It’s Crew Party Time! The Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew Party Opens Tonight
While you’re reading this, we’re over in Sausalito preparing for tonight’s Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew Party at Spaulding Marine Center. It’s the ultimate gathering spot for captains and crew looking to connect and embark on new sailing adventures. And it’s just fun!
Here are some updates on what’s happening tonight:
Call of the Sea will open the brigantine Matthew Turner for tours from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
If you would like to tour the ship before the party, the Matthew Turner is docked at the Bay Model Visitor Center’s pier in Sausalito — it’s a 10-minute walk from Spaulding, or a short drive.
Mexico Cruising Seminar with Brady & Blue of Cruisers Academy, and Patsy Verhoeven of SV Talion. This informative session will run from 4 p.m.–5:45 p.m. at Spaulding. (Seating is available on a first-come-first-served basis; doors open at 3:45)
The Crew Party! 6 p.m.–9 p.m. Get your tickets here, then join us for mingling, great conversations, and crew connections.
Island Yacht Club will be there, hosting a table. As will the US Coast Guard’s Douglas Samp and his crew; the Cruisers Academy, and of course, us, Latitude 38.
There will be a cash bar to benefit Spaulding’s programs. Almanac Beer Co. has donated a keg!
And what crew party would be complete without the Casablanca Mediterranean food truck?
Don’t miss out on the best sailing social of the year. Grab your tickets now!
Fine print: Admission includes a FREE copy of the First Timer’s Guide to Mexico (a $15 value!), free munchies, a door-prize drawing, a sailing slide show, and connecting to the most vibrant sailing community in the Bay Area. Food and drinks will be available for purchase from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Admission to the Fall Crew List Party is $10
Admission to the Mexico Cruising Seminar is $10
Admission to the Party + Seminar is $20
Free for all registered Baja Ha-Ha skippers + first mates
See you there!
Lightning and Boat Drops Add Extra Excitement to America’s Cup Racing
Excitement off and above the water is running neck and neck with the action on the water, as Round Robin races for the 37th America’s Cup presented by Louis Vuitton enter their second week. It will be a brutal end for one of the challenging teams in Barcelona, Catalonia, as one will be sent home by this weekend. Right now, Red Bull Alinghi from Switzerland and France’s Orient Express Racing are on the precipice, but neither American Magic nor INEOS Brittannia is safe yet, as only Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP) has cleared the bar with a potential number-one seed for the Semi-Finals.
The action at times has been excruciatingly lackluster as the AC75s still struggle to hop up onto their foils when the wind conditions hover just over the bare minimum at 6.5 knots. We’ve seen this picture before!
So far LRPP has looked strong with Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni “twin-helming,” as all the teams have now copied and pasted the Italians’ technology and ingenuity from 2021. It hasn’t been all cake and ice cream for New Zealand though, as first their boat was dropped more than six feet when the crane failed and Taihoro crashed into its lift with the foil arms hitting the pavement.
“Clearly this was a setback for the team at such an important time of the campaign,” Team CEO Grant Dalton said. “These are the moments that can define an America’s Cup campaign, and we have an amazing group of dedicated and talented people who will be working around the clock on getting the boat repaired.”
Which it was in short order — in just over a day in an amazing display of the ETNZ’s ground-support crew, Taihoro was on the racecourse against Patriot 2.0, barely missing a beat!
“I thought we had finally figured out our first shift to get the lead, but it kept going left up that first beat. You don’t want to be behind, but nice to get an overtake (of the Americans) as well,” skipper Peter Burling said. “The boat feels great, exactly like we left it. We are all incredibly fortunate how little damage there actually was. We are just really lucky with where the impact was and that the cradle took a lot of the impact.”
The following video covers the tech. team’s all-nighter to get Taihoro back into racing condition.
