Winter Solstice Sailing Fun
In the December 19 edition of ‘Lectronic, we encouraged everyone to take to the waters in celebration of the shortest day of the year — they only get longer from here! What a delight to hear from some of you who did it:
"Our sailing gang took your advice to sail on the shortest day of the year, rain or no rain," wrote Greg Clausen of the Bay Area-based Santana 30/30 Wisdom. "We tried for the ocean but lack of wind forced us back into the Bay. We set the chute and sailed to the North Bay where we found good wind till sunset. Food, drink and cigars rounded out the day and we had a blast."
Then Greg Tarczynski shared his winter solstice experience aboard the J/105 Energy:
"My wife Mary and I invited 10 people to sail with us on the winter solstice but as the forecast of rain became more certain, one by one, we received emails and phone calls. ‘I’m not feeling well’ or ‘I have too much to do’ were the most common excuses. By the time we met at the OCSC Berkeley dock, just two of our friends, Alycen and Stefanie, showed up. Adhering to the rule that ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’ we made sure everyone had plenty of layers, foulies, and gloves.
"With a steady south to southwest wind, we were immediately doing seven-plus knots parallel to the Berkeley pier on a beam reach straight for Alcatraz. We tacked as we rounded Alcatraz and treated our guests to an easy Cityfront tour. As we entered the channel, the southeast wind picked up and we were again doing seven knots on a reach back to Berkeley!
"Other than a very light sprinkle of rain as we rounded Alcatraz, we had clear sailing the whole way. We’re used to tacking through the west wind toward the Golden Gate so it was a real treat to sail in the southerly wind pattern. After the sail we went up to the OCSC clubhouse to snack on sushi, cheese, and wine and talk about how much happier we were having sailed on the winter solstice than we would have been staying home or going to the mall."
Sailor’s Run Update
Readers — On December 11, Jeff Hartjoy set off from Callao, Peru, on a singlehanded nonstop trip around Cape Horn, bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina, aboard his Baba 40 Sailors Run. We’ll be running his reports in ‘Lectronic throughout his voyage.
Christmas has come and gone, and both days were pretty sad for me as I miss Debbie, my family and friends. On Christmas Eve, I had a very large albatross cruise the seas in my area. I was truly amazed at the effortless flight of that huge bird with a 9-ft wing span. On Christmas Day, Santa brought me a most special gift: winds that started filling in from the SSW.
Unfortunately, they never developed. Instead High #3 filled in instead. I’m twinking and tacking just trying to get south, where I hope there will be more wind. I’m currently getting lots of rest and reading lots of novels, while sailing along under spinnaker in the "roaring-snoring 40s."
Only Twelve Hours Left
News flash: We hate to tell you, but there’s only 12 hours left to make good on those resolutions you made last January.
Not gonna fulfill them all are you? No worries, the great thing about making annual resolutions is that every 12 months you get a chance to wipe the slate clean and start all over again.
As you’ll read in the January edition of Latitude 38, our editorial staff published a few resolutions of their own — most of which involved getting out on the water more often in some form or another. Hopefully, our thoughts will give you some ideas of your own.
For example, among Richard’s goals is to "actually install all the stuff that I’ve bought for the boat. Things like the AIS, the two additional solar panels and their controllers, the navigation programs, and all the rest." JR say’s he’ll "Take my dad sailing more often than once a year. He taught me how to do it and, at 93, he still loves it." Andy promises to "spruce up my newly acquired FJ dinghy, then leave it rigged at the dock and ready to sail at a moment’s notice so I can take therapeutic solo sails on balmy summer evenings." One of LaDonna’s ambitious goals is to "organize a rally to the Delta. We love sailing in company with friends, and we enjoy getting away from the Bay’s chilly summer winds, so what could be better than combining the two?" Rob swears he’s going to "jump in an El Toro — hopefully without sinking it — in Sausalito to race in the ‘Clydesdale’ division of April’s Bullship race." We’ll keep a scoreboard in the office to see who keeps their promises.
Whatever you resolve to do differently in the coming year, we hope it leads to loads of fun and an upbeat outlook on life. So have a Happy New Year, will ya! By the way, since we assume few people will be chained to their desks and computers this Friday (January 2), we will skip our normal end-of-the-week installment.