Sausalito Boat Show — Getting Better Every Year
The past weekend’s third annual Sausalito Boat Show took another great step forward in rebuilding a first-class Bay Area boat show. There were a lot more boats, though the growth came from powerboats while the number of sailboats was smaller. There were sailboats from Hanse, Beneteau and Jeanneau. Besides having much better weather than last year, the three-day show expanded with more booths, continuous entertainment, well-attended seminars, and most importantly, a great place to reconnect with other sailors and sailing businesses on the waterfront.
We met with Andrea and Mike, above. Andrea taught Mike to sail at Modern Sailing many years ago. Mike had just returned from putting his sailing lessons to work with a bareboat charter out of Bergen, Norway, about a month ago. He said it was a beautiful but cool and wet charter. He was asking Andrea where he should charter next. She didn’t hesitate to respond with, “Tahiti.” She described the nine-hour direct flight and then short hop to paradise in Raiatea. It’s also only a two-hour time zone change, so it’s pretty hard to beat. Mike was giving Andrea great kudos for her ability as a sailor and instructor for his now-active sailing life.
We spoke with avid Latitude 38 readers James and Margaret, pictured above, as they were signing up for boat-maintenance courses at Spaulding Marine Center. They’re getting ready to do work on their new-to-them Olson 25, Alzora, which they keep at Pelican Yacht Harbor in Sausalito. It was “kind of” hull #1 for the Olson 25 fleet. Apparently, the first Olson 25 didn’t come out of the mold quite right, so their yellow hull #2 was actually the first one launched and sailed as a class Olson 25. The active Olson 25 fleet has already welcomed them with some available extra sails, and look forward to seeing the boat active on the Bay again.
One of the common threads we find when bumping into sailors who work on tall ships is how many of them are teachers. Matt Kurkjian told us of his enthusiasm for teaching kids, and especially aboard tall ships like our local Matthew Turner. Besides the teaching, he also just enjoys sailing or puttering aboard his Ericson 27 in Berkeley Marina and reading Latitude 38. We always ponder the mystery of the public perception of the elite world of “yachting” versus the salt-of-the-earth, down-to-earth sailors we meet at the Latitude 38 booth. So many of them both love to sail and love to share sailing with kids, and anyone. All of them feel grateful having the Bay at their doorstep and a way to get onto it under sail.
Do you have questions on canvas, marinas, rigging or marine electronics? The crew above and others scattered throughout the show were on hand to answer your questions and help solve your problems so you can get back to sailing. Running small marine-service businesses in California has become increasingly difficult over the decades, so we appreciate those who work hard to make it happen. We’ve been covering the marine trades more on our Working Waterfront page, as we know so many of the small marine businesses are looking for skilled labor to help keep their businesses thriving and your boat sailing. It was great to see them all at the show. Keep an eye on our Job Opportunities section of the magazine if the marine trades sound interesting to you.
It was great to reconnect with John Schulthess, former owner of Wind Toys and new owner Bill Boyd, at the show. Their kayaks were the “small boats” at the show, although they had amazing big-boat features. They go offshore fishing in the pedal- and electric power-assisted kayaks with depthsounders and all sorts of “yacht gear” in an affordable, stowable, transportable package. Very different from the kayaks we grew up with. The show included boats to catch salmon with 900 hp of power, and kayaks, like those above, which you can paddle or pedal out to catch salmon.
Overall, the show organizers put on a fantastic event. It’s challenging to rebuild a solid show from scratch in this post-COVID era, but the persistence is paying off. Boat dealers on the docks reported several boats being sold and the attendance up over last year’s sweltering-hot event. This year, the weather couldn’t have been better. It was sunny with pleasant temperatures, so those getting dunked in the dunk tank had a fun, not freezing, swim.
If you aren’t out sailing the Bay, the show is a great way to spend a day. or a half-day, before your sail. We’ll be looking forward to next year’s show.
Tahoe ILCA Champs Brings Tight Racing and Fun Times
Normally held on Stampede Reservoir, this year’s Tahoe Laser Fleet Championships took place by the Lake Forest Boat Ramp just outside Tahoe City. This is a fabulous venue with affordable on-site camping, and is within walking distance of Tahoe Yacht Club (TYC) and downtown Tahoe City.
We could not have asked for better wind. Both days saw a beautiful, gradient-reinforced thermal breeze of 8–20 knots and sunny skies. The water color was an incredible indigo blue, with concentrated chop putting a premium on keeping the bow down upwind.
This was the best race committee work I’ve seen in a long time in challenging, shifty conditions. Lake Tahoe is ringed by mountains, and the wind funneling through the valleys provided blasts of wind from the left and right. It was incredibly difficult to stay on the right side of the shifts, and everyone experienced the pain of seeing competitors who had been well behind suddenly cross in front.
Saturday saw six races completed, with five double windward-leewards, and one very fun triangle course. Sailing was physically demanding, and I was reminded once again how humbling and challenging it is to sail a Laser when it’s windy and choppy. Cockpits were often full of water.
In the ILCA 4 class, Asher Bauerly (ABYC) dominated with six straight bullets, proving that he who sails most and trains hard wins. Local sailor Ethan Mooiweer (TYC) finished second, followed by other Tahoe locals Oliver Hoffmann (Scuttlebutt YC), CJ Fogg (TYC) and Polina Lerner (TYC). For several of these young sailors, it was their first real Laser regatta in windy conditions.
