Call of the Sea Celebrates 40 Years at Annual Gala
Sausalito nonprofit Call of the Sea celebrated 40 years of education under sail at their annual gala on Friday, October 25, at the Corinthian Yacht Club. A sold-out crowd of longtime and new supporters gave a standing ovation for founder Alan Olson, who recounted the history of Call of the Sea (COTS) from his first brigantine, Stone Witch, through the building of the tall ship Matthew Turner.
MC and auctioneer Vern Glenn energized the room. A high point was his interview with Isha Kambi and Genie Jenkins, two 9-year-old campers in the 2024 summer sailing program. With support from lead camp counselor Jo Lang, they bravely spoke about their experiences sailing with Call of the Sea, in front of over 180 guests!
Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters presented a proclamation naming Matthew Turner as the official tall ship of Marin County. Keynote speaker Greg Dalton of Climate One shared his experiences visiting Antarctica with students. Local high school student and avid racing sailor Omar Alami attended and was introduced as the next Steven Spielberg when his video was presented. (See Omar’s video below.)
The occasion also marked the introduction of Call of the Sea’s new executive director, Carla Thorson, an accomplished executive in the Bay Area and global nonprofit community, who is looking ahead to the organization’s next 40 years, focusing on sustainability, educational impact, and reach.
The event raised nearly $290,000 to support Call of the Sea’s scholarship programs and two educational ships, the 132-ft brigantine Matthew Turner and 82-ft schooner Seaward. That sets the nonprofit more than halfway toward its year-end fundraising goal of $500,000.
Call of the Sea provides field trips for Bay Area schools, focusing on STEM subjects: marine science, history, navigation and seamanship, and engineering. During the summer months, the organization provides day camps, workshops and overnight programs. While the majority of programs are for youth ages 8-17, there are opportunities for all ages to learn how to sail aboard a tall ship.
Learn more about the nonprofit Call of the Sea and its sailing education programs here.
Express 37 Nationals and Fleet News
Mark Bird, race chair at Berkeley Yacht Club, filed this report on the Express 37 Nationals, which the club hosted in late September:
“The Express 37 Nationals are back at Berkeley Yacht Club after taking a year off to find itself.” San Francisco YC had hosted the regatta in 2023 (in conjunction with the Express 27 Nationals), when Shawn Ivie’s L.A.-based Limitless won the title.
“As it turned out, 2024 was a light-attendance year with only six boats entering the regatta.” Mark talked to Express 37 racers and learned that this has been a year of turnover, with owners moving and boats being sold, “and, hopefully, purchased by owners who can be enticed into the world of Express 37 one-design racing. Notable boats that have changed ownership recently include Golden Moon, previously owned by Kame Richards; and Spindrift V, previously owned by Andy Schwenk (who stills actively sails her). On the flip side, Pazzo Express, which had been in hibernation for a number of years, has reemerged under the new ownership of Gavin Corn and is actively racing in the fleet nowadays.
Three Days of Racing
“As the fleet works through the ownership transitions, the racing must go on. The six boats that entered the three-day regatta were treated to a great event. It was a Friday-to-Sunday affair, on September 27-29, with just about perfect conditions for racing. The courses were a combination of shorter buoy racing and longer Bay races that incorporated permanent navigation buoys. The wind was WSW on Friday, starting light, which necessitated an onshore postponement. The race finally got underway at 1:25 p.m., with winds at 5-10 knots out of the southwest and building. Both Friday races were of the buoy variety.”
“Saturday brought stronger wind, cooler weather and an on-time start. The first race was the longest of the regatta at 21 miles — from the Berkeley Circle out to Harding Rock and back, twice around. The first boat finished in just over three hours. After a short lunch and sail-change break, the second race of the day kicked off. This one was a short 4-mile buoy race and straight to the clubhouse, with the boats navigating their way around the actively working dredger as it dug out the entrance to Berkeley Marina.
“Sunday’s races were medium length, with an 11-mile run to Harding Rock and back, and a 4-mile buoy race. The wind stayed steady out of the southwest all three days, with some choppy conditions on Saturday.
“The racing was mostly clean, with a couple of over-earlies on Saturday and one radio call from a tanker captain wanting to know whose boats those were in front of him.”
“Andy Schwenk and crew of Spindrift V took home the first-place trophy, a Cold War-era crystal bowl owned by former CIA operatives.” Sailing on Spindrift V were Conrad Holbrook, Will Paxton, Cindy Evans, new owner Lisa Wilson, Andy Schwenk, Cooper Hershfield-Cohen, Mark Jordan, Greg O’Toole and Scott Watkins.
The second- and third-place trophies were literal pickle dishes. BYC awarded them to Bartz Schneider’s Expeditious and Dante Branciforte’s Mudshark respectively. See complete results here on Jibeset.
We saved our favorite photo from Glen Garfein’s images of the regatta for November’s Racing Sheet. That issue hit the docks today, so check it out. Also see the class website at https://express37.net.
Steering the Dream With Hydrovane
Hydrovane is your best crew member: an independent self-steering windvane and emergency rudder/steering system … ready to go!
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A Pinch and a Punch — Latitude 38 November Issue Out Today
‘Tis the season for turkeys, pumpkins, and being with family and friends. What better way to ease in than with the latest Latitude 38 sailing magazine? Here’s a preview of what’s inside.
