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Better America’s Cup Viewing

Hundreds of boats crowd the Bay on race days.

latitude/LaDonna
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

We have to admit that everyone at Latitude has been thoroughly impressed by the America’s Cup Park at Pier 27 and the America’s Cup Village at Marina Green. Both offer plenty of fun for the entire family — from gourmet-ish food to hot dogs, from member-only lounges to interactive kids’ displays — and decent shoreside viewing of the thrilling America’s Cup match racing. Besides, the exclusion zone on the water means the average Joe and Josephine are so far away from the course they can hardly see anything — and that’s if they can spare a few seconds to peel their eyes away from the hundreds of other boats bobbing perilously close in the choppy Bay waters.

The Latitude crew – l to r, Christine Weaver, Andy Turpin, Julie Turpin, John Skoriak, LaDonna Bubak and John Riise – fought each other for control of Freda B.

latitude/JG
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Of course, the Freda B crew were much more professional than us.

latitude/LaDonna
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Having enjoyed some time at the shoreside AC venues last week, several Latitude crewmembers jumped at the chance to see Saturday’s races from the water aboard SF Bay Adventure‘s 80-ft gaff-rigged topsail schooner Freda B. Owners Paul Dines and Marina O’Neill graciously invited us along for what turned out to be one of the most memorable AC races to date.

Watching one and a half races from the deck of Freda B was an absolute treat.

latitude/LaDonna
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

SF Bay Adventures runs the charter boat out of Sausalito Yacht Harbor, and Freda B is a designated ‘Support Boat’, which means she’s allowed the closest access to the actual course. Her main duties as an official Support Boat so far have been to carry media crew for the ACEA but she could be pressed into service in a variety of ways. She’s also given a position on the course to maintain, and on Saturday she was stationed near the finish line. 

Our position near the finish line afforded quite the view of Oracle Team USA winning their second-ever race of the series.

latitude/LaDonna
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

With a big screen set up on deck to watch the NBC broadcast, plus absolutely scrumptious lobster rolls from Sausalito’s Seafood Peddler — oh, and did we mention the mimosas? — we all enjoyed our terrific position to watch Oracle Team USA’s second win of the series. Emirates Team New Zealand’s near-capsize was quite dramatic even though we viewed it from the bottom of the course. The cancellation of the second race was disappointing, of course — especially to the Kiwi supporters onboard — but Paul and his top-notch crew rounded out the day with a lovely sail back to Sausalito.

If the thought of taking your boat out on the Bay to watch the races, jockeying for the best position while keeping your boat and crew safe, causes you to break out in hives, consider hopping on one of the Bay’s many charter boats. And if taking a ride on a classic schooner that gets as close to the course as any non-ACEA boat can sounds interesting, Marina informed us that Freda B is offering a special price for Tuesday’s racing: Just $99 per person! (By way of contrast, this writer and her husband spent a little over $200 in transportation and food for their day ashore last week.) That’s a pretty screaming deal to watch what may be the final race day of the 34th America’s Cup. Call (415) 331-0444 to reserve your seat.

Why not let some other sucker…oops, we mean skipper…worry about Bay traffic while you relax and watch the spectacle of what could be the last races of the America’s Cup?

© 2013 SF Bay Adventures

TUESDAY UPDATE: Since today’s races were cancelled, Marina is extending the same $99 offer for Thursday’s scheduled race day!

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