat hasn't developed sentience. — robert walker

RYC'S HOEL MENARD CAMPAIGNS FOR THE

As the world's attention is currently focused on the Winter Olympic Games in northern Italy, athletes aiming to compete in the summer Games are ramping up their preparations for L.A. 2028. One of those athletes is 22-year-old Bay Area sailor Hoel Menard, who recently announced he will be joining Sarah Newberry Moore's campaign in the Nacra 17 class.

"I grew up in the Bay Area," Menard tells us of his youth sailing experience. "I moved there when I was about 6 years old, and I joined the Richmond Yacht Club Opti team at 7. I sailed with them for two years and then sailed on the San Francisco Yacht Club Opti team for another three years until I was 12. And that's kind of how I got into racing and competed on the Opti circuit nationally and internationally, represented the Bay Area and the clubs that I had sailed for. Then, when I was 13 years old, I made the change to stop sailing the Opti because I outgrew the boat."

While the Nacra 17 is a new boat to campaign in, it is not Menard's rst experience in foiling multihull boats.

"[After outgrowing Optis] I started sailing the Nacra 15, which was a very new class at the time," Menard tells us. "It was a lot of development and understanding how everything worked, and working closely with the designer of the boat and really good coaches and Hoel Menard is a longtime Waszp sailor.

people. We did that with the support of the St. Francis Yacht Club and the Richmond Yacht Club."

In the mid-2010s, Menard was one of several young Bay Area sailors racing in the Nacra 15 along with the likes of Cali Salinas, Jack Sutter and Charlotte Versavel. Former St. Francis Yacht Club head coach Adam Corpuz-Lahne coached most of the Bay Area Nacra 15 sailors. After several years, however, Menard made the decision to race in different classes, largely due to the small size of the national Nacra 15 eet.

"When I was 16 years old, my teammate and I decided that we would switch over to a 29er, because the eet was just more competitive and we thought we would gain more by competing and learning in that class," Menard says. "I sailed with Kelly Holthus from San Diego and we competed in the 29er for about two years together. We sailed a couple different regattas, again, mostly nationally. We were going to sail internationally, but COVID happened in our last year. When I was about 17, I went to the 29er Worlds in Spain with [current Stanford Sailing senior] Sophie Fisher. I went to the Worlds again the year after with my younger brother.

"I attended community college in Santa Barbara, and in Santa Barbara, I did a little bit of sailing with the UCSB team," he says of his sailing endeavors during his college years. "Now I'm in my senior year at UCLA. At the same time I was attending a couple different 49er camps with the [Olympic Development Program]. Then there was a transition between US Sailing and America One Racing. I made the jump to the foiling classes for my last three years of college. For the last two years of college, I competed in the Waszp class, and trained with America One Racing for those two years. I ended up racing the Worlds this summer.

"It was supposed to be my last event. Eventually, we decided that I would race again, and do the next world championship in Pensacola, Florida, this year, but we ended up pivoting and now I'm sailing the Nacra 17 and campaigning pretty much full time."

Growing up racing out of the Bay Area has afforded Menard the support of several elite yacht clubs, namely Richmond Yacht Club, St. Francis, and

SFYC. As somebody who has always been an obviously gifted and hardworking sailor, he has found many mentors among the older generations of great sailors and coaches in the Bay Area.

"I was really fortunate to grow up between three yacht clubs in the Bay Area that offered so many different people who were great mentors," Menard tells us. "I think names that come to mind are Hill Blackett — he goes by 'Buzz' — from RYC and Zach Berkowitz from St. Francis. I'd say those two have been really great mentors locally in the Bay."

Berkowitz, a former multiple-time I-14 world champion skipper, has given Menard the role of tactician/main trimmer aboard his J/100, Feather (StFYC), for the Rolex Big Boat Series over the past two years. Having such a young sailor in such an important decisionmaking position speaks not only to Menard's ability as a sailor, but also to his tactical acumen. Berkowitz has referred to Menard as a "rising star."

"In dinghies, Kelly [Holthus] and I nished third in the 29er at the Orange Bowl Regatta," Menard tells us when asked about the highlights of his young sailing career. "I nished 12th in Waszp Worlds, second at US Waszp Nationals, 19th in 29ers Worlds with Sophie [Fisher]. I've won the Rolex Big Boat Series two years in a row as tactician and main trimmer on Feather. I've done some offshore sailing as well. I've done California Offshore Race Week and some East Coast offshore sailing too."

He has accomplished much already, but the next few years will tell just how much Menard's star can rise in the sailing world. For those who know him, the author of this article included, it has always felt possible, if not likely, that Menard would eventually campaign for the Olympics. Now it's of cially happening, with his having of cially joined Newberry Moore's campaign in late 2025. With her Paris 2024 crew, Menard's fellow RYC sailor David Liebenberg, not campaigning, Newberry Moore had to nd a new crew.

"Sarah went to the Paris Olympics in 2024, and had her second child early on in 2025," Menard tells us of his timeline in joining the campaign. "She was looking for a crew in September, after having raced with David Liebenberg from RYC in 2024. I was one of the last

L.A. 2028 OLYMPICS IN THE NACRA 17

crews to try out with her in November. About 10 days later, we made the decision to go forward with the campaign, and we started campaigning full time in December."

With the campaign of cially launched, the next steps include training, fundraising, and racing in worldclass regattas to see where they stack up with the other Nacra 17s vying for

Olympic quali cation. Campaigning for the Olympics is a full-time job, and one of the factors that the duo has to balance is that Menard is wrapping up his nal semester of college at UCLA. This means lots of cross-country ights, and some compromises on regattas that they might otherwise sail.

"The rst regatta of the season is the Trofeo Princesa So a, which is in Palma [de Mallorca] in Spain, but we decided not to attend that," Menard tells us. "Our rst regatta will be the Worlds in France in May. We feel that with me balancing school and campaigning, that is the best way for us to be the most prepared and be ready to tackle our rst event; not rushing into a race.

"Worlds is our rst event, which isn't necessarily ideal," Menard continues. "We would love not to

have to race in a World Championship as our rst event together, but with the timeline, that's just how it worked out. Our goal there is to check in with the eet, make sure we're happy with the direction we've chosen for the settings and the development of our platform, and test our racing comms and how we put together a strategy and tactics as a team. That's the goal for Worlds.

"Continuing on that, I graduate school right after Worlds, and we're going to start training full time and put a lot of focus into the second half of the year," Menard adds. "We're going to train for a month in Kiel, Germany. We're going to race in Kieler Woche and [Nacra 17] Europeans, which are also in Kiel. The goal there is to train with the international eet and get up to speed; there will be areas where we're missing things because we're training on our own most of the time. We want to nd those areas and work on them.

"Then starting in July, we're going to focus on doing training camps," he tells us of their plans after Northern Germany. "We'll train in L.A. for about two months, and then we'll go back to Europe for another month, and then train in Miami at the end of the year. Our hope is to perform and be able to bring back a European training partner and have a productive winter in Miami.

"Sarah's got a ton more experience than I do," Menard tells us. "She's on her third Olympic campaign and she went to Paris in 2024, so she brings a lot of that experience. That calmness and guidance in terms of big picture campaign things. On the boat, we work really well together in terms of helping each other with our own personal jobs. Like what I can do with my sheeting to make her life easier and the boat faster. If she's struggling with something, my mindset is, 'What can I do to help?' and if I'm struggling with something, her mindset is 'What can she do to help [me]?'

"A typical day for us when training involves me waking up early, getting some food in, and then going on a bike ride," Menard tells us of the training regimens of an Olympic campaign. "I have more or less a three-day workout

RYC'S HOEL MENARD CAMPAIGNS FOR THE

cycle, where I'll bike on two of the days and work out the other day. The goal is just to stay in shape and develop my cardio a bit more. The Nacra 17 is a very demanding boat in terms of cardio, so it's just about making sure my body is at the right level for that.

"On a typical day we won't do much campaign stuff unless it's a no-wind day and we can spend all day doing

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

that," he tells us of the off-water and non-physical elements of campaigning. "But, you know, in December we didn't have much wind and we spent the days behind our computers logging long days putting in the work to create a budget, a calendar, reaching out to coaches, training partners, donors, and sponsors. Just putting everything together."

As they lead up to their rst regattas together, Miami (Newberry Moore's hometown) is the duo's Olympic training HQ.

"In Miami, you can either sail in Biscayne Bay or you can sail in the ocean," Menard tells us of training in South Florida. "If we sail in Biscayne Bay, typically we'll train on the water for ve hours because you have to account for 30 minutes to tow out to the ocean and 30 minutes to tow back. Those days can get pretty long, and sometimes you're coming in and the sun is setting. If there's another Nacra team in Miami that we can train with, we'll do some coursework and speed testing to compare. If we're alone, we're working on boat handling

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and communication to establish a really strong base in our partnership.

"The boat is a fully foiling platform," he tells us of how the Nacra 17 sails, looking more like a spaceship than a racing dinghy. "We foil upwind and downwind in almost all conditions. Unlike the Waszp or Moth, it doesn't have a ride-height system. You set the foils to a certain rake and then use your body weight to control how high you're going to foil and how much you're going to push it. There's a lot of movement in terms of walking up and down the hull on the trapeze on the side of the boat.

campaign, however, dwarfs that. For sailors campaigning for the Olympics, fundraising is just as important to the campaign as the training and the on-water results.

"Physically speaking, there's a lot of cardio there, and then there's a lot of strength because the sails are very powerful," Menard says of the physical demands of racing the Nacra 17. "The mainsail is huge, and very often overpowered. Upwind, the crew trims the mainsail from the trapeze wire and

handles the pitch of the boat, while the skipper drives and adjusts the traveler. There's a lot of communication and coordination there. I trim the kite downwind and hand the main to Sarah, and then we're both on pitch control because downwind requires so much more of it."

One of the realities of campaigning for the Olympics is that it costs a lot of money. Sailing is never a cheap sport, and when one has raced at the level Menard has for most of his youth, it becomes even more expensive. An Olympic

BOATYARD

"We're funded by donations," Menard tells us. "Richmond Yacht Club is super-helpful in terms of supporting us, but there's so much grassroots support. Putting the pieces together from smaller amounts of money. It's de nitely a 'strength-in-numbers' mentality."

We will be following Hoel Menard and Sarah Newberry Moore's Olympic campaign — and hopefully Olympic Games — journey. Menard is a rising star not just in the Bay Area sailing world, but on the national and international level. Over the next few years we will see just how high his star can rise.

You can visit the duo's campaign website at www.usa50racing.com, where you can also donate to their campaign. — fritz

APPRENTICE PROGRAM COMMUNITY EVENTS

ADULT & YOUTH EDUCATION

FOLKBOATS FOREVER!

Gazeout over the boats in any marina and inevitably your thoughts turn to the stories behind every boat you see. Who owns it? How long have they had it? Why did they get it? Why do they STILL have it?!? Excellent questions, all. Here's one answer, the only one I can give as it's about my boat and my story.

I'd love to paint a picture of rugged determination, long and careful research and shrewd negotiations. But that would be a lie. "Serendipitous" is really a far more apt description of the route I took. I was living a perfectly normal, rational existence once. Married, no children, good job, savings. The whole package. But there are many walks of life and we cross paths with these folks all the time. For me, it was the neighbors we met through a work connection. Rich and Lori became fast friends, and as it turns out, they had a boat! A 25-ft wooden lapstrake boat. Something called a "Folkboat." I didn't know much about Bay boats but had messed around with dinghies enough to know how to tack and go to weather.

Rich was (and still is) an avid sailor, and was happy to take me sailing. I loved it! Rich was a Sea Scout and evidence of that was everywhere to be found, from the methodical way that we went about leaving and returning to the slip to the impressive collection of spares and safety equipment

to be found on the boat. And his sailing skill was on a par. I recall an outing when the portside spreader blew up and sailing on port was just asking for the top half of the mast to snap. We remained on starboard while calmly and methodically setting up the outboard, dousing sail, and motoring back. That was a pretty nifty "save." This experience could have been unsettling for a newbie, but Rich was good at instilling con dence in a S.F. Bay novice. That was 30 years ago.

Shortly after that, Rich and Lori decided to pull up stakes and spend an inde nite amount of time in the Netherlands. And just like that, I became the proud owner of my rst Folkboat! I learned a lot on that boat. Much of it was not pretty. I learned that you should really go nowhere near Seal Rocks. I learned that the water rushing under the Fort Mason piers on a big ood can make leaving the East Basin much more exciting than it ought to be. But somehow I always got back safely. I don't attribute that to any particular skill on my part, though you learn fast on the Bay! The boat was just very forgiving. Straightforward and stout, it gave me the con dence that, although I might make any number of boneheaded mistakes, the boat was not likely to add to those challenges.

I kind of backed into the whole social scene that went along with owning the boat. It was the look of the boat that had captured me, as has been true of many members of the eet. And I knew nothing of the racing scene. My rst "races" actually consisted of shadowing the eet as they participated in the Wednesday night series. I stayed out of the way, but it all looked very intriguing.

One advantage I had was that my boat came with crew. Later I found out that most of them do, as there are always folks who have been with the boat longer than the new owner. These people are invaluable. One of my crew was Terry Holmes, a WWII Navy vet. Before disbelief overtakes you, remember that this was in the mid- to late '90s, so he was still a young man in his mid- to late 70s at the time. A longtime sailor and a prior Folkboat owner himself, he seemed to shed 20 years every time he stepped onto the boat. I am reminded of the expression, "The gods do not

subtract from you the days you spend sailing." He was the embodiment of that; he did a lot of sailing. He died at the age of 104.

So that was my start, and I'm still in a Folkboat today. I have the ignominious honor (likely a record) of having owned ve different Folkboats. I seem incapable of moving on to another eet, as is customary among boat owners. I can't quite explain it, but I just really like these boats. And I am now deeply immersed in the eet. After having ducked, dodged and weaved around becoming a eet of cer, I started with baby steps and was secretary for a while before ascending to the presidency! I have a lot of admiration, respect and love for the people I sail with, and wouldn't have ever felt compelled to hold of ce if I didn't feel that way. There are a lot of really talented, genuine and generous people in the eet.

Sadly, in my years of racing I haven't shown much "podium-ability." (I'm not winning a lot.) I don't mind that too much, and no doubt that's part of my problem there. But it does make the occasional win that much sweeter. During the darkest COVID days (spring 2020) the Folkboat eet had the moxie to keep racing. First with rabbit starts with a single boat on port tack and everyone else on starboard taking the port tacker's stern (a new one for me.) And then we prevailed on one of our own to bring their larger boat out and be our

A LOVE STORY

committee boat. We observed the protocols of the day, with only persons living under the same roof allowed to sail together. In essence, what this meant was a return to family racing. It was pretty special, as you might imagine. Family racing on the Bay with really no other eets to be seen. You'd think it was 1965! I had an unfair advantage: My daughter Erin was 22 and loves sailing. We had a great time. And the camaraderie that the eet experienced during those very dark days was something special.

