Latitude 38 Hats for the Golden Ticket Winners
Lizzy Winstead from Mill Valley doesn’t own a boat, “but [I] sail with my family and friends whenever I am able!” The lack of a boat also doesn’t stop her from enjoying reading about sailing, and it didn’t stop her winning a new Latitude 38 hat when she picked up the August issue a while back.
Lizzy’s sailing journey began during a college year abroad, when she took a summer job crewing on sailboats in the Mediterranean.
“From singlehanded global voyages to luxury yachts, I experienced every aspect of sailing and was hooked.”
When we asked why she sails, Lizzy responded with, “What I love about sailing: the freedom of open water, the adventure of new surroundings and technical challenges, and the peacefulness of sleeping under the stars. I also treasure the sailing community — the connections formed at ports with people from all over the world. Sailing has since become a family tradition, with winter holidays spent chartering boats.
“One of my most memorable recent experiences was last Christmas and New Year, sailing from Tortola to Necker Island in the BVI with my husband and three college-aged children. It doesn’t get much better than that!”
More recently, Alan Rayher from Atascadero picked up a copy of Latitude 38 ‘s October issue at Marina Village, Alameda. He and his wife live three hours from the Bay Area, but like Lizzy, they still find a way to sail.
“I currently have two boats, Stella Red, a Hobie Tandem Adventure Island and Stella Blue, a Catalina 36 MkII. [W]e use the Hobie for local sailing in Morro Bay and local lakes, and we use the Catalina for Bay sailing and nice long weekends on the water.”
Alan tells us he learned to sail in the 1970s aboard a Sunfish on Vasona Lake in Los Gatos. And as for his favorite thing about sailing?
“I love sharing sailing with other people, especially people that have never tried sailing.”
And yes! Alan is a fan of Latitude 38 magazine. “Thanks for a great publication. Been reading since mid-1980s.”
Find your own copy of Latitude 38 (and maybe a Golden Ticket) from our map of distributors.
Good Jibes #163: Richard King on the History of Sailing Alone
Welcome to episode 163 of the Good Jibes podcast. This week we chat with Richard King, who shares stories from singlehanders around the world. Richard is an author and Illustrator of several books, most recently Sailing Alone: A Surprising History of Isolation and Survival at Sea. Richard sailed alone across the Atlantic Ocean from Portland, Maine, to Lisbon, Portugal, (he was aiming for Scotland) aboard a 28-ft sloop, in 2007.
Hear why sailors decide to explore the world singlehanded, about the most notable singlehanded sailors Richard has interviewed and studied, how to get comfortable singlehanding, what he’s learned working on tall ships, and what he did when his engine stopped working while crossing the Atlantic.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode.
- Canada’s Class Afloat
- Why Richard chose to write a book about a lobster
- Narrowly missing tragedy aboard the Concordia
- Preparing to sail the Atlantic alone
- Common threads among singlehanders
- Several stories about great sailors in recent history
Check out Richard’s books at RichardJKing.info/Works.htm.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!
Navigate to Novamar for Your US and Mexico Yacht Insurance Needs
- Northern California Racing
- General Sailing
- Racing
- Latitude 38 Magazine
- Current News
- Youth Sailing
- West Coast Sailing
Calling All Awesome Bay Area Youth Sailing Programs
Last weekend, 180 boats participated in the St. Francis Yacht Club Fall Dinghy Regatta. Most of the participants were youth sailors out of the Bay Area’s youth programs. On the same weekend, Call of the Sea hosted its fundraising gala to support youth training on tall ships. They’re just a small slice of the numerous youth sailing programs in Northern California.
Every year we list as many of the youth sailing programs as we can find in our annual Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Master Schedule and on the Youth Sailing page on our website.
We’re asking youth-sailing program managers to send updated information for your 2025 programs so we can include your latest and greatest in the 2025 calendar. If you don’t know all the dates, at least make sure the program’s contact information, location and all the rest are correct. Please send information to [email protected] as soon as possible.
We have already heard from Alameda Community Sailing Center, Call of the Sea, Half Moon Bay Yacht Club and Shoreline Lake Youth Sailing. We look forward to hearing from more.
We know Bay Area youth programs range from adventure camps to tall ships to competitive racing. There are programs in Monterey Bay, the South Bay, Central Bay and all the way up to Stockton. Kids can learn skills from boat building, repair and maintenance to seamanship and racing expertise. You never know what type of sailing a kid will gravitate toward, but we know they’ll be glad they had the opportunity when they were young. Who knows where sailing will take them?
Don’t miss being included in our 2025 Sailing Calendar. Send your updated information to [email protected].
You can also advertise your youth sailing program in the calendar pages or the pages of Latitude 38 magazine.
For rates and information on advertising your youth program (nonprofit rates apply) or business in the 2025 calendar, email [email protected].
November Regattas and Flipping the Switch to Midwinter Season
November Coastside
Half Moon Bay Yacht Club will wrap up their 2024 regatta season with the Die Hard Regatta on November 2. “It’s a one-day event on Saturday with short courses in the harbor, a quick sail to the race course, and friendly people,” writes David Lapier of the ILCA fleet. The entry fee is only $12, and that includes lunch — a real bargain these days. Register here.
Monterey Peninsula YC will give Crews an opportunity for Revenge on November 3. According to MPYC, “This race appoints one of the deserving crew on each boat to become the skipper. Following the race there is trophy presentation decided by popular vote for the ‘Most Obnoxious Crew’ (one of the regular skippers).”
Santa Cruz YC will kick off their Midwinter Series on November 16.
On San Francisco Bay
St. Francis YC will host Grandmasters Team Race Invitational on November 2-3, and the Big Sail (Cal vs. Stanford) on Wednesday, November 20. Both regattas will use StFYC’s fleet of matched J/22s.
