September Is Here! And So Is Latitude 38’s Newest Issue
September Is Here! And so is Latitude 38‘s newest issue full of hot stories about sailing including the Pacific Cup, the Olympic Hunger Games, sailing alone across the Pacific, the 30th Baja Ha-Ha sailing rally to Mexico, and much more.
Pacific Cup 2024 – Southbound and Down
Begun in 1980 as a low-key race to Hawaii, the Pacific Cup held its 22nd edition in the second half of July this year. The race from San Francisco to Kaneohe, on the east coast of Oahu, has been sailed every other year in even years, except for no-fun-for-you 2020. Starts this year were on Monday, July 15; Wednesday, July 17; and Thursday, July 18. Slower boats and two doublehanded divisions got the early jump.
The Olympic Hunger Games
There is much to celebrate with our Olympic sailing team as they all sailed with a renewed sense of spirit. Though the results were as mixed as the breezes off the Mediterranean Sea, the impression that was left on the competition and US competitors alike was that this is a team that will be more than ready for Los Angeles in 2028!
Ruby Gates — Alone Across the Pacific
As far as I know, I am the only woman to have sailed singlehanded from Mexico to French Polynesia in 2024. I spent 30 days at sea talking to myself, scolding birds who pooped on my deck, shushing fear, dancing to the moon and mistaking stars for ships. I ate when I liked, slept when I liked and read a big, thick book. I argued with myself about tactics and congratulated my equipment on a job well done. When it rained, I took a shower. When the wind died, I rested. When it stormed, I cursed.
Baja Ha-Ha XXX — Who’s Going?
Here’s more of what’s inside:
Letters: An Attempt was Made To Save Vadura. You Can Still Save the Memories of Alfred Mylne-Designed Boats; A Little Pac Cup Correction; Correcting the Correction; and many more.
Sightings: Dismasted Returning From the Pac Cup; The Inexplicable Sinking of Megayacht Bayesian; The Future of Coyote Point Marina; and other stories.
Feature Stories: Pacific Cup 2024 — Southbound and Down; The Olympic Hunger Games; Ruby Gates — Alone Across the Pacific; Baja Ha-Ha XXX — Who’s Going?
Max Ebb: “One-Room Schoolhouse of Sailing.”
Racing Sheet: This month’s edition features visits with one designs such as the Melges 24, Moore 24, C420, Cal 20, Mercury and ILCA classes. PHRF races include SFYC’s Great S.F. Schooner Race/Belvedere Classic, BVBC’s enduring Plastic Classic, YRA’s Encinal Regatta, and the YRA/SSS combo Drake’s Bay race. Our cup runneth over with Box Scores, but we were still able to squeeze in a trio of Race Notes.
Changes in Latitudes: With reports this month on Outrun’s South Seas adventure; Dave Bacon’s amazing 1981 cruise to Mexico on the engineless Dancing Bear; notes and recommendations on solo Pacific crossings from Ruby Gates of Makani; and some interesting Cruise Notes.
Loose Lips: A wrap-up of August’s Caption Contest(!).
All the latest in sailboats and sailboat gear for sale, Classy Classifieds.
We appreciate all readers and all our supporters. You keep Latitude 38 in print! You can show your appreciation by supporting our advertisers who have made this issue possible.
Woman, Daughter and Pets Rescued from Sailboat Off Honolulu
The US Coast Guard and Navy worked together to rescue a 47-year-old woman, her daughter and their two pets, a cat and a tortoise, from a 47-ft sailboat about 925 miles off Honolulu this week. After Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Honolulu received a distress alert from an EPIRB at 12:33 p.m. Saturday, a USCG aircraft crew sighted the French-flagged vessel Albroc adrift in the path of the impending Hurricane Gilma. The aircraft crew then intercepted a VHF call from the woman aboard the vessel reporting that she and her 7-year-old daughter were in need of rescue, and that there was a deceased man on board.
The crew were unable to communicate with the woman but saw her light two distress flares and observed the sailboat drifting and taking waves over the beam. On-scene weather conditions were 6-foot seas and 20 mph winds.
The US Navy diverted the crew of USS William P. Lawrence to the sailboat’s position. Additionally, watchstanders requested assistance from the master of the Seri Emperor, a Singapore-flagged, 754-ft liquid petroleum gas tanker that was approximately 18 hours away from the sailboat.
At 9 a.m. Sunday, a Hercules crew from Air Station Barbers Point arrived on scene and observed a woman and girl waving their arms before retreating inside the cabin. The aircrew unsuccessfully attempted to communicate with the two boaters by radio and dropping message blocks.