And now here's my little victory story: We were late to the rst race on one of these weekends, so we watched to see who was fast and who was slow and where they were on the course. We "went to school" on the eet, as it were. We took that into the next race … and we won! Best feeling ever. My daughter and I continue to race together. Someday (not soon), I will be putting my foulies away, but she's not going anywhere. She loves this sport and these boats and plans to stay with it.

FOLKBOATS FOREVER!

— mark slichter

Every boat needs a playlist. Good music sets a positive mood, and a long set of favorites can help those long hours of the night watch go by quickly (even though any given watch between midnight and sunrise should never be longer than two hours).

Why did they pick me to assemble the playlist? I'm far out of touch with popular culture, and my taste in nautical-themed songs is obscure. But it wasn't that hard, once I got into it. Instrumental Hawaiian tracks are great for background. Surf guitar for the squalls. Show tunes and novelty songs to pass the time when things are stable enough for the crew on deck to have their earbuds in. But I was having trouble with the sea chantey genre. They all seem to end badly, usually describing some sailor who is robbed blind by a romantic connection on their rst night ashore right after being paid off, requiring them to sign up again for a dangerous trip around Cape Horn. Not to mention that the encounter might have "set re to my mainmast."

Or the song describes a shipwreck with catastrophic loss of life, or a brutal captain with an equally brutal dog.

Arti cial Intelligence was not much help. It listed some good inspirational songs and some daring rescues, but the context was always downbeat. So I did what I always do when I have a problem preparing for an ocean race: I emailed Lee Helm for assistance, knowing that she would be up late.

"It's a problem with nautical culture," she agreed in her email response. "Professional sailors have had, like, a bad deal over the centuries, and the music re ects that. There are exceptions."

"Spill!" I demanded.

"Here's one of my faves," she typed. "It makes the case for an alternative family structure, although you have to project a little into the future of the protagonist beyond the song's ending. It's 'Morning Glory', by the Corsairs. Here are excerpts from the lyrics:"

At the end of the day, I like a little drink,

To raise up me voice and sing. And an hour or two with a ne brown brew,

And I'm ready for anything.

At the Crosskeys Inn there were sisters four,

The landlord's daughters fair. And every night, when he put out the light, I would tiptoe up the stairs…

[The sailor is gone for two years of service in the Napoleonic naval wars]

… Well I bore once more, for my native shore,

Farewell to the raging sea,

At the Crosskeys Inn, I was beckoned in,

And my heart was lled with glee. There on the shore were the sisters four, with a bundle on each knee. There were three little girls and a bouncing boy,

And they all looked just like me!

"You call that a happy ending?" I replied.

"Like I said, you have to project a little. The sailor probably never had to go to sea again, and was likely an excellent dad to four kids exactly the same age, with four moms to share. It's a perfectly good alternative family arrangement. In some versions of the song he gets a generous share of prize money from an enemy ship the Morning Glory captures, so he probably ends up owning the Crosskeys Inn long before the kids are grown."

Lee's next suggestion was a little more explicit.

"Here's one by Oscar Brand, an expert in American folk music. He decided to change 'What do we do with the drunken Sailor?' to 'What do we do with the captain's daughter?' and there's a surprise ending."

No interpretation was needed with this track. Here are the lyrics Lee sent, and you know the tune.

'What Do We Do With the Captain's Daughter?' — Oscar Brand, from Boating Songs and All That Bilge:

Now, the invite read for a weekend cruise

It sounded ne, could a man refuse? …

… This lovely gal meets me down at the pier

Says, "It's my daddy's boat, I'm glad you're here" …

… She wore tight sweaters and a low cut shirt

And her slacks pulled high so they almost hurt

And when she passed me she'd twist and turn

So it wasn't the sunshine made me burn

When she came nigh, I would duck below

And run cold water on the old banjo!"

HAPPY ENDINGS

Asleep that morning I felt a touch

And there she stood not wearing much …

… Then the captain came to investigate

He found us there at the pearly gate

She jumps from the bed and says, "Daddy, dear,

He's the very best I've had all year."

So the captain says, "Son, if this is true, You're invited down for next weekend too."

"Good

nd," I typed back. "That's not how those songs usually end."

"I like that Brand puts on his musicology hat. We've all been singing a folk song with 'strummin' on the old banjo' since summer camp. Brand makes sure we, like, know the folk song slang meaning of 'banjo.'"

"I never knew that," I confessed. "It does put 'Someone's in the kitchen with

Dinah' in a new light. Not that us kids in summer camp cared much."

"Brand has a whole album of yachting-related novelty songs," Lee typed. "Worth tracking down. And here's a great shipwreck ballad by Stan Rogers. The crew all got off safely, and the song is from the POV of the locals who strip the wreck."

"Don't tell me how it ends!"

"The Wreck of the Athens Queen".

Composed by Stan Rogers, Fogarty's Cove Music:

We were drinking down to Reedy's house

When rst we heard the blow

It seemed to come from Ripper Rock

So boldly forth to go

And sure enough the rusty tub

Could just be barely seen

As her stern was high up in the air

We made out Athens Queen

O the waves inside me belly

Were as high as those outside

And though I'm never seasick I Lost dinner overside

T'was well there was no crew to save

For we'd have scared 'em green

We could scarcely keep ourselves

From falling off the Athens Queen …

… I headed for the galley then

Cause I was rather dry

And glad I was to get there quick

For what should I spy

O what a shame it would have been For to lose it all at sea

Forty cases of the best Napoleon Brandy ever seen

I loaded 20 cases, boys, Then headed for the shore

Unloaded them as quick as that

And then pulled back for more Smith was pullin' for the shore

But he could scarce be seen

Underneath two hundred chickens

And a leather couch of green …

So here's to all good salvagers

Likewise to Ripper Rock

And to Napoleon brandy, of which

Now we have much stock

We eat a lot of chicken

And sit on a couch of green

And we wait for Ripper Rock

To claim another Athens Queen

"Didn't

Stan Rogers do another upbeat salvage song? More widely known than 'Athens Queen', I think."

" 'Mary Ellen Carter'," Lee came back. "A great inspirational song, but, like, it doesn't include the end of the story. We never nd out of the salvage, scheduled for the next day, is successful. And I take away one star for Stan's use of an eye rhyme, 'again' and 'strain.' Worse, he mixes it up with a real rhyme, 'men' and 'again.' "

"You're a tough critic!" I typed. "But I still might include it on the playlist. And there's another song I'm thinking of but I can't nd it online. About a sailor who falls in love with a mermaid, tophalf woman and bottom-half sh. She leaves him, and the sailor nds true sexual ful llment with her sister, who is top-half sh and bottom-half woman."

"Yikes, be careful with that one," Lee advised. "It's a funny song, but it suggests that relationships are sexual and nothing more. It's a regressive message

that won't play well unless you, like, really know your audience. And even then…"

"OK, that one's off the list."

"Gotta go," Lee typed. "Hope all that helps. I'm doing a short piece for the Naval Arch department newsletter: About the theory that if the Titanic had been able to ood compartments aft on the port side, they could have kept the ship in level trim. It would sink deeper in the water, but level, possibly trimmed level enough to prevent water from spilling over the tops of the watertight bulkheads."

"There are a lot of good songs about the Titanic," I replied. "My favorite is the Pete Seeger version."

"Don't tell me how it ends!" Lee typed before signing off.

— max ebb

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THE RACING

The racing season for most eets and yacht clubs kicks off in earnest this month, and some racing already kicked into high gear in February. Covered in this month's edition of the Racing Sheet, Scott Easom gives his take on the Three Bridge Fiasco. San Diego Yacht Club hosts its rst Etchells regatta of the year with the Bill Bennett Cup. The rst two stops of the California Dreamin' Series, and various midwinter regattas are sailed at RYC, CPYC, CYC, and SFYC.

Scott Easom Sails the Three Bridge Fiasco

Scott Easom's J/100 Eight Ball (SFYC) won the Spinnaker A division for singlehanded sailors, nishing nearly 40 minutes ahead of the next boat in his division. He was also the rst of all of the singlehanded nishers.

"I'd taken a boat out on the course on Friday at 9:00 a.m., which was 10:00 the next day in terms of the tide situation," Easom tells Latitude of his preparation for the regatta. "It was obvious to me that going to Blackaller rst and then going to Red Rock was the right way to go. I think I've been right more times than I've been wrong, but it's always a guess. It was an educated guess, but you never know for sure until you know.

"Getting around the course and not getting parked up at [Treasure Island] was a highlight," Easom tells us of the unusually windy (for this time of year) event. "It made it a lot more fun with a lot less frustration. No dropping the anchor, so that was great. It was great to see so many people out. I only heard about one bad collision.

"I really felt like I went the right way; I didn't have to do a single tack going

through Raccoon Strait," Easom says of his race. "I had a real misfortune with my code zero, which I sail-tied to the foredeck. It went over the side and went underneath the boat, so I had to stop for about ve minutes to get it back on board. I got it on board though, and I had nobody to blame but myself since I was sailing singlehanded. After I got around Red Rock, I had a wonderful sail down to Treasure Island, and got that mostly right. I barely made it around T.I. When you're by yourself and have to take the spinnaker down, it's not easy, and I had to do both of my takedowns on a tight reach. It's the hardest maneuver you can do when you're sailing by yourself. Every takedown [that you do when singlehanding] has to be a 'Mexican takedown.' You always have to compromise when you're sailing by yourself. To beat as many people as I did singlehanded was great. I think I was 13th overall, if you don't count the multihulls, which I don't … I think that boats that singlehand should get six seconds per mile or so on the boats that doublehand, because our hoists are horrible, the jibes are equally bad, the tacks aren't very good, and the takedowns are … scary.

"I think the Three Bridge Fiasco is so cool because everyone has a shot in it," he says of what makes the regatta special. "It isn't just raw-ass boat speed, like it is in the summertime. It's not crew work-dependent, it's not weight on the rail. It's not a bunch of things. Half the eet can be eliminated by going the wrong way. It's also usually not super-windy, so you're not going to get your head blown off most days. It can be a really pleasant day of sailing compared to sailing in the summertime, when it will blow 25. It's fun and it's tactical."

Easom also used what is so special about the Three Bridge Fiasco to suggest how it could be expanded in the interest of promoting more sailing across the Bay throughout the year.

"We do the Hot Rum Series in San Diego every year, and it's a ton of fun," he tells us. "I've mentioned this to the YRA before, that we should have our own version of it up here, but my version is a little different. Yes, there would be three different dates, but the starting and nish line would always be different. One of the days we would start and nish at GGYC. One time we would start at RYC, and the last one we would start off Knox. Three start and nish locations, and it would be a series. So when you get 300 boats, those boats have to come back for the rest of the series. I think it would be a tremendous hit because there would be different tides, different wind angles, and different boats would bene t from the different starting locations. Why don't we do this more often?" — fritz

Etchells Sail Bill Bennett Cup at SDYC

On the weekend of January 17 and 18, 42 Etchells teams descended upon San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) to compete in the Bill Bennett Cup. The regatta marked the rst of several notable Etchells events hosted by the club, highlighted by the Etchells Paci c Coast Championship in late February and Etchells Worlds in May. The event

is sailed in honor of longtime San Diego sailor Bill Bennett, who tragically passed away in 2024. The regatta was won for the second year in a row by Chris Busch's Buschido

Of the 42 teams that competed, 15 were Corinthian competitors, with four of the top eight teams being Corinthian competitors (though all of the top three boats had at least one professional on board).

Three races were sailed throughout the weekend. Busch's team won the rst two to jump out to a dominant lead, and nished ninth to hold onto

the top spot with a total of 11 points.

"This eet is incredibly competitive from top to bottom," Busch said of winning the event, per the SDYC press release. "Winning the Bill Bennett Cup again means a lot, especially given what this regatta represents to the Etchells community."

Jim Madden and Skip Dieball's Stark Raving Mad nished just behind the winners with 12 points. The runnersup nished third in race one and seventh in race two. A second in race three nearly brought them level with Busch on points. Eduardo Saenz's Nimbus

nished nine points back of second with 21. A 21st-place nish in race one of the regatta sank Saenz's chances of winning the event, but he battled back with a second in race two and a seventh in race three to nish on the podium.

The rst Corinthian nisher was Oliver Toole's Team Shred, nishing with 25 points. After a 15th-place nish in race one, the team rallied for back-to-back fthplaced nishes to claim the title of top Corinthian team. The second-placed Corinthian team was Ethan Doyle's Capricorn ( nishing sixth overall), and the third-place Corinthian team and seventh-place overall team was Don Jesberg's VIVA, which won race three (making him the only non-Chris Busch race winner).

— fritz

BILL BENNETT CUP, 1/17-18 (3r/0t)

ETCHELLS — 1) Buschido, Chris Busch, 11 points; 2) Stark Raving Mad, Jim Madden/Skip Dieball, 12; 3) Nimbus, Eduardo Saenz, 21; 4) Team Shred, Oliver Toole, 25; 5) Odd Ball, Jack Franco, 30. (42 boats) Full results at www.sdyc.org

THE RACING

SDYC Hosts First Leg of California Dreamin' Series

On January 24 and 25, San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) hosted the rst of four legs of the California Dreamin' match-racing series. The series is in its 16th year, and features stops at Balboa Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, and Long Beach Yacht Club. Eight skippers compete in the series, and they must be invited to compete. The regatta was sailed in SDYC's J/22 eet.

The San Diego stop of the series was won by Del Rey Yacht Club's Sidney Gathrid. Two round robins were planned, but the second round robin wasn't completed, meaning that RRSC10.4 scoring was used. Gathrid nished with a score of 6.5, besting St. Francis Yacht Club's Molly Carapiet's score of ve. Gathrid was dominant during the rst round robin, winning all seven races. Carapiet won ve of seven from the rst round robin, dropping a race to Russ Silvestri as well as Gathrid.

Of the races sailed in the second round robin, Gathrid won three and dropped only one race (to Carapiet) in order to hold onto the top spot as time expired on the regatta.

"Saturday delivered classic light and

shifty San Diego conditions with breeze hovering between 4-6 knots demanding clean starts and precise boat handling," the SDYC press release says of the regatta. "Sunday racing was brie y delayed waiting for wind before near-ideal conditions lled in at 5-8 knots under clear blue skies."

"[It was a] super-fun weekend on the water. We really enjoyed the light and tricky San Diego conditions," Gathrid says of the racing, via the SDYC press release. "The level of racing was through the roof — honestly just stoked to be a part of it."

Also covered in this edition of the Racing Sheet, in the next article is the second stop of the California Dreamin' Series at Balboa Yacht Club. The third leg of the series will be sailed at St. Francis Yacht Club on March 7 and 8, with the nal leg at Long Beach Yacht Club on April 11 and 12. The overall winner of the series will qualify for LBYC's Butler Cup.

