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‘Latitude 38’s October Issue Has Docked!
Latitude 38’s October issue is out and on the docks, and all the other places you like to pick up your copy. (See our distribution locations here.)
On Monday we gave you a snippet of what’s in this month’s issue. Here’s a bigger preview.
The 2026 Rolex Big Boat Series at StFYC
Racing took place from September 17 through 20, and the regatta saw a variety of conditions, excellent seamanship, tight racing and several wild parties. The eight fleets were the classic yachts, making their triumphant return after a one-year hiatus, three one-designs (J/105, Express 37 and J/88) and four ORC fleets. Of note, the regatta saw a much higher ORC turnout than it had in recent years, with the event also serving as the 2026 ORC North American Championship.
How a One-Design Fleet Became a Family
Whenever Randall Rasicot called out a maneuver, I would jump.
“Vang!”
“Starboard twing to lifeline!”
Even now, hearing the skipper who taught me how to race, I automatically leap into action.
“An inch to the right!”
“Watch the doorjamb!”
Today, we aren’t sailing. The crew from J/24 Flight is moving a giant wooden sculpture, 8 feet across and weighing as much as a piano, through the threshold of Rasicot’s new house. It’s one of three times this summer that the J/24 fleet has helped each other move.
Some Common Misconceptions About Living Aboard a Sailboat Full Time
If you’re scrolling any type of social media these days, I’m sure you’ve seen a bunch of reels/TikToks/etc. of some cute young couple or individual selling everything to move aboard a boat.
While this is nothing new, the influx of social media clips has been overwhelming, at least my algorithm, often showing people who are completely new to the world of sailing. (Nothing wrong with this, by the way; everyone’s gotta start somewhere.) However, it’s easy to be swayed by some aesthetically pleasing video with trending audio. Boat life can be extremely rewarding and a great lifestyle, but as with anything in life, it’s probably a good idea to have an understanding of what you’re getting yourself into.
In this month’s regular columns:
Letters: This month’s Letters includes comments regarding Sausalito’s Measure X debate and other waterfront issues; the Jazz Cup; Merle Peterson; Lord Jim; Classy Love; and many more topics.
Sightings: Sailing With Swim California; The Working Waterfront of Tomorrow, Here Today; The Sea Scouts’ Summer Cruise; A Rib-Shattering Pac Cup Return; Five Years of Good Jibes; and Sailing Into Port Alone.
Max Ebb: “Dragging the Ass”
Racing Sheet: While early fall is always highlighted by the Rolex Big Boat Series, there’s so much other great racing around the West Coast. We kick off this month’s Racing Sheet with the beautiful classic yachts at the Belvedere Classic, and then turn our attention to the Drake’s Bay Race. Next, we cover the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta — the RBBS test event. We wrap things up with a great Knarr turnout in Ballena Bay, and some beautiful Mercury racing down the coast.
World of Chartering: Art Hartinger of Pied-a-Mer, of Jack London Square and the Encinal Yacht Club, shares his experience of chartering in the Caribbean with his wife and friends.
Changes in Latitudes: With reports this month from Salt Whistle’s continuing adventures in Mexico; catching up with old pal Marc Hightower after 30+ years; Part II of cruising aboard Mendocino Queen for 35 years; and a locker full of tasty Cruise Notes.
Find the latest in sailboats and sailboat gear for sale in Classy Classifieds.
Pick up your copy today at any one of our West Coast distributors.
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Family Reunion: The 50th Annual Moore 24 Nationals
The 50th Annual Moore 24 Nationals took place this past weekend, with an astounding 75 out of the 156 boats ever built signed up to race. After the casual-looking Thursday evening warm-up race, things got more serious, but we understand the legendary Moore 24/Santa Cruz vibe survived the intense competition.
Friday’s breeze was 25+ knots, making it a challenge to just stay on board. We understand about nine crew went overboard and were fully separated on these boats, which sail without lifelines. (The only lifeline is the ability of the skipper or a crash boat nearby.) Many others went over the side but managed to hang on and get pulled back aboard. It wasn’t a day for the meek to inherit the lead.
Saturday and Sunday settled down a bit, but the combination of over 70 boats in one start and a 50th national championship on the line meant the racing would be uber-challenging, regardless of the wind. We’re putting together a more complete story for our upcoming November issue, but in the meantime we couldn’t resist sharing a selection of Sharon Green’s amazing photos from the weekend. Results below.
Ron Moore told us that the previous best-attended Nationals was in the early ’80s, when they had 41 boats on the line.
We’ll have more photos and insights on the event in the November issue. In the meantime, we have to give a shout-out to the winners. Despite the high-caliber competition, the top two players emerged early — Philippe Kahn and Morgan Larson were the only two fighting for first place.
Morgan started the series on Friday with a 1-3-1 and Philippe with a 2-1-2, putting Morgan in first place. After that Philippe never finished worse than third, and Morgan slipped back with a couple of high scores. Philippe and crew on Pegasus finished first with 11.4 points, Morgan Larson on Tonapah Low finished with 26, and Leif Hauge aboard Bruzer finished in third with 49.6 points. This was Philippe Kahn’s fourth win at the Nationals. You can scroll to the bottom of this page to see the complete list of past national champions here.
