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Posts by John Riise
Yellow Bluff crowd

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, I headed there directly from our Sausalito berth.

Remembering the Big Bang

This month marks the 75th anniversary of one of the most horrendous events of World War II, which occurred right here in the Bay Area. On July 17, 1944, a mishap at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine (site of present day Concord Naval Weapons Station on Suisun Bay) triggered a massive explosion that killed 320 sailors and civilians; injured another 390; destroyed two ships, an entire pier, a railway and a locomotive that was on it; shattered windows as far away as San Francisco: registered 3.5 on the Richter scale at UC Berkeley; and blew shrapnel so high into the air that a pilot flying over the area saw debris flying by at 9,000 feet. More »
wet sailors ring bell

Angry Beavers Take R2AK

It was the best kind of win for what’s fast becoming the best kind of race. Due to glitches on boats and ashore, nobody knew who was ahead or who would win the 700+ mile Race to Alaska until they hove into view off the Ketchikan Yacht Club yesterday.