Trump Plans To Reopen Alcatraz as a Prison
The Associated Press has reported that the president has directed “his government” to reopen Alcatraz. We’re not sure why they call it “his” government and not “our” government, but either way, it could be that we’re all sailing around a future federal prison.
Alcatraz was closed in 1963 and is now a major Bay Area tourist attraction that reportedly generates $60 million for the National Park Service from the 1.6 million tourists that visit the island annually. Instead of dodging tourist ferries as we sail up the “cone of Alcatraz” we would be dodging prisoners and prison personnel on their way to work.
It is hard to imagine that DOGE would consider this an efficient proposal versus the many less-costly prison-building options there must be. Beyond the cost of remodeling and maintaining a prison on the island, turning the island from a cash-generating business for the government and the region and turning it into a federal government expense is surely a bad idea.
This would be a loss of local tourist revenue in addition to the general projected loss of tourism revenue following Trump’s tariffs and changes to immigration policies. Nancy Pelosi wrote on X, “It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one.”
By turning the island back into a prison the Federal Bureau of Prisons would spend colossal sums of our tax dollars rebuilding and maintaining the prison so plenty of money would flow to the Bay Area from the Federal government, rather than revenue coming from foreign visitors. Tourism to the country is already projected to decline under the current regime, and removing Alcatraz from the list of popular tourist sites will only exacerbate the tourism decline locally.
It may also mean prisoners in jumpsuits could be joining the annual Escape From Alcatraz Triathalon happening May 31, or the Alcatraz Open Swim scheduled this year for August 31. The dangerous currents and cold waters made escape nearly impossible, but these days people participate in these events of their own free will. We’d rather sail around Alcatraz than swim from it, but turning it back into a prison would be folly and certainly change the character of sailing around this Bay Area landmark.
In other news on California’s working waterfront, the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach are bracing for a near-term 20-40% drop in container traffic, which will create more room for sailing, but fewer ship wakes for wing foilers to surf as the ships enter the Bay.
Caption Contest(!)
Delivery skipper Arnstein Mustad sent the photo below of one of the hazards of being a delivery skipper. Every boat he gets on is set up differently, and it’s important to know just how they’re set up when you take over a boat. The possibilities of an expensive or dangerous mistake refueling the boat below are obvious.
Sometimes people just make it hard to get it right.
RYC Speaker Series and Fundraiser for Jocelyn Nash Film
‘Bayesian’ Salvage Begins
Operations began on Sunday to raise Bayesian, the 183-ft Perini Navi sloop that sank during a storm on August 19, 2024. The accident, which occurred while the boat was anchored off Porticello, Sicily, took the lives of owner Mike Lynch, a British tech magnate, his 18-year-old daughter, and five others. Fifteen other people who were aboard at the time were able to get off.
The sinking occurred during a passing storm. According to one eyewitness, it looked as if a waterspout hit the boat around 5 a.m., causing it to heel over far enough that it flooded and sank in 16 minutes. Those who perished were caught below.
The Italian coast guard is supervising the $30 million salvage operation. Two floating cranes will do the heavy lifting of the 470-ton yacht from its resting place 160 feet down. The boat’s 246-ft mast, reportedly the tallest aluminum mast in the world, will be cut off to allow for easier raising of the hull. Once the hull is raised, righted, and stabilized, it will be transported by barge to the nearby port of Termini Imerese, where it will undergo a thorough investigation to try to figure out the exact cause(s) of the sinking. One focus of that investigation will be determining what ports, doors, and/or vents might have been open that allowed such rapid flooding.
In related news, Italian authorities announced last week that three members of the 10-person Bayesian crew, including Capt. James Cutfield, are now “officially under investigation” for possible criminal involvement (recklessness, negligence, and inexperience) in the incident.
