Sign Up For Our Newsletter! SIGN ME UP
We were shocked to receive the news that the German pilot schooner Elbe No. 5 — which several generations of Bay Area sailors will know best as 'our' lovely Wander Bird — sank on Saturday after a collision with a commercial ship on the Elbe River near Hamburg.
We once saw a man walk on water. We were sailing back home to Lowrie in San Rafael after a long, splendid day on the Bay. As we close-reached up the channel, we saw a man . . . surfing without a wave, sail or kite. If we hadn't been keeping up on watersports trends, we may very well have thought that someone was walking on water.
2013 Cookson 80 designed by Botin, Cabron is a high powered racing yacht.
We were out of Cabo San Lucas headed for Puerto Vallarta when a frigatebird came swooping in, circling, circling, gliding in a steep left bank until its wingtip nearly touched the ocean, the top of its wings black, glistening in the late afternoon sun.
Latitude Logowear
Congratulations to two winners of Latitude 38 swag. Stephen Buckingham picked up a copy of the June issue at South Beach Yacht Club at San Francisco's Pier 40 on May 31.
Peter Bailey’s lovely yawl Bertie was capsized by what he believes was a white squall 65 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, at about 8 p.m. on May 29. Bailey and his wife, Heidi Snyder — the only ones aboard at the time — managed to activate their EPIRB and were rescued about three hours after the capsize.
Race to Alaska
The docks at Victoria’s Inner Harbor were a carnage-fest of broken gear, torn sails, drowned radios, lost hatches, hulls or amas filled with water, and things lost overboard.
Onboard Brewing
Delicious, fast and easy. Designed by a sailor for on board brewing.
On Tuesday, Trump and his Treasury Department published new regulations halting group travel to Cuba.
Saturday, June 8, is World Oceans Day. The United Nations website tells us that oceans play a major role in everyday life. And put it simply: “They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.”
Latitude Gear
Just in time for Father's Day: Logowear Inventory Clearance Sale
Eight Bells
Lowell Orton North, the founder of North Sails, Olympic gold medalist, and sailing icon of his time, passed away on Sunday. There will not likely be another sailor like Lowell North. He was 89 years old.
On the windward shore of the Big Island [meaning California], a stone's throw from the cool Monterey Bay trades, unfolds the all-new Antrim 27 ‘C’. Number 28 (27 were built by USI) is now under construction by builder Joe Kitchell.
Washing Waxing Varnishing
Westwind Washing, Waxing, Varnishing. Serving the Bay Area for more than 25 years.
Barry Spanier has his sights set on one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time: plastics in the ocean. Spanier conceived of a boat called the "Baleen" (also known as Ships that Scour the Sea), named after filter-feeder whales.
On June 1, the American team of Mike Holt and Carl Smit won the 51-boat 5O5 Euro Cup Riva del Garda, the second leg of the Euro Cup series. Sailed at Fraglia della Vela Riva on Italy's Lake Garda, the regatta came down to the last leg of the last race.
Excellent conditions made for a quick Delta Ditch Run on Saturday, June 1. A flood current and consistent breeze in the teens carried most of the sailors to Stockton with plenty of time left to party. The 29th edition of the 65-mile race from Richmond to Stockton garnered 109 starters.
The Figure 8 Voyage
After nearly 250 days at sea and 31,000 continuous, nonstop miles — including a lap around the Southern Ocean and one and a half times around the world — Randall Reeves has made his first stop of the Figure 8 Voyage 2.0 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
YRA Racing
Westpoint Regatta and Island Time Party, June 22. Race, food, drink, live music.
One of the great things about winning the first edition of any new offshore race is, if you’re first to finish, you also set the new course record.
If variety is the spice, then the fifth annual Race To Alaska — the first segment of which started today — is a veritable jambalaya of waterborne fun.
Latitude Gear
Just in time for Father's Day: Logowear Inventory Clearance Sale
No one would have expected one of the Southern Hemisphere’s best-known and most-traveled yachts to be lost at sea en route to the start, but that’s exactly what happened to Brian Petersen’s Auckland, New Zealand-based Elliott 50 Ran Tan II.
California Offshore Race Week
They're off. And they're almost there (or already finished, by the time you read this). Three 70-ft trimarans made a brief appearance on San Francisco Bay as they tuned up and got ready to blast down the coast in the inaugural California 500 race from San Francisco to San Diego.
