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An Old Latitude War Story

Back in the ’80s or ’90s, I went out on .38 Special, Latitude 38’s first Bertram 25 photo boat, to shoot a race that used the Yellow Bluff buoy as a mark. As I knew the fleet would be pounding up there soon — doubtless to provide some dramatic photos — I headed there directly from our Sausalito berth.

Yellow Bluff crowd
Back in the days of Latitude’s Bertram photo boats, this is what the Yellow Bluff YRA mark looked like. (We also remember a yellow ball buoy.) JR took this photo during the 2004 Corinthian Midwinters.
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / JR

But as I got closer, it became obvious that Yellow Bluff wasn’t there. It was fairly common back then for marks to break free, and I thought it had happened again. But wait — what was that in the water up there? As I approached I thought it was a whale or something lounging on the surface. It was literally a bump in the water maybe two feet ‘proud’ of the surface. As I came closer and could look down into the water, I was surprised to see the Yellow Bluff buoy 2-3 feet under the surface, held there quivering by this massive ebb, which also produced the bump. Wow.

By this time, I could see the fleet coming toward me from the direction of Raccoon Strait. So I positioned myself landward of the buoy so as not to interfere with their wind or maneuvers as they rounded the mark. I recall seeing boats acting a bit erratically. I finally realized this was because they couldn’t see the submerged buoy either. Eventually, I think most recognized .38 Special — and headed for me.

The actual roundings were a bit of a Charlie Foxtrot as many boats misjudged the current and were swept past the mark. I got better pics later in the race.

A note from the Racing Editor: The Yellow Bluff buoy was not an aid to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard. Rather, the Yacht Racing Association placed it as a racing mark. The YRA eventually gave up on keeping a permanent buoy off Sausalito’s Yellow Bluff. The currents are too strong and the bottom too deep there. The buoys all eventually went walkabout. Now race committees set temporary inflatable marks in that vicinity.

5 Comments

  1. Patrick Broderick 4 years ago

    As the Sausalito YC Race Director, I ran over 300 races, with most using the YRA Yellow Bluff mark’s old rusty steel balls . Yes, there were frequent walkabouts and even sinking. My best guess is 3 steel balls and several dozen old train tires with rusty chain attached are down there. Also at least one leaky temporary buoy. Several semi-submerged steel balls had gunshot holes. During a King Tide and heavy current cycle those steel balls would drag under the surface. Racers looked for the “wake” created by the chain and ball. Later as YRA Chair I supervised the abandonment of the YRA Yellow Bluff mark. The total annual YRA buoy budget was about $10,000 back then. Each time we replaced Yellow Bluff the total came to about that amount since the Coast Guard began requiring foam buoys and the Navy ran out of old train tires up at Stockton. Anchor, chain, buoy, tug with crane; the cost was just too much.

  2. Greg Clausen 4 years ago

    I remember the jazz cup a few years ago when the last downwind mark dragged upstream with boats chasing after it to try and round it, lucky we rounded before it broke free.

  3. Steve Haas 4 years ago

    I think the ultimate wayward mark was when doing a Light Ship race. As we approached the expected location all we saw was a Coast Guard buoy tender that was underway west slowly, but no Light Ship buoy. Once we got closer we all realized the Light Ship buoy was on the Coast Guard tender being repaired. Eventually we decided in the spirit of the race if we rounded the tender we could consider we had rounded the Light Ship. Everyone else in the race did the same.

  4. Patrick Broderick 4 years ago

    Another “Yellow Bluff” tale. Sometime late in the 1970s the Sausalito YC ran a Midwinter race where the Y.B. buoy was missing. They used a tubular inflatable that was supposed to stand up, but the wind and current blew it over. A Santana 22 ran over it and got it stuck under the boat between the keel and rudder. They managed to detach the anchor line, but couldn’t get the buoy, which stuck out both sides of the boat, “unstuck.” Of course it they couldn’t steer, so the ebb washed them around corner and toward the N. tower. Everyone followed and “rounded” the distressed Tuna when they could catch it. Finally the Tuna crew got the buoy free and the last anyone saw of that buoy was it being swept out under the GG Bridge. That’s another anchor and line down there.

  5. David Rennolds 4 years ago

    I remember sitting up above Yellow Bluff buoy during a Big Boat race. Heavy fog in the middle of the bay and like a hundred feet or so clear at the buoy. The boats came out of the fog around the buoy and back into the fog. Only in SF. Would have made great video… They should televise those races more…

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