Green, Green Everywhere — Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We’ve been scouring our archives and the internet for some interesting photos and tidbits about St. Patrick’s Day, particularly in relevance to sailing. And guess what? There’s not a stack out there. But, here are few interesting things that we did find.
Have you ever heard of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick? According to Wikipedia, The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, officially called The Society of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, is also now known as The Friendly Sons & Daughters of St. Patrick. It is an American charitable and social organization for Irish-Americans, founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 1771. The organization’s website writes that General George Washington became an “Adopted Member” in 1782. The relevance here is clearly the date of the organization’s founding, and the fact that the Irish immigrants came to America via sailing vessels.
And now, to sailing as we know it today. We did find photos of some green, Bay Area boats to share.
And of course there are green sails and green clothing, particularly in the kiting and foiling scene…
And, if you’ve ever been to Camden, Maine, you may have seen a fleet of three boats, each painted green, and known locally as “the green boats.”
Are you doing anything green today, for St. Patrick’s Day? If so, take some photos and send them to us at [email protected]. We need more color in our photo archives.
US Coast Guard Looking for Missing Sailboat, the 55-ft Sloop ‘Ishi’
Latitude 38 received a request from the US Coast Guard in Hawaii in search of a boat in the Pacific. The information below is provided by Search and Rescue Duty Officer Michael Cobb.
“The Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu is attempting to locate the 55FT S/V Ishi (HA-5665-G), possibly with four people on board, currently unreported in the Pacific. The background information we have is that on 03 October 2022 the S/V departed the Ala Wai on Oahu possibly to sail to Maui then to the Pacific Northwest. We have conducted extensive checks in the Main Hawaiian Islands and have not located the vessel. They departed with four people on board, the master Donald Lang, one adult Female and her two children.”
“In interviewing the previous owner, she believes Donald would head to the Pacific Northwest, since he is from Canada and had owned a shop/sailboat repair company in Coeur d’Alene, ID. The possibility that he would sail to the NW Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, the Philippines, Panama, Pacific Northwest (USA), and Canada was also discussed.
“We have reached out to the adjacent RCCs to find out if they have any reports of the vessel; we are waiting to hear back from them. Knowing the reach and scope of Latitude 38, it felt prudent to check with you for any information you might be able to assist with locating the S/V Ishi and Donald.”
Anyone with information on the sailing vessel Ishi should contact the JRCC Honolulu at [email protected] or (808) 535-3333.
AUCTION: Blue Water Cruisers, Excellent Deals
Spring cruising sailboat auction is underway. Hull, mechanical, engine surveys and more. Inspect in person, bid online.
What’s Going On With All the ‘Lectronic Latitude’ Emails?
Are the leprechauns out and about playing Irish tricks on us all? Has anyone seen any bearded little men wearing green coats and hats skulking about in the office? Who woke up yesterday morning to find a ‘Welcome Aboard’ email from ‘Lectronic Latitude, even if you’ve been aboard for years? We did. And we see hands up throughout the West Coast, and beyond.
Maybe this was an early St. Paddy’s Day trick. Or maybe there are some other gremlins afoot. Either way, something set off our new “Welcome Aboard” email to everyone on our ‘Lectronic Latitude list. Despite the panic we (the Latitude crew) felt when we first realized what had happened, we ended up using the glitch to get some great insight.
First of all, most of you read the emails we send. Hooray! And thank you! Secondly, hundreds of sailors now have the Free Cruising Guide that we’re offering to first-time subscribers. Hooray, again!
And here’s something else. Now that we have your attention, this is a good opportunity to make sure that everyone has their best email address registered to keep receiving the three-times-weekly newsletter, and to let us know if you’re having any problems with the email delivery — maybe you signed up and haven’t been getting the emails; maybe you’re getting more than one to the same address; maybe you have too many email addresses signed up. Whatever it is, you have our attention and we want to make it right.
So, here’s the link to sign up to receive the ‘Lectronic Latitude emails, if you don’t already: Sign Me Up!