— fritz

California Dreamin' Continues at Balboa YC

On the weekend of February 7 and 8, the California Dreamin' Match Racing Series continued on to its second stop of the season at Balboa Yacht Club (BalbYC). The regatta featured seven different teams from various West Coast yacht clubs, including several carryovers from the rst stop at San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC). Home water advantage ultimately won out, with BalbYC's Siena Nichols and team winning the event with a scoreline of seven wins and two losses, with the nal standings determined by one-and-a-half round robins.

Nichols and her Balboa team of Maddie Nichols, Eddie Kliem, and Henry Day swept through the rst round robin, winning all six of their races. Cameron Feves and his team from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club (CBYC) were in second place after the rst round robin with four wins and two losses, losing to Steve Flam as well as Nichols.

on March 7 and 8, and then the nal event at Long Beach Yacht Club on April 11 and 12. The overall winner of the series earns a spot at the LBYC Butler Cup.

"The highlight of the event was the wind on Saturday," Nichols tells Latitude of her win in the regatta. "We had a nice 15-knot sea breeze with a little chop. The GC22s were super-fun to sail, as they perform great in the wind, making the prestarts and downwinds much more fun and interesting. I think our sail trim and super-awesome work by my crew helped us with our speed. My main trimmer Maddie Nichols was really active with all the sheeting, and jib trimmer/bowman duo Eddie Kliem and Henry Day were hiking super-hard and keeping the boat moving through the chop. It was really my team that made the regatta so great! The hardest part was the super-light conditions on Sunday, as keeping the boats up to speed was tricky and all down to the minor details."

The top two teams after the rst round robin (Nichols and Feves) remained the top two teams after sailing nished for the weekend, with the second round robin only partially

complete. No team was able to complete more than four races in the second round robin, with several teams completing only three races.

After the rst round robin, Frankie Dair was holding on to a podium spot after having won three and lost three. Nichols won only one race in the second round robin and lost two. Feves won all four of his races in the second round robin, but based on the scoring rules with the incomplete round robin, the top spot for the weekend went to Nichols.

Dair went two and two in the second round robin, but one of the wins was wiped out due to the round robin not being completed, allowing St. Francis Yacht Club's Molly Carapiet to claim the nal spot on the podium, having won two of three races from the second round robin.

The California Dreamin' Series is now halfway completed, with the next stop being the only Northern California event at St. Francis Yacht Club

— fritz

Re ections of RYC Midwinters in Light Wind

The third of four Small Boat Midwinters took place on Sunday, February 1, out of Richmond Yacht Club (RYC). With light conditions in the forecast and a eet of more than 100 boats, we rigged up to go out and get as many races in as we could. I was racing in the I-14 eet on Australia 681 Escaped Convict.

This was my rst time skippering an I-14 in a regatta, and I was looking forward to the opportunity to do some close racing in a very experienced eet. Our day started with a bit of drama as one of our competitors found a crack in a spreader, taking their boat out for the day. Luckily, the I-14 eet is very close, and one of the boats that wasn't racing allowed them to borrow their boat for the day.

The rst race saw three boats make the start. Conditions were light, leading to only one person on the trapeze.

THE RACING

Everyone was working on minimizing maneuvers and keeping boat speed up all race. In light conditions, the I-14 can either run deep sailing in VMG mode or reach high and go fast. This leads to a decision in marginal conditions, with boats deciding to do both and reaching the bottom mark at the same time. Even in light conditions, the I-14 is easy to ip. I pushed it on a set, and ended up ipping at the top mark. The result was a lot of learning, signi cant room for improvement, and a third-place nish.

Race two saw an extra 3 knots of wind, allowing us to double-trap off the starting line and go two times as fast in every direction. Again, the breeze started to shut down, leading to tricky racing and having to link small puffs together to make it around the course. On an I-14, any mistake can open up passing lanes. After we rounded the top mark in third, the boat in front of us had a small twist in the kite, slowing them down and allowing us to slip to leeward and sneak into second.

Our last race started in 4 knots of wind, with all of us nding creative ways to keep the boats moving. With a building ebb, we found our way up to the top mark for a short single-lap race. Once we rounded, we were swept down to the nish for our rst win.

The race committee did an amazing job setting a good course in variable conditions with a very large eet on the water. The last of the four midwinters is March 1, and if an I-14 is something you'd be interested in sailing, there are many opportunities to get out sailing on one. This isn't just for the midwinters, but for all I-14 regattas. — max roth

CPYC Hosts

Double Up and Back Race

Five boats lined up for the season's second Saturday regatta — Paradigm, Svea, Sweet Grapes, Surprise, and Will O' The Wind — mostly doublehanded, as tradition insists, with Sweet Grapes opting for a fuller bench. The race's longstanding habit of stretching toward Islais Creek was politely set aside; with a light forecast, the race committee chose a tighter loop that promised motion without a marathon.

The forecast offered a wide range, but the start whispered — about 3 knots — from an unexpected southerly. Sweet Grapes took rabbit duties. Paradigm wasted no time, popping the chute and sliding ahead on the run to C, Sweet Grapes in pursuit. As the eet headed for A, the breeze found its condence, building into the mid-single digits, then — brie y — jumping well

into the teens. Winter lifted the curtain to reveal a glimpse of another season entirely.

With a modest ood running, the eet turned downwind toward 8 in steadier air, the breeze clocking and dgeting just enough to keep everyone honest. Paradigm led, Sweet Grapes close astern, with the rest sorting themselves out through the shifts. Will O' The Wind retired.

Corrected time delivered the day's quiet twist: Svea took the win, followed by Paradigm, Surprise!, and Sweet Grapes — proof once again that this race rewards attentiveness as much as pace.

— john bradley

Corinthian Yacht Club Hosts Valhalla on the Bay

On January 17 and 18, Corinthian Yacht Club (CYC) hosted the rst two days of its 'Valhalla on the Bay' midwinter series. Sixty-four boats showed up to race across eight divisions: ve PHRF divisions, two non-spinnaker divisions, and a J/105 one-design division.

"Light to medium breeze lled in early, giving the race committee enough wind to send the eets off without postponement — albeit not without some close encounters, including one racer chancing line position and the anchor rode of the Race Committee boat," the CYC press release tells us of the racing on Saturday the 17th.

"A building ebb soon began to separate the eld and wreak havoc for some, rewarding those who read the combination of breeze and water well, and punishing the rest," the press release continues. "Current relief without breeze, or breeze in the teeth of the ebb, were almost equally painful decisions. It was the kind of day that had skippers wondering which Norse god they had pleased — or offended — before leaving the dock."

The party was on after racing, with sailors getting into the full spirit of the Valhalla theme. The press release tells us, "Not even a 'Niners loss could dampen the mood. Viking helmets were everywhere!

"Sunday brought similar conditions," the press release says of day two of racing. "The Race Committee sent most of the eets into the North Bay and straight into the teeth of the Raccoon Strait ebb. At the weather mark, a large wind hole developed that effectively 'reset' many of the eets. Ultimately,

racers rode the ebb back through Raccoon Strait and into the central Bay, crabbing hard against the current on the nal legs toward the nish. The considerable ebb proved a formidable challenge for the Race Committee as well, with one rounding mark making a break for the Golden Gate Bridge and complicating scoring for several eets."

The PHRF 1 division was won by Bob Novy's Custom Frers 40 Jeannette (EYC), recording a second on Saturday and a third on Sunday. Kevin Wilkinson's Jubilant (SYC), a J/112, won the Saturday race, but nished fth on Sunday to be a point behind Novy's team. Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key (SFYC), the J/111 that topped the ORC B division at the 2025 Rolex Big Boat Series, won the Sunday race, but a seventh in the Saturday race kept them from winning the weekend.

Dave MacEwan's J/90 Lucky Duck (SFYC) won PHRF 2 with a third on Saturday and a bullet on Sunday, tiebreaking another J/90, Orca (SFYC), which nished second on both days. Laurence Pulgram's Sabre Spirit 36 Rhapsody won PHRF 3, winning the Saturday race and nishing third on Sunday. PHRF 4 was won by Lilith (RYC), Tom Pauling's Wyliecat 39, which recorded bullets on both days. John Kearney's Express 27 Salty Hotel (CYC) did the same in the PHRF 5 division.

In the Non-Spinnaker 1 division, Doug Wilhelm's Schumacher 40 Q (SFYC) recorded a third on Saturday and a bullet on Sunday to win the weekend via tiebreaker. In the second non-spinnaker division, Abba-Zaba (SFYC), a Tartan Ten, won both races.

The only one-design division racing during the weekend was the J/105

class. The Cal Maritime team won the weekend, nishing second both days. Ian Charles' Maverick (StFYC) won the day-one race and nished fth on day two to nish second for the weekend. William Woodruff's Roulette nished third for the weekend, winning the Sunday race, but did not compete on Saturday.

The second weekend of the Valhalla on the Bay Series will be sailed on February 21 and 22.

— fritz

CYC MIDWINTERS SERIES, 1/17-18

PHRF 1 — 1) Jeannette, Custom Frers 40, Bob Novy, 5 points; 2) Jubilant, J/112e, Kevin Wilkinson, 8; 3) Skeleton Key, J/111, Peter Wagner, 8. (9 boats)

PHRF 2 — 1) Lucky Duck, J/90, Dave MacEwen, 4 points; 2) Orca, J/90, Ian Rogers/Ben Johnston, 4; 3) Kuai, Melges 32, Daniel Thielman, 6. (7 boats)

PHRF 3 — 1) Rhapsody, Sabre Spirit 36, Laurence Pulgram, 4 points; 2) Jarlen, J/35, Gregory Winters, 6; 3) Mr. Chocolate Lounge, Steve Stroub, 8. (11 boats)

J/105 — 1) Cal Maritime, Dennis Deisinger, 4 points; 2) Maverick, Ian Charles, 6; 3) Chao Pescao, Paolo Juvara, 6. (6 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER 1 — 1) Q, Schumacher 40 Custom, Doug Wilhelm, 4 points; 2) Katestr, Sabre Spirit 36, Beau Vrolyk, 4; 3) Windsome, J/100, Anne Thomas, 5. (6 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER 2 — 1) Abba-Zaba, Tartan Ten, Ross Tibbits/Michelle Farabaugh, 2 points; 2) Kira, Cal 33-2, Jim Erskine, 5; 3) Ganesha, Sabre 36-2, Tom Bauch, 7. (7 boats)

PHRF 4 — 1) Lilith, Wyliecat 39, Tom Paulling, 2 points; 2) Fjaer, IOD, Richard & Mark Pearce, 6; 3) Heart of Gold, Olson 911S, Joan Byrne, 6. (9 boats)

PHRF 5 — 1) Salty Hotel, Express 27, John Kearney, 2 points; 2) Son of a Son, J/70, David Fried, 6; 3) Enamored, Moore 24, Nick Voss, 6. (5 boats)

Full results at www.cyc.org

THE RACING SHEET

SFYC Hosts BAYS Midwinters #3

On the weekend of February 7 and 8, 107 boats descended on San Francisco Yacht Club (SFYC) for the third regatta of the Bay Area Youth Sailing (BAYS) Midwinter series. Eight different dinghy classes raced, with the smallest class being just four boats, and the biggest class featuring 24 boats.

The largest doublehanded class racing was the Club 420 (C420) class, with 24 boats from the six different clubs and youth racing programs around the Bay Area. Four races were sailed in generally light wind conditions across the two days of racing. The Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF) duo of skipper Carter Newhauser and crew Luca Mejia-Young were dominant, totalling just ve points.

Newhauser and Mejia-Young nished second in the rst race of the regatta, and then won the nal three races in order to nish 10 points ahead of the second-place boat. Nolan Balocki and Emilia Puertas of Encinal Yacht Club (EYC) nished second with 15 points. The duo won the rst race of the regatta, making them the only non-Newhauser/Mejia-Young duo to win a race in the C420 division. The St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) duo of Shea Baggeroer and Avery Mazurkiewicz rounded out the C420 podium in third place with 17 points.

The eight-boat CFJ class sailed six races, with each boat earning one drop. Santa Cruz Yacht Club's (SCYC) Jojoe Arthur and Caroline Caul eld won the class with a net total of 11 points, two ahead of Coyote Point Yacht Club's (CPYC) Chris Chai and Jefferey Silverman with 13. Arthur and Caul eld won races three and six, and recorded three third-place nishes after a seventh in race one (which would become their drop). Chai and Silverman won races one and six. SCYC's Kilian Kesting and Maxsun Geluardi rounded out the podium with a net total of 13 points,

losing the tiebreaker to Chai and Silverman due to the fact that they won only one race (race four) to the secondplace boat's two.

Four 29ers showed up to race in the event, all from the host club, SFYC. Three races were sailed, and Jerry and Kaylee Jiang won with a net total of ve points. A different boat won each of the three races.

Similar to the 29ers, four RS Fevas showed up, two from Richmond Yacht Club (RYC) and two from PYSF. Nikolai Pratt and Rye Antin of RYC won four of the ve races to win the event, beating out fellow Richmond junior sailors Ronan Lightner and Jonathan Gerhardt, who nished second.

Three of the four singlehanded classes were geared toward younger sailors. The only one that wasn't was the ILCA 6 class, which featured ve boats. StFYC's Ian Adamson won the class with six points, one ahead of EYC's Joby Overton with seven. Adamson won races one and two, and nished second in races three and four. Overton won races three and four, and nished second in race one, but a third in race two proved to be the difference.

Forty-seven Optis showed up to race in the regatta, with the little bathtubs divided into the 24-boat Opti Championship eet and the 23-boat Opti Green eet. The Opti Champ eet completed four races, while the Opti Green eet completed six. SFYC's Rosie Chang won the Opti Champ eet with 21 points. She won race one, and then recorded a seven-six-seven the rest of the way to edge out Vincent Mulcahy by one point. Wilfred Bodiley (EYC) was third with 24 points. Just three points separating the podium made for tight racing.

EYC's Jack Velten won the Opti Green eet with a net total of 13 points. After a seventh and an eighth (his drop) in races one and two, respectively, Velten won three races and nished third in another to edge out

Harriet Mulcahy (CPYC) by one point. EYC's Reagan McNally nished in third with a net total of six points. All in all, the top ve were separated by just ve points.

The nal class was the RS Tera eet, which was won by RYC's Skylar Dubuc with a net total of eight points. Dubuc nished tied on net points with RYC teammate Tucker Cook, and was actually behind Cook on total points, but with the tiebreaker being best scores. Dubuc's three bullets (in races one, three and four) to Cook's two (in races ve and six) proved to be the decider. The RYC duo were well ahead of the rest of the eld, as the third-place boat (Sausalito Yacht Club's Claire Wilson) nished with 20 points. Fifteen boats competed in total.

