‘Wildcard’ and ‘Nuckelavee’ Duke It Out at the Encinal Regatta
On July 25, Encinal Yacht Club and the San Francisco Bay Yacht Racing Association hosted the 2026 Encinal Regatta, which started on the Berkeley Circle and sent boats out to and around the Point Bonita channel marker, and then back into the Bay to a finish off the Encinal docks in the Oakland Estuary. Brandon Mercer, who served as tactician on Wildcard, recaps the event:
The PHRF A fleet was the start, and we split evenly on whether heading for the layline of the North Tower or finding current relief up the Cityfront was best. Bodacious and Saoirse headed for San Francisco, while Wildcard, Nuckelavee and Arsenal went right for the tower. It was pretty even either way.
The wind built, and Wildcard, a Santa Cruz 37, peeled from the J2 to the J4, then headed for the windward mark. At Point Bonita, things got spicy. Wildcard and Nuckelavee sent it, with big kites for both, and both tried to carry them too high and got knocked around. Before the Gate, Wildcard peeled to the A7 and then could hold a high angle, while trading jibes with Nuckelavee. Right past the bridge, with winds 25–27, photographer Erik Simonsen was in the right place at the right time, but Wildcard was not — barreling in on port trying to cross a broaching Nuckelavee.
Dumping the kite and heading way up high, Wildcard took Nuckelavee’s transom as the Melges 32 battled a big, white mess of sail. It was a close crossing, but not as close as the later jibe battle down the Oakland Estuary in calmer conditions.
Each puff sent one boat scooting ahead of the other. Nuckelavee, being so light, caught the cannonballs through the buildings toward Encinal first and jumped ahead, beating Wildcard by just 17 seconds after an epic battle across the Bay.
Caption Contest(!) — With Love From Amsterdam
OK, it’s not sailing, but we couldn’t resist. Why not enjoy a throne while cruising the canals of Amsterdam? The views from the helm would be great — as would the looks received.
Thanks to Dennis and Lisa Schofield of the Sabre 34 Another Lady, who snapped this photo while visiting the “Venice of the North.”
You can check out July’s Caption Contest(!) winners in the August issue of Latitude 38 — hot off the press last Friday!
Steering the Dream With Hydrovane
Hydrovane is your best crew member: an independent self-steering windvane and emergency rudder/steering system … ready to go!
Baja to France — Latitude 38 Goes Where the Wind Blows
Around 20 years ago, Latitude 38 reader Leonard Bisgrove, now of Colorado, was one of 29 sailors from the Polaris Single Sailing group [also known as Polaris Sailing Society] who had traveled to France to spend seven days cruising the Canal du Midi aboard six boats.
Leonard tells us that the group got together only once during their seven-day journey. It was in Carcassonne, and they managed to get a photo of everyone together. “Of course, being West Coast sailors, most of us brought along our copy of Latitude 38,” Leonard adds.
“This was a trip that all of us who are still around remember fondly,” Leonard says.
Motoring down the canals of France wasn’t Leonard’s only sailing adventure. In 2006 he joined the 13th Baja Ha-Ha aboard his Endeavour 40 Vallée Cachée. We found Leonard and Vallée Cachée in Latitude’s December 2006 issue — they had placed third in the Ha-Ha’s Iguana division (one of 14 divisions).
This year will see the 32nd Baja Ha-Ha departing San Diego on Monday, November 2. Poobah Chuck Skewes and Assistant Poobah Patsy Verhoeven have been hard at work putting together the two-week cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. If you want to know more, check out the Ha-Ha website.
If you want to jump in and sign up to join the rally, you can sign up here.
Honeymoon at Sea — 9,000 Miles Aboard a 26-ft Sailboat
The thing most people want to know when they hear about our 9,000-mile, three-year voyage on a 26-ft sailboat has nothing to do with sailing. They want to know how we got along so well together in such a small space.
When Russel proposed to me, we’d just spent the day sailing San Diego Bay on board his 26-ft Columbia, Watchfire, which he’d been preparing for long-distance cruising. I was an actress living in New York City. Russel, a successful illustrator, was willing to relocate, so we planned to ship the boat east; we’d sail when we could, while pursuing our careers.
One day I asked what his big dream was. He said he’d like us to sail down Baja and up into the Sea of Cortez for a few months while he did some paintings. It sounded fabulous — I loved the water and it seemed an ideal way for us to spend time together building a strong foundation for our marriage.
On November 11, 1989, after a wedding, dozens of boat jobs, and seemingly endless preparations, we untied the dock lines and sailed south.
Still a novice, after a Basic Seamanship class and some daysails, I was able to steer straight. Russel was a good teacher who never yelled. He said the guy yelling on a boat usually doesn’t know much. Day one, he had seen my white-knuckle grip on the tiller and said, “Don’t worry Jennifer, you’re not flying an F-15.”
That first voyage, 900 miles to Cabo San Lucas, and up to La Paz, was something Russel jokingly referred to as “a recipe for divorce.” Some predicted I’d hate it and fly back to San Diego but he shrugged the warnings off, saying he just knew I’d be OK.
It’s hard for a modern woman to defer to and even (gasp!) take orders from her partner.
Spaulding Marine Center — Full-Service Boat Yard and Education Center
Repairs, painting, custom work, apprentice program, kids summer sea camps, event space for rent.