We Stand Corrected
On Monday, we reported on the fun and succesful Summer Sailstice celebration at Treasure Island Sailing Center. In covering the event, we mentioned that there were "up to six boat raft-ups" in Clipper Cove, which was true as far as it went — that’s what we saw when we looked out there in the early afternoon. However, several folks wrote in to note that one raft-up grew to a dozen or more boats later in the day, and Greg Davids sent the proof you see here. Although there are ‘only’ 12 boats in the photo, we’ll take his word for it that Berkeley YC’s mighty raft-up eventually grew to 13, with 12 of them spending the whole night together at anchor, with no dragging even during the windiest part of the day. From left to right, the participants are Volare, Ruby Slippers, Pearl of Oakland, Co-Motion, Sea Quest, Pura Vida, Freefall, Felice II, Bliss, Auric, Done Deal and Webb Site.
We’re going to go out on a limb and call this the largest Summer Sailstice raft-up of 2009 on San Francisco Bay. But as you know, Sailstice was celebrated in ports all over the world. If anyone reading this saw or photographed a larger raft-up on June 20, let us know!
It’s About Frigging Time
After a flurry of comments on Jerry Brown’s official Facebook page, California’s Attorney General announced that he is finally looking into what passes for justice in Lake County. Dozens upon dozens of ‘Facebookers’ have voiced their outrage over the ridiculous prosecution of Bismarck Dinius for the 2006 death of Lynn Thornton. Off-duty Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Perdock crashed his speedboat — at 40+ miles an hour — into the nearly motionless sailboat on which Dinius and Thornton were passengers. Because he’d had a few drinks and had his hand on the tiller, Dinius was seemingly used as a scapegoat to get the number two man in the Sheriff’s Department off the hook for vehicular manslaughter.
Dinius’ attorney, Victor Haltrom, has twice requested that Brown investigate apparent oddities and inconsistencies in the DA’s handling of the case, which Brown declined to do. But it seems voters’ voices are louder than that of blatant injustice because, in response to all the posts, he wrote "I’m talking to the DA and I’m looking into it. There’s conflicting claims — the preliminary hearing transcript is voluminous." We hope he doesn’t only speak to Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins, as that’s the same man who told us that "there is no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt exactly how fast Perdock was going or that his speed was the cause of the collision."
In other news, Dan Noyes reports on his blog that Russell Perdock has been put on paid leave from the Sheriff’s Department. Of course no one would comment on why but it seems that the house of cards Lake County law enforcement officials has built is starting to crumble. Watch Dan Noyes’ blog and Twitter page to get the blow-by-blow of June 30’s hearing, and keep tabs on all the news on our Facebook page and right here.
Cruising Boat Robbed . . . in Santa Barbara!
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
In the August issue we’re going to have a detailed report on the just-concluded 11-year cruise of Paul and Annalise Pedersen aboard their 28-year-old Islander 36 Sea Lise. The Vancouver couple did a ‘six month on, six month off’ voyage from Vancouver to their native Denmark and back.
Interestingly enough, they did the trip — with all expenses included — on less than $1,250 a month. "And we often spent much less than that," adds Annalise. It helped that Paul is a retired car mechanic and shipwright.
During their trip, the Pedersens visited a lot of countries that some people in the States might think of as being crime ridden. Places such as Mexico, Panama, Colombia and the Bahamas. But they never had any problems with theft in any of those countries. In fact, the only place they were ripped off was — Santa Barbara, one of the most affluent cities in California and home to the likes of Oprah and Dr. Laura. It’s oddly funny that it happened in a yacht harbor with one of the highest armed harbor patrol presences on the coast.
"The theft occured about a week ago," says Paul, who at 73 remains so active he’s been raising the anchor manually since the electric windlass gave out two years ago. "We put the hatchboards in place, then walked up to the Santa Barbara YC for dinner. When we returned two hours later, we found that someone had come inside our boat and taken the camera we’d purchased just two days before."
The Pedersens were more amused by the irony than upset about the loss of their point ‘n shoot camera. But what kind of lowlife would steal from a well-used cruising boat owned by a couple in their 70s? It’s obvious whoever took the camera had watched them leave for the yacht club. Pathetic!
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
A few days ago we got a permit to drop Profligate‘s hook at the A-9 anchorage in San Diego, which is located just off the east end of Harbor Island about one-third of the way to the densely populated Laurel Street mooring area. "You better watch out ’cause there are lots of pirates around here," said the first guy we met. We figured he was just one of those guys who objected to anyone sharing an anchorage with him. But then we noticed he had a brown pit bull aboard. The dog was the strong but silent type. He looked as though he might enjoy one of our legs for dinner.