— fritz

SFYC BAYS MIDWINTER #3, 2/7-8

29ER — 1) Jerry Jiang/Kaylee Jiang, SFYC, 5 points; 2) Adler Johnston, SFYC, 6; 3) Vanessa Stephens/Belmira Long, SFYC, 9. (4 boats)

C420 — 1) Carter Newhauser/Luca MejiaYoung, PYSF, 5 points; 2) Nolan Balocki/Emilia Puertas, EYC, 15; 3) Shea Baggeroer/Avery Mazurkiewicz, StFYC, 17. (24 boats)

/

SCYC, 11 points; 2) Cris Chai/Jefferey Silverman, CPYC, 13; 3) Kilian Kesting/Maxsun Geluardi, SCYC, 13. (8 boats)

LASER RADIAL — 1) Ian Adamson, StFYC, 6 points; 2) Joby Overton, EYC, 7; 3) William Delaney, EYC, 12. (5 boats)

OPTI CHAMP — 1) Rosie Chang, SFYC, 21 points; 2) Vincent Mulcahy, BCS, 22; 3) Wilfred Bodiley, EYC, 24. (23 boats)

OPTI GREEN — 1) Jack Velten, EYC, 13 points; 2) Harriet Mulcahy, BCS, 14; 3) Reagan McNally, EYC, 16. (23 boats)

RS FEVA — 1) Nikolai Pratt/Rye Antin, RYC, 4 points; 2) Ronan Lightner/Jonathan Gerhardt, RYC, 9; 3) Nikhil Kollu/Tejas Krishnan, PYSF, 15. (4 boats)

RS TERA — 1) Skylar Dubuc, RYC, 8 points; 2) Tucker Cook, RYC, 8; 3) Claire Wilson, SYC, 20. (15 boats)

Full results at www.sfyc.org

OYC SUNDAY BRUNCH, RACE 2, 1/18

MONOHULL SPINNAKER PHRF <123 — 1) Good and Plenty, Soverel 33-2, Justis Fennell. (3 boats)

SPINNAKER COLUMBIA 5.5 — 1) Alert, Steve Marchal; 2) Roja, Chris Davis; 3) Maverick, Ken Bodiley. (4 boats)

M P P 2

Blue Martini, Olson 911s, Robert Mathews; 2) Zeehond, Newport 30 MkII, Donn Guay; 3) Blue Jay, J/22, Chase Vanderveer. (4 boats)

P P 6 Faster Faster!, Merit 25, David Ross; 2) Dream Catcher, J/24, George Lythcott; 3) Double Agent, Merit 25, Scott Ollivier. (4 boats)

P P 9 Schocktail, Santana 525, Mark Green; 2) Loki, Santana 525, Walter Shih. (3 boats)

HARBOR 20 NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Obsession, Kame Richards; 2) Poco Loco, Drew Hess; 3) Mas Que Nada, Maryann Hinden. (5 boats)

NON-SPINNAKER MONOHULL — 1) Sterling, Catalina 34, Jim Brady; 2) Scrimshaw, Alerion Express, Michael Maurier; 3) Rapid Transit, Olson 25, Candice Wozniak. (6 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

SeqYC REDWOOD CUP SERIES, RACE 3, 1/24

PHRF PURSUIT — 1) Mistral, Beneteau 36.7, Mark Wommack; 2) Allons-Y, J/70, Davis

BOX SCORES

King; 3) Imagination, Bavaria 40, Erik Jessen. (5 boats)

OPEN 5.70 PURSUIT — 1) Roxy, Felix Oehme; 2) Altair, Samantha Chiu; 3) Granuaile, Meaghan & Ian Brosnan. (4 boats)

MERIT 25 PURSUIT — 1) Brett, Brett Herr; 2) Juan, Juan Blanch; 3) Hong C, Rich Ferrari. (3 boats)

Full results at www.jibeset.net

96th ANNUAL SCYA MIDWINTER REGATTA, NHYC, 1/31–2/1

SABOT A — 1) Patrick Smith, NHYC; 2) Abel Berge, BCYC; 3) Elleson Wheeler, SDYC. (8 boats)

SABOT B — 1) Ruckus Choate, BCYC; 2) Arielle Lewis, ABYC/LBYC; 3) Benjamin Smith, NHYC. (10 boats)

SABOT C1 — 1) Collins Kelly, NHYC; 2) JJ Sumpter, LBYC; 3) James Valladares, LBYC. (10 boats)

SABOT C2 — 1) Mountain Breeze, Preston Hagopian, BCYC; 2) Char Siu Bao, Charlie Donohoe, BCYC; 3) Delphina, Audrey Valladares, LBYC. (4 boats)

SABOT C3 — 1) Tidewater, Team BYC; 2) Sea Raven, Fisher Ahadpour, LBYC; 3) Delarga, Joshua Pong, LBYC. (15 boats) Full results at www.nhyc.org

OYC SUNDAY BRUNCH, RACE 3, 2/1

NON-SPINNAKER MONOHULL — 1) Blue Pearl, Newport 20, Carliane Johnson; 2) Praxis, J/9, Adam Renslo; 3) Scrimshaw, Alerion Express, Michael Maurier. (7 boats)

HARBOR 20s NON-SPINNAKER — 1) Mas Que Nada, Maryann Hinden; 2) Poco Loco, Drew Hess; 3) Puffy Galore, Theo Rohr. (6 boats) P 9 Ursa Minor, Santana 525, Richard Standridge; 2) Loki, Santana 525, Walter Shih; 3) Schocktail, Santana 525, Mark Green. (4 boats)

P 6

Double Agent, Merit 25, Scott Ollivier; 2) Faster Faster!, Merit 25, David Ross; 3) Dream Catcher, J/24, George Lythcott. (4 boats)

SPINNAKER COLUMBIA 5.5 — 1) Alert, Steve Marchal; 2) Rogue, Ryan Nelson; 3) Maverick, Ken Bodiley. (7 boats)

M P 2 Blue Martini, Olson 911s, Robert Mathews; 2) Zeehond, Newport 30 Mkii, Donn Guay. (3 boats)

MONOHULL SPINNAKER <123 — 1) Good and Plenty, Soverel 33-2, Justis Fennell; 2) Swell Patrol, Soverel 33, Zac Maricondia; 3) Flying Fish, Olson 30, Michael Berndt. (3 boats)

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

CHANGES

With reports this month from Heure Bleue on a memorable Ha-Ha; an interview with incoming Poobah Chuck Skewes; Madeline Mulligan's crazy Mexican road trip just to get to the Ha-Ha; and a locker full of Cruise Notes.

Heure Bleue — Hans Christian 38T

"DNA Dave" Gilbert

Best Laid Plans

Chula Vista

I learned to sail on San Francisco Bay in the early '80s while in graduate school at Stanford. At the time, I

lived aboard a Columbia 36 with a lady friend, and later a Ranger 26 by myself. For the next 30 years — most of it in Florida — I was married to a landlubber who forbade me to sail. Eventually I was allowed a Venture 17, followed by a Compac 16. I sailed those boats all over the forgotten coasts of Apalachicola, Port St. Joe, and Mexico Beach on the Florida Panhandle.

After becoming single again, I did a fair amount of chartering before purchasing my Hans Christian 38, a design I've been in love with since the '80s. In July 2023, I sailed Heure Bleue from Green Cove Springs, Florida, to her new homeport in Chula Vista.

The main motivation for the move was work — I'm a stem cell scientist working on cancer treatments. (They don't call me DNA Dave for nothing.) Of only slightly less importance was the Baja Ha-Ha. I've always said I was going to do one, and since 2025 was the last one — at least under the original Poobah — I had to go.

My main crew on the boat is a pet box turtle named Indy, who probably

hates sailing. He's getting close to 100 — middle-aged for a box turtle — but doesn't have any choice in the matter. If Heure Bleue ever arrives in port with no captain aboard, my daughter assures me she will take him. LOL.

Sadly, Indy was voted off the boat by my human Ha-Ha crew as a "trip hazard." He spent the time with a colleague at work. He's back on board now. I can't tell how indignant (or not) he might be over getting evicted — he sleeps from Thanksgiving to Easter so he isn't much trouble during those months.

I sourced my Ha-Ha crew from the "Crew Looking for a Boat" spreadsheet on the Ha-Ha Facebook page. I copy/ pasted the column and sent a batch email describing myself and the boat. I took the first three folks to respond. Anette Schol-Bermel owns an O'Day berthed on Harbor Island, San Diego. She has a lot of crewing experience, including an Atlantic crossing. Pat Williams is a retired police (and naval) officer and currently a professional delivery captain. This was his 13th HaHa, and he brought all the waypoints and anchorage coordinates with him!

The third person backed out at the last minute, so I felt lucky to add George Boulanger, a retired manager for a boatyard in Marina del Rey. He now lives aboard a classic Morgan, Dolphin Spirit, in Ensenada with his partner, Tiffany. We became good friends when he helped replace some of the rigging on Heure Bleue in September.

the kids in Turtle Bay, lined up on the beach to help everyone get their dinghies onto and off shore. I imagine over 31 years there has been time for a few generations of pre-teens to participate and grow out of the tradition.

Of course the bazeball game — cruisers vs. locals — is a total hoot.

In a word, my first and only Ha-Ha was a blast, both ashore and afloat. I was impressed with how organized things were, from adjustments on the fly for starting lines based on wind, to morning check-ins where people could discuss anything they could use some help with. For me, a highlight was

In Santa Maria, I packed my set of harmonicas in a waterproof bag in case the band was good, and indeed they were! I stepped up for a few tunes and got them to stretch out in some improv jams. Even the mass passport check-in fiasco with its lines of dinghies tied together off the back of Profligate went off like a social gathering.

In the lead-up to the Ha-Ha, my post-rally plans depended on what the

current administration has planned for the National Institutes of Health. If biomedical research kept getting slashed, I figured I would sail off into the sunset and leave the few remaining jobs to younger people. If it was undecided — or all a bluff — I might see as much of the Sea of Cortez as I had time for, and then bash back up to Chula Vista.

In the slightly more distant future, my dream destinations depend upon how much I've had to drink. When sober, I'd say winter in La Paz and summer in Chula Vista sounds like heaven. After a few drinks, Tahiti, Fiji, and all of that South Pacific stuff is tops, with the Mediterranean as a distraction. I already own my dream boat that can do any or all of it.

As it turned out, in September the powers that be decided to fund me for four more years, so I had only a little time left to see Mexico this time around.

My three Ha-Ha crew flew home from Cabo and were replaced by two

of my sisters, Janet and Beverly, who are 10+ years older than I am and have never sailed before. Since my windlass was down, I decided to do the 25-hour trip to La Paz in one passage to give them a taste of an overnight. Well, my Autohelm wouldn't wake up (turned out the problem was a crew member fiddling with the settings…grrr!). Then we rounded the cape right into a nice northerly with short, steep chop and 18 knots in the face. Since hand-steering 15 tons of boat into that makes a nice first sailing lesson for women in their late 70s, I conveniently wasn't able to troubleshoot the Autohelm until sunrise. Needless to say, I didn't get a wink of sleep.

Once we anchored at Isla Partida, the beauty of La Paz set in, and even instructing my sisters how to lift the 73-pound Rocna by hand was effortless!

The trip to La Paz was planned around the final Ha-Ha party the night of November 23, but — full disclosure

— I met a beautiful lady, booked an Airbnb, and literally spaced out the party. I remembered on Monday halfway back to Cabo, where I dropped off my sisters and continued on with Dan Courtney, a crewmember I'd connected with on Facebook who was crazy enough to want to bash back up the coast with DNA Dave. I'd love to tell one of those John Kretschmer serious ocean stories about the Baja Bash back to San Diego, but it was kind of disappointing as serious ocean stories go. I'd read Jim Elfers' Baja Bash II book three times, trying to memorize how to navigate every convergence zone, but a glance at Windy showed a lull in the currents about 20 miles offshore, outside all the convergence zones, so I followed that to at least pick up a half knot, and found a very consistent daily weather pattern.

All in all, we hardly saw anything over 20 knots of wind and averaged 6 knots SOG: five days underway from Cabo to Ensenada. Of course, Heure Bleue, being a Hans Christian, barely spills your coffee under 20 knots, so as long as you have the staysail and enough mainsail filled to get her listing 15 degrees, life is good. The worst thing that happened was that both Dan and I got the same exact nasty cold, with my symptoms about eight hours ahead of his. We blamed it on the woman in La Paz.

So now I'm back in my slip in South Bay. But all that "department of inefficiency" stuff took the wind out of my science sails. So these next four years are now my solid target for retirement. I've informed my staff that they need to find jobs within that timeframe; all my collaborators that I'm downsizing my data production; and everyone to expect occasional long periods of COVID-style Zoom meetings as I explore the Pacific Northwest area for eventual retirement.

I still haven't decided on any particular plan for cruising in 2029 and beyond, and it still depends on how much I've had to drink. But for now, Vancouver to Mexico sounds just fine, and fits nicely within my mantra: "The voyage is the destination."

— DNA Dave 1/31/26

Since divorce has left me short on retirement funds, I've been exploring alternative sources of income in preparation for 'life off the grid'. I've started a writing, editing and publishing company, DNA

CHANGES

DAVE LLC (www.dnadave.com), and a Substack column, "Science, Explained", to help explain science to the public (www.tinyurl.com/mvr8avnd). Please check them out and let me know what you think.

New Era for the Baja Ha-Ha

2025 marked the end of an era for the Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally — and the beginning of a new one.

Latitude 38 founder Richard Spindler began the rally in 1994 and acted as the Grand Poobah for all 31 editions, holding forth from the event's mothership, his Surfin' 63 catamaran Profligate. "I loved every minute (almost) of it," he noted on Facebook, "but I couldn't see running another one at age 78. It was time to quit."

Enter Chuck Skewes, a longtime sailor, accomplished racer, sailmaker, and owner of Ullman Sails in San Diego and Ullman Sails Pacific Northwest in Anacortes. Shortly after the end of the HaHa last November, Richard announced he was passing the torch. "Chuck is the only person I ever considered to take over. He's got the skills, experience, and personality. I'm delighted!"

Although Chuck says the event will retain its basic format — an earlyNovember start in San Diego; stops in Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria; and the finish in Cabo San Lucas — he wasted little time in opening registration at the end of January (rather than May as in the past), to help people with early planning.

Here's a bit more about the new Poobah in his own words.

When did you start sailing?

I started sailing at the age of 5 in El Toros on Vashon Island. I met a kid on the playground the first day of first grade. His family were sailors and convinced my parents to start participating in the local fleet.

When was your first Ha-Ha, and how many have you done altogether?

2013 was my first Ha-Ha. I've completed 10 so far.

