One More Time Regatta
Santa Monica Bay is known for advocating RRS number 1 (“the wind shall quit immediately after the start of the race”). No such rule applied on the July 20th running of the 44th annual wooden-hull One More Time Regatta. The doldrums present in previous 2019 races literally blew away. Fairly flat seas and a high pressure cell over the Four Corners area that brought in sunshine and winds of 12-15 knots welcomed the race.
Rather than quitting near the end of the race, winds increased slightly, and considerable bits of popcorn appeared on the waters. This 44th running was the fastest One More Time on record, as all 11 boats finished by 4 p.m., sailing the 13.6-mile course in under three hours.
This year had everything from a Thistle to several 60-footers.
2017 winner Dick McNish and his 86-year-old Fellows and Stewart yawl Cheerio II blasted around the course in a little over 2 hours and 22 minutes to repeat as first overall and first in split rigs. Alejandro Bucagov and Bequia took second overall and first in sloops and cutters. It could be said that the winds had “gone Hollywood” since famous celebrities owned both boats at one time: Errol Flynn and Bob Dylan respectively.
CF Koehler and Sally, a Starling Burgess 10-meter sloop, came in third overall and barely beat out the other Burgess design, 59-ft Rose of Sharon with Wayne Ettel at the helm. The latter was the first schooner to finish.
2015 winner Tracy Obert and Marjorie finished fifth. Complete results are at www.dryc.org.
Chris Frost, a staff commodore of Wooden Hull Yacht Club, is responsible for handicapping all these boats. It’s difficult given that it’s a pursuit (inverted) start.
The July date for this second event of the California Classic Yacht Series seems to work well. The woodies race in San Diego in mid-May in the Yesteryear Race, do Santa Monica Bay the third Saturday of July, and proceed north to the Channel Islands and Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club to race in the McNish Classic the following Saturday. A sail to Catalina provides a nice side trip.
Sighting the Transpac Finish
Photographers covering the Transpac Race to Honolulu often capture a scene that includes a finishing boat, a red buoy, and, in the distance and looking remarkably small, a lighthouse perched on a low ridge below the looming peak of Diamond Head.
Louis Kruk, in Honolulu during the arrival of the Transpac fleet this month, checked out the means by which finishes are recorded.
All boats finished the 50th Transpac between July 17 and July 24. Celebrations have been ongoing, Hawaii and Waikiki yacht clubs have hosted official parties, and the Transpac YC will dish out copious trophies and prizes tonight at the Hawaii Convention Center, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. HST. We’ll have a boatload of coverage of the historic race in the August and September issues of Latitude 38.
Catamaran Cruising with Modern Sailing
Punny Boat Names
Is there an unspoken tradition that some boat names have a certain amount of “punny-ness” to them?
Here’s a case in point from our recent trip to Maine:
On that same trip, we saw a lobster boat with the name Captain Mortgage written in the same font as the famed brand of rum.
At any rate, punny boat names seem to be a fixture in the sailing community. At our marina in San Rafael, there’s a boat called Knot to Worry. We’ve seen several variations off “knot,” like Knot My Problem and Knot Completely Paid For Yet. (We might have made that last one up, actually.)
We should also distinguish the punny name vs. the general funny name. Also on the San Rafael canal, there’s a motor boat named Wastin’ Away with a port of call of “Margaritaville,” and we suspect that this isn’t the only such port of call or Buffett-inspired boat name. We have photographic evidence of at least a few Salt Shakers. (Should those ports of calls be “Lost?”)
Latitude Nation: Is there a punny (or funny) boat name at a slip near you? Have you passed a few clever names on an afternoon sail or while cruising? We think it’s about time we start creating an informal but well-thought-out, well-researched encyclopedia of said names.
Please send us pictures here of clever boat names, or comment below (but pictures are paramount to this bit of research). Depending on the volume, we’ll either publish them on a future ‘Lectronic, or in a future Letters. (We certainly prefer sailboats, but if you happen to snag a photo of a good name on a motorboat’s transom, well, who’s gonna know?)
The “best” of the punny names will win a Latitude 38 hat. Good luck everyone, and thanks for playing.