
Racing From Dead *^%^&$ Last to a Bullet!
It seemed like such a beautiful January day on San Francisco Bay. Sunny and crisp with a light breeze and lots of exciting moments in store for the racers competing in the Corinthian Yacht Club’s annual midwinter races. But for our crew on Liquid Asset, things started going south almost immediately. Before leaving the dock, our skipper (who also doubled as bowman to manage our end-for-end pole on our old Ranger 33) was called away to rescue his 100-year-old mom from an apparent medical emergency. We collectively sighed. We were registered in the PHRF 4 Spinnaker Class. With no bow/skipper, we knew that our already less-than-full crew of five, given experience levels, could not possibly run a spinnaker. This is, of course, one of the best ways to down-position yourself for a race — before even starting.
Oh, dear. Another “oh, shit” moment in sailing. But off we went, determined to do our best despite the odds. We fired up the radio and finished rigging the boat, listening for the course and adding layers: It was a nippy 50-degree morning. And then … the radio went dead. Out of battery. Really?? But then Annie remembered, by complete luck, she just happened to have a charged-up battery pack on board with a USB connection! Amazing!

Our start wasn’t too bad, actually, but as breezes would have it, this turned out to be a rare “downwind race” all the way, and of course, that left us $#&! out of luck with no kite. And hey, there was hardly any breeze to begin with. When the gulls are calmly standing on floating logs, bobbing about you in the middle of San Francisco Bay, you know you are in deep trouble and your chances of even making it around the course are extremely slim. Using our number-one jib as a kite was, as expected, less than entirely successful. We quickly secured our DFL [Dead ^&*% Last] position and defended it easily for the next hour or so. Time drifted on as we pulled out the bubbles to guess the shifting no-breeze direction.

As 2 p.m. rolled around and the fleet (now spread entirely across the Bay) became visibly smaller and smaller, we found ourselves caught in the middle of the latest tideline. Spinning in circles, we eventually headed backward toward the committee boat. Beyond embarrassing. There are only two choices for most sailors in these moments: Drink or eat. Time for lunch! As we polished off a set of delicious chicken salad sandwiches, we noticed something odd. A breeze? No! How could that be? In a matter of minutes, a westerly materialized by some miracle and we were off (finally) across the Bay with Susanna and Annie all smiles on jib trim. Incredibly, in another lucky break, we caught the layline exactly to Blackaller and rounded, finally catching up to the tail end of the fleet.

Then the hard work started. With a panorama of colorful kites ahead of us, we stealthily maneuvered wing-on-wing, jibing our way forward and inching closer to the pack from behind. Our tallest crew member, Janet, managed the whisker pole back and forth as Gautier, our skipper, with Maureen on the mainsheet, carefully navigated us toward the Fort Mason mark. On the radio, we kept hearing some squawk that sounded as if something might be happening with the course being shortened and the finish line being moved, but each time the race committee tried to reveal the essential info, the line went dead or delivered unintelligible gibberish. Boats were going north toward Alcatraz. Boats were going south toward the Cityfront. We just stayed in the middle, opting for the shortest distance to the mark, still confused as to exactly where the finish line lay.
Luckily, at this point we were finally back in the mix again, and because so many kites kept de-powering, shadowed by others and in very light breeze, our “fixed” wing-on-wing strategy continued to pay off. Eventually, we finally saw the finish line. That was the good part. The problem was, so did everyone else. We headed toward the mark, hoping to avoid the pileup of stuck spins right and left. Suddenly a boat on port to our right (with a boat between us) started yelling at us to travel up to give them room to more easily make the finish line. Say WHAT??

We jibed to get onto starboard, so of course they jibed … but then, when they kept yelling, we had to point out that we were now the leeward boat. Off we continued to the mark, crossing the finish line with a jumble of competitors in a noisy and chaotic scramble for position and desperately trying to avoid collisions, with very little steerage.
Imagine our surprise when the race committee finally sorted out the standings hours later and we discovered that not only had we finished the race, but we had corrected out in first place. Lesson learned: Never say, “It’s over!” until … it is.
And now for a different perspective, Junette Kushner was hiking in Tiburon when she took the following photos of the fleet on the Bay.