What brought you to the Ha-Ha in the first place?

As a sailmaker, I had built sails for many boats that participated in the Ha-Ha over the years. One customer

who was also a friend of mine asked if I would help him and his wife on the rally. So I went along — and quickly realized the value of what the Baja Ha-Ha was. It was not quite what I expected. I had raced down the coast many times, but had never stopped along the way. The great community of sailors and people helping people became immediately apparent at the first stop in Turtle Bay.

What is your most memorable Ha-Ha?

This is a tough question, as each one of them has had something special. One that comes to mind was in 2016 (I believe) when I sailed a friend's boat down. It was a very windy first leg and we were one of the first boats into Turtle Bay. As the boats arrived, the sail carnage was huge. We spent two-anda-half days repairing sails for the fleet. One boat that had a torn sail was New Moon. Two crew that had hopped on just before the start of the Ha-Ha — having never met the rest of the crew — were unhappy with the crew dynamics and were looking for a way to get home. We took them on board for the rest of the Ha-Ha and they have become great friends. The ironic part was that our boat was named Nuevo Luna ("new moon")! At roll call when New Moon reported that they were minus two crew and Richard asked where they were, we came on and said Nuevo Luna had added two crew. Richard came back and said, "I guess we know where that crew ended up!"

When was your first boat trip to Mexico?

My first trip to Mexico was a PV Race from San Diego, I believe in 2001. For years I did both of the PV Races, which traded starts between Marina del Rey one year and San Diego the next. We also had two Cabo Races a year. So the trips added up fast (Ed. note: Chuck has also done 13 Transpacs and countless other Mexico races, and has attained championships in a variety of classes including Etchells, Lasers, International 14s and J/24s.)

It sounds as if most of your Ha-Ha's have been on other people's boats.

I have never actually done a Ha-Ha on my own boat. I am in a very fortunate position of knowing a lot of people with boats that either needed or wanted me to sail with them. I have one friend

who doesn't like to sail offshore. He keeps his boat in La Paz. He bought a new Beneteau 60 and asked me to take it on the Ha-Ha as a delivery for him, then a few years later bought a Beneteau 62 and we did the same thing.

How/when did you get involved with Richard in helping run the event?

By doing sail repairs for the fleet, I quickly became very popular on the Ha-Ha. I also once rescued a couple of people who had overturned their dinghy and were drifting off into the night. Richard likes to review any incidents like that to make sure that everyone is OK and that they are fit enough to continue the way they are. Meeting with Richard on these occasions early on, we became friends, and over the next

wants to help and has volunteered his Tanton 73 Velos to be the new mothership for the next few years.

What are your expectations for the future of the event?

I am extremely honored and proud to take the reins of what I feel is the best event for cruisers in the world. Richard, Doña and Patsy have set the bar extremely high with a great formula that makes cruising to Mexico a reality for so many cruisers. Although filling those shoes is an impossible task, I feel confident that the Baja Ha-Ha will continue at the level people expect, and hopefully might exceed what they expect.

Above: The Tanton 73 'Velos', veteran of many Mexico races, will take over mothership duties for the ne t a a. o nchor lights of the a a eet illu inate the night at urtle Bay. eft a a founder and original Grand Poobah Richard S indler in orange shirt discusses the finer oints of the annual 'bazeball' game with Chuck at Turtle Bay. Top left: Chuck and partner Britt.

few years we'd get together for dinners and drinks. Eventually I started sailing on Profligate with him and Doña.

When you're on Profligate you get the full scope of the inner workings of the event. With my sailing experience, it also gave Richard and Doña some confidence that they could get some rest on the traveling part.

As things changed in Mexico as far as logistics — not to mention Richard was in his 70s and needed an exit plan — it evolved over the years.

What is your association with Patsy Verhoeven, and will she be staying on as Assistant Poobah?

I don't think anyone can appreciate how much Patsy does for the Ha-Ha. Richard and I are idea guys and figureheads — Patsy makes it all happen. She is not only staying involved but actually expanding what she does for the event.

What was the thinking behind opening entries for the 2026 Ha-Ha in January?

We decided to open the entries early, mostly because the Seattle Boat Show

happens in late January, but also because people start to plan early for the event, and we can help them get going.

Are you planning on changing the format in any way? If so, how?

The current formula works very well, and if it isn't broke, don't fix it. We're doing a few minor changes, but they are really add-on events. For example, we're trying to get an additional day of panga service in Bahia Santa Maria; organized hikes; beach yoga; and possibly some type of soccer event in Turtle Bay to go along with the bazeball game.

Also, with almost every boat having Starlink now (and next to no boats using single sideband radios), we'll take advantage of this and have Zoom-style roll calls, allowing the fleet to share their adventures and issues in more of a face-to-face interaction. We're also going to have informational online content answering questions that are commonly asked, helping rally-goers be more prepared.

What are you considering as the new mothership of the event?

My good friend Kjeld Hestehave

For more information on Baja HaHa XXXII, log onto www.baja-haha.com.

No Reservations — Beneteau 430 Madeline Mulligan, Audrey Fulk, Matt Crews, and Danny North Road Warriors

San Diego

I was faced with two unavoidable and coexisting truths as I prepared for the Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally to Cabo: 1) I could not get off work in time to make the start, and 2) I would not miss the trip altogether. Thus began the journey of becoming the first known gringa — at least in the history of the Ha-Ha — to reach Bahia Tortugas overland.

I had met my captain, Matt Crews, about four months prior, at the raftup party for the Commodore's Cup (an epic story for another issue), and I said yes immediately when he invited me to join the Ha-Ha. From the get-go it was a relationship built on mutual trust. I trusted him to do 100% of the preparation; he trusted me to show up with the expertise I claimed to have, and to be a good cohabiter in his floating home. All I had to do was get to the boat in one of the most remote areas in all of Baja.

From the start, I never doubted my ability to get there. It was one of those plans that just seem logical when you're in your 20s. Everyone else met

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me with serious doubt. The people at Downwind Marine let me advertise for a ride, but in no way misled me to believe they thought it was realistic. Assistant Poobah Patsy Verhoeven told me plainly that she would never do it herself, but nonetheless forwarded me a contact number in Turtle Bay.

Getting in touch with Maria changed everything. She told me of a local bus that ran from Tijuana down the length of Baja California Sur that would take me as far as Vizcaíno, a mere 100 miles from my final destination. I had little to no trepidation.

Even with Maria, the story would not have unfolded quite the same way without Audrey Fulk, highly skilled offshore sailor and my best friend. I had already nominated her to Matt, but we didn't know if she would be back from her race across the South China Sea (another epic story for another issue) in time to make the start. Like me, she would arrive late. In the meantime, Matt had secured a backup plan in the form of Ocean Beach local Danny North (and two kittens, Daisy and Delilah). Thus the crew of No Reservations was set for the remainder of the rally. Audrey and I just had to get there.

Things in Tijuana started smoothly enough. The bus was only 90 minutes late. Everyone told us repeatedly that this was excellent by local standards. After 15 hours and 630 miles of Twilight in Spanish (no subtitles, no mercy), Audrey and I stepped off into the dusty town of Vizcaíno. There was nothing to indicate that we were at the bus stop other than the fact that the bus had stopped there.

Our eyes had no more than adjusted to the bright light of Mexican midafternoon when we were greeted by the smiling face of Victor, Maria's son, who was returning to Bahia Tortugas for the first time in seven years. The three of us bonded as we headed south over bumpy dirt roads. Victor had tears in his eyes as we pulled in and he saw how his hometown had changed since he had left: They now had three paved roads instead of one.

A local panga ferried us out to No Reservations, and just like that, our crew was whole. We toasted our improbable arrival with beach beers and a round of volleyball with the other Ha-Ha sailors. As the sun dropped

behind the cliffs, we popped champagne. The adventure had begun.

Day 2 began with the morning roll call. With the Grand Poobah presiding on Channel 69, each boat checked in and reported mechanical breakdowns or injuries. In return, people offered advice, expertise and spare parts as they saw fit. With 130 boats in the fleet, we have a deep reservoir of backups.

I clearly see the appeal of traveling in a group, especially considering what is for many — my captain included — their first ocean passage. The Poobah also gave a shoutout to Audrey and me for making it to Bahia Tortugas overland, then told the whole story for the fleet to hear, a huge honor.

The first morning of the second leg to Bahia Santa Maria saw us doing about 7 knots under main and jib, with 3-foot swells so far apart it felt as though we were being gently rocked. Matt was driving; Danny was running around adjusting the trim as if we were in the America's Cup. Audrey and I were on bow, working out the watches for the night. The kittens were nowhere in sight.

The west coast of Baja California is jarringly empty. It's true desert, devoid not only of civilization of any kind, but

also of most plant life. Fortunately, there was plenty of sea life to keep us company: flocks of pelicans, bunches of sea lions, pods of dolphins — and our fleet. We set the spinnaker without much hassle and enjoyed the ride. At one point, a fitting for the staysail popped loose, but Matt caught it in time for an easy fix. Otherwise nothing broke. We were all up for sunset and then began the watch schedule. I took the first shift from 2000 to 2300.

The bliss of an easy first night's watch lasted around 90 minutes. First, Audrey discovered that the kittens had somehow gotten themselves into the sail locker and had been marooned there the past 14 hours. They were rescued, properly livid, and spent the next hour huddled under the dodger hissing at each other and us in their unbridled

fury. Soon after, the low-battery alarm went off, and shortly after that, we lost all power. All lights, refrigeration, radio, AIS, GPS, instruments, radar, and the beloved autopilot went dark.

Hand-steering began.

About five minutes of troubleshooting revealed our battery banks were all but dead. We were still dark when, toward the end of my watch, another Ha-Ha boat almost rammed us from behind! I had seen their lights earlier, but never imagined in all this sea that they would attempt to share the same space as our boat (which, to be fair, they probably couldn't see because we had no lights). I blasted the airhorn at them, and at the last second, they managed to make a 90° course change and passed safely above us, just feet away. I locked eyes with the person on watch

and we shared a mixed expression of shock. I'll never know who it was.

We were without power for four days, including the first day at Bahia Santa Maria. It was finally determined that we'd just overtaxed our battery banks. Between the autopilot, the air fryer, Starlink — and a few cloudy days that slowed solar charging — we just underestimated our charging needs. Once the batteries were topped up, we were back in business, and much more careful with power usage.

Bahia Santa Maria was divine. Our neighbors had caught an abundance of mahi on the way down and shared some with us. We tried to stay up for a meteor shower, but masthead lights bobbing like fireflies across the bay lulled us into sleep and we missed the meteors completely.

After two days of festivities ashore, we were up early and off anchor by 0600 for the start of our final leg to Cabo. The breeze strengthened through the day. Shortly before my 2300 watch, I woke to scuffling and voices on deck. Matt and Audrey were both topside and I heard Danny up on the bow, which couldn't possibly be good. Finally there was a knock on the deck and Matt called out, "We need you!"

Once I was on deck, the problem was apparent. We had jibed, and the spinnaker had wrapped around the headstay. Thankfully, Matt and Audrey had gotten the pole off and taken the preventer off the boom.

Even with the halyard released, the spinnaker didn't budge. A powerful light directed at the masthead showed the sail was all kinds of tangled, with the retrieval line twisted counterclockwise, and the kite itself twisted clockwise. Charged with adrenaline, Matt and I followed Audrey's instructions. While Danny steered to put the spinny behind the main, we managed to untwist it and get it down in one piece.

Our final encounter with wildlife came in the form of a pod of whales escorting us into Cabo — whereupon another type of wildlife took over. Once we'd rounded the point, Cabo announced itself with hundreds of tourist charters and boat rides zipping about, and two huge cruise ships anchored in the bay. I reveled in the view of all the Ha-Ha sailboats taking over the anchorage. We anchored amid the fleet in 50 feet of clear water, and promptly fell asleep.

We arrived late to the awards ceremony, to discover we had missed our second-place announcement by a few minutes! We were disappointed, but the two-for-one beers softened the blow, and everyone was coming up and congratulating us.

Then we heard, "The highest and final award — the Spirit of the Ha-Ha — goes to Madeline and Audrey."

We ran forward amid cheers and applause. Chuck Skewes, the "Newbah," presented us with the banner and a

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very nice flask of tequila. We stood there and beamed as he talked about our energy and tenacity. Then we took the mic and told our story: the bus, Victor, and being the first known gringas to make it to Bahia Tortugas overland. Being a part of the 2025 Baja HaHa, and watching the legend that is the Poobah passing the torch to the Newbah, was an incredibly special experience. As I sat down to reflect on how to close out this life chapter in my journal, I wrote, "This is exactly how I want to be living this life."

— Madeline 2/5/26

Cruise Notes

• "[Our having] crewed on Profligate for many years, 2025 was our turn to sail on our own sweet ride on the HaHa," reports Lynn Ringseis of her and Christian Holmes' Santa Cruz-based Westsail 42 Malama Kai, adding, "We could have waited another year to complete more projects, but we also wanted to join Rico and Doña on their last

hurrah as leaders of the 2025 Ha-Ha."

After the rally, Lynn and Christian embarked on "the sweetest sail of the entire trip" on the way to Banderas Bay — "two-and-a-half days with just the right amount of wind on our beam to propel our heavy girl across the Sea of Cortez as if she were built exactly for those conditions. On the second afternoon, I rode on the bow, enjoying an hour-long show of more than a hundred dophins, leaping, spinning, and cavorting as the sun slowly sank for yet another spectacular sunset."

Malama Kai is currently docked in La Cruz, while Lynn and Christian make multiple trips home for work commitments. This spring, Malama Kai will take part in the Pacific Puddle Jump, "along with fellow 2025 Baja Ha-Ha

alums who are also headed to French Polynesia and beyond."

• Knowing it was a bucket-list item for hubby Chad, Iliana Thomas signed them up to do last year's Ha-Ha aboard their Long Beach-based Beneteau Oceanis 46 Playtime. It was everything they'd hoped for, being both their first rally and the last under the original Poobah.

After the Ha-Ha, Playtime headed for La Paz, and from there to Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. Unfortunately, their cruising season was cut short due to an unforeseen medical emergency that affected Iliana while anchored in La Paz. "As unfortunate as it was, this experience showed us the camaradery of the cruising community," says Chad. "I can't say enough amazing things about our new friends, Dustin and Linda on Ruthie, and other cruising friends at the marina that arranged an ambulance for Iliana; and the amazing staff at Marina de La Paz. Without

them, the outcome of this ordeal would not have turned out as positively as it did."

The Thomases eventually flew home for further treatment. Not knowing when they might be back, Chad had Playtime delivered back to Long Beach.

We're happy to report Iliana is healthy again and the couple are already planning to return to Mexico to pick up where they left off.

• "The Ha-Ha was just the thing that got me motivated to actually follow my passion to circumnavigate," says Jody

Mortimer of the Marina del Rey-based Hardin 45 ketch Elizabeth Heather.