Alternatively, if you’re having a problem with the email, or, if you have a great suggestion for the email, please write to us directly at [email protected].
A Good Weekend for the University of Hawaii
On Wednesday, we shared the story of the University of Hawaii’s winning the Port of L.A. Harbor Cup last weekend. While U. of Hawaii’s keelboat sailors were winning aboard the Catalina 37s down south, their FJ dinghy sailors were winning here on the Bay. Cal Maritime and the St. Francis Yacht Club hosted an intercollegiate regatta for 15 West Coast sailing teams on the Cityfront. U. of Hawaii arrived to turn the weekend’s Pineapple Express weather into a winning combination on keelboats and dinghies. The Pineapple Express leaves Hawaii as warm, moist air, but it feels a lot cooler when it arrives in the Bay Area.
The University of Hawaii’s tropical sailing waters were miles away as the team arrived for another of California’s cold, windy weekends. After two days of racing it was the U. of H’s Rainbows that found the silver lining in the weekend’s gray weather.
Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation Wins PCYA Award
The Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF) in Redwood City is this year’s recipient of the Pacific Coast Yachting Association’s (PCYA) Garrett Horder Memorial Trophy. In acknowledgment of the importance of “imparting knowledge and appreciation of the sport of boating to young people,” the annual trophy is awarded to “the member organization judged to have shown the greatest improvement in its Junior Boating Education program.”
Under the direction of 2012 Olympian Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer, PYSF provides instruction, coaching, practice, and racing opportunities for kids from age 6 through high school. We wrote about the foundation’s expansion in 2019, when they outgrew their facilities at Redwood Creek and moved their almost 200 students to new facilities at the Club at Westpoint.
Sharing the announcement in a press release, PCYA Commodore Kimball Livingston wrote, “From Gold Rush times, Redwood City has been the only deep water port on the Bay, south of San Francisco, but its potential for small boat sailing was under-appreciated until Molly Vandemoer came along.”
Vandemoer grew up sailing with her family in San Diego, sailed her way through high school and college in Sabots, Laser IIs, and 470s match racing. After graduating from the University of Hawaii, she coached at Severn Sailing Association, Annapolis Yacht Club and the US Naval Academy in Maryland. She is the current president and clinic director of California International Sailing Association. Vandemoer’s sailing honors include match-racing world champion (2011), Snipe women’s world champion (2011), US Sailing Team member (2003-2015), college national champion (2001), All-America team (2000-2002), and high school national champion (1996).
“What a fantastic honor for our program to receive the Garrett Horder Award for best junior program on the West Coast!,” PYSF Executive Director Vandemoer said. “When I came to PYSF just over 10 years ago, I was drawn to the sense of community and love of the sport that I found here. I saw amazing potential in a relatively small group of passionate folks. Now here we are, thriving, thanks to rock star coaches, supportive community members, volunteers willing to help in any way they can, and kids that love our sport. A big thank-you and pat on the back to all.”
The PYSF coaching team includes Todd Vas Dias, Hanna Miller, Renee Corpuz-Lahne, Tanner Gee and Molly Vandemoer’s husband John (former Stanford Sailing coach), all of whom are to be congratulated.
“We’re fortunate to be able to recognize her [Vandemoer’s] accomplishments in the centennial year of PCYA,” Kimball Livingston wrote, “and while I have the floor, congratulations to Molly for crewing Nicole Breault to a 13-1 record last weekend in the SF segment of California Dreamin’ match racing [held 3/4–3/5]. She can direct, and she can sail.”
Livingston continued, “Young sailors at PYSF are trained in Optis, Flying Juniors and C420s. They sail from a harbor that benefits from insightful development and management, and they go racing with a ‘We are PY!’ spirit. Molly is achieving her goal to make good humans who sail. You gotta love it.”
Mark Your Calendar for Svendsen’s Spring Fling
More about Svendsen’s Spring Fling Boat Show and free tickets here: www.springflingboatshow.com