The ILCA 7s had 22 competitors. Racing was incredibly tight on the first day, with multiple race winners slugging it out in the physical conditions. Elliot Drake (StFYC) posted consistent scores to take the lead on day one with a 2,1,1,3,2,2. In second was Al Sargent (StFYC) posting a DNS (due to a flat tire on the way up), 4,2,3,1,5. Not far behind was Tahoe local Nick Pullen (Scuttlebutt YC) with a 3,6,5,1,2,1.
Day two brought more of the same conditions. Some sailors really found their stride, such as James Bauerly (Asher’s dad; how great is that?), posting a 1,7,2,2. Drake hung on to win with scores of 2,1,5,3. Pullen advanced to second with 5,3,3,1, edging out Sargent, with scores of 7,2,4,4.
A big shout-out to one of the new Master Sailors in our local fleet, Randy Thomas of the Tahoe Yacht Club. He just started sailing Lasers this spring in our local Monday night races. On day one, he received the hard end of the boom on his cheekbone after a capsize, and had one of the most impressive shiners I’ve ever seen. Normal people would have quit, but Randy completed all the races on both days, and as a result, won the most important trophy of all, the Whitey Cup, named after our dear departed friend Eric “Whitey” Conner, exemplifying enthusiasm and resilience.
I want to express a huge thank-you to John Siegel, his team, and the Tahoe Yacht Club for putting on a first-class event. It was great to see many old faces returning to race, and many new ones too, who will forever be part of our fabulous tribe of Laser sailors.
The 2025 Tahoe ILCA Fleet Championships were held on Sept. 06–07. You can find full scores here.
Stop at The Marina at Ensenada Cruiseport on Your Trip South
Walking distance to downtown Ensenada. A modern, safe marina protected by two break waters for a quiet stay. Reserve Now! Toll Free (877) 219-5822 marina.hutchisonportsecv.com.
A Good Deed That Should Not Go Unnoticed
The Floathouse Petaluma, along with Petaluma Yacht Club volunteer sailors Rich Brazil and Stephen Hamilton, recently completed two four-day “Intro to Sailing” camps for kids ages 10 to 14. The camps were held in the Petaluma River Turning Basin in downtown Petaluma.
Twelve young students in all learned the basics of sailing and were soon flitting about the Turning Basin like moths. Their smiles of accomplishment in their El Toros made us proud.
The expansion of next year’s classes led me to Craigslist in search of larger dinghy sailboats. I came upon a 1969 Wayfarer, made popular in England. The listed price of $1000 was far out of my price range, so I sent an email politely asking if the owner would be interested in donating the vessel for a worthy cause. He quickly replied, “YES!”
His name is Erik. Erik lives in the Monterey area. I drove to Monterey the very next day to witness a completely restored sailing vessel, smartly decked out and resting nicely on a trailer. I was, and still am, flabbergasted and humbled by the generous gift provided by Erik. Many kids (and adults) will learn to sail on this fine sailboat. Thank you, Erik!
P.S. We are naming the sailboat Erik the Great.
A High Sierra Regatta We Won’t Forget
The only thing better than the sound of new sails is the sound of your friends cheering from the shoreline. That’s what I wanted this year’s High Sierra Regatta to be about. But like most good sailing stories, things didn’t quite go according to plan.
It was a beautiful morning — the kind where the sun stretches lazily across camp, slowly peeling back the chill that settled in overnight. The lake lay still, with rowers gliding like whispers across its glassy surface as the low haze began to lift. Spirits were high. We had the Lusty crew from Mexico and the Sitkas by our side, cheering us on as we prepared to race alongside Mitch and Quincey, who now officially owned Little Blue Boat (formerly Sniper One). It felt as if things were shaping up to be a great weekend.
It had been over a year since Geronimo had danced with the wind. We were extra-excited to hoist our brand-new sails from Precision Sails, convinced they’d give us that extra edge. If confidence could win regattas, we were already on the podium just by association.
Saturday: After breakfast, Chris and I rigged Geronimo and made our way out to the start line, tacking alongside our fleet and weaving between the other classes that dotted the lake like confetti. That familiar hum of adrenaline settled into my stomach as I managed the sheets under Chris’s calm (but focused) commands. At the sound of the gun, we were off third over the line, our new sails filling beautifully as we charged up the course.
We finished sixth, but it was a tight race — one of those finishes where you’re still grinning, knowing you fought for every inch. Spirits were high. Then came the second start. We were forced to tack early to avoid a couple of rogue kayakers who had paddled right into the starting area, throwing off our timing and positioning. Still, we clawed our way back, picking off boats one by one. It was shaping up to be a decent recovery … until we rounded the second downwind mark.
That’s when we collided with Red Eye.
Red Eye is the legendary boat owned by Chris’s Uncle Scooter — the godfather of the Victory 21 fleet, and quite literally the reason we’re all here. For the first time in over two decades, Scooter wasn’t at the helm. Instead, he’d passed the tiller to his fraternity brother and longtime crew, Chuck Phillips, known to us as Uncle Chuck.
Red Eye is notorious for always landing on the podium. Their crew never reveals their secrets — black magic, we joke — and we’ve spent years trying to beat them. We never imagined it would happen like this.
“You see Red Eye coming up?” I asked from the bow, bracing to douse the whisker pole. We were on a downwind port tack about to round the mark, while Red Eye was on an upwind starboard tack.
“Yeah, I see them,” Chris replied — right as Chuck’s booming “STARBOARD!” cut through the wind. In a blink, our boom was against their cap shroud, pulling them from their course and breaking their mast in half.
San Francisco on the Bay: “The List”
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