Buy or Sell Marine Gear
Buy, sell, trade your used or new marine equipment, supplies, rigging, boating gear and anything & everything marine.
Hot Off the Presses
Happy June, Latitude Nation. We are celebrating the more-or-less start of summer with nothing less than a brand-new issue of Latitude 38.
Weather Routing Inc. predicts a "good day" for tomorrow's Delta Ditch Run from Richmond to Stockton.
California Offshore Race Week
The MOD70s 'Powerplay' and 'Argo' and the Multi 70 'Maserati', have been tuning up on the Bay getting ready for tomorrow's 12:55 start in California Offshore Race Week's CA 500 — a new 500-mile 'sprint' from San Francisco to San Diego.
Cruiser's Rally
It’s all up to you.
The SoCal Ta-Ta (aka ‘Reggae Pon Da Ocean’) is a week-long ‘lite’ version of the Baja Ha-Ha that we’ve run four times before with anywhere from 20 to 40 boats.
Sponsored Post
Westwind Washing, Waxing, Varnishing
Regatta Calendar
Today is the deadline to enter the Delta Ditch Run, as much fun as you can pack into one day (and sometimes night) of sailing on inland waters.
Call of the Sea will hold their annual fundraising gala on Saturday, June 8. The event benefits Call of the Sea's on-the-water education programs and the completion of the new educational tall ship Matthew Turner.
Latitude Gear
Just in time for Father's Day: Logowear Inventory Clearance Sale
St. Francis Yacht Club has announced that they will offer a Classics Class in this September's Rolex Big Boat Series. The class is open to any boat built before 1955 and measuring longer than 48 feet on deck.
The 'Question of the Day' in yesterday's Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter was, "What does 'neaped' mean in reference to a ship?"
Sponsored Post
Rates, rental forms and details on what Brickyard Cove has to offer.
Many Bay Area boats sailing the oceans carry a legacy that resonates among those who cruised or raced against or on board them.
Latitude Gear
Just in time for Father's Day: Logowear Inventory Clearance Sale
Shootin' the Breeze
Latitude Nation — Here are a few nuggets from around the West Coast sailing world: The 'Matthew Turner' is currently hauled out at Bayside Boatworks, and has some access to those hoping to catch a look. "It is quite a sight!" said Sylvia Stompe from Call of the Sea.
Cruiser's Rally
It’s been just under two weeks since entries were first accepted for the 2019 Baja Ha-Ha, and the Grand Poobah is pleased to report that the number of paid entries has reached 93.
Buy or Sell Marine Gear
Buy, sell, trade your used or new marine equipment, supplies, rigging, boating gear and anything & everything marine.
Inland Cruising Rally
Dean started sailing in high school. He got to do three trips sailing from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Baja California aboard a Farallon Clipper — the start of a lifelong pursuit of sailing. Or so he thought.
Latitude Gear
Just in time for Father's Day: Logowear Inventory Clearance Sale
Round the World Race
After 322 days at sea, Tapio Lehtinen, the fifth and final nonstop finisher, brought the 2018-2019 Golden Globe Race to a close.
Circumnavigators
Last Wednesday, Jeanne Socrates suffered a knockdown between Tasmania and New Zealand and sustained serious damage to her solar- and wind-charging units.
Sponsored Post
Our two yards are very busy. Book your work now so you don't miss the boat.
Three Sheets to the Wind
As California is in the midst of being swallowed by late-season rain, a coalition of state lawmakers and interest groups — their drought concerns satiated, but their fears of swelling vegetation and exploding pollen counts on the rise — have decided to take legal action against the aberrant weather.
Celebrate Sailing
Celebrate sailing on June 22-23 with sailors worldwide.
After finding that there was a crack in her keel (please see part 1 on Monday), singlehanded cruiser Elana Connor had her 1985 Sabre 34 MkI Windfola hauled out — and was told that the crack was “just cosmetic” — before departing for San Diego for a more thorough investigation.
In late 2017, President Trump nominated Barry Myers to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, a choice that was seen as controversial, even for an administration that was voted in on being unconventional.
Station Golden Gate
National Safe Boating Week
The US Coast Guard recorded 4,291 accidents that involved 658 deaths and 2,629 injuries in 2017, the most recent year for which such statistics are available.
Delta Cruising Seminar
Delta Cruising Seminar & Kickoff Party, May 18, 6-9:30 p.m., at Richmond Yacht Club
Sign Up For Our Newsletter! SIGN ME UP