"With a hard go-time and a push off the dock by fellow Fairwinds Yacht Club sailors, I was finally on my way!"

Since the rally, Jody and his first mate Jim have sailed to Mazatlán, "where I checked off another bucket-list item: ziplining," he says. They also visited Isla Isabela, which he says is a must-see for cruisers traveling the Pacific coast of Mexico. "With the sheer numbers and species of birds, it's easy to see why it's earned the name 'Galápagos of Mexico.'

"We then visited beautiful Chacala, which is a small, picturesque anchorage, beach and town — where I checked off yet another item on the list: learning to bow-stern anchor!"

heading for Zihuatanejo for the annual guitar festival the week of March 7–14.

"Eventually, I'll head to Panama, where I'll put the boat on the hard until next year, when I will sail to French

Polynesia," says Jody.

Elizabeth Heather is currently in La Cruz. At this writing they were meeting some other Fairwinds YC sailors, then

• "Last night, wandering the malecón in La Paz, the warm air felt like the comforting touch of an old friend," writes Kevin Johnson of the Vancouver-based Jeanneau 49 Occasio that he shares

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with wife Terry. "Just eight months ago, Terry and I had walked this same stretch of waterfront, daydreaming about one day seeing Occasio anchored off the beach. And now here we are, strolling the same path, Occasio's anchor light glowing in the distance. Time moves slowly at times until suddenly it doesn't, and I felt it last night: that small shock of realizing a dream has quietly become your everyday life.

"After the Ha-Ha, we left Cabo to make the upwind passage to La Paz with the usual stops at Los Frailes and Los Muertos. The former offers good protection from the northerly winds —

and great snorkeling in the 84-degree water, so clear and blue we could clearly see our anchor 30 feet down.

"At Los Muertos, we anchored in about 25 feet of equally clear, equally turquoise water at the head of the bay. We spent two nights, wandering the beach and dunes, snorkeling until the light softened, eating at the kind of simple, authentic restaurants that remind you why people fall in love with Mexico in the first place — and thinking 'This is what we've been looking for.'

"Since La Paz, we've sailed the Sea of Cortez, spent Christmas in Mazatlán and now find ourselves in Puerto Vallarta making plans to continue down the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Baja Ha-Ha Rally left us with more than memories of miles and anchorages. It gave us a sense of belonging to a wider tribe of sailors chasing their own horizons. As we continue south, I keep returning to that walk along the malecón; the past

and present overlapping in the glow of an anchor light. Perhaps that's the real gift of this journey: not the destinations themselves, but the quiet realization that somewhere along the way, 'someday' became now."

• Mark Schindler is doing cruising right, by which we mean he goes where he pleases, when he pleases. Once his Ha-Ha crew headed home, Mark singlehanded his Venturabased Norseman 447 Carpe Diem from La Cruz, via Punta Mita and Yelapa, to Chamela Bay. From there, it was a couple of miles over to Isla Cocinas to get some protection from upcoming southerlies, then on to Tenacatita and finally Barra de Navidad — from where he filed this update.

Fair winds, everyone!

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8 FT FATTY KNEES 2003. Dinghy, designed by Lyle Hess. This boat is such a fun little boat just to row around, but you add the additional sailing package, and it becomes one of the best little boats you can have. Starting with fiberglass lapstrake construction, the Fatty Knees is one of the strongest dinghies on the water. She’s also relatively lightweight (my husband and I can throw her around). Her wide beam adds stability and a gentle sheer minimizes it’s chubby look. The inner rail is teak and the outer rail is pressure-treated pine for easy maintenance and durability. $3,250. Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA kpaternoster@gmail.com (415) 5177183

MARINE SAFETY 78-PERSON

OPEN LIFEBOAT. Thirty ft. long x 10-ft beam x 4.33 ft deep. Fiberglass construction, Fleming gear. Good used condition (refurbished). Boat is located in Oakland, CA. g.levin@uscombustion.com (208) 7255781 www.tinyurl.com/2wyd2n3v

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24 FT RAVEN 1959. Beautiful, fast planing centerboarder; well maintained, sailed regularly, on trailer. Quantum main and jib are 2 years old. $5,000. Inverness YC jwpettigrew@yahoo.com (415) 3075143 www.tinyurl.com/3avhu5d8

24 FT MELGES 24 1993. Own a piece of yachting history. ‘Zenda Express’ hull # 001. Restored from 2023-2025, all upgrades performed. Paint, all reinforcements. Mast-up cover, Honda outboard (2.6). New running rigging 2024, new standing rigging 2025, new boom vang 2025, new traveler 2024, Raptor decking 2025. North 3DI sails 2025 (hoisted once). Practice sails North 3DI 2022. Lots more. $25,000. Stored Carson City, NV Cpo718@Yahoo.com (775) 530-6562

24 FT J/24 1980. I have 5 J/24s for sale on trailers. Older but usable boats purchased from the Treasure Island Sailing Center. Available as a group to start a sailing club or school. $5,000 in bulk. $1,500 individual. $1,500. Antioch, CA markwattsappraiser@gmail.com (415) 990-0025

23 FT RANGER 23 1976. Refit in 2021. Awlgrip hull and topside, Trinidad bottom paint. New standing rigging, tinted tempered glass ports, tri-color masthead lights, mainsail and tiller cover, quarter berth cushions. New hull liner. Equipment: 6hp Nissan 4-stroke outboard, spinnaker and whisker poles, 2 anchors, 4 winches. Electronics: knotmeter, depthsounder, compass, VHF radio, stereo. Sails: jibs (100, 125, 150), spinnaker, main. Additional photos and information available upon request. $10,000. Sausalito, CA rwilsonsf@gmail.com

27 FT BALBOA 1978. Maxi — trailerable. Health forces sale. $7,000. Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond rtrouble@pacbell.net (775) 677-7503

27 FT CATALINA 27 1977. Roomy down below for a 27-footer, this one has the dinette layout. A sturdy daysailer, she is big enough to handle the Bay’s winds and tides. She was last hauled in 2022 by KKMI. New standing rigging and roller-reefing jib in 2011; new full-batten mainsail in 2017. Harken roller reefing. Atomic 4 gas inboard starts and runs well. Two batteries. More details at URL. $5,700. Pt. Richmond, CA catalina27ladieschoice@gmail.com www.tinyurl.com/3xtbbjvy

26 FT ERICSON 26 2 1988. Classic small yacht in excellent condition. Stable and fun. Roller furling jib, wheel, dodger. 10 hp Universal condition in excellent shape. New in 2024: standing rigging, wheel pilot, wireless wind instrument, StackPack. cushions. $15,000 OBO. Point Richmond brianbouch1@gmail.com (707) 6967427

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. Asking $6,900 OBO. $6,900. Richmond, CA stefroche916@gmail.com

28 FT LASER 28 1985. SV ‘Sonata’ designed by Bruce Farr, built in Canada by Laser International. Carbon fiber hull. PHRF 138 with small jib or 135 with class sails. Harken roller furling. Gori folding prop. New Ullman jib 2019. Bukh diesel replaced with Thunderstruck electric motor 2020. 2025 survey available, critical items addressed. Accommodations: 5-ft 10-1/2-in standing headroom, double V-berth (6-ft 3-in), dinette is convertible to 6-ft 7-in berth, two-burner alcohol stove, cooler, marine toilet with holding tank. $24,000. Richardson Bay Marina shinn.alice@gmail.com (415) 272-0562

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30 FT FISHER 1974. British classic. Vancouver Island vet. Current survey. Upgrades since 2020: Volvo 40 (596 hrs), standing/running rigging, new Ballard sails, primary wiring, B&G electronics, additional tankage, 200W solar, dinghy and davits. More info upon request. $45,000. Olympia, WA herinckxmj@yahoo.com (360) 943-9752

30 FT CAL 3-30 1974. Racer/cruiser sloop. I am selling ‘Williwaw’, my boat of 30 years. A great boat for getting into racing, cruising and voyaging. Safe, dependable and fun to sail, even singlehanded. Full sail inventory and twin spinnaker poles. Powered by a Yanmar 16hp 2GM20F diesel in good condition with new fiberglass fuel tank. Many updated amenities: a new dinghy and engine, sail covers, hydraulic backstay, EPIRB, tiller, roller furling jib, halyards, personnel harnesses, anchor and rode, VHF, bottom paint, winch handles, Autohelm and new wireless Garmin electronics. See URL for specs. $18,500. Santa Cruz South Harbor/Slip O18 vmartin@cruzio.com (831) 818-3108 www.tinyurl.com/4dc345sc

30 FT FISHER MARINE NO YEAR. Year not on documents. Project. Very reasonable to right person. Great sea boat. Charleston, OR kovexair@gmail.com

30 FT OLSON 30 1982. Late model. Includes custom dual-axle trailer and very recent Ballenger double-spreader mast with corresponding rod rigging. Last 20 years in Portland (freshwater). Rigging, stanchions/lifelines, running rigging, winches in excellent condition. Boat has been thoroughly/completely gone through at well-known Elkhorn Composites: A. All three ribs at mast foot replaced with composite elements (boat has substantial jockstrap). B. Three small soft spots in the deck/cockpit replaced w/composite core/gelcoat. C. Bottom and keel completely stripped to the gelcoat and keel fiberglassed as necessary. D. Keel bolts torqued/ updated. E. New lifting rod threaded end. F. Several coats barrier, two of ProLine antifoul (59% Cu). Mucho $$. Not splashed yet. Two good race mains, spinnakers, older jibs. $12,500. Morgan Hill mtown@att.net

31 FT OCEAN CROSSING CRUISER

1965. Shadowfox. Ready to set sail? Shadowfox is a well-maintained cold moulded composite sailboat perfect for weekend escapes or longer adventures. Priced to sell at $31,00. this vessel offers incredible value for its condition and upgrades. Key Features: Engine: Reliable 20hp Universal diesel, serviced 2023 920 hrs. Sails: New mainsail (2022), roller furling jib several headsails, spinnakers Autohelm, Chart plotter, VHF, Ham radio ” Upgrades: recently replaced ROD standing rigging Meticulously maintained with full service records available. Why Shadowfox? Imagine cruising the coast with the wind in your sails and the freedom of the sea ahead. Previous owner Navigator Mark Rutiguer. $31,000. San Pedro, CA kwasiemoto@cox.net (310) 528-8957

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. Stainless outboard bracket. 2 spinakers. All new stainless rigging. More photos available. Complete survey in 2023 available. “A Sailor’s Saiboat.” Recently shown at the Master Mariner’s Wooden Boat Show. $39,900 OBO. Richmond stefroche916@gmail.com

32 – 35 FEET SAILBOATS

34 FT CHINOOK 1963. September 2024 haulout: new thru-hull fittings, new 3-blade prop and cutlass, new standing rigging; rebuilt and painted mainmast. Universal 25XPB diesel with low hrs. Beautiful interior with nice upholstery. Hot water, refrigeration, propane stove/oven, bronze port lights, and composting head. Needs sails. Optional transferable slip lease included in asking price. Text for more details and pictures. $15,000 Negotiable. Pier 39 redstarmarineservices@gmail.com (415) 623-0694

32 FT CATALINA 320 1996. Excellent condition. Second owner since 1999. Cruised and sailed in S.F. Bay and the Delta. New sails in 2022 with very low hrs since. Westerbeke diesel 920 hrs. No damage, no Catalina smile. Comes well equipped. More images available upon request. $52,000 OBO. SFYC Belvedere, CA d1.davidm@gmail.com (435) 901-1013

us at sugardock.com Jodi @ 605-430-6815

32 FT ISLANDER 32-2 1978. Clean. Ready for Baja Ha-Ha cruising. Great for S.F. Bay sailing. 2014 engine replaced with Westerbeke L-25. Runs great. Hood full batten main and Harken roller furling jib. Both great condition. Last 6 years: new dodger and bimini, new wiring, lifelines, standing rigging, Lewmar windlass, Rocna 25 anchor, new Force 10 stove, Isotherm refrigeration, solar system on bimini. 2023 new batteries, bottom paint 5/22, Monitor wind vane for self-steering. Text only, please. $18,500. Delta Marina, Rio Vista, CA (760) 668-6318 www.tinyurl.com/57zk9kuj

35 FT J/35 1993. Hull #324 of 330. Final design iteration: more spacious, modern cockpit, upgraded Yanmar, hydraulics, winches, stainless grab rails, cushions, head, instrument panel. Excellent condition. Super-clean. Race bottom fall 2024, New spinnaker, carbon jib, and main, B&G H4000 instruments. ProStart. All cordage is Spectra (most new), never-used stove, 2024 carbon spin pole, spare pole, new whisker pole. 6 Harken winches (4 self-tailing), new line clutches, new windward sheeting traveler, new Harken Carbo headfoil. All hardware is top shelf. MOM-8 w/fresh recharge. Inflatable, keel and rudder templated by Dencho. 2024 survey. Easy to sail fast. Successful race record. Comfortable to daysail or cruise. Good transferable slip in San Pedro (LA28 sailing venue). Text for more details/ videos/photos. $32,000. San Pedro, CA STEVE@PACTANK.COM (562) 2340991

34 FT EXPRESS 34 1987. Considered one of Carl Schumacher’s finest designs! Race- or cruise-ready. PHRF slayer! Recent upgrades: new Ullman mainsail and carbon #3 (2025). New Garmin chartplotter, new upholstery, new anti-fouling race bottom (2025). Easom running rigging — tapered halyards and sheets w/Tylaska shackles. Sails include: 3 mains, 4 carbon headsails, 6 spinnakers (0.5 and 0.75 in great condition), 2 Dacron jibs: #3 & #4. B&G instruments and B&G autopilot. Yanmar 2GMF 18hp. Gori 2-bladed folding prop. $41,500. Santa Cruz, CA mbsampson3@gmail.com (831) 2392602

35 FT FANTASIA 35 MK II 1979. In very good condition and ready to go. Most all systems upgraded including standing rigging and lifelines. Abovedeck 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 www.tinyurl.com/ypssa9ue

35 FT SCHOCK 1986. Solid boat. Don’t let the price drop scare you! I cant use it anymore. New main, 3 jibs, 2 spins. Yanmar 2 gm20. Sailed 3 times in 3 years. Call or email for equip list. Contact Tom. $1,000 OBO. Vallejo, CA jinkxochs@gmail.com (707) 694-6846

34 FT CATALINA 34 MK II 2003. Classic. Great Bay boat for weekend outings on the S.F. Bay and coastal waters. Easy to singlehand roller furling main and with all lines run aft. Newer Garmin electronics (radar, chartplotter, wind, depth) and belowdeck Autohelm (quiet and lots of power). Engine professionally serviced annually. New standing rigging in 2023. $79,900. San Francisco jojothesailboat@gmail.com www.tinyurl.com/27v5ppy7

