There are all kinds of harbormasters in the world, but not many of them are as accommodating as Dick Markie of Paradise Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. As you can see from the photo, Markie once allowed an aquatic mammal to come into the harbor office to discuss possible accommodations with Manuel, Markie’s office manager. Despite the language barrier, they found the mammal a place to stay! Markie didn’t see the situation as a monkey on his back because he’s used to things like that.

Markie, who is from Northern California, but who has been a harbormaster in Mexico since sailing south shortly after the Mexican Revolution, will be at Latitude 38‘s Fall Crew List Party at Spaulding Boat Works in Sausalito on Wednesday, September 6. The party starts at 6:15 p.m. and will run until 9 p.m.

The Crew Party is a great place to meet other folks headed to Mexico, mostly on the Baja Ha-Ha, and perhaps find a berth or fill a berth. Make sure you’re there for the opening of the liferaft at about 8 p.m. But be careful, as some people who have met at the Crew List Party have ended up getting married.

Before the party,  from 4 to 6 p.m., Markie will give a presentation about all things cruisers might want to know about Mexico. Don’t miss it.

Somewhere in the photo below is a Folkboat International champion — we just don’t know who it is yet.

The San Francisco Bay Folkboat International Regatta starts today at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon with sailors here from Denmark, England, Germany, Sweden and the US. They’re racing all week; by Friday one of these Folkboat folks will be a winner! Learn more at www.sfbayfolkboats.org/2017-international-regatta.

Meanwhile, next door, San Francisco YC was finishing up hosting the Opti PCCs, and the winner has been determined. Ryan Satterberg from Santa Barbara YC came north and snatched the victory with a third-place throw-out in the 63-boat Champ fleet. Full results here.

These days, when it seems like the washing machine you bought last week is already broken, it’s a little mind blowing that a 131-year-old sailing ship looks like she was launched yesterday.    

But Balclutha — a 301-ft, three-masted square-rigger — is still going strong. And unlike your washing machine, there is a small, dedicated army of enthusiasts invested in maintaining her. The ship is about to undergo a round of maintenance at Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda.

Balclutha is one of seven historic ships at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and contributes to the Bay Area’s rich maritime history, while also offering educational opportunities to students of all ages. Part of the maintenance and upgrades scheduled on Balclutha include installation of a wheelchair lift, according to reporting by the East Bay Times. If a boat built before WWI can adapt to change, so can we.

Once all 4,100 tons of the ship are hauled out of the water, Balclutha will have her foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast yardarms removed for repairs and painting. There will also be a complete ultrasonic hull plate survey — which will indicate whether plates will need to be replaced or repaired — and a full sandblast of the ship’s freeboard and underbody.

The short-term goal? To preserve Balclutha’s steel for at least another six years, the East Bay Times said. The long-term goal? To continue to put all washing machines built today to shame.