Maritime History
The Founding of Stockton Sailing Club
Back in 1933, sixteen 16-year-old boys founded the club as the Ionic Sailing Club. The teenage founders included three sets of brothers: the Stephens brothers, the Colberg brothers, and Fred and Jim Van Dyke.
Movie Night at the Rafael: The Raft
Mary's eight decades have been filled with salty adventures. "I never wanted a normal life," she told us.
The Sinking of Wander Bird
We were shocked to receive the news that the German pilot schooner Elbe No. 5 — which several generations of Bay Area sailors will know best as 'our' lovely Wander Bird — sank on Saturday after a collision with a commercial ship on the Elbe River near Hamburg.
Bertie Lost off New Jersey
Peter Bailey’s lovely yawl Bertie was capsized by what he believes was a white squall 65 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, at about 8 p.m. on May 29. Bailey and his wife, Heidi Snyder — the only ones aboard at the time — managed to activate their EPIRB and were rescued about three hours after the capsize.
The Legend of Lowell North
Lowell Orton North, the founder of North Sails, Olympic gold medalist, and sailing icon of his time, passed away on Sunday. There will not likely be another sailor like Lowell North. He was 89 years old.
Rolex Big Boat Series to Include Classics
St. Francis Yacht Club has announced that they will offer a Classics Class in this September's Rolex Big Boat Series. The class is open to any boat built before 1955 and measuring longer than 48 feet on deck.
I’ll take Maritime Miscellaneous, Alex
Like most sailors, our maritime interests extend beyond sailing. And that news cycle has been eclectic lately. Here are just a few of the odd things that we’ve read about in the last few weeks…
America’s Schooner Cup Preview
When the schooners expected for the America’s Schooner Cup cross the startline, they will represent centuries of sea time and a living snapshot of the West Coast’s sailing heritage.
Why ‘Richardson’ Bay?
The trimaran that broke away and washed up on the east shore of Richardson Bay in Tiburon got me to wondering how many readers know Richardson Bay’s history. For instance, why 'Richardson?
One Hump or Two?
The sailing ships of old carried all sorts of cargos. But perhaps the most unusual shipment(s) ever carried by an American ship were loaded aboard 540-ton square-rigger USS Supply in the Mediterranean in the summer of 1855: camels. More »
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