32 FT CORONADO 32 1972. Ideally set up for a cruising couple. Located in Mazatlán, Mexico, and extensively cruised along the West Coast for 15 years. Improvements over last 15 years include Beta 25 hp diesel, new sails and standing rigging, Lewmar windlass, electric head, new reefer and cabinetry throughout, induction range, Simrad chartplotter and a/p, B&G 4G radar, new Imron paint, shower and on-demand water heater. Well maintained and everything works. All electrical wiring replaced 2019. $14,500. Marina Mazatlán fredzslc@gmail.com (858) 449-1929

35 FT J/35 1984. Pacific Cup/Hawaii vet, well maintained, newish B&G electronics, batteries, cabin paint, cushions, shaft, motor work, solar charging. Comfortable in light air, breezy S.F. Bay, ocean crossing. Lots of extra gear, sails, anchors, etc. Designed as offshore one-design, great cruiser, listed in Sailboat Hall of Fame. Quick, stiff and safe. $35,000. Alameda bill.b.parks@gmail.com (510) 507-2107

FEET SAILBOATS

39 FT FIRST 40.7 2000. New motor and saildrive only 250 hrs. North sails main and jib in good condition. Asymmetrical and symmetrical spinnakers. New bottom paint. $125,000. Sausalito, CA argo46933@gmail.com (415) 680-0183

37 FT TRIPP JAVELIN 38 1961. Tripp design, recently showcased by Capt Q on BoatFools Sailing YouTube. “A Rare Classic.” Check out the video! Built in Holland in 1961, well maintained with many modern upgrades — Leisure Furl boom, full-batten Hood main w/Harken electric winch, brand new-Hood 100% jib, Yanmar 3HMF and more! $85,000. San Rafael WitzConslt@aol.com (415) 897-9466 www.tinyurl.com/5x7azjrz

38 FT MORGAN 383 1982. ‘Sonata’ is a bluewater-ready cruiser/racer. Hawaii, Mexico veteran. Perfect Baja Ha-Ha cruiser! Well equipped, ready to go! Continually upgraded. Lovingly maintained. Extensive sail and electronic inventory. Perfect coastal, bluewater or liveaboard. Easily sailed by a couple singlehanded. Fast and sea-kindly, and she sails well. Ted Brewer-designed. $55,000 OBO. Point Richmond, CA svsonata029@gmail.com (415) 8064345

Sail Training for 30ft - 40ft Sailboat Owners

Do you sail a boat small enough to sail single-handed, yet substantial enough for passage-making and living aboard? Do you seek mastery beyond sailing school? www.moderngeographic.com

References & Quotes: 831-212-0330

38 FT CABO RICO 1991. Full-keel bluewater cruiser. Cutter rig has a self-tacking staysail, making S.F. Bay sailing easy. Bottom paint August 2025, varnished November 2025. New lithium batteries 2024, Victron invertor/charger 2024, and many other recent maintenance and upgrade projects. Custom offshore layout has a V-berth, no quarter berth, three large lazarettes for storage. Perfect for a couple! William Crealock design. Built in Costa Rica. $89,000. Alameda, CA boats.and.otherstuff@gmail.com (831) 345-6930

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. $68,000 price reduced. Richmond Yacht Club odilehines@gmail.com (415) 963-2160

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) 3356555

36 FT CASCADE 1977. Bluewater-ready turnkey sailboat. 55 hrs on new Yanmar 30 hp, navigation autopilot, leather interior hand-carved wood. Dickinson diesel heater, full head with hot shower, full galley and more. Great liveaboard with large V-berth, comes with transferable slip! $25,000 OBO. Newport, OR sureshanjie@yahoo.com Suresh (510) 459-8018or Dustin (808) 756-1389

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, two-cylinder 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

36 FT J/36 1982. Great racer/cruiser. 2021 Quantum Fusion M mainsail, #3 jib, and genoa like new. Raced one season. Forespar carbon spinnakar pole. B&G Zeus 3 chartplotter, radio with cordless hand unit. 2015 upgraded Yanmar 30 hp diesel with 400 hrs. Beam 11.75 ft, draft 6.6 ft. $30,000. Pt. Richmond, CA kmwino@gmail.com (707) 287-6397

40 – 50 FEET SAILBOATS

41 FT CATALINA 400 1997. Dual wheels, power winches, dodger, new chartplotter/radar, new main hatches and heads, Genny and new jib. Never raced or abused. Westerbeke 42b diesel. $94,000. Alameda jjbartel@hotmail.com (925) 449-5987

40 FT FREEDOM 40 1981. Ketch. Custom carbon fiber Wylie mainmast, no shrouds or standing rigging needed. All-teak interior. Perkins diesel, swing keel. $19,500. Oxnard, CA kentmagnell@gmail.com (707) 4867632l

44 FT MORGAN 44 1989. Center cockpit. Well equipped, cruise-ready sloop in Ensenada, MX. Features updated electronics, solar, and robust ground tackle. Spacious interior, perfect for liveaboard or offshore voyaging. Easy access from San Diego. Save on sales tax. $60,000 For Sale. Marina Coral, Ensenada, MX frankhoffmann.pe@gmail.com (760) 424-2058

42 FT PEARSON 424 KETCH 1980. Classic, one of approximately 225 produced. Good main, mizzen and hank-on jib. VHF, depthsounder, windlass, claw anchor with 200 ft chain, 150 ft line. Washdown pump, 170 gal. water tankage, 80 gal. fuel. Diesel: Westerbeke 60 hp. Cockpit and midship companionways. Aft cabin double berth, V-berth. Walk-in shower. Galley: Propane 4-burner stove with oven. Double sink, under-counter refrigerator. Charming teak interior. Dedicated chart table. 2026 survey available. Priced for quick sale. Call or Email for more detail. $29,500. Alameda midgestapleton2010@gmail.com (360) 333-8900

41 FT RHODES BOUNTY 1960. Tiller steering. Westerbeke 30B Three diesel. Profurl roller 420 Harken ST 53 Lewmar ST 40 winches. Harken main traveler. Autohelm tiller GP 4000 plus ST50 instruments compass depth Icom SSB pro sail are in good condition. Boat cover, awning. $35,000 OBO. San Diego, CA barlowbuck@gmail.com (508)-6859649

42 FT SPINDRIFT 43 PILOTHOUSE 1982. Classic cruising pilothouse sailing cutter capable of sailing anywhere you wish. Heavy fiberglass construction with a modern cruising rig. Comfortable room for five to live aboard, plus a few occasional guests. $65,000 OBO. South San Francisco robert.schulke53@gmail.com (650) 245-0226

40 FT C&C 40 1981. ‘Tusitala’ is an exceptional boat in excellent condition. Rebuilt from the keel up eight years ago, she is better and stronger than when originally built. Sails are a couple years old, motor has very low hrs, interior is in excellent condition. She has the extra-tall mast and extra-deep fin keel. Also has a Kevlar rudder. So many other extras that cannot begin to list here but has full instruments, chartplotter, windlass, roller furling, two spinnakers and dodger. $54,500. Santa Cruz Harbor pacrimplangrp@gmail.com (831) 8186669

FT GULFSTAR 1979. Perfect Boat for Baja Ha-Ha. Center cockpit sloop ‘Footloose’ is like new as she has been completely painted with 5 coats of Awlgrip paint (2 primer, 3 coats of paint) $20,000. Completely reupholstered with light gray leather and all-new drapes and dodger canvas ($10,000). New Force 10 propane stove, new Raritan toilet, and all thru-hulls replaced ($10,000). Complete complement of Raymarine electronics including: autopilot, radar, E7 MFD, depthsounder/ fish finder. AIS send/receive, 3,500 watt inverter/charger. Beta 4 Kubota diesel (55hp) replaced the old Perkins in 2017 for a total cost of $30,000. In-mast and jib roller furling. Stainless barbecue, swim ladder. Price has been reduced for quick sale. $60,000 OBO. Vallejo Yacht Club, Vallejo, CA fcgmc@lmi.net (707) 330-7712

41 FT ISLANDER FREEPORT 41 1977. Roomy teak interior. Raymarine electronics (E80 display, radar, GPS, charts, depth, autopilot). Nissan SD22 diesel. The North Sails jib on Harken furler is in excellent condition, as is the North Sails main. The staysail and mizzen are still original. This boat had gentle use during the 34 years that I have owned her. The plumbing needs work, but the very attractive asking price reflects that. Contact me by email if you want to take a look at her. $19,000. Alameda plhill1991@gmail.com

49 FT SAMSON C-DEUCE KETCH 2012. ‘Dancing Dolphin’ was built by Howard White and many expert craftsmen over a span of 40 years. Equipped with a 371 GMC diesel with a new transmission. She was built for cruising. Regular haulouts have been in Santa Cruz. Handling is easy with bow thrusters and new cutlass bearing. Rigging done by John Hansen, Pacific Rigging and Electronics by Beckman Marine. Spacious interior, beautiful finishes, large work space and storage. Looking for a buyer to live out our dreams. $100,000. Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay howardandkathywhite@gmail.com (650) 728-3149

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

40 FT ENDEAVOUR 40 1983. Feb 13, price reduced to $42,000 great deal. The boat is in a slip at Marina Real in San Carlos, Sonora, MX. My wife and I 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 Doyle mainsail was purchased new about 6 years ago. See URL for 200 pics I dumped into my AMZ photos. Equipment: See listing url pictures with previous pictures of Yacht world listing from 10 years ago. Most of the listed equipment is still with the boat. Payment by US bank to bank transfer only. No cash or check. $42,000. San Carlos, MX rode7runner@yahoo.com (520) 4012352 www.tinyurl.com/32twna5z

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. $25,000. Channel Islands Harbor, CA philip.vaughan@gmail.com (626) 4758522

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

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) 2352527 www.guapasailboat.com

51 & OVER SAILBOATS

57’ SCHOONER 2009. “Sara.m” design based on Pete Cullers Integrity, launched 2009, 2’ fir on double Sawn cypress frames. Completed a six year circumnavigation 2019. First time offered, will deliver anywhere in the pacific rim. Presently in the Sea of Cortez. $250,000. Sea of Cortez, MX saram.schooner@gmail.com

CLASSIC BOATS

46 FT FELLOWS & STEWART YAWL 1931. ‘Cheerio II’, 1931 46-ft yawl, formerly owned by actor Errol Flynn. Three-time winner of her class in the Newport to Ensenada Race; first to finish in the 2024 McNish Classic Yacht Race; winner of “Best Represented Theme” in the 2025 Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival. Google “Cheerio II” for photos, videos, and articles about the boat, a SoCal classic! Recent survey available. $100,000 OBO. Channel Islands Harbor jmcnish@earthlink.net (510) 846-4178 www.tinyurl.com/2bsw8djr

32 FT FRIENDSHIP SLOOP 1947. Built by Paul Luke in Boothbay, ME. Well found, excellent shape; longleaf yellow pine on oak. Teak decks. Sails: main, staysail, jib and drifter. All gear and 11-ft Achilles incl. Sails like a dream. $19,000. Ventura, CA peterwoodboats@gmail.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. $29,950 REDUCED. Sierra Point Marina, Brisbane, CA richardsalvini@yahoo.com (650) 9964215

MULTIHULLS

27 FT STILETTO 27 1979. High-performance Stiletto catamaran with 2 berths, multiple sails, 10 hp Tohatsu motor with galvanized telescoping trailer and power winch. Dry-sailed all over Southern California, Lake Powell, Ensenada and out to Catalina and San Clemente islands. Newport Beach mooring available at market cost if desired. Very light and strong epoxy honeycomb and pre-preg construction. A very fun boat to sail! $20,000. San Clemente toknkok@aol.com (949) 933-4530

26 FT CUSTOM CATAMARAN 2000. ‘PAJA’, a custom-designed catamaran, fun to sail and kept in fresh Delta waters for 25 years. Corecell construction, aluminum crossbeams. 2023: new bottom/barrier paint; running rigging. $20,000. Rio Vista, CA Peter@Theallensite.com (916) 5381530

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

POWER & HOUSEBOATS

25 FT RANGER 25 SC 2016. Immaculate condition, fully equipped, turnkey ready and priced to sell. The perfect blend of classic tug styling, modern comforts, and efficient cruising. Lovingly maintained and lightly used, ‘Sea Spirit’ has been meticulously and professionally serviced. Volvo Penta D3 150 diesel, only 400 hrs, hull speed up to 20 knots, Garmin 7612 chartplotter, radar, depth, Autopilot, VHF, TV, AM/FM stereo, bow and stern thrusters w/wireless remote for easy docking; solar panel, AGM batteries and inverter, propane cooktop, refrigerator, microwave, fully enclosed head with standup shower, fuel efficient (2.5 gal @ 8 knots). $114,500. Loch Lomond Marina, San Rafael jimcolesailor@gmail.com (415) 5196250 www.tinyurl.com/msfxz369

27 FT SCOUT 275 DORADO 2017. Ready for cruising, fishing, and all watersport activities. Numerous lounging options, telescopic swim ladder, custom fiberglass hardtop, and outstanding fishing features make this a versatile, family-friendly vessel. Multiple aftermarket upgrades include Garmin radar, fishing rod rocket launcher, and custom removable center bow cushion for maximum lounging. Other features: Bluetooth stereo with JL Audio upgrade, electric head upgrade, 152-quart cooler, cockpit sink, LED underwater and cockpit lighting, foldaway stern seat, in-floor fish boxes with pump, rod holders, outriggers, tackle drawers, nine-gallon waste tank, 14-gallon freshwater tank, and 25-gallon bait well. Boat has been drydocked and shrink-wrapped annually, and all required  and recommended service/maintenance completed (all records available). Bow and cockpit cover, lines, fenders, life preservers included. $148,500. Half Moon Bay, CA leslienordin@gmail.com (781) 385-9352

PARTNERSHIPS

BENETEAU 473 PARTNERSHIP IN PACIFIC MEXICO/BAJA. Great opportunity to cruise Mexico. Plug-n-play. Third partner wanted, 2004 Beneteau 473. Cruise-ready. This season San Blas to Manzanillo. Next season plan to return to Sea of Cortez. Davits, dinghy, outboard, solar, Starlink, dive gear, electric winch, two heads (one electric), radar, Westerbeke 63 hp diesel with 2,400 hours, folding prop, separate shower in head, fridge/freezer, well outfitted and maintained. 1/3 ownership $50,000. New bottom paint fall 2025. Documented, surveyed, insured. Contact Greg (415) 407-0491, grw@gwilson. com. $50,000. Barra de Navidad, MX grw@gwilson.com (415) 407-0491