Encinal YC will offer a new Fleet Race Regatta on November 16-17. They’re hoping to get all their 18 FJs out, and Vanguard 15s are invited too.
Some Bay Area Midwinter Series
Bay Area Midwinter series starting on the first Saturday in November include:
- Encinal YC’s Jack Frost Series
- Golden Gate YC’s Seaweed Soup Regatta
- Sequoia YC’s Redwood Cup pursuit race series
Sausalito YC’s Chili Midwinter Series runs on Sundays, starting on November 3.
The NOR is posted and registration is open for the RegattaPRO Winter One Design series. The series takes place on the second Saturday of each month, November- February, with two races scheduled each day on the west side of the Berkeley Circle. The entry fee is $150 prior to November 2, then it increases to $175. Learn more on Sausalito YC’s ClubSpot page. “I am looking forward to this series,” says Dave Gruver of the Olson 25 fleet. “Jeff Zarwell is one of the best PROs in the Bay Area. He puts on good races every time he is on the water.”
Berkeley YC’s Midwinters will again be two separate series, Saturday and Sunday, starting on November 9 and 10. BYC’s Chowder Series offers beer can-style racing every Sunday afternoon through March except when it conflicts with the Midwinters.
Another Sunday series, Island YC’s five-race Island Days will take to the Estuary in Alameda starting on November 10.
Sequoia YC’s Winter Series and South Beach YC’s pink flamingo-themed Island Fever Series will both kick off on the 16th.
Invitations from the YRA
Did you race with the Yacht Racing Association this year and win an award? “Join us on Saturday, November 16, 3-5 p.m. at the St. Francis Yacht Club for our annual Trophy Pick Up Party,” writes the YRA. Invitations have gone out to those who have awards to pick up, but in case you missed the invitation, click here to see if you have awards to pick up. “Did you find your boat on the list? If so, RSVP so we can have your awards ready for you. Can’t make it to pick up your awards? Feel free to send a crewmember to grab them or contact the YRA office at [email protected] to arrange for pick-up.”
The next day, November 17, the YRA will kick off their Doublehanded Midwinters, with the series continuing on December 15, January 5 and February 2. Races start and finish along the Cityfront. New this year: Boats entered in the non-spinnaker division will have their ratings adjusted per Section 1, Article X of the NCPHRF Rules & Guidelines. Non-spinnaker boats are boats that are designed to carry a spinnaker, but are opting not to carry one for the series. When registering, fill in your headsail size and roller furler information in Jibeset and your rating will be adjusted by the race committee prior to the first race. Find the NOR and more info here.
In Southern California
Long Beach YC will host the Butler Cup match racing regatta for up to eight crews in Catalina 37s on November 1-3.
San Diego YC’s Hot Rum Series will run in three installments on November 9 and 23 and December 7.
But wait — there’s more! Find many additional events in the Calendar published in Latitude 38. The November issue will come out on Friday, November 1. Pick yours up at the usual places, or take out a subscription and eliminate FOMO.
Estuary’s Boss of the Beer Cans
The Encinal, Island and Oakland YCs came together to create a championship series encompassing their respective summer weeknight beer can series. This first year, 96 boats raced in the series.
Each of the YCs runs their own series: EYC’s Twilight Series, IYC’s Island Nights and OYC’s Sweet 16, each governed by their separate sailing instructions. The individual clubs manage the results and awards. With EYC and IYC alternating Friday evenings and OYC racing on Wednesdays, when combined the clubs offer an amazing opportunity for summer racing on the Estuary.
Estuary racing is unique. The physical layout provides aerobic racing given the distance side to side, buildings along the shore, and the placement of the course marks. Swirling winds, shifts and holes abound. By racing with all three clubs, you experience different courses, various race management methods, different competitors with varying fleet assignments, and loads of camaraderie after the races. Boats entering the Estuary series are automatically entered into the Boss of the Estuary Series for no additional fee.
Each boat’s average corrected speed is computed for each race by taking the nominal course distance and dividing by the boat’s corrected time. Boats in the Jibeset results for the race are ordered by average corrected speed, treating boats with a letter score (DNC, DNS, OCS, etc.) as if their average corrected speed were zero. Each boat beats all other boats in the race with a lower average corrected speed. The number of boats beaten is turned into a percentage, rounded to two decimal places. The percentage of boats beaten is summed across all races, where all classes were scored, to compute the standings for this series.
The individual YC race results are updated in the Google documents program after each race — two clicks and they’re updated! That way all the racers can see the results and perhaps make some decisions on entering another series, making sure to get on the water for as many races as possible. The more races sailed, the better the odds to move up on the list and perhaps be the Boss of the Beer Cans on the Estuary. The award was announced after the last EYC race on September 6.
The winner was Ken Bodiley, racing his Columbia 5.5 #14 Maverick. Running a close second were George Lythcott and Steve Bayles on the J/24 Dream Catcher. Third was Dawn Chesney, skippering the Merit 25 Bewitched.
Check the full list at https://tinyurl.com/3h9auzdw.
See more racing reports in October’s Racing Sheet.
Dream Yacht — More Destinations, More Choice
When it comes to choosing your yacht, an ownership program, and where you’d like to sail, Dream Yacht offers more choice than anyone else. With seven world class brands and 60 models in our portfolio, Dream Yacht offers the widest range of yachts for sale in the market, including Bali, Dufour, Lagoon, Excess, Fountaine Pajot, Beneteau and Jeanneau.
Dream Yacht’s 40 base locations enable you to explore the world in a way few people ever will. From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean and from the Mediterranean to Australia, no other company will let you set sail in such a kaleidoscope of landscapes, colors, and cultures. The question is, which yacht and sailing grounds will you choose? Visit Dream Yacht Sales & Ownership for more details.