Then in the first day of RR 2 in a “holy shit and it’s not worth it” déjà vu moment, lightning, which had been in the area for most of the day, hit the racecourse with a massive strike in a race between the Kiwis and Italians. Burling immediately turned the boat and headed toward safety, abandoning the race.
“We’ve got some bad memories from Singapore,” Burling said. “I think in general, the people would be OK, but the carbon structure gets hurt, the mast would be in really bad shape, and all the electronics.
“I was more than keen to get close to one of these big yachts which are ducted down to the water properly because there are a lot of electronics on these boats. When you see lightning strike on the racecourse it is never fun, put it that way,’ he added.
Their SailGP F50, which is also helmed and flown by Burling and Blair Tuke, was struck by lightning after racing in Singapore last year, frying the electronics and forcing New Zealand to wait for a new boat!
Watch as the “holy shit” moment unfolds on the water.
The sole American entry, representing the New York Yacht Club, was inconsistent at best and at worst could be on their way back if they don’t step up their game. They have beaten the Kiwis once, but are 0-2 against Italy so far.
“We had a really good first lap; we were behind on the first cross (against ETNZ) and then got back and got them at the top mark,” said skipper Tom Slingsby, starboard helm on NYYC American Magic. “We had a nice run and led them around the bottom mark, which was nice, and then, during the second beat, it felt like they were potentially maneuvering a bit better than us. We tried matching them a couple of times, and then they seemed to be closing in on us, and my hands are up; I decided to say, ‘Look, we’re bleeding here; let’s let them go and just concentrate on ourselves and try to pick the shifts,’ and I chose the wrong time to do that.”
In the Defender “friendly” AC Protocol, ETNZ is allowed to compete in the Round Robins, but the races “don’t count.”
“If there’s a time to be inconsistent, it’s now, because we have to keep looking forward, push forward, and ask ourselves hard questions. And we can’t sweep anything under the rug,” said Terry Hutchinson, American Magic’s executive president of operations.
Racing was postponed for a second time today for Patriot 2.0’s critical matchup with the Brits and later the Swiss, in what will be a make-or-break day when racing resumes tomorrow at 5 a.m. PST.
Is that too late for a cocktail or too early for coffee?
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Arnstein Mustad Dissects Dismasting During Pac Cup Return Delivery
In our current, September issue’s Sightings pages, delivery skipper Arnstein Mustad describes the dismasting of the Class 40 Möve during its return from Hawaii. They were just 50 miles into the return trip to San Francisco when the forestay let loose and the mast came crashing down during the night. You can read the story here, and also see the video below documenting the immediate aftermath of the accident and some lessons learned.
The most important lesson is to be prepared. Arnstein teaches sailing at Club Nautique, which includes the importance of preparation for dismasting before you’re in need. He’s taught the course, but this is his first actual dismasting at sea. The preparation paid off.
Though the conditions were not extreme, the dismasting did happen at night, placing an additional premium on having the right tools and knowing where they were located on the boat.
See more in September’s Latitude 38.
Good Jibes #155: Cindy and Doug Schmitz on Learning a Li’l Sumpin’
This week’s host, Ryan Foland, is joined by Cindy and Doug Schmitz to chat about how there’s always sumpin’ to learn on the water. Cindy and Doug are members of the Blue Water Cruising Club, and spend time at Big Geiger Cove on Catalina Island.
Hear the unexpected story that welcomed Cindy and Doug to boat ownership, the biggest lessons they’ve learned from sailing, what to do when things break (and they will) on the water, how to find your perfect boat, and how they became mesmerized by the beauty of Big Geiger Cove.
This episode covers everything from buying a boat to solving problems on the water. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear:
- How did Doug butt-dial Cindy?
- What kind of boat do Cindy and Doug have?
- Does Doug do any racing?
- What is Women on Water?
- Are Cindy and Doug Latitude 38 Sailing Magazine fans?
- What does B.O.A.T. stand for?
- How do boats bring people together?
- What’s the best part of buying a boat?
