California Junior Sailors Everett and Panebianco Victorious at C420 Nationals
St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) junior sailor Caleb Everett and his crew JP Panebianco of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) were victorious in the 2025 Club 420 Association US Nationals at Hyannis Yacht Club in Hyannis, MA, on July 21–24. Everett and Panebianco competed as part of the national “73 Sailing” team and totaled 26 points from eight races in a fleet of 148 boats.
The first day saw only one race sailed due to light winds. Everett and Panebianco placed 15th in their half of the split fleet.
“The second day was absolutely champagne,” the 18-year-old Everett tells Latitude 38. “It was 12 to 15 knots. We ran four races in absolutely perfect conditions.” It was on that second day of racing that the duo found their groove, finishing the four races that day in fifth, first, first, and third places, respectively.
On the last day of racing, with the fleet split into gold and silver, Everett and Panebianco wrapped up the regatta with a third, a bullet, and a 12th.
“There were two to three more knots of pressure,” Everett says of day three. “That was kind of an awkward condition for us. We were debating whether to pin down, and were apprehensive of doing so because we had done that in the past in similar conditions and struggled with being underpowered.”
After dropping the 15 from their first race, the duo from California had racked up a net score of only 26 points, six points clear of the second-place team of Gilman Hackel and Avery Peterson.
“It was super-close racing, and a super-competitive fleet,” Everett reflects. “Just a great experience to sail in a fleet that big against so many good boats … the downwinds were awesome. Perfect breeze in some great swell, just getting on waves and ripping. It was great getting to sail against so many of my homies.”
Everett and Panebianco have trained extensively together this year in both the I420 and the C420. They finished third out of 30 boats at the I420 North Americans, and 34th out of 101 boats in the I420 Worlds in Turkey earlier this summer, making them the second-highest-finishing American boat.
“While we’re both technically skilled in the boat,” Everett says of his partnership with Panebianco, “there are people that are more technically skilled, but where we excel is that we work really well together and have spent so much time together in a 420.”
Outside of 420 racing, Everett is entering his senior year on the sailing team at The Bay School of San Francisco, where he has been a team captain for the past two years. The high school sailing season begins in earnest in September. Everett’s next big event is the 2025 Sears Cup on home waters at StFYC from August 7 to 10. He will be skippering a StFYC team that took third last year in the Sears Cup, and is looking to win the event at home this year.
You can see the full results from the 2025 Club 420 Association US Nationals Regatta here.
Good Jibes #202: Dan Augustine on Keeping the Bay Clean
Welcome to Good Jibes Episode #202 in which we chat with “head guy” Dan Augustine about doing the dirty work of keeping the Bay clean. Dan is the owner of BayGreen, a mobile pump-out and marine sanitation service for boats, yachts and marine vessels of all sizes.
Tune in as Dan chats with Good Jibes host John Arndt about how he won free beer during his days sailing Lake Erie, his first impressions of the Gate and California, how clean the Bay truly is after he’s pumped out over 11 million gallons, how boat systems have improved over the years, and how he survived living aboard during the below-zero Cleveland winters.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- How does teaching connect with building boats?
- Dan’s favorite spots in Mexico
- The Bay is more alive than 20 years ago
- How regulations are changing right now
- Dan’s reading recommendations
Learn more about Dan at BayGreen.net
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!
Plan Your Trip to Annapolis Sailboat Show This Fall
Transpac Shifts to Transback as Boats Sail Home
Many people wonder, “How do all those boats doing the Transpac, Singlehanded Transpacific Race or Pacific Cup get back to the mainland?” Some boats get packed up and shipped back, while others trade out racing sails for older cruising sails and sail home. Some sail with a delivery crew and others with the same crew that raced to Hawaii. Just like the sail over to Hawaii, the “Transback” presents its own navigational challenges. We’re sharing three screenshots of those that left in the last 10 days as they make their way home.
It’s all “uphill” as you make your way home, and figuring out how to get around the Pacific High or powering through it with the iron genny is one of the decisions you have to make. Diesel fuel is limited in the mid-Pacific.
If you’re planning to do the Pacific Cup next year or the Transpac in 2027, how to do the “Transback” is one of the interesting puzzles you’ll need to solve.
Looking Ahead to August (and More) Regattas
From St. Francis Yacht Club
We’ll lead off with the “and More” part of this post’s headline:
Registration fees for the 61st Rolex Big Boat Series hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club on September 10-14 will increase by $275 after July 31 (that’s tomorrow, as we post this story on Wednesday the 30th). The following are invited to compete this year:
- One-design boats of the J/88, J/105, Cape 31 and Express 37 classes. Other classes with a minimum of six boats can be considered with application to the Organizing Authority [StFYC].