When we asked the volunteer who checks the anchored boats for permits if there was a theft problem in the area, he said, "No more than at any other marina area." It’s great to be back in California. We’ve had our boat in Mexico for at least part of 24 winters. In all that time, we haven’t had a single thing stolen.
We think the moral of the story is that if you’re halfway careful, some of the poorer countries aren’t as risky as most people think, and by the same token, even marinas in the upscale cities in California aren’t as safe as one would expect.
Have you ever had anything ripped off in an upscale marina or harbor in California? If so, we’d like to hear about it.
The Ha-Ha Hits 100
A couple of months ago, we decided that we wouldn’t be too disappointed if we ended up with only 100 entries for the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ Baja Ha-Ha, which departs San Diego on October 26 for Cabo, with R&R stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. After all, the local, state, national and world economies are all suffering.
But who knows, maybe it’s because of the bad economies that sailors are signing up for the Ha-Ha at a surprising rate. There are few places in the world where you can enjoy a more healthy, exciting, satisfying and economical life than cruising on a sailboat in tropical Mexico.
Whatever the reason, lots of people are signing up, as evidenced by the fact that we received paid entry #100 on June 21. Let’s see, we’ve been getting two entries a day, there are another 70 days to September 10 entry deadline . . . holy smokes, does that mean we’ll end up with 240 boats!? Of course not. At least we hope not!
Herewith is a list of the first 100 paid entries:
1. Natalie, Ericson 35 Mk I, Ford Johnson, San Francisco
2. Sirocco, J/130, Lee Pryor, Oceanside
3. Galatea, Island Packet 380, Doug Hounshell, Berkeley
4. Sally Lightfoot, Corsair 31 UC, Paul Martson, Ventura
5. Trim, Del Rey 50, Ken Newell, Irvine
6. Dolfin, Crealock 37, William Meanley, San Diego
7. Moondance, Canadian Sailcraft 34, Niels Frommann, Santa Clara
8. Sabbatical, Mason 33, Bill Thompson, Long Beach
9. Meshach, 45-ft custom trimaran, Thor Temme, Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI
10. Norwegian Steam, Jason 34, Alan Westhagen, Seattle
11. Cuba Libre 3, Catalina-Morgan 440, Orlando Duran, Marina del Rey
12. Laura, Bristol 41.1, Michael Michel, Richmond
13. SeaFox, Sabre 452, Jim Hurst, Sausalito
14. Gato Go, Kennex 445 cat, Craig Wiese, San Diego
15. Mykonos, Swan 44, Myron Eisenzimmer, San Francisco
16. Pipe Dream IX, J/160, William Piper, Miami
17. Siempre Sabado, Westsail 28, Stephen Yoder, Newport, OR
18. The Brass Ring, Sunchaser 58 cat, Robert Brass, Toledo, OR
19. Stray Cat, Seawind 1000 cat, Harold Dean, San Francisco
20. Mai Pen Rai, Islander 36, Noble Brown, Benicia
21. Astraea, Cheoy Lee 41, Robert Moon, San Francisco
22. Grace, Beneteau Oceanis 393, Paul Witzke, Portland, OR
23. Virago, Catalina 470, Paul Goss, Alameda
24. Serenity, Tayana 52 DS, Gordon Cornett, Ventura
25. Mulan, Grand Soleil 39, Susan Karda, Vancouver, BC
26. Proximity, Swan 41, Rod Lambert, San Francisco
27. Nalu IV, Lapworth 48, Kent Miller, Los Angeles
28. Reverence, Tayana 58, Jason Scott, San Pedro
29. Atlantis, Treworgy 34, Jim Jolly, The Hammock, FL
30. Maya, LaFitte 44, Rick Meyerhoff, Sausalito
31. Vento, Swan 391, Ivan Lalovic, San Francisco
32. Kaholo, J/40, Martin & Lisa Falk, Redondo Beach
33. Beach Access, Lagoon 380 cat, Glenn Twitchell, Newport Beach
34. Risk Taker, Catalina 38, Duane Rawson, San Francisco
35. Theophilus, Voilier Grand Duc 41, Kiwi & Debbie Derrick, San Francisco