At 5:20 p.m. Sunday, the Seri Emperor arrived, but deteriorating weather conditions prohibited its crew from rescuing the woman and child from the vessel. The tanker remained on scene until the William P. Lawrence arrived at 5 a.m. Monday. With seas greater than 25 feet forecast within 12 hours of their position, and the damaged condition of the Albroc, the William P. Lawrence had a six-hour window to safely conduct small-boat recovery operations. A small-boat crew from the Navy ship launched and rescued the woman, girl, a cat and a tortoise from the sailboat.
Due to the 8- to 10-foot seas and 15 mph winds, the crew could not safely recover the deceased individual from the vessel. The sailboat remained adrift approximately 1,000 miles east of Honolulu.
The rescued mariners arrived in Honolulu at 5 p.m. Wednesday, almost five days after deploying their EPIRB.
“Through tireless planning, coordination and teamwork, our watchstanders pieced together the key elements needed for such a dynamic search and rescue case. The use of an EPIRB was also crucial and allowed our aircrews and partners to pinpoint the sailboat’s location. We are grateful the crews of the Seri Emperor and William P. Lawrence were able to reach the mother and daughter, who were caught right in the path of Hurricane Gilma,” the rescue mission’s search and rescue coordinator Kevin Cooper wrote.
Steering the Dream With Hydrovane
Hydrovane is your best crew member: an independent self-steering windvane and emergency rudder/steering system … ready to go!
- Community Sailing
- General Sailing
- West Coast Sailing
- Racing
- Cruising
- Current News
- Ha-Ha
- Events
- Heading South
Will We See You at the Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew Party Next Wednesday?
There’s less than one week to go before we see you all at the Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew Party! We’ll be looking out for you at Spaulding Marine Center on Wednesday, September 4. This annual gathering of sailors, and anyone wanting to be a sailor, is the ultimate gathering spot for captains and crew looking to connect and embark on new sailing adventures.
Here’s what’s going down on September 4:
- The best sailor social of the year!
- Mexico cruising seminar with Brady and Blue from Cruisers Academy Tahoe, and expert insights and updates on Mexico and this year’s Baja Ha-Ha from Patsy Verhoeven of SV Talion.
- Baja Ha-Ha sponsors at the ready to answer your questions.
- Refreshments from the Spaulding Marine bar, and delicious bites from the Casablanca Mediterranean food truck.
- Scores of sailors with whom to connect for sailing adventures and story telling.
- Tons of saltiness!
And you don’t have to be sailing to Mexico to enjoy the fun and tee up future sailing. This party is for everyone!
Don’t miss out on finding your next sailing opportunity and enjoying a fun evening mingling with fellow sailors!
Get your tickets here.
The Rolex Big Boat Series and the International Knarr Championship
60th Rolex Big Boat Series
As noted in Monday’s ‘Lectronic, we’re approaching the finish line for entries in the Rolex Big Boat Series. Registration will close at 9 p.m. tomorrow, August 31, and the racing will happen on September 12-15. So far, 74 boats have signed up.
“It’s the most fabulous event there is, period,” says Chris Perkins, who’s raced it since the 1980s. Chris is the current commodore of event host St. Francis Yacht Club. What makes it fabulous? Breeze-on conditions over four days of racing, multiple racecourses managed by world-class race committees and parties back at the clubhouse. “You know it’s time for Big Boat Series because the weather starts changing,” says Perkins. He’s been a winner in the J/105 fleet, and last year served as helm on Shepard Kett’s Santa Cruz 50 Octavia, which won the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy and a Rolex wristwatch.
Some Boats to Watch
Just back from line honors in the Pacific Cup is John Brynjolfsson’s Saga. Brynjolfsson, who lives in San Diego, bought the TP52 in 2021. “The TP52 is the pinnacle of pure race boats. I was able to buy Saga in relatively miserable condition. We spent about a year rebuilding her and getting a true combination of amateurs and pros up to speed racing her. My delivery captain explained that, in order to get the boat back from Hawaii, we would basically end up in San Francisco, so the timing was perfect to race the 60th edition of RBBS!” Saga will carry 16-18 crew, about double what the boat requires to sail offshore.
Also racing in the ORC fleet is Rogers 46 Lucky Duck. This is the eighth Rolex Big Boat Series for owner Dave MacEwen. Lucky Duck is in fine racing form this year. She won the Southern California Islands Race, took third in the Puerto Vallarta Race, then first in division and second overall in the Pac Cup. Prep will involve transitioning the boat from offshore mode into inshore mode.
“We’ve only raced against custom RP56 Vasara once before,” commented MacEwen, “and they’ll be big and fast. The J/125 Arsenal is a team that we race against on a regular basis, so we will have good competition with them.”
