Bay Area Joins the Global Sailstice Celebration
On Friday, the summer solstice marked the official start to summer, but it was Saturday when the party really got started. On June 22, sailors throughout the Bay Area joined the world in celebration of the 19th annual Summer Sailstice. Dozens of local sailing clubs, schools and individual sailors untied their dock lines and spent the weekend sailing the Bay in perfect summer weather.
In Sausalito, visitors marched down the dock at the Bay Model to view the grand spectacle of Call of the Sea’s almost-complete tall ship Matthew Turner, before stepping aboard the schooner Seaward for a free two-hour cruise on the Bay. Farther along Sausalito’s shoreline, ASA-affiliated sailing school and club Modern Sailing offered introductory sails for new-comers, and coastal cruising classes for enrolled sailing students. Meanwhile club members chartered club boats and sailed to their favorite local destinations, such as Angel Island.
On the other side of the Bay, Afterguard Sailing Academy hosted a well-attended Play Day that included sailing small boats and shooting off expired safety flares. The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay, Sequoia Yacht Club, Treasure Island Yacht Club and The Club at Westpoint collaborated to host the 11th Annual Westpoint Regatta. Participants sailed from Treasure Island, through the center of SF Bay, and south to the Port of Redwood City where they joined the Island Time Party at Sequoia. (Please see the next ‘Lectronic for a few photos).
Elsewhere on the Bay — the exact location appears to be secret — Q+M Travels’ hosts Quincy and Mitchell treated guests to a leisurely weekend aboard their world-cruising yacht Espirit, a Kelly Peterson 46. In San Rafael, a band of marauding Viking sailors celebrated the Sailstice channeling their ocean-going ancestors for an evening of fun. San Rafael Yacht Club, Loch Lomond YC and other local groups combined to create a rousing Summer Sailstice celebration with music, dancing, dinner, Viking games and sea chanteys.
Whew . . . and that was just Saturday!
Sunday saw the Summer Sailstice celebrations continue with sailors enjoying a truly magnificent day on the water and hundreds of sailors and non-sailors converging on Corinthian Yacht Club for the Master Mariners 26th Wooden Boat Show. Hosted by the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, the annual show attracts visitors from all over the Bay Area and beyond to an eye-candy feast of classic sailing yachts and model boats and displays of seamanship.
What happens now that the weekend and Summer Sailstice have passed? This, my friends, was just the beginning. Summer is here and now is the time to sail, so get back out on the water every chance you get and make the most of the long days and summer breezes.
Send us photos of your sailing celebration and let’s continue to show the world that on the water and under sail is truly the best way to enjoy the summer.