Hardly Strictly Sail Pacific?

On October 27, 2001 the first Strictly Bluegrass Festival took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Within a few years this annual event grew to be the largest free music festival on the West Coast — if not in the entire nation. But as its popularity grew, so did demand for a wider selection of musical genres. Consequently, the fest was forced to change its name and is now affectionately known as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Clever, right?

We mention all this because Sail America has just announced that its long-established sail-only boat show, Strictly Sail Pacific, will incorporate powerboats into its April 2017 event. While some diehard sailors may scoff at this news, we understand that bringing in stinkpots — that is, powerboats — is simply an economic necessity, and we intend to fully support the show, just as we have since its inception. Our only beef is that the new name is a little dry: Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show and Marine Sports Expo. Call us quirky, but wouldn’t it have been a lot more fun to call it Hardly Strictly Sail Pacific?

In any case, mark your calendar: The substantially expanded 2017 show will take place April 6-9 at Richmond’s historic Craneway Pavilion and in the westernmost docks of Marina Bay Yacht Harbor.

Even sailors who have no interest in owning a powerboat may see benefits to the expanded format, as we anticipate that it will attract many new vendors of boating accessories and watersports toys, in addition to powerboat manufacturers. "It’s our intent to make this event a destination for anyone with a passion for being on the water," says Scot West, President of Sail America.

For more info visit the show’s official website.