You can find the day’s race results at cyc.org/mids25/results/1.
Good Jibes #175: Josh Kali on the McIntyre Mini Globe Race
In this episode we chat with Josh Kali about boatbuilding and race prep ahead of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025. Josh is a mountain climber, sailor, and professional marine technician who built his 19-ft one-design Skookum over the past two-and-a-half years.
Listen in as Josh chats with Good Jibes host John Arndt about the parallels between mountain climbing and sailing, how to teach yourself to sail, the pros and cons of building your own boat, Josh’s race strategy for the McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025, and the most fascinating rules, rest stops, and restarts for the race.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- The story behind the boat name Skookum
- Are there parallels between mountain time and sailing time?
- How prepared is Josh for his journey to Antigua?
- What does he plan to eat?
- What communication devices will he use?
- How many competitors are doing the McIntyre Mini Globe Race?
Sponsor Josh at JoshKaliOceanRacing.com and learn more here: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/mcintyre-mini-globe-race-qualifying-leg-underway/
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!
Modern Sailing Yacht Management Services
ALERT: ‘Ron Holland: The Voyage of Discovery’ Change of Venue
VENUE CHANGE: The Ron Holland: The Voyage of Discovery premiere on Saturday, January 25, is now being held at Sequoia Cinema, 25 Throckmorton Ave., in Mill Valley. The film was originally scheduled to screen in San Rafael, but it appears bats have taken over that theater, resulting in the venue change for this Saturday.
Ron Holland’s story is an adventure, driven by a relentless pursuit of dreams, armed with an original set of rules and life hacks — an inspiration for people in all walks of life. Details and tickets here.
Ron landed in the Bay Area aboard George Kiskadon Sr.’s Sparkman & Stephens 33 Spirit. He apprenticed with Gary Mull and went on to yacht racing fame by designing boats like Dave Allen’s breakthrough boat Imp. His portfolio grew to include numerous race winners and a stunning lineup of megayachts.
Ron Holland and the film’s director, Oleg Harencar, will both be on hand for the screening and conversation at the Sequoia Cinema on Saturday, starting at 7:30. (Immediately following the Three Bridge Fiasco!)
How Reading to Your Kids Inspires Them to Sail
It’s hard to know how and why a kid’s dreams take hold, but we do know one of the great pleasures of being a parent is reading to your kids. We were reminded of this as we caught this photo of a mother and child looking over a Latitude 38 at a local coffee shop.

They’re looking at the calendar of upcoming events and a dealer’s ad with boats for sale. Could they be imagining sailing off to St. Somewhere? The magazine is full of stories and tales that fuel the dreams of adults and kids. We remember the books we read as kids: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Where the Wild Things Are, and later Dove, Sailing Alone Around the World, Tinkerbelle: The Story of their 78-day Atlantic Crossing by Robert Manry, and many more. What’s your most memorable or inspiring book as a kid or adult?

Reading the printed page alone or with your kids is a completely different experience from one where links, ads, pop-ups, videos, clickbait and all the rest jump between you and your child. Yes, our magazine is supported completely by advertisers and subscribers, and the advertisers are the businesses that support sailing and your sailing dreams. We appreciate advertising and the advertisers who make it possible for us to connect the West Coast sailing tribe and publish the stories that inspire everyone.

We probably read Robin Lee Graham’s book Dove when we were about 13 or 14. He left Hawaii to sail solo around the world at age 16 aboard a 24-ft boat. At 14, it created an exciting and possibly achievable dream. A 24-footer was a pretty big boat compared to our 10-ft Turnabout, but it seemed within reach. Somehow the combination of reading the stories and the good fortune to grow up sailing led to a lifetime passion.

It’s hard to know which stories will captivate a kid’s imagination, but it’s a completely different experience from video games, movies or social media. We’re glad we had the years to read to our kids, who continue to devour books to this day. It certainly comes as no surprise that Latitude 38 is a big supporter of the relaxed, undistracted act of reading magazines or books to yourself or with your kids. And there’s always the irony of posting these stories in our digital newsletter. Time for our links: If you want to turn off your device to read a Latitude 38, you can pick one up here. You can see the stories in the current issue here. Whatever your style, we hope you find time to relax and enjoy it — alone or with your kids.
The Big Sail — Stanford University vs. Cal Berkeley
St. Francis YC hosted the annual Cal Berkeley vs. Stanford University rivalry regatta — the Big Sail — on Wednesday, November 20. The hot and heavy racing took place literally within a stone’s throw of StFYC’s decks and picture windows.
The racers were cheered on by the universities’ alumni, students and actual cheerleading squads. Master Alumni, Young Alumni, Grand Master Alumni, Women and Varsity sailed in the club’s matched fleet of one-design J/22s.

The format was two-on-two team racing. Everyone fought to avoid fourth place, as fourth place automatically loses the race for your team.
November 20 was a stormy day, with cold rain and winds of 25 knots gusting to 35. Photographer Chris Ray called it, “Wet, windy and more than a bit wild.” Skippers were Cole Hatton, Clay Karmel, Sally Mace, Al Sargent and Dylan Sih for Stanford; and Zander Doroski, Emerson Marquez, Nicolai Sponholtz and Samantha Treadwell for UC Berkeley.
Stanford dominated, winning eight races, while Cal won only two. (Cal fans were no doubt somewhat mollified when their football team four-peated in the Big Game.) See stfyc.com/racing for complete scores (of the sailing, not the ballgame).
See more local (and distant) racing reports in January’s Racing Sheet.