Bill Lee’s legendary 68-ft sled Merlin, which first won its division in 1980, is back to test the ORC fleet this year under the ownership of Chip Merlin. The Classics Division will return, with four big, historic woodies signed up so far: Brigadoon, Mayan, Hurrica V and Ocean Queen V.
One-Design Classes
As usual, the biggest one-design class at the regatta belongs to the J/105s, with 30 entries. Blackhawk is the defending champion. J/88s have eight entries, with Pelagia the defender. Six Express 37s have registered. Last year’s class winner, Limitless, has not yet signed up. New this year is Gavin Corn’s Pazzo Express. Returning under new ownership is Golden Moon, famously raced by Kame Richards but now belonging to Michael Laport.
We’re looking forward to cheering on the competitors and helping them to celebrate when it’s all done and dusted.
54th International Knarr Championship (IKC)
The International Knarr Championship rotates among the US, Denmark and Norway. This year, St. Francis YC is taking its turn hosting. The racing will start on Sunday and run through September 7, with a layday on Wednesday (we’re guessing that anyone with a hot tub will be popular that day). The 25 skippers draw for the boat that they will sail on any given race day.
San Francisco played host to the inaugural IKC in 1969. Danish-American sailor Knud Wibroe introduced the Knarr to the Bay and initiated the championship. The Knarr, first built in Norway in 1946, still attracts competitive sailors.
“The class is all about friendship between three countries, and that makes it different from conventional competitive sailing,” said John Buestad of the San Francisco Knarr fleet. “The same good guys compete at IKC every year from the three countries. Given that the boats are old and slow, you wouldn’t think it would be that competitive, but it always has been — and certainly is now in our local fleet with Olympians Russ Silvestri and Randy Hecht. Don Jesberg, an accomplished Etchells sailor who won the season championship last year, is racing with Ethan Doyle. Then there are the Perkins brothers who won the IKC in Norway last year. We have World and National Champions in this fleet. You have not just good sailors but great sailors coming in for the IKC.”
“The fleet goes almost the same speed, so it becomes all tactical,” Buestad said. “You have to have a great driver, but you really need a great tactician to figure out the current and tide, otherwise you can be the fastest sailor in the world and you won’t do well. It takes a while to learn to drive a Knarr, and the starts are critical. To finish in the top five, you must have a decent start.”
Chris Perkins will be racing with his two sons, Charlie, 23, and Johnny, 21, and against his brother, Jon, the defending IKC champion. Chris started sailing the Knarr when he was a teenager. He’s won the IKC four times, mostly at home turf on San Francisco Bay, though he broke a Danish winning streak that ran from 1981 to 1991 by winning his first IKC in Denmark in 1992.
Mark Dahm, the IKC chair, said, “It’s 10 races over seven days. Keeping up with the racing is one thing, but keeping up with the social schedule is another. It’s almost more demanding in preparation than the racing. It takes a lot of effort by a handful of people, but the festivities are on track to be epic, like the Thursday night Country-Western party.”
We’ll have coverage of both regattas in the October issue of Latitude 38.
Olympic Gold Medalist Sir Ben Ainslie Robbed in Barcelona
While chasing the America’s Cup in Barcelona as CEO of INEOS Britannia, the world’s most successful Olympic sailor, Sir Ben Ainslie, was robbed of his Rolex watch. He is in Barcelona trying to win the America’s Cup back for Great Britain (which lost the Cup to America in 1851). The Spanish news outlet La Vanguardia reported Sir Ben was threatened with a knife by a group who took his Rolex, worth €20,000 (approximately $22,100), on Saturday night. The BBC reports the robbery took place at a swimming club near the British racing team’s base.
The 47-year-old sailor confirmed the robbery in a statement he gave to BBC News. “Barcelona is a fantastic host city for the America’s Cup. The team has felt welcomed and is enjoying our stay in this vibrant city. Like in all big cities, you can be affected by opportunistic crime and my situation is no different. This is now a matter with the local authorities.”
Sail World editor Richard Gladwell writes that Ainslie lost his Rolex in “a type of robbery which is commonplace in Barcelona” and that the city has set up a “specialised police team in response to the growing problem of watch theft.”
Ainslie was part of a winning America’s Cup campaign, as tactician aboard Oracle Team USA, when they beat New Zealand 9-8 on San Francisco Bay. The four-time gold medalist is now aiming to lead the British crew to a first-ever victory at the America’s Cup beginning with racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Westwind Yacht Management — Washing, Waxing and Varnishing
Westwind Yacht Management: Premiere Yacht & Fleet services for the San Francisco Bay Area.