Waterfront Pickers Play for Call of the Sea’s Annual Celebration
On Saturday, April 26, Call of the Sea (COTS) celebrated their fifth annual Tall Ship Celebration and fundraiser at Sausalito’s Bay Model. The day attracted visitors from far and wide who enjoyed browsing the hands-on and static displays, while tapping their toes to the sounds of the Waterfront Pickers. The Waterfront Pickers is a group of local sailors who come together on a regular basis and play their own brand of salty bluegrass.
The original band has been playing together over 20 years, Woody tells us. “We used to have jam sessions at List Marine in Sausalito. The core band at that time was Tom, myself, Diver Dave, a local named Tom Funkhauser, and Jody Boyle, who worked at North Bay Boatworks as a shipwright and lived at Galilee Harbor.” Sometimes other local musicians would drop by to join them, or more often, just to hang out and listen. Being surrounded by List’s engines and tools, the Pickers were “literally a garage band.”
The Waterfront Pickers are “instrumental” in celebrating waterfront events and have played for COTS’ events since the Matthew Turner’s keel-laying ceremony in 2013. “The crew built us a stage in about 30 minutes,” Woody says. And in 2017, the band billowed to nine musicians who played to more than 3000 people who had gathered for the Matthew Turner‘s launch.
Call of the Sea’s director of Community and Business Development, Sylvia Stewart Stompe, said 305 people took advantage of the ship tours.
“Lots of folks who came had never heard of Call of the Sea or the tall ship [Matthew Turner],” Sylvia said. “Paella was a big hit again. Weather was perfect, people had fun, lots of activities for kids — craft table, rope making. The wave exhibit was a kids’ favorite, along with other cool interactive science exhibits.”
Claire Wilson — A Young Sailor With a Mature Passion
We often hear sailors saying, “Start ’em young,” or, “I wish I’d started when I was that age.” Driving down the road one day, we saw our neighbor coming up the hill. It’s a narrow street, so, as you do when bumping into neighbors, we stopped for a chat.
“Hey, we were just having breakfast at Lighthouse, and Claire picked up a Latitude magazine and started reading,” neighbor Dave Wilson said with excitement in his voice. “She loves it!”
Claire is 9 years old, soon to be 10, and is a youth sailor at the Sausalito Yacht Club (SYC). “Perhaps we should do a story on Claire,” we said.
“Oh, she would love that,” Dave exclaimed. And so we did. We started by reaching out to SYC Youth Sailing Director Caitie Clarkson to learn about the club’s youth sailing program, and how Claire, and kids like her, can mature as sailors as they progress through the system.
The SYC Youth Sailing Program caters to kids from age 5 through 18. The 5-year-olds are launched as Tiny Sailors, learning to feel comfortable on the water. Next, they’re paired off to doublehand the RS Tera until they feel ready to try sailing solo. According to Caitie, Claire is a strong, confident sailor. “She never wanted to sail with another kid. She always had to do it by herself,” Caitie explains. “She’s had friends in the intermediate class with her, and we’ve asked her if she wants to sail with her friend, and she’s like, ‘No.'” So Claire sails the Tera by herself, and has earned herself a spot on the race team. To date she has competed in three regattas, including the Pacific Coast Championships. And while she has yet to score a win, Claire is doing better than she’d imagined. “I thought I was going to completely lose,” she says.
Two years ago, Claire joined the SYC Youth Program at the suggestion of her parents, and, as her father, Dave, said, she loves it. “I was excited to start,” Claire tells us. When we comment that she started singlehanding her boat quite early in the program, she replies, “I don’t have to tell people what I’m doing, I just do it.” Claire feels she has more control of the boat this way.
Of course, when you’re the only sailor in the boat, you’re also the only person who can deal with any mishaps, like when her mainsheet got caught up in knots during her recent regatta. “It was fun. But the second day, every time, the last three races, the sheet got knotted.” Claire didn’t win; she finished eighth out of 12 boats. But the placings don’t matter at this stage. Right now, it’s the fun of sailing that keeps her coming back. “Sometimes it’s challenging. Sometimes it’s easy. I don’t know, it’s just fun.”
Cruising Yachts — Open-Boat Weekend in Alameda