Learn more about the Blue Water Cruising Club at BlueWaterCruisingClub.com, Women on Water at LAYC.org, OCC sailing classes at OCCSailing.com, and Ryan at Ryan.Online.
Regattas To Come in the Month of September
This Coming Weekend
The first full weekend of the month will be a busy one for yacht racing. On September 6-8, Richmond YC will host a dual-purpose regatta. The RS Aero North Americans will also serve as the US Singlehanded Championships for the George O’Day (men) and Helen Hanley (women) trophies.
In the Sierra, Tahoe YC will host the two-day Tahoe ILCA Fleet Championships, with camping, at Stampede Reservoir. Organizers are keeping an eye on the Bear Fire, but the forecast is looking good, and all systems are go at this point.
The deadline to register for Berkeley YC‘s Big Windward-Leeward is Thursday, September 5, at 5 p.m. It’s a 20-mile race from the Berkeley Circle to Point Bonita Buoy and back, followed by a raft-up and party at the BYC, on September 7.
On September 7, Singlehanders and Doublehanders will sail down the coast from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay with the Singlehanded Sailing Society. This is your last chance: Registration will close at midnight tonight. The SSS will hold an optional skippers’ meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at Oakland YC in Alameda. Note that the Notice of Race requires that “Each boat shall have an AIS unit broadcasting her position from when she leaves her marina until she enters Pillar Point Harbor. If a boat retires outside the Golden Gate Bridge, she shall continue to broadcast her position on AIS until back in a marina or harbor.”
Also on September 7, the Hannig Cup will raise funds for charities. Founder Ted Hannig says they’ll use a standard Sequoia YC Sunset Series PHRF fleet race format. “We will be open to a youth division and a disabled skipper division (working with BAADS). We are also teaming up with St. Jude’s to have Honorary Virtual Skippers who are patients and alumni of St. Jude’s. The post-event will be an open reception at The Club at Westpoint. All are welcome. There is no race registration fee. The opposite: Our sponsor will donate $500 for every racer flying our regatta flag — up to $100,000 for St. Jude’s. We also have a real or virtual boat race for ‘boats’ that raise the most for charity. Many years the bar lobby group has won!”
The Yacht Racing Association will close out their Shorthanded Sunday Series on September 8.
Mid-September
Sequoia Yacht Club‘s Moonlight Marathon pursuit race will sail 37 miles from Redwood City to Treasure Island and back on September 14. Round TI in either direction. Be sure to check your nav lights ahead of time!
Wondering about the Rolex Big Boat Series at St. Francis YC? Registration for that four-day regatta is now closed; check out the preview we posted on Friday last week.
Santa Cruz YC will host the Moore 24 Nationals on September 20-22.
South Beach YC invites all-women crews to compete in the Red Bra Regatta on September 21.
Richmond YC will host their Multihull Invitational Regatta on September 21-22.
The Knarr San Francisco Bay Championship will be run by San Francisco YC on the same weekend.
More Championships in Late September
Championship season rolls on with the F18 Americas, to be run by Richmond YC on September 23-27.
Berkeley YC will host the Express 37 National Championships on September 27-29.
The Catalina 30 fleet will celebrate their National Championship and 50th anniversary at South Beach YC on September 27-29.
Southern California
San Diego YC will host the Star Worlds on September 4-13. On September 21-22, SDYC will do double duty with the Beneteau Cup and the Finn Pacific Coast Championships.
The Mercury fleet will sail out of San Pedro for their PCCs on September 28-29, with Los Angeles YC hosting. This is one of two remaining Travel Trophy events this year.
Pacific Northwest
Corinthian YC of Seattle will host the J/24 Worlds on September 28-October 5.
Find many more regattas worthy of your attention in the Calendar section of Latitude 38.
Vallejo Marina: Gateway to the Bay, Delta, and Napa River
40′ to 45′ foot slips are now available at $9.97/ft. www.ci.vallejo.ca.us