- ORC monohulls with an LOA ≥ 30 feet. Boats with an APH of 500 or lower are required to have an ORC International certificate. Boats with an APH higher than 500 may compete using either an ORC International Certificate or ORC Club Certificate.
- Classic boats built prior to 1955 with an LOA ≥ 48 feet and a current ORRez rating certificate.
Sign up here. As of this morning, 59 entries had registered. The event will serve as the 2025 ORC Pacific Coast Championship. Next year, the 2026 Rolex Big Boat Series will host the ORC North Americans.
Before the RBBS, however, StFYC will host:
- The Chubb US Youth Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup in J/22s on August 7-10.
- The US Women’s Match Racing Championship for the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy on August 14-17, also in J/22s.
- The Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta on August 23-24.
More on San Francisco Bay
South Beach YC will host the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors’ Herb Meyer Regatta on August 2-3.
SFYC’s Summer Keel will welcome J/105, J/88, J/24 and Alerion 28 classes, and any other one-design fleets of six or more boats, on August 9-10.
Encinal YC’s Gracie & George starts in the South Bay and finishes down the Estuary on Sunday, August 10. It’s a doublehanded coed race; Gracie drives. Avoid the late fee and sign up by August 3 on Jibeset.
The YRA and the SSS continue to team up for the Drake’s Bay Race. On Saturday the 16th, sailors race from San Francisco to Drake’s Bay, where they anchor out overnight, then race back on Sunday. YRA racers sign up via the Offshore Series. SSS racers (singlehanders and doublehanders) register on a separate Jibeset page.
SFYC will host the Great Schooner Race/Belvedere Classic on the 23rd.
Labor Day falls on September 1 this year. The Jazz Cup from San Francisco Bay to Benicia YC takes the lead of Labor Day Weekend regattas on Saturday, August 30. We’ll have more on Labor Day Weekend events in a later post.
Elsewhere in Northern California
Half Moon Bay YC will host the Coronado 15 North Americans on August 1-3 in Pillar Point Harbor.
Lake Washington Sailing Club’s Iron Butt Race will serve as the El Toro Worlds. On August 2, small-boat sailors will complete a 10-mile adventure on the Ship Channel leading to Lake Washington. Gordie Nash of the El Toro fleet comments: “Because we will not be sailing Pinecrest Lake this year, we are designating this distance race as our replacement. El Toro historians remember that the Pinecrest Lake Regatta was named the ‘Worlds’ because each sailor would bring a different prepared dish, representing a country’s cuisine, for the potluck dinner Saturday evening. Lake Washington Sailing Club will provide dinner this time; it is included in the entry fee.” The race is open to dinghies, centerboarders and some keelboats.
Southern California
On August 9, Long Beach YC will host a Heroes Regatta for teams of first responders. The Long Beach Lifeguards are the three-peating defending champions; other past winners include the Long Beach FD, PD and Police Motor Patrol. There’ll be spectating opportunities and pre-race coaching. The regatta will use the matched fleet of Catalina 37 keelboats.
San Diego YC will host the Snipe North Americans on August 21-24 on the Coronado Roads racing area.
Oregon
Hood River YC’s infamous Double Damned Race will sail from the Cascade Locks to the Dalles on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon on August 9. If you sail an Express 27, Moore 24 or J/70, this one’s on your boat’s bucket list. You may see other sportboats there as well.
Washington
San Juan Island YC will hold the 55th Shaw Island Classic Sailboat Race on Saturday, August 9. The race starts and ends in Friday Harbor. Racers circumnavigate Shaw Island in either direction. A hearty lasagna dinner and awards presentation will follow the race at SJIYC. The public can view the race from the shores of San Juan, Orcas, Lopez and Shaw Islands, as well as from ferries transiting the course. The race is open to multihulls, unballasted centerboards, registered PHRF sailboats and cruising sailboats of all sizes and rigs.
Seattle YC will host the PNW Junior Olympic Sailing Festival on August 23-24.
“More” Is Today’s Keyword
As always, there’s much, much more to do and see in the upcoming month. For many more events, see the Calendar section of Latitude 38, coming out this Friday, August 1. Also see the 2025 YRA Calendar and Master Schedule.
San Francisco on the Bay: “The List”
Dine, Drink, Smoke, Stay, Play and Shop. Discover San Francisco Bay and all that inspires those of us who live or visit here.