LOOKING FOR BOAT PARTNERSHIP. Looking for partnership on 30-50-ft sailboat, preferably East Bay. Equity and non-equity considered. Have 20+ years of experience sailing on the Bay and chartering internationally. I have partnered successfully on a 31-ft Beneteau for five years. Now I have a small sailing dog that I want to sail with me and the others are allergic. Looking for a clean boat in good condition that is sailed regularly, and responsible, nice sail partners. Berkeley ddodgesf@gmail.com

PROPERTY FOR SALE OR RENT

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! $220,000. Labasa, Fiji framegreg@gmail.com (415) 405-6384 www.tinyurl.com/49mket4d

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

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) 740-0263

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. Dockominium-run marina in Emeryville. emerycove.com. Brandnew docks, aluminum with Ipe wood deck, brand-new restrooms, beautiful grounds and just dredged. Great location center of S.F. Bay. Emeryville, CA studio6161@icloud.com www.emerycove.com

50 FT SLIP ON THE SEA WALL WITH ALCATRAZ AND GG BRIDGE VIEWS! 50-ft x 18-ft slip on the coveted Pier39 G Dock. Move in immediately. Don’t miss this opportunity for some of the best views and most convenient slip on the San Francisco Bay! The slip is protected by the sea wall and offers easy access in/out launching across from Alcatraz. $15,000. Pier 39, San Francisco bserling@yahoo.com

REDWOOD CITY MARINA SLIPS AVAILABLE. Slips 30’-75’ at great rates! Amenities: parking, bathrooms, laundry, pump-out, free wi-fi, keyless entry. Guest berths also available. Call for availability. 451 Seaport Court, Redwood City, CA 94063 crevay@redwoodcityport.com (650) 306-4150 www.redwoodcityport.com/ marina

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

WOODEN CLASSICS PROGRAM COORDINATOR. Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF), Redwood City, CA. Full-time. PYSF seeks a hands-on Wooden Classics Program Coordinator to lead maintenance and operations for ‘Ocean Queen V’, a 55-ft Philip Rhodes yawl, and support a fleet of racing dinghies and skiffs. This role blends classic-vessel preservation, youth sailing, and marine trades education. Responsibilities include routine and long-term maintenance, systems troubleshooting, workshop and inventory management, event support, and coordinating student projects in restoration and boat care. Candidates should have 5+ years in marine maintenance, strong seamanship, and experience mentoring youth. Mechanical, electrical, and wooden-boat skills required; classic rigging or restoration experience preferred. Pay: $25–60/ hr DOE. Liveaboard option possible. office@pysf.us

RACE PROGRAM LEAD (HEAD

COACH). Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF) in Redwood City, CA, is seeking a passionate, experienced sailing professional to serve as Race Program Lead. This full-time, year-round leadership role oversees high school and C420/i420 programs, combining elite coaching, program management, staff supervision, and national travel. This position leads on-water training five days a week, coaches at regattas, manages logistics and budgets, coordinates with schools and families, and maintains a fleet of 20 CFJs to “white glove” standards. Ideal candidates have extensive youth coaching experience, strong leadership and organizational skills, and technical fleet knowledge. Salary ranges from $100,000–$120,000 with health and dental benefits. US Sailing certification and background check required. Redwood City, CA Office@pysf.us www.pysf.us/

CUSTOMER SERVICE/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT. Spinnaker Sailing in Redwood City is looking for a reliable and organized office administrator/customer service member to help keep our daily operations running smoothly. This role is for someone who enjoys variety, working with people, and being part of a small, energetic team in a waterfront setting. Sailing experience is preferred but not required — we’re happy to teach you the basics. What you’ll do: answer phones and emails, assist customers with class registrations, memberships, and charters; support daily office and scheduling operations; process payments, maintain records, and be an on-premise point of contact for customers; communicate with instructors and staff to coordinate schedules; customer sales. Redwood City, CA rich@spinnakersailing.com (650) 7222389 www.spinnakersailing.com

JOIN OUR TEAM OF INSTRUCTORS. Spinnaker Sailing in Redwood City is looking for ASA-certified sailing instructors to teach out of our Redwood City Marina location. Part-time, flexible schedules, midweek and/or weekends. Please contact Rich or Bob by phone or email. Redwood City Marina office@spinnakersailing.com (650) 363-1390 www.tinyurl.com/y7b2587w

EXPERIENCED SAILBOAT RIGGER

WANTED. Rig shop in business for over 30 years is looking for an experienced rigger to add to our team. Excellent pay is available depending on rigging knowledge. Send a description of your rigging/boat work experience. Sausalito southbeachriggers@gmail.com (415) 331-3400

LATITUDE 38 ‘AMBASSADOR’. Latitude 38 is seeking an “Ambassador.” The ideal candidate is a sailor based in the SF Bay Area, is friendly, outgoing, well-organized and a self-starter with excellent communication skills. They are someone who can work independently as well as manage a team of volunteers. An ambassador encourages enthusiasm, understands the scope and goal of a project and is able to appreciate, respect and organize a team of volunteers to execute a project with efficiency and eagerness. This is an ideal position for someone who is financially secure and looking to stay active and social, and is excited to be part of our vibrant sailing community. Meet and greet the great people who help us distribute the magazine. Read about a few of them here: www.latitude38.com/lectronic/meet-great-people. Email Penny with AMBASSADOR in the subject line. This is a volunteer position. SF Bay Area Penny@latitude38.com

TWO HARBORS HARBOR PATROL POSITIONS AVAILABLE. Positions available for 2023 season! Two Harbors Harbor Department, on the west end of Catalina Island. Looking for experienced boat operators for seasonal harbor patrol positions (March–October). Harbor patrol assigns and facilitates the use of 700+ moorings on the west end of Catalina Island and assists with transporting passengers to and from shore. USCG license required for passenger transport, seasonal mooring included for patrol personnel with liveaboard vessels. Rates from $18-$21/hr. Two Harbors, Catalina Jrconner@scico.com (310) 510-4201

SAILING SCIENCE CENTER – CONTRACT AND VOLUNTEER POSITIONS OPEN. Community Engagement Coordinator, Graphic Artist, Photographer(s) wanted as contractors or volunteers. Volunteer docents wanted for educational science exhibitions. Ask about other roles. info@sailingscience.org (510) 390-5727 www.sailingscience.org

SAILING SCHOOL OFFICE/MARKETING MANAGER. Spinnaker Sailing is a premier sailing school/club providing high-quality sailing instruction for students of all levels. Established in 1980, the school is located at the Port of Redwood City Marina in Redwood City. We offer a range of classes and activities, from beginner to advanced. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Sailing School Manager to lead our instructional programs and daily operations. The School Manager will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the sailing school, including program development, student and member engagement, instructor management, student enrollment, club memberships, sailing vacations, corporate events and equipment maintenance. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in sailing and be able to work weekends. Competitive salary based on experience. 451 Seaport Ct. Redwood City, CA. 94063 rich@spinnakersailing.com (650) 7222389 www.tinyurl.com/2mk6yv5a

CHANDLERY FRONT DESK POSITION. Berkeley Marine Center is looking for a new member of the team! We are currently looking for someone to work in our chandlery and boatyard office. Experience in retail or customer service is key, as the position involves communication with boatyard clients and chandlery customers. We are looking for a friendly and detail-oriented person who has knowledge of boats and is ready for the fast-paced boatyard bustle. Work schedule is Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm, start date ASAP. Contact us for details and to apply. office@berkeleymarine.com (510) 8438195 www.berkeleymarine.com

SEEKING SCHEDULER/ADMIN.

Need help managing a Sausalito-based charter operation with a stunning classic yacht. Remote work. Being present at the marina generally not required, but ideal candidate lives close by and is able to be onsite occasionally. Sausalito/Remote 4brianb@gmail.com (828) 400-7632 www.union-island.org/

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

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

PLAN YOUR MEXICAN GETAWAY

NOW. At the gorgeous Cielo Y Mar condos. Located in Punta Mita, 35 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, available to rent from private owner. On the beach, 10 feet from the water, they offer spectacular views of ocean and mountains, the biggest infinity pool in the area, an endless beach, great surf breaks, great fishing, tremendous views of whales, bird life and the islands. While uncrowded and tranquil, just a five-minute 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

SEEKING SMALL INBOARD ENGINE FOR SAILBOAT. I am desperately seeking and happy to pay good dollars for a single- /twin-cylinder inboard saildrive marine engine for 26-ft Lake Tahoe sailboat. The perfect engine would be a 1980s MR2-50S, which was a Volvo Penta Saildrive with a 7.5 Honda twin-cylinder gasoline outboard powerhead. Total weight was 80 pounds. Any condition acceptable. Can repair/rebuild/replace engine if necessary. Seeking saildrive unit, engine, and mounting bed. Old single- /twin-cylinder Volva Penta, Yanmar, Beta would be considered. Would be happy to personally pick up anywhere in western USA. Also happy to pay any “finder” fees as well! Happy to trade for 9.9 Honda long-shaft outboard in excellent good condition. Email Gary. Western States CaliforniaKiwi49@frontier.com (916) 337-7029

BOAT JUMBLE SALE. SATURDAY

MARCH 28 10AM-6PM: row boats/ oars, Sunfish/gear, Laser sails/centerboards, Holder 14 Hobie Cat rudders/tillers, centerboard (new). Lines, anchors, PFDs, big boat hardware, assorted big boat sails, pulleys. Free admission. In aid of Sea Scout Ship 300. South Bay Yacht Club 1491 Hope St, Alviso, CA 95002 kayakrowsail@gmail.com (408) 4600398

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

TRYING TO LOCATE

LOOKING FOR 24 FT PIVER TRIMARAN ‘NO NAME’;. We’re former owners of the plywood 24-ft Piver trimaran that sailed around the world in the ’70s. The boat’s last known location was San Diego. We’d appreciate hearing from anyone who might know the whereabouts of ‘No Name.’ wolfinds@mindspring.com(415) 8063334

WANTED

CAL 20. Good condition preferred. Later model year preferred mike@cunninghamdevco.com (650) 464-5453

Heading into Spring! Visit www.jimdewitt.com or email pam@jimdewitt.com for fine art prints of Jim’s artwork. There are plenty to choose from!

DeWitt Art Gallery & Framing (510) 236-1401 pam@jimdewitt.com Online Stores: www.jimdewitt.com www.DeWittAmericasCupArt.com

ADVERTISERS' INDEX

Antioch Marina..............................60 www.antiochca.gov/antioch-marina ATN ...............................................32 www.atninc.com

Berkeley Marine Center..................23 www.berkeleymarine.com

Berkeley Yacht Club........................ 24 www.berkeleyyc.org

Boat Yard at Grand Marina, The...... 14 www.boatyardgm.com

oats ain’s o r ..........................20 www.boatswainslocker.com

Brisbane Marina............................. 54 www.brisbaneca.org/marina Canvas Works................................20 www.thecanvasworks.com

Coyote Point Marina.......................79 www.smcgov.org/parks/ coyote-point-marina Cruising Yachts...............................90 www.cruisingyachts.net

DeWitt Studio.................................88 www.jimdewitt.com

Division of Boating & Waterways..... 15 www.dbw.ca.gov

Emery Cove Yacht Harbor...............33 www.emerycove.com

Fisheries Supply Co.........................47 s ri ssu y o

Gianola Canvas Products................32 www.gianolacanvas.com

Grand Marina..................................2 www.grandmarina.com

ut’s Marin r i 27 www.helmutsmarine.com

Hood Sails...................................... 13 www.hoodsails-sf.com

Hydrovane..................................... 21 www.hydrovane.com

KKMI - Full Service Boatyard...........92 www.kkmi.com in Marin .....................................61 www.lindmarine.com

ist Marin nt r ris s ....................25 www.listmarine.com

Marchal Sailmakers........................22 www.marchalsailmakers.com

Marina a a ...........................29 arina a a o

Marina El Cid.................................29 www.elcid.com

Modern Sailing School & Club.........23 www.modernsailing.com

Monterey Boat Haven.......................4 www.montereyboathaven.com

The Moorings...................................3 www.moorings.com

NAOS Yachts.................................78 www.naosyachts.com

ADVERTISERS' INDEX –

Napa Valley Marina....................... 10 www.napavalleymarina.com

Outboard Motor Shop....................28 www.outboardmotorshop.com

ProFurl........................................... 18 www.wichardgroupe.us/profurl

Punta Mita Beachfront Condos24.30.33 www.latitude38.com

uantu a i ..............................69 www.quantum.com

Raiatea Carenage Services.............. 77 www.raiateacarenage.com

Richard Boland Yacht Sales............. 91 www.richardbolandyachts.com

Richardson Bay Marina................... 21 www.richardsonbaymarina.com

Rubicon Yachts..........................6.7.8.9 www.rubiconyachts.com

Safe Harbor Marinas........................5 www.shmarinas.com

cont'd

ar inson’s ............................22 www.sailing4parkinsons.org

San Francisco Boat Works...............79 www.sfboatworks.com

San Francisco Marina.....................25 www.sfrecpark.org/ 1228/Marina-Yacht-Harbor

San Francisco on the Bay................89 www.sfonthebay.com/list-38

San Juan Sailing............................. 27 www.sanjuansailing.com

Shearwater Sailing.........................26 www.shearwatersc.net

Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors/SAMS......................................28 www.marinesurvey.org

South Beach Harbor.........................17 www.sfport.com/southbeachharbor

Spaulding Marine Center................55 www.spauldingcenter.org

Swiftsure Yachts.............................. 12 www.swiftsureyachts.com

Ullman Sails....................................16 www.ullmansails.com/lofts/san-francisco

Vallejo Yacht Club...........................47 www.vyc.org

Ventura Harbor Boatyard................29 www.vhby.com

Westwind Precision Details..............26 www.boatdetailing.com

Whale Point Marine Supply............. 19 www.aceretailer.com/whalepoint a t n rs in s a rs ...............90 ya t n rs in s a rs o

Starboard Marine Surveyors...........29 www.starboardmarinesurveyors.com n s n’s ay Mariti ................. 11 www.sbm.baymaritime.com

58’ TAYANA 58 DECK SALON ’06

$467,900

Majestic. With electric winches in the cockpit, a Leisure Furl boom and bow thruster, she is easily handled by a couple. LLCowned.

46’ TAYANA 460 PILOTHOUSE ’02

$295,000 Peregrine. Masterfully engineered and custom built. Definitely priced to sell. All offers seriously considered by motivated seller. 40’ BLUE JACKET

’15 $364,500

Resolute. Performance-oriented, go anywhere yacht with safety, quality and comfort built in. Upgrades make for easy single-handing.

54’ ROBERTS 54 ’79

$225,000 Spirit. Rugged bluewater vessel designed with comfort and safety in mind. Nicely upgraded. Coast Guard Certified for up to 42 passengers.

43’ J BOATS J/133 ’04 $179,000 G Force. Be competitive in races or de-tune for pleasurable cruising. She does both well. Sail as a couple or with full crew. LLC-owned.