36. Braveheart, MacGregor PH 65, Bob Callaway, Pleasant Harbor, WA
37. Roksan, Crealock 34, Marvin J. Fritts, Whidbey Island, WA
38. Little Christian, Tayana 37, Donald Murvine, Seattle
39. Celtic Song, Pacific Seacraft 42, John Berol, San Diego
40. Worrall Wind, Nauticat PH 44, Russ & Roz Worrall, Emeryville
41. Hello World, Caliber 40, Christina Clement, Seattle
42. Bliss, Hylas 46, Michael Chambers, Ensenada, Mexico
43. Rangatanga, Morgan 440, Allan & Allison Gabel, Port Channel Islands
44. Last Resort, Catalina 470, Richard Drechsler, Marina del Rey
45. Sea Conquest, Morgan Out Island 41, Steve Labarre, Montreal, QC
46. Blue Dolphin, Custom Bruce Roberts 58, Robert Baldino, Alameda
47. Thee Amazing Grace, Vector 39, David Bloom, Long Beach
48. Delight, Hunter 36, Albert Miller, Sacramento
49. Peregrine, Fuji 45, Larry Zabel, San Francisco
50. Free Spirit, Islander Freeport 36, David Nieuwstad, Santa Cruz
51. Journey, Beneteau Evasion 37, Craig Luker, Tacoma, WA
52. Merry J, J/42, Robert Moore, San Francisco
53. Nipigon, Norseman 447, Denny Thompson, Friday Harbor, WA
54. The Answer, Ericson 38, Robert Haley, Richmond
55. Rotkat, Lidgard 43 cat, Arjan Bok, Emeryville
56. Equinox, Brewer 30, Tom Ybarrola, San Diego
57. Sea Bear, C&C Landfall 39, Harold Miller, Alameda
58. Avalon, Catalina 42 Mk II, Phil Habegger, Marina del Rey
59. Rhino, Westsail 32, Roger Hedrick, Jr., Dana Point
60. Blackdragon, Catalina 34, Steve Dolling, Vancouver, BC
61. Lady J, Beneteau 393, Steve Hirsh, San Diego/Everett, WA
62. Lovely Lady, Hallberg-Rassy 46, Rose Loper, Seattle
63. Callisto, Amel 54, Michael & Ann Last, St. Helier, Jersey
64. Wind Child, Beneteau First 36s7, Rudolf Heessels, Sequim, WA
65. Delphis, Cal 39, Peter Greengrass, Calgary, AB
66. Formula Won, Beneteau 473, Jim Schmid, San Diego
67. Jarana, J/42, Bill Cuffel, Seattle
68. Rocinante, Passport 40, Larry & Vicky Byers, Seattle
69. Rockstar, C&C Landfall 43, Jeff Lim, Vancouver, BC
70. Nirvana, Irwin 44, Robert Davis, Shell Beach
71. Teal Sea, CT 54, Craig Schroeder, Long Beach
72. Happy Nest, Beneteau 46, David Robbins, Longmont, CO
73. Aquila, Islander Freeport 36, Michael Rafferty, San Diego
74. Evergreen, Liberty 458, Dennis Morrison, Alameda
75. Interlude, Catalina 36 Mk II, Mike Joyce, Alameda
76. Liberty, Catalina 42 Mk II, Barry Carrigan, Scottsdale, AZ
77. Alika, Challenger 32, Rory Kremer, Monterey
78. Ansa, Cooper 416, David Bereznai, San Francisco
79. Echo, Islander Freeport 41, Michael Bereznai, Beaverton, OR
80. En Fuego III, J/44, Bill Cook, Quincy
81. Jesse’s Girl, Morgan 440, Jesse Hibdon, Alameda
82. Sceptre, J/130, Bob Musor, Alameda
83. Seabird, Swan 51, Lou Freeman, San Diego
84. Chrokeva, CT54, Mark Pitts, San Diego
85. ‘No Name’, Catalina 30, Bob Bahlman, Sausalito
86. MoJo’s Folly, Gemini 105Mc cat, John & Marie Orr, Napa
87. Dragon’s Toy, Island Packet 37, Tom Kohrs, Freeport
88. Wayward Wind, Alberg Odyssey 30, John Conser, Newport Beach
89. Qualchan, Whitby 42, Todd Pond, Redondo Beach
90. Southwind, Islander 36, Jean Gregory, Oceanside
91. Stella Blue, C&C Landfall 38, Wally Bryant, San Francisco
92. Campbells Sloop, Catalina 34, Susan Campbell, Dana Point
93. Sea Dream, Jomar 55, Ron Brimlow, Long Beach
94. Allymar, Ingrid 38, Ken Gosling, Winchester Bay, OR
95. Odysseus, Maxi 97, William Hogarty, RI
96. Tiger Beetle, N/M 45 IOR, Rob Macfarlane, San Francisco
97. Aquadesiac, Tayana V-42, Douglas Simms, Alameda
98. Liberty, Nicholson 35, J. Seth Strattan, Redwood City
99. Prevailing Wind, Beneteau Oceanis 400, Peter Wragg, San Diego
100. Joya, Dreadnought 32, Steve Pruitt, Brookings, OR