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Women’s Match Racing Worlds Come to San Francisco
This week and coming weekend will see some of the world’s best sailors competing on San Francisco Bay as the 2026 Women’s Match Racing World Championship comes to St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC).
After a panel today, racing will officially start on October 1 with 12 teams from six nations competing to claim the world championship.
Three American teams will be racing, with all three hailing from the great state of California. Of those three, two are Bay Area-based teams and one a Southern California team. The two Northern California teams are both representing the St. Francis Yacht Club: Fog Racing, skippered by Lindsey Baab, and Vela Racing, skippered by Nicole Breault.
The Fog Racing team will comprise Baab, Kate Shiber, Elena VandenBerg and Helen Lord. The team finished last year’s Women’s World Match Racing Tour (WWMRT) in fifth place, and is currently the 13th-ranked team on the tour this year.
Breault, who is coming off racing in the inaugural Women’s International Championship at New York Yacht Club earlier this month, is a five-time US Women’s Match Racing national champion. She will be joined on the Vela racing team by regular crew members Molly Carapiet, Molly Vandemoer and Hailey Thompson.
“This year’s group is very much influenced by the WWMRT,” Breault said per the regatta’s official press release. “I’m always happy when these awesome teams come to play in my backyard because I’m excited to take them on where I’m comfortable and where I have that home-water advantage. At the same time, having played against them, they always bring it, and it’s always a tough competition.”
The third California team will be Allie Blecher’s Team BAAM! from California Yacht Club. Blecher and team finished seventh in last year’s WWMRT, and she will be racing with Evan Cahill, Rose Edwards and Aimee Famula.
Joining the three American teams will be three French teams, two Swedish teams and one team each from Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.
The French teams are highlighted by the winner of the last five Women’s Match Racing World Championships: Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite team from France’s Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf.
The other two French teams are Shark Caviar skippered by Julia D’Amodio and L4C Racing Team skippered by Lucie Gout. Shark Caviar was sixth in last year’s WWMRT, while Gout’s team finished fourth at the 2025 French National Women’s Match Racing Championships.
Another top contender in the regatta will be the Swedish WINGS team skippered by Anna Östling. The team currently leads the 2026 WWMRT and sails out of the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.
Right behind WINGS in this year’s WWMRT is another Swedish team: Martina Carlsson’s Beyond Racing Team. Similar to Östling, Carlsson’s team hails from the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.
The third-place team in this year’s WWMRT standings as of now is the lone Dutch team competing: Julia Aartsen’s Team Out of the Box. Aartsen and team represent the Royal Netherlands Yacht Club. The final European team is Those Seagulls from Denmark, skippered by Kristine Marie Mauritzen and representing the Royal Danish Yacht Club.
Rounding out the field are the lone Kiwi and Australian teams. Juliet Costanzo and Team Costanzo will be sailing under the burgee of Australia’s Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Last year’s second-place finisher in the world championship, New Zealand’s 2.0 Racing, is skippered by Megan Thompson and racing under the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s burgee.
Racing will be viewable from StFYC and the Marin waterfront, and scores can be followed here.
October Regattas Keep the Heat On
Around the Bay Area
San Francisco Yacht Club will host the Express 27 and Olson 25 Nationals on October 2-4. At the same time, the Wylie Wabbits will hold their Nationals at Inverness YC on Tomales Bay.
Don your lederhosen for Oakland YC’s Oktoberfest on October 3.
Berkeley YC’s beer-can-style Chowder Races will sail every Sunday in October.
Kim Desenberg of Richmond YC writes, “This year’s Lipton Cup is taking place in the fall — October 9-11 — sponsored by Corinthian YC. That is the same weekend as Fleet Week. I am happy that it can be held in the fall, as the milder weather should suit the J/22s a bit better.” CYC advertises sailing on “Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a mix of windward/leeward and Bay-tour races, on-water judging on Saturday, and parties at the clubhouse.” As of this writing, nine teams had registered: Corinthian, Encinal, Inverness, Richmond, South Beach, San Francisco, St. Francis, Sequoia and Tahoe YCs. That leaves three boats in the 12-boat fleet still available! See https://race.cyc.org/lipton26.
The final regatta in the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s 2026 season will be the Vallejo 1-2 on October 10-11. Racers sail solo to Vallejo YC on the Saturday, pick up one crew, and sail from VYC to Richmond YC on that Sunday.
The final race in the YRA’s Women’s Championship Series will be on October 17, from the Cityfront to Point Bonita. “This series requires a female driver and tactician for each participating boat. Mixed-gender crews are welcomed and encouraged, provided at least 50% of the crew are women,” says the YRA. See http://yra.org/womens-championship-series.
Island YC has opened registration for the the Jill & Jack + 1 Race (previously Jack & Jill +1), to be sailed on the Estuary on Sunday the 18th. IYC explains that it’s a “women-helmed race, so Jill is listed first now.”
Tiburon YC’s Red Rock Regatta will be on October 24.
