Bay Area Alumna ‘Gesture’ Stacks Up on Accolades
In August 2023, the freshly restored Gesture was launched on San Francisco Bay. Then, on September 11, her spinnaker was raised in preparation for the Rolex Big Boat Series on September 14–17.
Gesture is a 57-ft Sparkman & Stephens sloop finished in 1941 by builder Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. Her efforts in the RBBS cemented her reputation as “one fast boat” — sprinting to the finish in company of Bay Area legends Mayan, Hurrica V, Kay of Göteborg, Ocean Queen V and the 8 Meter Yucca. Gesture didn’t win the day, but she placed an admirable second, trailing Yucca by one point, and leading Mayan by the same margin.
The two-and-a-half years she spent in restoration at Jeff Rutherford’s Boatshop in Point Richmond were years well spent. In her heyday, Gesture was regarded as one of the best-known ocean racers of the time. A first in the 635-mile Newport to Bermuda Race in 1946 and one of three American yachts to compete in the Class 1 division at the Fastnet Race are among her achievements. Her placing in the RBBS was a promise of her return to glory. Although she followed the Bay Area race with a journey east, she continues to sail, delivering on that promise.
On Thursday, July 31, Gesture finished first in the Castine to Camden, a 19.4-mile race that serves as the first of three days of racing culminating with the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta held on August 2. She then completed the deal by placing first in the ERR itself.
Latitude reader Randall von Wedel is clearly proud of Gesture’s achievements, and of Jeff Rutherford in his work on bringing yet another classic back to life. Thanks to Randall for sending us the update.
Bay Area sailor Martha Blanchfield shared a comprehensive history of Gesture in the October 2023 issue of Latitude 38. Read here.
Good Jibes #205: Northern California Women’s Sailing Seminar
This week we chat with Eileen Zedd, Shelli Bohrer, and Laurie Briggs ahead of the 33rd annual Northern California Women’s Sailing Seminar. The event takes place on September 26–28, and welcomes women of all backgrounds into the sailing community by creating a fun, safe, and supportive learning environment.
Tune in as the women share with Good Jibes host Moe Roddy how they fell in love with sailing, what stood out the first time they attended the seminar, how they went from participant to Chair, the curriculum for this year’s seminar, and what you’ll learn at the seminar.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- How was the Women’s Sailing Seminar founded?
- The deeper “why” behind the Women’s Sailing Seminar
- Details about this year’s programming
- Building confidence and empowering others
- Tuna Tuesdays!
Register and learn more at WomensSailingSeminar.com.
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!
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Hurricane Erin Was a Massive Near Miss
Hurricane Erin is a massive hurricane currently marching north offshore from the Eastern Seaboard. Luckily the giant hurricane appears to have threaded itself through the islands without scoring a direct hit on any landmass. James Lane, of the Baba 30 Cetacea, moored in Red Hook, St. Thomas, wrote in with some of the excitement from the near miss.
Hurricane Erin, at this writing, is still a great big son of a bitch. It reached Cat 4 status just as it was spanking over the Virgin Islands late Saturday/early Sunday morning, about 1 a.m. local time. Dena and I have A-Things we do to ready the boat for a hurricane, so we “storm-dressed” Cetacea the day before we got hit, and dude, we were tight. In Red Hook Harbor off St. Thomas, USVI, we are also protected from the north, the south and the west, so we were very fortunate this time around. Don’t get me wrong; it was intense and rough as hell but we sustained no damage, and the boat handled herself quite well. Believe me, it was hot and sticky down below during the all-night, torrential rains, which was most of the storm, but you know, this ain’t our first ….
Speaking of!
A late-model Bavaria 36 (sailboat) came into the anchorage just before sunset the day of the storm and tried to grab a mooring, to no avail. They ended up short-scoping their anchor upwind of us, then — I’m not kidding — got into their dinghy and rode into town. The boat broke loose shortly thereafter, missed us astern by about 50 feet, and took off out to sea. I did a non-emergency call (a pan pan) on the VHF radio and was answered by one of our catamaran neighbors, and they went out in their dinghy and saved some other “sailor’s” boat by (I later found out) paying out more scope on a boat heading out to sea in a hurricane.
The boat’s companionway was locked; that’s why they ended up emergency-anchoring the boat in the middle of the ferry channel (really big deal, folks!) again, and I can’t stress this enough: in the middle of a hurricane. That is where the boat stayed for almost 24 hours, and her saviors did not identify themselves on VHF. Ultimately, some dude in an inflatable went out to the boat and motored it away. That was the most exciting thing that happened on Cetacea during Hurricane Erin, the first real hurricane of 2025. The island of St. Thomas, of course, flooded everywhere, and our internet was totally off all day after the storm, but hey, we did OK!
A Long Time Coming for Mark and ‘Keeldragger’
The dream began decades ago on inland waters, sailing with my father. That spark ignited a lifelong passion that evolved from my first modest Catalina 22 to my current vessel — a well-equipped 1989 Texas-built Valiant 40 named Keeldragger. Through six boats and many years, the vision of crossing the Pacific never faded.
After 20 years balancing career and family, I found myself at a crossroads — empty nest, supportive wife Debbie, and financial means to make the leap. In 2020, I turned in my resignation at my big tech job and prepared to depart for Mexico, with sights ultimately set on Hawaii. Then disaster struck: My transmission failed. And with parts hard to find for my old Volvo Penta engine, I decided to do a complete repower. By that time, pandemic supply-chain issues meant waiting nearly a year for a replacement engine and trans. Reluctantly, I returned to work.
Four years later, with colleagues joking, “I’ll see you in a couple of months when you change your mind,” I retired again, this time for real. The question remained: where to go after Mexico — Hawaii or French Polynesia?
One of my biggest challenges was navigating this journey with Debbie. Though she loves sailing in moderate conditions, seasickness meant she wouldn’t join me for offshore passages. She would continue working and fly to meet me at various destinations. This effectively meant planning a solo adventure.
After poring over Jimmy Cornell’s World Cruising Routes and considering options that would balance adventure with a reasonable time frame, I initially settled on Mexico to Hawaii, and back to Southern California. That’s when Debbie challenged me: “Why aren’t you sailing to the South Pacific like you’ve always dreamed? What if this is your one and only shot?”
When I explained the challenges — covering over 10,000 miles in a single season with tight schedules — she finally said, “I don’t think you have the balls to sail to Mexico, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and back!”
That was all the motivation I needed to make the Pacific Puddle Jump!
Plan Your Trip to Annapolis Sailboat Show This Fall
