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Chubby Girl
Wilbur Spaul achieved a significant milestone in his bid to sail the smallest boat to Hawaii: In February, he chainsawed the 8-ft Chubby Girl into pieces and tossed them into a dumpster.
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Washing, waxing, varnishing. Serving the entire Bay Area for more than 25 years. “Boat looks great. Please pass my thanks to those who did the work."
Seeking Some Normalcy
Latitude Nation — We were going to publish some good news this morning, but unfortunately, it was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
Sunday Race without the Brunch
From the first horn of the start to the last gun of the finish, it was business as usual for the 22 boats that competed in Oakland Yacht Club’s Sunday Brunch Series on March 15.
Rewriting the Calendar
"The April 4th Wheeler Regatta has been canceled, and the 2020 Great Vallejo Race is officially postponed until October 10-11. We have yet to make a final decision on the April 18th Lightship…"
Fun 'Sailing' This Weekend
"During the virus crisis, we're joining forces with sailonline.org to hold a purely entertaining virtual regatta series starting on Sunday, March 22."
From the Bottom of the Planet
You step into a big metal tube, it shakes around — not unlike a ride at Disneyland — they open the door, and besides all the people speaking with accents, the place you've arrived is not all that different from where you started.
Preparation and Practice
BAMA conducted our 2020 Live Crew Overboard Training event Saturday as scheduled. We had five boats registered. Two dropped out due to weather or illness, but we still had three that showed up.
Pretty Much Everything
The new 'shelter in place' order affecting much of the Bay Area has prompted the Bay Area Multihull Association to cancel or postpone the Doublehanded Farallones Race.
Updates from the Islands
Island cruising destinations around the world are rapidly updating their customs and immigration procedures as the global pandemic unfolds.
Offshore Racing
A long and light PV Race has drawn to a close with the smallest boat in the fleet claiming overall victory after 1,000 miles of ocean racing from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta.
Falling Like Dominoes
News Flash: While we were preparing this update on Monday morning, we learned that the Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show, scheduled for April 16-19 in Richmond, has been canceled.
Go or No Go
"Due to the coronavirus, we are postponing the Great Vallejo Race to October. The safety of our sailors and guests is our first concern."
The Working Waterfront
"Come one, come all, to enjoy an afternoon at Travis Marina Bar (Presidio Yacht Club) Sunday, March 15, 2-5 p.m. Come share why you love Travis Marina."
Racing Around the World
The next edition of The Ocean Race will depart Alicante, Spain, in October 2021. The around-the-world race with eight stops will finish in Genoa, Italy, in the summer of 2022. Newport, RI, will again be included in the stopovers.
The World Famous L38
Here's your March Caption Contest(!). Please be sure to check the April issue's Loose Lips for the winner.
Weekend Regattas
The rain that fell on San Francisco Bay racers on Saturday the 7th, and is predicted to fall again this weekend, presents only a minor discomfort to the dedicated weekend warriors who frequent the Bay.
Youth Sailing
The SF Scouts runs two sailing vessels: Viking, sailed by high school-aged females, and Corsair, sailed by high school-aged males. The program focuses on sailing training on traditional whaleboats.
Turbocharged Doublehanded Racing
In New Zealand, they have the Short Handed Sailing Association, or SSANZ. It’s kind of like the California versions only turbocharged with faster winds and faster boats. Their latest race has just finished.
Pacific Offshore Academy
Berkeley Yacht Club will host the third Pacific Cup Offshore Academy March 15. The all-day seminar will focus on things that the racers heading off to Oahu in July really need to be thinking about right now.
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Phil says: "You'd better get ready for boating." Call us today to get your boat out of hibernation and ready to face the Bay!
Protecting California’s Waterways
The Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) offers grants to help local public entities enhance safety on California’s waterways, and clear them of abandoned vessels.
Reach Thousands of Readers
Are You Listed? Reach thousands of print and online readers! To get your ad into the April issue, the deadline is coming up this Sunday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. Don't delay!
Social Distancing?
The latest buzzword popularized in the news is "social distancing." Given the fears of a CoViD-19 pandemic, we at Latitude 38 feared for a smaller-than-usual turnout at last night's Spring Crew List Party.
Latitude in New Zealand
In the weeks before I flew to New Zealand, I would look to the west and south, and imagine that I could see the tiny islands hovering in the Pacific, well past the earth’s bulbous middle and deep into the far reaches of the planet.
Hit the Big Time
With an eye toward expanding a Classics Division that saw marked interest and exciting race action in its inaugural year, the Rolex Big Boat Series will return to San Francisco Bay this year on September 17-20. St. Francis Yacht Club is now accepting entries.
Warwick “Commodore” Tompkins turned 88 last Wednesday, and he and wife Nancy celebrated with family and friends on Saturday at the Sausalito YC.
First Event in the Southern Hemisphere
After the first three days of sailing in the 2020 season, defending 52 Super Series champions Azzurra have used consistency to work their way to the top of the leaderboard in Cape Town, South Africa.
Entries Open May 8
The Baja Ha-Ha has two big advantages over other outstanding West Coast long-distance events such as the Pacific Cup, the Singlehanded Transpacific Race and Transpac.
Meet Fellow Sailors
Meet and greet fellow sailors. Find crew or get on a boat. Thursday, March 5, 6-9 p.m. Held at the spectacular Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco.
Hot Off the Presses
Happy March, everyone. We’ve got your new issue of Latitude 38. Here’s what’s inside this month: A Shout Out to the Parents and Volunteers In this month’s Sightings, we take a moment to thank the countless volunteers who make junior sailing possible.
SailGP Season 2
Sir Ben Ainslie's British team scored three bullets in the three fleet races on Friday, kicking off the second season of SailGP in Sydney Harbour. On Saturday, after a win in Race 4 and a fourth in Race 5, the Brits…