St. Francis YC Has Got It Going On…
On October 17, StFYC will host the Jessica Cup for classic wooden boats. The club offers divisions for Birds, Farallone Clippers, Classic Gaff, Classic Marconi 1 (40-ft-plus) and Classic Marconi 2 (under 40-ft).
The Fall Invitational will overlap on the 17th-18th. Alerion 28, Folkboat, Knarr, Mercury and Moore 24 are the invited classes.
StFYC’s Fall Dinghy Regatta will take place on October 24-25. “We are also hosting the 5O5 Pacific Coast Championships October 23-25,” says StFYC. The following classes are invited to participate: 29er, 5O5, c420, i420, RS Feva, RS Tera (Sport & Pro), and ILCA 4, 6 and 7.
… And So Does Richmond YC
October’s shaping up to be a busy, racy month across the Bay at RYC, starting on October 2-4 with the Ultimate 20 North Americans and Express 37 Nationals. October 10 and 11 are for the smaller boats, with Totally Dinghy on the Saturday and the El Toro Stampede on that Sunday. The Stampede may be the cheapest regatta you can enter this year, with entry fees ranging from $5 to $20.
On October 23-25, the Santa Cruz 27 Nationals converge with RYC’s largest regatta of the year, the Great Pumpkin. “We will have our own buoy racing on Friday and will join in with the Great Pumpkin Saturday and Sunday. Our fleet will have a class start on Sunday.” The Great Pumpkin consists of three course areas of fleet buoy races on Saturday and a pursuit race on Sunday around Alcatraz and Angel Island — skipper’s choice of direction. This year’s Halloween theme is Angels and Demons.
Coastside
Santa Cruz YC’s Mix & Match/Jack & Jill Regatta includes divisions for Doublehanded, Family or Foursome, with spinnakers or main and jib only, on October 24. Meanwhile, Elkhorn YC in Moss Landing will host a Women’s Invitational.
Half Moon Bay YC has a Pumpkin Roundup on October 24 and a Die Hard Regatta on October 31.
Monterey Peninsula YC’s Kelp Cup, in Santana 22s, will serve as the club’s Champion of Champions Regatta on October 25.
In Southern California and Beyond
In an odd turn of events, the Little Ensenada Race, from San Diego to Ensenada, will sail into Mexican waters but turn right around and end back where it started, in San Diego. Southwestern YC explains it as “a race that takes everyone into Mexican waters without the immigration issues of SD2E. Hussong’s is out — SWYC’s Mexican Fiesta is in!” The newly rebranded San Diego to San Diego International Yacht Race will start on October 3. We imagine this will affect the turnout for Club Nautico Baja’s Regata Todos Santos on October 4.
Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach will host the US Youth Championship for competitors under 20 years old on October 9-11. The Youth Champs will feature the following classes:
- Doublehanded Dinghy — International 420
- Doublehanded Skiff — 29er
- Singlehanded Dinghy Light — ILCA 6
- Singlehanded Dinghy — ILCA 7
- Windsurfing — iQFOiL Youth & Junior
- Kitesurfing — Formula Kite
The same three days and also in Long Beach, the Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One-Design Challenge comes to LBYC.
San Diego YC will host the US Match Racing Championship (aka Prince of Wales Bowl) on October 16-18. They’ll hold the International Masters Regatta on October 23-25. They’ll wrap up the month with the San Diego Lipton Cup on October 30-November 1.
LAYC in San Pedro will welcome the Mercury fleet for their Pacific Coast Championship on October 24-25. This will be last regatta in the Mercs’ 2026 Travel Trophy series.
Farther Afield
It’s not often (ever?) we have a chance to preview a regatta taking place on Lake Mohave. But the Hobie Fleet 51 of Las Vegas and the Hobie Cat Association of North America (HCANA) will host the Hobie Wave North Americans on October 4-9, with a lay day on the Wednesday. Sailing will launch out of Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina in southern Nevada. The lake is a wide spot in the Colorado River that straddles the state line between Nevada and Arizona.
There’s more to come in October, including a small number of clubs kicking off their midwinter series. Don’t be afraid to scan our monthly Calendar for regattas and events in spooky season. You can find it online here, or in the pages of the October issue of Latitude 38.
Good Jibes #257: Brendan Huffman on Winning the 2026 Pacific Cup, w/ Host Ryan Foland
Well, it’s been a minute, and we’re happy to be back on board. This week we catch up with returning guest Brendan Huffman to chat about what goes into winning the Pacific Cup. Brendan and crew won the ORR 4 – Goslings Rum Division of the 2026 Pacific Cup aboard his Express 37 Dorado.
Tune in as Brendan shares with Good Jibes host Ryan Foland the sailing lessons he’s learned from his dad Fred, what makes the Pacific Cup different, why every boat project takes longer than you think, how to assemble the perfect racing crew, and how to make an epic final push in an ocean race.
Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- Finding the Express 37 Dorado in Santa Cruz
- The cascade of repairs
- Building the crew of five prioritizing chemistry over credentials
- Getting the boat to San Francisco after his mother passed away
- What made this crew special
Learn more about Brendan at UKSailmakers.com/Lofts/Los-Angeles and on Instagram @BruinSailor
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!
Check out the episode and show notes for much more detail.
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