Randall Reeves and Harmon Schragge Complete a West-to-East Transit of the Northwest Passage
Speaking about his recent completion of the Northwest Passage along with “crew” Harmon Shragge, Randall Reeves told us, “It’s the third for me, the first time going the wrong way, west to east, and the fourth time for the boat. I think that’s probably a record, but it’s one of those records that nobody cares about.”
Blue Flash’s Pacific Cup — Lions of the Sea
I learned from my “TransBack” experience (bringing Merlin back from the ’23 Transpac) that being in the right place at the right time is half the battle when taking advantage of unique opportunities. So when I added my name to the list of available crew for the 2024 Pacific Cup, I figured I’d let the universe determine what the next move would be.
If Dustin Can Do It —Inspiring Singlehanded Cruiser
Two weeks in the heat of Apia Harbor, Samoa, dirty with the grit of construction around the bustling commercial port, put me in the mood for a fresh sea breeze and blue water. Up came the anchor, and soon our Pacific Seacraft 37, Pamela, was bouncing through a boisterous sea on her way to Niuatoputapu, a remote island in the Kingdom of Tonga, 180 miles to the southwest.
Here’s a peek at this month’s regular columns:
Letters: All Eyes on Coyote Point Marina; Life and Death in a Boat Partnership, as Told By the Sails; and many more. We received several letters in response to our September 6 ‘Lectronic — Do You Know Where Your Hull Identification Number Is?
Sightings: A New Phase for Queen of the Coast; A Glimmer of Hope for those Uncanceled TIPs; A Living Library in the South Pacific; and other stories.
Max Ebb: “RoboMarks Reconsidered”
Racing Sheet: This edition offers plenty of variety, from the J/24 Worlds to the Red Bra Regatta, US Match Racing Championship, Zongo Cup, Vallejo 1-2, Express 37 and Express 27 Nationals, F18 Americas, SCYC Mix & Match and Hobie 16 North Americans. Box Scores includes results from lots of weeknight beer can series, and we end with copious Race Notes.
World of Chartering: This month we hear from Lauren de Remer on chartering one of Sunsail’s Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44s in Thailand.
Changes in Latitudes: With reports this month on August Dream’s Ha-Ha and beyond; Geja’s grand-finale cruise in the Med (for now, anyway); Dogfish’s return to cruising after a two-year hiatus, and a few interesting Cruise Notes.
Loose Lips: A wrap-up of October’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! Please show your appreciation by supporting the advertisers, who have made this issue possible.
What Caused the Sinking of the 186-ft Perini Navi ‘Bayesian?’
If you’ve read the Dr. Seuss story Yertle the Turtle, you probably have a pretty good sense of what caused the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian. Yertle the Turtle wanted to sit atop the world on a tower of turtles that would reach the moon. The need to be higher than all others led to his undoing.
The Bayesian is an immense and impressive yacht, but its Achilles heel appears to be the original owner’s desire to have one of the tallest masts in the world. The 186-ft Perini Navi superyacht was one of several of that model built, though the others were ketch rigs. The Bayesian had an immense 237-ft-tall, six-spreader aluminum spar, putting far more weight aloft than on her sisterships.
The storm that sank Bayesian was about as extreme as the yacht’s design, and, beyond the spar, there is a long list of contributing factors. The final report on this disaster won’t be written until the boat is raised and the lawsuits are over, but in the meantime, the New York Times has put together what is the most comprehensive outline to date of all the leading factors. The switch to a sloop rig required ballast adjustments and numerous other follow-on modifications that likely contributed to the disaster. You can read the excellent report here.
Like the owners of the Titanic, the current owners of Perini Navi said Bayesian was unsinkable.
Buy Your First Sailboat for Just One Dollar!
You can find all kinds of treasures in the Latitude 38 Classy Classifieds. Right now, there are two boats listed for just one dollar. The first is a 1980 Cal 31 that caught our eye. Though it’s listed for one dollar, if you’re a good negotiator, we think you might be able to get it for less. Then there’s a 25-ft Bahama, also for just one dollar. We can’t vouch for the condition of either boat, and as most sailors know, a free boat can be very expensive. However, if you’re handy and resourceful, and have time and the funds, an inexpensive boat is a great way to get started.
Then there is one of the best-known Sabre Spirit 36s anywhere. Scott Easom is selling his uncle Hank Easom’s immaculately maintained, race-winning Sabre Spirit 36 Serenade. You’ve seen it often in the winner’s column of just about any race she ever entered.
Since we started offering FREE Classy Classified ads for anything under $1,000, including photos, we’ve had a lot more nice gear posted for sale. In addition to the 22-lb Rocna anchor below, there’s a nice little $950 El Toro, sea boots and foulies, a Wichard tether, a UK furling jib, and lots more stuff. If you’ve got some gear to clear out you can add it here. (Remember, under $1,000 it’s FREE.)
We should also mention that, when you list anything for sale, you can include multiple photos of the boat or gear. Interior and exterior shots are a great way to help sell your boat. You can find additional helpful tips on our website when you read Tips for Selling a Boat and Tips for Buying a Boat, both by yacht broker John Skoriak.
The Cal 39 is one of the most popular boats around, with many still sailing, racing and cruising in Northern California. Built in Southern California in 1981, this one is available for $19,900.
There are almost 100 boats for sale in the Classy Classifieds, with prices starting at just one dollar. Beyond that you can find gear, job opportunities, partnerships and more. Check it out!
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